Shelby Campana
Dying to Know You
by Aidan Chambers
Some relationships are hard to grow because one person isn’t fully themselves or opening up. The fictional novel, Dying to Know You by Aidan Chambers is a perfect example of this. The main character, Karl, is seventeen and in love with his girlfriend, Fiorella. Fiorella asks Karl multiple questions that she wants to be answered in a letter so she knows that his feelings are true. The only thing keeping him back from writing this letter is dyslexia. Karl is convinced that Fiorella would look at him differently because of this so, to get the letter constructed, he asks a local writer for help. This relationship between Karl and the writer continues to grow into a friendship and teaches both characters a different perspective on life. When a major plot twist occurs, an act of violence alters the characters lives completely. Together, they learn things like, “You mustn't allow even death to destroy you”(274). While Karl learns about love in the past, the writer learns about love in the present. The writer explains, “The young are only involved in themselves, and least of all in old people. The old are there to help them”(74). The writer helps Karl learn a lot about himself and the relationships around him.
Some recurring themes in this book are coming of age and love conquers all. First, Karl learns to accept himself for who he is and grows a lot throughout this book. When the writer realizes this side of him he thinks, “this was a mature and confident Karl, different from the uneasy and sometimes awkward boy who balked at saying anything about himself”(44). A lot of people can relate to this about Karl. Some people can only open up to certain people or when talking about certain things. For this reason, Karl showed coming of age constantly throughout the novel. Also, Karl overcomes his biggest obstacles in life for love. Karl struggles with dyslexia on a daily basis. He never told Fiorella about this because he thought that she would think differently of him. To overcome this, he opens up about his dyslexia and realizes that if someone loves you, nothing could change that.
Although this book is realistic, interesting, and fun, the book is also very slow moving. There were not many conflicts until the end of the book. This made the beginning of the book boring and it didn’t feel like one of those books you don’t want to put down until the end. Once you get past getting to know the characters, the books excitement increases and the book starts to move along faster. For this reason, I do recommend this book. I recommend this book to people who would relate to Karl: young readers, people struggling with a relationship, or those who relate to Karl with dyslexia or opening up to people. If you can relate to how different relationships are now compared to the past, check out this article that describes the differences and its effects on the younger generation.
Although this book is realistic, interesting, and fun, the book is also very slow moving. There were not many conflicts until the end of the book. This made the beginning of the book boring and it didn’t feel like one of those books you don’t want to put down until the end. Once you get past getting to know the characters, the books excitement increases and the book starts to move along faster. For this reason, I do recommend this book. I recommend this book to people who would relate to Karl: young readers, people struggling with a relationship, or those who relate to Karl with dyslexia or opening up to people. If you can relate to how different relationships are now compared to the past, check out this article that describes the differences and its effects on the younger generation.
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