"No one character stood out and no one character was less than exemplary" — Miss Remmers
Release Date: April 1st, 2012
Publisher: Amulet Books
Challenges: 75+ Challenge, eBook Challenge, NetGalley Challenge
"In this contemporary love story, a teenage boy named Karl enlists a famous writer to help him impress his girlfriend, Fiorella. She has asked him to write her a letter in which he reveals his true self. But Karl isn’t convinced he’s good enough with words, so he tracks down Fiorella’s favorite author and begs him to take up the task. The writer reluctantly assents, on the condition that Karl agree to a series of interviews, so that the letter will be based on an authentic portrait of Karl. The letter, though effective, has unexpected consequences for Karl, Fiorella, and the writer.""Dying to Know You" reminds me of "Tuesdays with Morrie" with only a few less "Morrisms." Dare I say I may have enjoyed "Dying to Know You" quite a bit more than "Tuesday?"
I found the characters in this novel to be full of depth and multi-faceted — across the board. No one character stood out and no one character was less than exemplary. Basically a young man visits an older man for help in life and through these meetings lives are changed for the better. While, at least in the galley, the dialogue was a bit confusing — it didn't deter from the story. I found I quite enjoyed the quick dialogue and few descriptors as it left more up to me to decide and image for myself.
Overall, "Dying to Know You" was a refreshing read about people — yes, actual people (not werewolves, vampires, etc) — that I would absolutely recommend to others. While the ending was perfect, like so many other things, it was the journey that made this book great.
Favorite Quote:
"When I was fifteen, I wasn't regarded as clever and I wasn't much of a reader. But one day I came across a book I started reading just because I had nothing else to do. I don't know why I picked it rather than another. Anyway, I started reading. It didn't hook me straightaway. It didn't hav ethe kind of catchy opening that grabs your attention. I was well into it before this strange thing happened that had never happened before. I just couldn't stop reading it. And as I read the last page, all I wanted to do was write a book like that. I wanted it so much, I started straightaway. I still have the story. When I read it now, it makes me laugh, because it's so obviously a bad copy of the book I'd read. But it got me going. It showed me what I wanted to do with my life. It showed me what I am."
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To the FTC, with love: Galley from NetGalley