Written in the style of a letter to her boyfriend (not her ex, they were just on a break) this book follows the days following the disappearance of Chris

There is a hint of mystery, racial tensions, and confusion about what really happened working its way through this story, and while I found it interesting and entertaining I didn't feel like it was a new or different story. While reading I found myself thinking of similar stories I had read and nothing caught me by surprise.

This was a good read, but not essential or groundbreaking.

Easily in my Top 3 books read in 2017.
Thank you. Thank you for writing this book. It was beautifully told, in a paper airplane style letter, from Jessie our protagonist to her boyfriend Chris.
Jessie and Chris are the only interracial couple, because Chris is the only African American male in their small town. After an argument that leaves the couple on a week long break, Chris goes missing after going on a jog. The story slowly unfolds amidst racist comments, derogatory phone calls, close knit friendships, family members with mental illness, and the unraveling of Chris' disappearance.
The way this book is written, i was instantly transported into being able to feel the way Jessie feels. It was easy to feel the desperation in her being. I was Jessie. Beautifully told. My heart will never recover.

The writing in this book is superb--from the first pages, instead of telling you the story in some over-the-top, grab-your-attention way, the author drops you in the middle of the action. Jessie's boyfriend Chris has gone missing, and we follow her like a fly on the wall in the hours that follow: in the chaos, the finger-pointing, the immediate sense that everyone has something to hide.

The story delves deep into teen drama in a way that is very accurate: the harassment of a black boy in a predominantly white town, the girl backstabbing, the complexity of teen relationships. Jessie feels guilty in a way we can all relate too, as she looks back at her relationship with Chris and what she might've done different. The love letter angle didn't do much for me, but I could see teen readers enjoying it.

In the end, the book delves deep into mental illness in a very teen-centric way--somewhat dramatically, but I think very appropriately so considering how the story ends. I spend a lot of time with teens who deal with mental illness, and I'd highly recommend this book to anyone dealing with this type of tragedy, which is difficult to understand.

This is Not a Love Letter by Kim Purcell brings out many emotions, and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it all yet. Not entirely anyway. I was impatient through the beginning. The story is told from inside the head of Jessie. It's a running monologue of everything she is saying, doing, and feeling. This is good and bad, as it became very tedious at times, but provided much needed info and insight.

I began to see Jessie's mental ramblings as something that could be cathartic to her as a person, all of us readers, and maybe even the writer herself. Jesse is telling Chris everything. Everything she hasn't told him up until now that she feels he should know. Apologies, confessions, explanations, stories, etc. She says it's not a love letter. Personally, I think she's in denial about that. To me, whether she's actually writing it or talking it all out in her head, a love letter of sorts is exactly what it felt like. I wondered if maybe that was the author's purpose for writing such a story, because that kind of catharsis makes complete sense, especially when you don't know if you're ever going to see the person again. It's freeing and healing.

The second half and, most importantly, the ending was very well done. I grew very attached to Jessie, and Chris, and many of the other characters. I was rooting for them. By the end, I was crying so hard, my husband got concerned. I have to say, with everything we knew and didn't know through the progression of this story, I was still expecting a different ending. "Hoping" for a different ending would be the better word, I think. When you read this, have a box of tissues handy.

This is Not a Love Letter, is not what I would classify as a romance, but there is love in the story. It's got moments that tug at your heart strings, and others that just break your heart. Jessie and Chris's story is unique. It's one of those books that are real and original. I liked Jessie's character, but there was something about her 'voice'I couldn't connect to while reading. Still, if you enjoy YA with a mild mystery/suspence with some love thrown in, and you don't mind all the letters throughout the book, this is one I'd recommend to you.

Let me start by saying this is a Netgalley review, I received it for free for an honest review.

3.5 Stars

This letter style book was not my favorite, it had its moments. The letters are written by Jessie to her boyfriend Chris who has gone missing after a late-night run. In this letters, we get the history and background on the relationship and friendships surrounding the couple. Jessie searches for answers as to where her boyfriend who seemed to have it all could have gone. The pressure placed on the town by Jessie has consequences and it leads to some devastating discoveries. It’s a story about race, mental illness and the hardships of being young and in love.

I didn’t love it for one reason, I would have given it 4 solid stars if it had focused on mental illness just a bit more. I personally would have likes more closure on that part, but I understand that not everyone gets that. So, in a way it is realistic. I appreciate the author focusing on the heavy issues we see today, but I just don’t think this book was for me.

The main character is a Caucasian girl in a relationship with an African American boy, in a town of very few African Americans. The book addresses the negative attention their bi-racial relationship receives as well as the extra racial attention the African American receives. The book is written from the point of view of the girlfriend writing a letter to her missing boyfriend, explaining everything that is going on and how much she loves and misses him.

I found it hard to believe that the narrator was able to write down all the dialogue that she had or that she had the time to write all of these letters. I would have prefer to have letters within the storyline of the book instead of all of it being a letter.

Overall I was not impressed with the book. I appreciated the ending since it was not what I expected out of a young adult contemporary. I would definitely give this author another chance.

Thanks to Hyperion and NetGalley for allowing me to read the ARC of This Is Not a Love Letter, by Kim Purcell. Seniors Jessie and Chris look forward to graduating and starting their new college lives, but when Chris disappears while jogging by the river, the whole town is abuzz. Was his disappearance a lovers’s quarrel, racial attack against Chris, one of the few Black boys in school, or a secret Chris has been keeping from everyone? You won’t put this book down once you start reading. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Jessie’s boyfriend, Chris, has gone missing shortly before high school graduation, and now she is documenting everything that is happening as she waits to find out where he is. The book is written as though she is speaking directly to him, so she is always saying things like “you would have liked (this)” or “your mom (did this)” or “it reminded me of when we (did this).” As a result, it wasn’t long before I felt like I knew both of them really well because the author did such an excellent job of describing Chris’s personality and attitudes through Jessie’s eyes and her anecdotes about their relationship.

Jessie herself is somewhat crude and tough. Her dad is out of the picture and her mom is a hoarder, making Jessie ashamed of her home and frustrated with her life. She shoots from the hip and doesn’t mince words. Chris is a gentle soul who recently moved into town – a straight-A student, a gifted baseball player, and a pacifist. He’s a good influence on Jessie, giving her a sense of worth and direction that she didn’t have before he came into her life. But he’s also a black kid from Brooklyn who doesn’t really fit into this all-white paper mill town in the Pacific Northwest, and he has already dealt with bullying from some of the locals. Many possibilities exist for why he has gone missing.

The book also has several strong peripheral characters who are well drawn and add to the story – both his friends and hers. I never knew for sure what was going to happen, and I really came to care about both Chris and Jessie. Being the same age as they are, I found myself thinking I would like to know them personally, which only happens when a writer does a great job of bringing characters alive. While the plot did not wow me as much, I really enjoyed the characters and the interesting way in which the story was told.

This book deals with young love and the loss that may come with it, tackling a tough subject in a very believable and engaging way. The story is advanced through the "not a love" letter that Jessie is writing to her missing boyfriend Chris while she is waiting for him to return. She is given support by her closest friends throughout, while dealing with negative reactions to her suggestion that Chris may have gone missing as a result of some people who would do him harm because he is a black teen in a mostly white town. Finally the police get actively involved and eventually the mystery is solved and Jessie has to learn to live with her new reality. I would recommend this book wholeheartedly to teens looking for realistic fiction involving relationships, love, and loss.

Review to come at end of jan with cross posted link

3.5 stars. If you read the synopsis and the title. this isn't a love letter. It is Jessie writing journal entries to her boyfriend, Chris who is missing. Although they were technically on a break when he went missing. I enjoyed the author's writing and the style in which this book was written, but felt that there were some times throughout the book that could have been explained a bit more in depth. Jessie starts writing to Chris right after she finds out he is missing and documents what is going on and what they are doing to find him. This book is sad and it deals with some sensitive topics such as mental illness, race and bullying. The ending of the book was also done really well. Overall, I enjoyed the book, especially the style in which it was written and it certainly deals with some heavy, but very important topics.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me an advanced reading copy of this book.

It may not be a love letter per se, but it's definitely a story of love in its many forms. Heart wrenching yet humorous and real, Purcell writes a tale of teenage life that will not soon be forgotten. Timely and timeless, the subjects of love, friendship, growth and mental illness are tackled realistically and with heart.

Laugh, cry, get angry, and then cry some more. Kim Purcell delivers a heartbreaking tale that is at times both funny and tragic. This complex teen story of relationships, love, and loss can hit a little too close to home with its realistic dialogue and unique group of characters. This title would be a good addition for your older teen readers.

Telling the story as a letter was very engaging. I believe this style will hold readers' attention. The storyline itself is a little redundant with a lot of other current titles, but I think the writing style and letter format could keep teen readers interested.

Teenage love is hard, no doubt.  Surely this is the person you'll be with for the rest of your life, right?  And there's no possible way you can live without them, is there?

For young Jessie, it all becomes a bit overwhelming.  Sure, she loves Chris with all her heart.  And she can't imagine her life without him.  But when things start moving a bit too fast, getting a bit too permanent, she decides to slow it down a bit.  Just a break, she tells, him.  Just one week.  A chance to take a step back and breath for a minute.  

And then Chris disappears. And she wants him back.  But it's too late.  She makes all kinds of promises to herself and everyone else.  If only he'll come home, things will be different.  She didn't really want a break.  She's sorry, she misses him, things will be better than ever.  If only it were that simple.
This story is all kinds of things at once.  It's a love story, sure.  But it's also a mystery. Exactly what did happen to Chris?  It's also a great take on teenage issues.  A great read!

I take issue with the epistolary format that serves to offer up a mystery and romance that dives into teens and mental health. The main character is white and her boyfriend is black. He has gone missing after a late night run and she is writing him letters as a way to explore the issues surrounding his absence, namely that not everyone knows everything and that she's feeling sad that she wanted a one-week break from Chris and now he might never come back.

Minus the format, it dives into friendships, family, and romance in a pretty evenly organized YA that has enough melodrama to capture many readers and sustain them. But there is no happy ending here.

Heartbreaking story about mental illness and loss. Very well written.

Although this book carries a vibe similar to 13 Reasons Why it keeps its originality with its clever use of a very flawed yet believable narrator. The brutal honesty of how suicide affects the people left behind is mesmerizing and in a way, somehow comforting. An excellent book that I would recommend to teen and older.

I read the last half of this book in one go, stayed up late just to finish it, but I still can’t decide it I really liked this book. It certainly had my interest; I was hooked and had to know how things panned out. I held out hoping for the best, even though I knew it wouldn’t end well. This book was somewhat reminiscent of All the Bright Places, and also kind of made me think of John Green perhaps (primarily because of theme) but with more sex and occasional crude language (though that doesn’t generally bother me). I sort of liked that this was written like a letter from Jessie, that is partly what kept me here, but I can also appreciate that the style isn’t for everyone.

*Spoilers follow*


This book deals with the very difficult issues of suicide and mental health, but after I had finished the book and took a little time to reflect, I was wondering if it really did all that much to bring awareness to the issue. It barely even delves into the grief process, it just felt like everyone had moved on. The mystery of Chris’ disappearance was solved, and the book sort of ends. I did, however, kind of really like what Chris’ mother said to Jessie regarding how selfish/self-centered is for her to believe she was the reason Chris chose to do what he did. I appreciated that she points out that there were many things involved that led to this moment, not just a girl.
While I appreciate that it deals with a very difficult and emotional topic, I would have liked to see more growth in the characters or a deeper story following Chris’ suicide.