Written by Wendy Brant
What if you could read someone’s thoughts, fears, insecurities, inner most secret simply through touch? This is the imperceptible hurdle, high school senior, Eva Walker faces on a daily basis. How do you get close to people, have relationships? Impossible, really.
Wendy Brant has written a poignant story that weaves the emotional ups and downs of a “typical” teen with the deeper questions and challenges that define relationships. Eva’s challenges are not solely due to her “gift.” She has been adopted by her mother’s sister because her parents were killed by a drunk driver. She is contemplating college, and while she is extremely smart and has a unique proclivity for math, her family does not have the money to send her. Add to that, her dad is a preacher and Eva has only one true friend.
This is not a story about the impact of challenges so much as it is what it takes to overcome them. It’s a lesson about taking a chance and starting to figure out who you are. While this is a teen read, as an adult who has been on the planet for many years, I found myself learning and thinking about relationships and what is important to me in a new way.
This book is a page turner with well-developed characters, whose lives we care about. It is mixed with some humor as well as “typical” teen dilemmas, but the message is much deeper. I did not want this story to end and I would be first in line to read a follow up. I want to hear more about Eva Walker and the boy who changed her life, Zenn Bennett.
Review by Stephanie Garahana, Hunter High School Media Center
Rating: ★★★★✩ (4 stars)
Interest Level: High School
Zenn Diagram
Written by Wendy Brant
KCP Loft
315 pages
Release Date: April 4, 2017
A review copy was provided by the publisher.
Thank you so much for the lovely review — I’m so glad you enjoyed Zenn Diagram!