Nina O'Daniels's Reviews > The Half-Life of Love

I can't decide if I like the idea of knowing when I'll die. Books like The Measure, They Both Die at the End, and Half-Life of Love really force those thoughts on a person, and I can honestly say, I still don't know.

The half-life is this feeling, almost seizure-like, someone gets when they are halfway to their death. The lucky ones are older when this occurs, but Flint was 8 when he found out he only had until 16 to live. The question is, what do you do with that information? Go on epic adventures? Make sure you hug your loved ones every night? Keep your friends close? Flint chooses the opposite- he becomes a hermit, choosing to coast through school (it's not like he's going to college), cut off any relationships or friendships, and distance himself from his own family to make the inevitable easier. Or so he thinks. He's only got 41 days left when he and his divorced parents move back to the small town in Pennsylvania where they lived years ago.

September, our second POV, is a scientist living for chemical formulas and solving problems. She interns at the Half-Life Institute, which studies the cause of the half-life. Losing her little sister at age four was heartbreaking, and the grief is constant. There's no cure for this, but September is determined to find something so others can be spared what she and her family experienced. Her summer at the lab and hanging out with friends keeps her busy until a chance meeting in the woods, where she meets a very grumpy Flint. But their meeting sparks a thought in her science brain, and she needs Flint's help (well, his car, to be more specific), to help.

Flint and September's relationship develops slowly, with each having immediate and strong feelings for the other quickly but never entirely acting upon it for different reasons until they do. But Flint's waning days aren't something he's talked about with September, and that omission changes things. This bittersweet love story had me rooting for Flint to embrace life and love with his time left. And he finally does. Not just with September but with his parents too. I can't imagine what being a parent is like knowing you will bury your child.

The science of it all takes somewhat of a backstage until later in the story, hitting you in the face. I really hoped the author wouldn't change the way the ending of this story should be, and I was so thankful she didn't. I'm sure someone will disagree with the science behind the storyline, but for the layperson, it was enough to convince you and not confuse you. This will be an easy recommendation for those looking for a little something different or a companion to They Both Die at The End.