Review by Booklist Review
What if you knew when you were going to die? Ask 17-year-old Flint, who does. How? Because he lives in a world where everyone "half-lifes"; that is, they have a seizure which signals that half of their life is over and they have only an equal number of years to live. Flint had his seizure when he was eight, which means he now has 41 days, 9 hours, and 42 minutes left. When he accidentally meets beautiful September, he--despite his vow to shut any happiness out of his remaining life to make dying easier--is seriously smitten, as is she. The two quickly fall in love, but Flint makes a terrible mistake: he doesn't tell her he's going to die. What will happen when the secret is revealed? And will September, a brilliant, budding scientist and intern at the Half-Life Institute, find a cure? Readers who have fallen in love themselves--and with these two teens--will hope desperately that she does. But keep a box of tissues nearby just in case.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Due to an early onset of the scientific phenomenon called the twinge--during which individuals experience a seizure when they're exactly halfway throughout their lifespan--morose 16-year-old Flint Larsen has always known when he was going to die. After his parents spend their life savings trying to make the most of the short time he has left, Flint decides he wants to spend his final 41 days, nine hours, and 42 minutes in Carbon Junction, "the one place I knew wouldn't leave my parents in debt." His plan to quietly wait out his death is derailed, however, when he meets September Harrington, an irrepressibly cheerful teenage scientist whose goal is to cure the twinge. Flint declines to divulge that his life cycle is coming to an end, and as the two spend more time together, he finds himself enjoying his existence for the first time since he was eight years old. The narrative alternates between the pair's perspectives, rendered in distinct, fluid-feeling prose by Bourne (You & Me at the End of the World), occasionally diverting attention away from Flint's ever-present ticking clock and lowering the book's sense of urgency. The novel's assured emphasis on the difference between living and surviving presents a hopeful read. Characters cue as white. Ages 14--up. (Mar.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
In a world nearly identical to our own, two teens struggle with tragedy. Flint's existence has unfolded under the shadow of a phenomenon in which people experience a twinge, or medical event, at the halfway point of their lives, revealing the exact date when they will die. Flint and his family have returned to his childhood home of Carbon Junction, where he half-lifed when he was in third grade. When the book opens, his death date is just 41 days, 9 hours, and 42 minutes away. Flint is reacting angrily to his heartbroken parents' attempts to help, barely eating, and refusing basic comforts like warm clothing. Carbon Junction is also home to the Half-Life Institute, where the phenomenon is researched. September, a brilliant young woman who interns there, is grieving the death of her 4-year-old sister. At its heart a romance, this alternating narrative juxtaposition of a melancholy but beautiful boy clad in all black and a vibrant girl who only wears bright colors is a familiar opposites-attract setup. The tension between the two is drawn out at length, which should please fans of the genre. The science-fiction elements are less developed but still create a compelling premise that guides the plot and gives ample motivation to the sympathetic characters for the complicated decisions they must make. The main characters are cued White; there are some queer and racially and ethnically diverse secondary characters. A thoughtful, heart-rending story of doomed first love. (Romance. 13-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
