I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
My Initial Reaction...
OMG the FEELS!!! Marie's done it again - maybe even outdone herself! I have a feeling I'll be gushing over The Wright Brother for weeks to come. I can't get it out of my head!
The Characters...
If you're a character driven reader, you'll adore The Wright Brother. The whole story is told from the POV of Elise and through her we see both Elise and Julian grow from childhood to adults.
What I loved most about being in Elise's head over the course of her life is seeing the way she grew as a character. Marie did such an amazing job letting us feel the same mind growing up - we start with the Elise as a child (3 years old maybe?) and with a series of time jumps we get to see her as a young child and a tween, a teenager, and then finally - where the bulk of the story is told - as a college aged girl growing into her early 20s. She struggles with growing up - like we all do. She has to make decisions and sometimes she chooses terribly wrong. Sometimes it's just her age and sometimes it's being human. Elise is so beautifully complex and I loved every minute of her.
And then there's Julian. *sigh* When we first meet Julian, he's a newborn in his crib along with his two other brothers. He's a triplet, but from birth he will be different because what we recognize (though little Elise can't quite understand what's going on at this point) is that Julian is deaf. And, as it turns out, colorblind. I think what I loved most about the way Marie wrote Julian is that he never felt like someone to pity. I think this could have been an easy trap to fall into - making his disabilities define him. But Julian is a person, as beautifully complex and flawed as anyone. And yet, she also didn't miss the ways that Julian's disabilities would change his life. They're perfectly intertwined and just feel natural - not over emphasized, but not ignored either.
There are other characters and they play their roles really well - Elise's parents, Julian's brothers and mom, and friends. They are well-written and I'd honestly love to see books for so many of these characters because even though I didn't see tons of them, I saw enough to care about them and their lives too. But this was definitely Julian and Elise's story.
The Story...
As much as The Wright Brother is a romance, it's not JUST a romance. In fact, while the romance is great, it's just a part. Because this is a story of life. And just like romance is just part of life, it's only a part of Elise's story. I feel like this is more about what it's like to grow up and deal with all life's hurdles and the difficult decisions we have to make. And how love impacts everything.
I was so sucked in to The Wright Brother. I couldn't put it down - literally. I sat down to read it and didn't stop until I was done. I even made my boyfriend wait to go somewhere so I could finish. Because you can't stop!
I loved the way The Wright Brother is told too. It's a series of scenes that connect well, but it's not a continuous flow. I didn't expect to like that so much, because I thought I would feel like I was missing too much. But it always felt right and like I wasn't missing anything. And the scenes were so detailed, without ever feeling info-dumped. One of the things I ADORED was the way Elise and Julian communicated. Obviously they use sign-language, mixed in with some reading of lips. And though Marie didn't spell it out over and over, that's exactly what I saw every time they spoke. Except when they were using their private communication. It's something that evolves from their childhood, when Elise would put her hand in Julian's hand and spell out words. The result is that, as adults, they LITERALLY communicate through touch. They have these private conversations by touching each other and signing on each other's skin. This little detail made such a huge impact on the story. Their connection was that much deeper and that much more intimate.
And that's just one example. There's so many scenes I could gush about. I could SEE them so clearly and I'm convinced this would be a stunning film.
Concluding Sentiments...
I've categorized The Wright Brother as a Contemporary Romance because I didn't know what else to call it. But it defies categorization, I think. It's brilliant and I can't think of anyone who wouldn't love it. Read it!