Title: We Contain Multitudes
Author: Sarah Henstra
Publisher: Little, Brown Books
Length: 385 Pages
Category: Young Adult
At a Glance: This book isn’t going to be for everyone. But, I LOVED it. I hope some of you are willing to give it a try!! Because the pay off is so worth it.
Reviewed By: Jules
Blurb: Jonathan Hopkirk and Adam “Kurl” Kurlansky are partnered in English class, writing letters to one another in a weekly pen pal assignment. With each letter, the two begin to develop a friendship that eventually grows into love. But with homophobia, bullying, and devastating family secrets, Jonathan and Kurl struggle to overcome their conflicts and hold onto their relationship…and each other.
Review: Sarah Henstra’s We Contain Multitudes is such a lovely book. Strangely beautiful, with an incredibly unique voice, by the end I thought it was an absolute gem. I was immediately sucked in—drawn in by the format, and by the contrast of the characters—but, I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t initially convinced it would work. Though I was intrigued from page one, my main initial reaction, particularly to Jo, was more bewilderment at the strangeness of what I was reading. But, I quickly went from ‘what is with this kid? oh my god’ and ‘nobody talks like that’, to craving each letter. Craving each part of the story like I was one of the characters. There is no doubt that epistolary novels don’t always work for every reader. As the letters continued to be the only POV, even after Jo and Adam were spending time together, suspension of disbelief was a major factor in being able to enjoy and fully immerse myself in the story. Once I let myself go, though, it was fantastic.
We meet Adam Kurlansky and Jonathan Hopkirk as they are introducing themselves to each other through their assigned letters. They are each aware of who the other is, but only on a purely superficial level. Kurl knows that Jo is a ‘weird kid’ who wears what appear to be costumes and is a constant, daily target for an awful group of bullies. And, Jo knows Adam as “Kurl”, star of their high school’s football team, and a second year senior. Kurl doesn’t know that Jo wears the funny clothes because he is trying to emulate his hero, Walt Whitman, and that he also wants to be a poet, or that he is an incredible singer. And, Jo doesn’t know that Kurl is actually quite intelligent, despite what everyone thinks, or that the reason he quit the football team is related to a dark secret he’s terrified will get out. As they get to know each other, they uncover all these truths and more, some things coming to light quickly, and some being revealed much more slowly.
The language in the book is so poetic and gorgeous. Henstra uses words, imagery, and emotion to keep the reader on the hook. There was the briefest moment or two where I was worried that I couldn’t get past the awkwardness of the letters, but then I’d be sucked in by some passage and realize I couldn’t imagine the story being told any other way. I loved the slow buildup of the friendship and the romance, and the way the guys told each other things through the letters they maybe couldn’t say in person. And, I loved both Kurl and Jo fiercely. I read the book while on vacation a couple of weeks ago, and it got to the point that I couldn’t put it down. I was so invested in the guys and their journey, I had to keep going to see where they ended up.
This book isn’t going to be for everyone. There’s no doubt that some people won’t be able to get past the strangeness of them writing letters to each other and describing events where they were both just present. It definitely took some getting used to, and, as I said, suspension of disbelief…But, I LOVED it. I hope some of you are willing to give it a try!! Because the pay off is so worth it.
You can buy We Contain Multitudes here:
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