The Half-Life of Love

By Author / Illustrator

Brianna Bourne

Genre

Romance & Relationships

Age range(s)

11+

Publisher

Scholastic

ISBN

9780702314186

Format

Paperback / softback

Published

02-03-2023

Synopsis

It comes as a twinge, a signal that you've reached the exact half point of your life... Flint knows he will die at 16 so he's never really tried to live. With six weeks left, he returns to his hometown with his family, determined to go quietly.

Science-obsessed September interns at the world-renowned Half Life Institute. She has never grieved the death of her younger sister who "half-lifed" the previous year, but she is determined to find a cure. Chance brings the two together. A friendship - and then something more - starts to form.

September's easy warmth gives Flint permission to enjoy his life, and in turn Flint allows September to grieve instead of hiding behind smiles and personas. But time's running out and Flint hasn't shared his secret yet - will their connection prove extraordinary enough to last beyond those last few weeks, or is their time together destined to end in heartbreak?

An achingly beautiful romance story from the author of TikTok bestseller, You & Me At the End of the World. Perfect for fans of Adam Silvera, Kathleen Glasgow and Jennifer Niven. A future classic for the Books That Made Me Cry trend. Praise for The Half-Life of Love: "Brianna Bourne offers us a moving and enthralling story that reminds us that love lights our way as we all travel in death's shadow." Jeff Zentner, award-winning author of In the Wild Light and The Serpent King.

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Reviews

I LOVED this. From the concept to the characters, The Half-Life of Love is a really beautiful love story with themes of friendship, grief, family, and a message of never taking a day for granted. Highly emotional, it made me both laugh and cry. Brianna's characters are incredibly vivid - from science-obsessed and highly intelligent September to moody but sensitive, caring Flint. The way their characters developed and helped each other through dark days was really beautiful.

The concept of experiencing a half-life (a twinge/seizure which indicates you've lived half your life) is really interesting and heartbreaking in equal measure. It could spark really great discussions about bucket lists but there's so much more depth to this book than that, which Brianna conveyed perfectly. Through the relationship of Flint and September, everyone (reader included!) comes to realise that it's not always the big things that we should think about, but the small things we should appreciate. The smiles. The sunsets. The sweets!

The book explored grief in different ways too showing how, if a death is expected, grief can happen before the individual passes - and that's fine. Flint and September learn to process and acknowledge their feelings, and not try to hide them away. A powerful book for young adults - it's one that will stay with you for years to come.

368 pages / Reviewed by Stephanie A