Book Review: Hello?

I don't normally read young adult novels, but when I do, I make sure that they're captivating and well-written. Thankfully, Hello? by Liza Wiemer fits both adjectives.

Tricia: A girl struggling to find her way after her beloved grandma's death.

Emerson: A guy who lives his life to fulfill promises, real and hypothetical.

Angie: A girl with secrets she can only express through poetry.

Brenda: An actress and screenplay writer afraid to confront her past.

Brian: A potter who sets aside his life for Tricia, to the detriment of both.

Linked and transformed by one phone call, Hello? weaves together these five Wisconsin teens' stories into a compelling narrative of friendship and family, loss and love, heartbreak and healing, serendipity, and ultimately hope. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

When I first heard the premise for this novel, I thought it was going to be a surreal story similar to Landline by Rainbow Rowell. However, I was pleasantly surprised that the only thing surreal was a character receiving what seemed like messages from a deceased relative. Liza gets real with her readers in all other ways, taking us into the thoughts and feelings of her five characters and not holding back on some grim situations or intense dialogue. I even ended up liking characters I wasn't supposed to like at first, since Liza conveyed their sides of the story as sympathetic. I could relate well to Angie's feelings and actions, as I probably would have done (or actually did) some of the same things in my first serious relationship. Her creative use of screenplay or poetry for some of the characters added another interesting layer to the story. She even put some artwork in there, although I had my own ideas of how certain places should look. I found myself breezing through this novel and getting to a certain page number not realizing I've moved through it so fast, and wanting to savor it at the same time.

I've been recommending this novel by comparing it to Wally Lamb's writing, should he ever foray into the YA genre. There are several reasons for this. The first is that the writing is very polished. I kept forgetting it was just a book. It's also gripping, not letting go even after the last page is turned. The same way I forgot She's Come Undone was written by a man, when I read the male voices of Hello?, I kept forgetting they were written by a woman. Finally, seeing that I've met both Wally and Liza in person, I can attest that their subject matter is so different from their personalities that I would never have pegged them to write what they did.

I finished Hello? over the weekend and still can't stop thinking about it. Sometimes I think of the characters, other times the situations. I also love that it took place in Door County, Wisconsin. I've been to that area in the past and Liza captures the mood perfectly. If I lived closer, I'd go on another road trip there, as it's beautiful and quaint.

My only criticism is the amount of foreshadowing that made some aspects predictable. The outcome was what I wanted, but I was hoping for a twist or two. However, I was able to predict certain things in the musical Wicked for similar reasons, so maybe I'm just good at picking up on certain hints. In both cases, I still enjoyed the story overall. I liked the concept of "besherte" (meant to be) that ran through this novel, even if it wasn't directly implied.

Finally, I like that after the novel concludes, Liza shares a story from her own life that most teenagers these days will be able to identify with. She also includes contact information for suicide hotlines and organizations that can help with various crises.

BEA 2015

Thanks to Liza for the book in exchange for an honest review. Even though we're both book bloggers, I never knew that we'd find each other in the blogosphere. However, I am thankful that I entered (and won!!) a book giveaway that she was hosting back in 2014 and that we stayed in touch afterward, including meeting up at BEA. I appreciate having the opportunity to read such an amazing novel and I hope she'll produce more in the future. In the meantime, visit her blog.







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