Friday, August 27, 2010

The Half-Life of Planets (YA)


The Half-Life of Planets. Emily Franklin. and Brendan Halpin. 2010. Hyperion. 256 pages.

I am not a slut.

Liana and Hank narrate The Half-Life of Planets. These two strangers meet in the women's bathroom at a hospital. What starts out as an awkward beginning turns into much more...over the course of a summer. What develops is a slightly awkward--but in a good way--relationship between two misunderstood people.

They bond over music. They bond over loss. Most of all, they just enjoy being with one another. Not in a romantic way. Not for Liana. Not at first. She's determined that this will be the summer of no kissing. For Hank, it's as close to love as he's ever gotten. Liana is his best chance to be kissed, to be loved. Why? Hank has Asperger's syndrome and relationships just don't come easy for him--let alone romantic ones. But he's trying so hard to get things right...and in her own way Liana is too. Because before the school year ended, she received an anonymous note in her letter calling her a slut. So she's trying to find out if the label is true. If someone's perception of her matches reality in any way.

I didn't exactly love this one. But. I did like it. Hank was my favorite of the two narrators.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Most of the reviews I've seen of this one, have liked-but-not-loved it... still think I'll keep in on my wishlist as one to read though.

Eden the StorySnoop said...

I liked this one more than I didn't like it. I was left with a question about how true it felt--could Liana really have those feelings for Hank? I sure hope so!