Love and Other Unknown Variables

by Shannon Lee Alexander

[Leah]

When I saw Love and Other Unknown Variables on Netgalley, I was intrigued. Me and maths (with an s as I am British!) go together pretty well, I think; I was top of my class, I do cash at work, it's just something I've always been good at, so Love and Other Unknown Variables sounded right up my alley. I went back and forth a bit wondering whether to request it or not, and in the end I went for it. The synopsis intrigued me that much, and I really wanted to read it. It also spoke to the Big Bang Theory fan in me - all about science and mathmatics, and Charlie sounded like a young Sheldon Cooper, and he very much was, actually, but more on that later. Before I started, I had semi-forgotten the synopsis; or, more likely, I had just forgotten the sad parts that was going to occur. I blanked 'em right out of my mind, so it was like a smack in the face when I learnt of Charlotte's illness, and it just broke my heart.

As soon as I started Love and Other Unknown Variables, I knew I was in for a winner. There was just so much fun and hilarity in the opening part of the novel - the fact that Charlie would so brazenly touch a girl's tattoo (despite his prior history with girls and touching and being punched/kicked/attacked in general); the Harry Potter shout outs; the awesome geeky maths stuff that lots of people find boring but that I thoroughly enjoy. The novel just made me chuckle in those early pages. It had a buoancy about it, it was full of life, even more so after the introduction of Charlotte, who bamboozled Charlie. There's no other word for it - she came into his life, and she steam-rollered him in the best way possible. All of a sudden, Charlie's map that sees him go off to MIT and win the Nobel Prize is at risk of being blown off course by this force of nature with an infinity hope tattoo. Despite the fact that girls is something Charlie has never really gotten (which is what reminded me that he was like a young Sheldon Cooper - they're both eternally clueless about the ladies). And then it all went sad.

What I liked about Love and Other Unknown Variables is that Shannon Lee Alexander didn't sugarcoat Charlotte's illness. We were told in no uncertain terms that Charlotte had brain cancer, had had it for over 7 years, and had come to terms with the fact this is what would take her life, and instead of letting her get it down, instead she let herself live. Drawing awesome pictures, spending time with Charlie's sister Becca (which is how Charlie and Charlotte got to know each other better, via Becca), and having mudfights with Charlie while he puts a ruined garden back together (it was Charlotte's fault he ran over the garden...). Charlotte wasn't moving off her position for no one, and I admired that. Why spend the time you have left in the hospital when you could be having a picnic in a garden of roses? It's a no-brainer, and for that I loved Charlotte, and I loved that once Charlie and Becca and everyone knew of her illness, they knew that was that and they knew it was going to come. It was handled with such grace. Sure, it was totally and utterly devastating to learn Charlotte was dying, but I knew up front. (I just forgot.)

Probably what made me most upset about the entire novel was that from that very first meeting Charlie and Charlotte just had something special. Something you rarely see, they just clicked and it was beautiful. Which also made it devastating for Charlie. This is a guy who has his life planned out, and when someone comes along and messes with that plan, it should be forever, and ever, amen. It shouldn't be for such a short amount of time. That's cruel. But, life is cruel. (As I have learned in the past few weeks.) Charlie was just one of those narrators who you don't wish to see sad, he had this fantastic way of looking at the world, and the way he cherished Charlotte was something else entirely. It surprises me how much was packed into this novel, now that I'm reviewing it, because it wasn't just about Charlie and Charlotte, or Charlotte's illness, there was also a very amusing side story about Charlotte's sister Jo (or Ms Finch as she's known to her students) - there's a running gag at Brighton, the school Charlie attends where the senior class try to get rid of the English teacher (their life is all about maths, not English). It was amusing to see bits of Charlie's class life, particularly the vomiting incident (the first one...).

I am so, so glad I requested a copy of Love and Other Unknown Variables, I'm so glad I went with my gut and requested it, and downloaded it, and read it, because it was such an immense read. So, so good. It made me laugh, it made me cry, the maths jokes were awesome, the banter between Charlie and his friends James and Greta was awesome and I loved that everyone who was in the book was very, very clever. GEEKS RULE. It's time the world knew that. But the novel also made me immeasurably sad. As it was wont to do, let's be fair. I was warned, I just didn't heed that warning, or I didn't want to heed that warning. But for all the tears, and all the heartbreak, it is so worth it. So worth me trying to read through my tears. It left me sitting there after I'd finished wondering just what to write, which has seen me type in a pretty hefty review, but this book deserves all of the plaudits I give it. Everyone should read this beautiful book. You will cry over it, but it will be SO worth it. I promise.This review was originally posted on Girls Love To Read