Since awkwardly touching a tattoo on the back of a girl's neck
while in a donut shop, Charlie's world has been more
interesting than usual. The girl, Charlotte, wants Charlie's
help. He's a student at Brighton School of Mathematics and
Science, where her sister is the new English teacher. Charlotte
wants Charlie to orchestrate a prank campaign against her
sister to help take her mind of Charlotte's illness. The pranks
put his future at MIT in jeopardy, but being around Charlotte
is worth it.
Then he learns how ill Charlotte really is, but it's too late.
He's already fallen in love with her.
LOVE AND OTHER UNKNOWN VARIABLES is a tear-jerker that will
stay with
you long after the last page is finished. The
characters are incredible, realistic, and well-rounded. Their
pain, joy, and grief is deeply felt.
Charlie is awkward, driven, and so angry and fearful beneath
the surface. He's intriguing and Shannon Lee Alexander does a
fantastic job of showing Charlie's love math and the beauty in
numbers to English lovers. His need for certainty and constants
in a world of uncertainty and death is a universal theme, and
watching him learn how to navigate the ever-shifting emotions
of falling in love is painful, sweet, and joyous.
Charlotte's artistic abilities and her exuberance are engaging
and her love for the world and her friends is one of the most
beautiful parts of LOVE AND OTHER UNKNOWN VARIABLES. Her impact
on those around her is immediate because she is actively
engaging in the world. She's present and alive in every moment.
The secondary characters, Charlie's sister, Becca; his best
friends, Greta and James; and Charlotte's sister, Jo, provide a
complex emotional background for Charlie and Charlotte's
budding romance. There is so much going on in all of their
lives besides this whirlwind romance, and the cast of
characters help show the long-range effects of what could
happen. I really like how the romance is the story, but
planning for the future and daily obligations aren't forgotten.
Charlie still has homework to do. Jo still has an English class
to teach. Charlotte and Becca still have projects in class to
work on. The situations are believable and create an rounded
picture of these characters and their life.
LOVE AND OTHER UNKNOWN VARIABLES by Shannon Lee Alexander is a
beautifully told romance full of joy, grief, pain, and
questions. You don't want to miss this one.
Charlie Hanson has a clear vision of his future. A senior at Brighton School of Mathematics and Science, he knows he’ll graduate, go to MIT, and inevitably discover solutions to the universe’s greatest unanswered questions. He’s that smart. But Charlie’s future blurs the moment he reaches out to touch the tattoo on a beautiful girl’s neck. The future has never seemed very kind to Charlotte Finch, so she’s counting on the present. She’s not impressed by the strange boy at the donut shop—until she learns he’s a student at Brighton where her sister has just taken a job as the English teacher. With her encouragement, Charlie orchestrates the most effective prank campaign in Brighton history. But, in doing so, he puts his own future in jeopardy. By the time he learns she's ill—and that the pranks were a way to distract Ms. Finch from Charlotte’s illness—Charlotte’s gravitational pull is too great to overcome. Soon he must choose between the familiar formulas he’s always relied on or the girl he’s falling for (at far more than 32 feet per second squared).
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