More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer, reviewed by Vanditha Krishnan

More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer

reviewed by Vanditha Krishnan                     

A wonderful book is one you cannot put down; it is a novel that engrosses you with its emotions and touches your heart. More Than We Can Tell, by Brigid Kemmerer, has, in my opinion, surpassed the standard for a “wonderful book” and deserves its own category for its excellence.

This tearjerker begins by introducing you to the two main characters, Emma and Rev. Both of them face difficulties in their home lives, but they share more than they think. Emma Blue loves to code. She develops her own video game, which requires a great deal of effort, but hides this from her parents, due to the fact that they believe that coding is a waste of her time. Her father appears to disregard Emma’s interests, while her mother pushes Emma towards becoming a doctor like herself. Emma’s only solace comes from playing video games, but she also has to deal with getting verbally bullied online by other players, just because she is a girl. Then we meet Rev Fletcher, who is introduced in Kemmerer’s earlier novel Letters To The Lost. Rev, unlike Emma, is dealing with emotional issues from the past. Despite trying to forget about his childhood days, Rev often gets reminded and finds himself in a downward spiral of emotions. His loving adoptive parents and friend Declan try to help, but Rev appears to be inconsolable. That is, until he meets Emma.

This story ranks high on my list when compared to other novels. Rev’s compassion and ability to truly love despite his circumstances make him one of my favorite main characters. Emma was a bit hurtful at first, but she eventually grew on me. The fact that she did not judge Rev towards the beginning of the story showed her true character. Emma and Rev's friendship that eventually blossomed into a first love was simply heartwarming. They found comfort from each other and embraced it immediately.

I enjoyed reading More Than We Can Tell. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would definitely give this book the highest rating; that is, a 5. Kemmerer’s novel made it easy to fall in love with Rev and Emma, as well as their trust for each other. This poignant novel, along with its many messages to the reader, deserves to be much more famous than it is today.