REVIEW: Both of Me by Jonathan Friesen
{About the Book}
It was supposed to be just another flight, another escape into a foreign place where she could forget her past, forget her attachments. Until Clara found herself seated next to an alluring boy named Elias Phinn—a boy who seems to know secrets she has barely been able to admit to herself for years.
When her carry-on bag is accidentally switched with Elias’s identical pack, Clara uses the luggage tag to track down her things. At that address she discovers there is not one Elias Phinn, but two: the odd, paranoid, artistic, and often angry Elias she met on the plane, who lives in an imaginary world of his own making called Salem; and the kind, sweet, and soon irresistible Elias who greets her at the door, and who has no recollection of ever meeting Clara at all. As she learns of Elias’s dissociative identity disorder, and finds herself quickly entangled in both of Elias’s lives, Clara makes a decision that could change all of them forever. She is going to find out what the Salem Elias knows about her past, and how, even if it means playing along with his otherworldly quest. And she is going to find a way to keep the gentle Elias she’s beginning to love from ever disappearing again.
When her carry-on bag is accidentally switched with Elias’s identical pack, Clara uses the luggage tag to track down her things. At that address she discovers there is not one Elias Phinn, but two: the odd, paranoid, artistic, and often angry Elias she met on the plane, who lives in an imaginary world of his own making called Salem; and the kind, sweet, and soon irresistible Elias who greets her at the door, and who has no recollection of ever meeting Clara at all. As she learns of Elias’s dissociative identity disorder, and finds herself quickly entangled in both of Elias’s lives, Clara makes a decision that could change all of them forever. She is going to find out what the Salem Elias knows about her past, and how, even if it means playing along with his otherworldly quest. And she is going to find a way to keep the gentle Elias she’s beginning to love from ever disappearing again.
{My Review}
Rating: 4.5 stars!
This is the only the second book I have read by Jonathan Friesen and I already emjoyed "Both of Me' a heck of a lot more than Aquifer. The writing in this novel was so beautiful and at times felt like poetic prose, which I really enjoyed. The characters were well developed and it must have been difficult for Jonathan to write from a female perspective. However, he did it beautifully and there was no author interruption. Traveling to the different "Salems" were very interesting and was such a fun part of the story. THE ENDING.....the ending just about killed me. I did not see that plot twist coming and it felt like someone ripped my heart out and stomped on it! Although I will say that I understand why the author did that. Both of Me was such a wonderful story about a young girl, Clara trying to help Elias.
I quite enjoyed going this journey with Elias and Clara. If you want a quick Contemporary read for an afternoon, I highly recommend Both of Me.
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