Liza Wiemer

Tricia: A girl struggling to find her way after her beloved grandma's death. Emerson: A guy who lives his life to fulfill promises, real and hypothetical. Angie: A girl with secrets she can only express through poetry. Brenda: An actress and screenplay writer afraid to confront her past. Brian: A potter who sets aside his life for Tricia, to the detriment of both. Linked and transformed by one phone call, Hello? weaves together these five Wisconsin teens' stories into a compelling narrative of friendship and family, loss and love, heartbreak and healing, serendipity, and ultimately hope.

Hello?

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

*Sigh*

I read this book weeks ago, and honestly, this is the most difficult review I’ve had to write so far this year. Maybe that’s because this book is my FAVORITE book from 2015. Maybe it’s because I know my words will never do this book justice. Liza’s masterful writing brought this truly amazing and life-changing story to soaring heights. As you can see from its 4.5+ star rating on Goodreads, I’m not alone with the love I feel for this story. Each person that reads this story is touched by it differently, which to me is an indicator of a masterpiece. A story that will never be forgotten.

One HELLO? can change a life. One HELLO? can save a life.

Hello? is the story of five teenagers on their journey through life. These characters are all connected in one way or another, their lives intersecting at different points completely unexpectedly. The way this story was written was utter perfection. I cried. I smiled. I was filled with all the warm fuzzy feelings. This story took my emotions through the wringer! It was heartbreaking, even disturbing at times, but exceptionally hopeful and encouraging. The entire theme of Hello? is “Kindness. Compassion. Chain reaction”. It’s impossible not to be completely riveted by this touching story.

This gorgeous story is written through the alternating first-person points of view of five teenagers. Tricia’s and Emerson’s chapters are your typical first-person narrative. Brian, who is an artist, has drawings to accompany his voice within his chapters, which I found so enjoyable. Brenda’s chapters are told in a screenplay format, something I’ve never seen done before. And lastly there’s Angie, whose is free verse poetry. I adored the uniqueness of this writing style as it added so much to this story and to these characters individually. Never once was this story hard to follow or confusing with this format. On the contrary, having each character portray their unique personalities through the styling of their chapters added an exceptional depth to each one.

Don’t let the idea of five different narrators scare you in any way. If you’re like me, seeing this many points of view can be extremely intimidating. Trust me when I say this book is NOT the type of story that will leave you feeling lost on characters or time frame. There’s no bouncing between past and present tenses or flipping between characters carelessly. Each transition from one voice to another is done seamlessly, and each point of view is exceptionally unique to the point where you always know who is speaking at any given time.

“For what it’s worth, I believe we’re born imperfect, and perfection, whatever that may be, is unattainable by us mere human beings.”

This story also affected me on a personal level. I won’t go into major detail, but reading this story at the exact time I read it helped me more than I can express. I was struggling to cope with the death of a close loved one, and I truly believe I was meant to read this book at the exact moment that I read it. Maybe it was a coincidence, maybe fate? Surely a case of serendipity. Whatever it was, I was meant to find this book when I did… and for that, I will never be able to thank Liza enough for writing this little piece of heaven that forever changed my life. ♥

An exceptionally well-written YA contemporary that will bring your feels through the wringer, but will leave you smiling and hopeful, looking forward to a nicer tomorrow. Kindness and compassion can go such a long way, and reading this story truly made me want to be a better person. If you’re looking for a book that will floor you, leaving you breathless and reeling, overcome with both tears of joy and tears of sadness, this is definitely one you won’t want to miss.


  If I had one night, I’d hold you in my arms,
Find redemption, no more contention,
Keeping you close. Too long, years gone,
Wasted away. One night, our night,
Remember this, I won’t forget you.
No, I won’t forget you.
-Red-Eyed Loons




Find this review and others like it at Lost in Literature!

Genesis (@whisperingchapters)

This review was originally posted on Latte Nights Reviews on November 16, 2015.

I can’t believe Hello? is a YA debut. It is extraordinary! The way Liza portrays different lives, each one so unique and inspiring is so beautiful and astonishing. This book has a lyrical writing to it with amazing characters and an original story that many readers will relate to.

TRICIA:
It took me a while to warm up to her character. She lost her family but when it really hit her hard was when her grandma passed away. Tricia went into a very severe depression, secluded herself from everyone including her friends, only letting her boyfriend Brian stay with her, but even that started to get to her. This loss made her change for the worse and she was struggling with her life in all its entirety. It wasn’t until halfway through the book that we slowly start noticing some mild changes in her character until finally she starts seeing the light. To a point, I related to Tricia. The depression she had was something similar to what I had, although it wasn’t because of a loss. Still, reading about her reminded me of that time in my life and it was hard reading about it because I read how she was affecting others in her life, same way as I did. Reading about her character finally shedding that darkness made me root for her so much because I knew she could be a great character once she realized that she could move on and remember her grandma and her family all at the same time.

EMERSON:
If only every guy in the world could be like Emerson. *sighs dreamily* Emerson lives to make everyone happy, he sets out to always try to do the right thing for everyone. He is such a unique character! I don’t think I’ve ever read about a guy like Emerson in any book. He is so selfless, putting others before himself. From the first moment he appears in the book while talking to Tricia on the phone, I was intrigued in his character, how he had already started to care for her without knowing her. He also could have acted mean or gotten revenge against his ex for how his name was thrown in the mud but he never even thought about it. He just wanted to have peace with everyone. His character was ever so lovingly beautiful and he is probably the one I loved the most.

BRIAN:
I had problems with this character. I wasn’t sure whether I liked him or not when I was reading about him in Tricia’s POV. Once he got his one voice, I started to really see how much he loved Tricia and how much this entire situation was affecting him deeply. Even though, I wasn’t invested in this character, I ended up caring for him to an extent. I loved how Liza incorporated some sketches in his chapters to bring this character to life with his side of the story.

BRENDA:
This character was the toughest one of all. I wasn’t completely sold on her in the beginning and I wasn’t sure I was ever going to like her but wow! She slowly started to creep into my heart and once her past and her secrets were revealed, I wanted to hug her and never let go. Brenda has gone through a lot in her life and she kept it all a secret from everyone, which is why she is so secluded and keeps to herself most of the time. It broke my heart reading her story but I loved seeing her growing out of her shell and sharing her past with her friends.

ANGIE:
Man, was I skeptical of Angie. She could be so self-centered! She was the least character I enjoyed reading about but learned to love all the same. At times, I could’ve done without her POV but ultimately, it added something to the story and the other characters. She started to see how her lies were affecting those she loved and she ended up being honest with everyone. She made mistakes she really wasn’t proud of in the end but she started correcting them. Angie is the most realistic character seeing as every person can relate to her. She’s human and makes mistakes like all of us. She made some character growth which lead for me to enjoy reading about her and the romance that started to spark.

Having multiple POV’s in a book can go either good or bad. I’m happy to say that Hello? definitely went on the great path because each chapter had its own uniqueness to it when it came to each character. Tricia’s, Brian’s and Emerson’s were normal but the reader can perfectly distinguish between the three of them. Now, with Angie we get a certain free-style prose in a poetic-looking stance and Brenda’s is done straight out of a script. It is safe to say this book is not one I had read before. I cannot say “unique” enough! I applaud Liza for writing this book and sharing it with the world. Many will remember this book forever and will stay in their hearts. It is thought-provoking for both teens and adults.