This is Kind of an Epic Love Story Book Review

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I love a slushy romance story, so this sounded right up my street! Nathan Bird absolutely love films and is relatively happy hanging with his best friend (and ex girlfriend) Florence, watching Netflix and trying to get through high school. But when he sees Florence so happy in her new relationship, he can’t help but feel he wants a bit of that too. However, after his dad died, he saw how much losing love can break a person, and he’s always tried to steer clear of love in order to not get his heart broken. But when an old friend moves back to their road, Nathan needs to make a choice: does he continue to avoid getting close to anyone, or should he take a chance on Oliver and see if he can achieve his own happily ever after?

If you’re a fan of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, The Gravity of Us, Everything Everything, They Both Die at the End, or any young adult romance, then trust me when I say you’ll love this book! There was teenage love and infatuation, plenty of anxiety-inducing awkwardness, and I loved how imperfect the characters were.

Nathan is a typically awkward teenager and Callender was fantastic at giving him a character arc throughout the plot. As the book progresses, you see Nathan change, and I liked how, as a reader, we could go on that journey with him. In fact, all of the characters in this book were fab, Florence and Ashley were my favourite because they were complex but loyal and they’re just the kind of friends you want in high school.

Callender’s descriptions of ASL (American Sign Language) throughout this book were really insightful too. As Oliver is deaf, he communicates mostly via lip-reading or texting, but when they were kids, he taught Nathan some ASL, and it was not only heart-warming to see them reconnect by signing, but Callender’s descriptions play an important role in representing a necessary form of communication for some people.

Oliver and Nathan just warmed my heart a lot. Even after they’d been apart for five years, I loved how they easily fell into step with each other again, and it’s definitely one of those books which makes you want to reach into the pages and interfere in the plot to make sure they get together and live happily ever after!

This book was subtle in its storytelling but powerful with the impact it makes. It reminds you of being a teenager and feeling confused and weird, and like everyone else in the entire world is just better than you are (which is 100% not true). It was a great escape from real life, and while the title infers it to be an epic love story, I’d describe it more as cute, but definitely one worth reading. If you’re looking for something heart-warming and fun, then I’d recommend this!