The writing struck me as pretentious, and I felt no connection to the characters. This book was decidedly not for me as a reader, though I can see how it work for a different sort of reader very well. Not a bad book, but definitively not a Christina book.

This is one of those books for which you have to roll your eyes a few times and remember that it's YA lit, so it's not necessarily supposed to be realistic sometimes, but if you can get past this, it's a stunner and a great exploration of relationships.

The biggest selling point of this one for me was the various interspersed chapters from other perspectives, and the way it felt like it really could be the project of high school seniors. I loved that. I loved the way other people put their opinions on our two main characters in and how these offered intriguing insights.

This story does throw you slightly in the deep end, starting off with an ambulance incident which already had my mind whirling with various character names, but I think that this style pays off, and that it's worth getting through the first few chapters and becoming oriented with the direction that it's taking.

I think that it could have benefitted by breaking away from the norms a bit more and focusing on the development of other relationships, but perhaps I ask too much.

Overall though, if you tend to enjoy multiple narrators or the traditional boy/girl alternating voice, this is a solid story.

Non-linear. That's what stands out most to me about this book. While the heart of the narrative is fairly straight forward, the narration doesn't follow a linear path. It will for a while, but then we get another character who's perspective is years (or more disconcerting for me, weeks) in the past. We rehash known events from a secondary or tertiary perspective. Its a lovely exploration of relationships and families and the damage we inflict on one another, knowingly or otherwise. But it falls firmly in the odd category, so it's not a book for the easily discouraged. The thoughtful, though, could read it over and over and keep discovering something new.

It took me a while to realize I had enjoyed this book. As an English teacher it was hard for me to see so many--intentional--grammatical mistakes. The writing specialist in me would have liked the dialogue to have been clearer at times and the contributions by other characters presented differently.

Setting aside those criticisms, the reader in me enjoyed this story. I think it tackles taboo issues in a way that is accessible to young readers who are ignorant of the pressures some of their peers may feel and the ways teens cope with those pressures--including self harm.

It's senior year at a school for "high-achieving but troubled teens". Levon and Samantha are paired up by their teacher (I consider her a counselor) Meg, to work on a year long project where they will write the stories of their lives, but not just their writing! Their project will be infused with the writing of those close to them. This makes it interesting because not only do we see how our main characters see themselves, but also how those close to them see them and how they have made an impact in their lives.

Like I said at the beginning… the first few chapters are really difficult to get through because we're getting a lot of information from other characters. We get a lot of different voices and points of view all at once when we just started the book! But this is something I got used to after chapter 5 and it made the book fun afterwards!
As Samantha and Levon work on their project, they start to open up to each other. Levon is a quiet and reserved guy, but when people see that he is opening up to the new girl, suddenly everyone at school seems to be intrigued by this project and the changes it has brought! Are Levon and Samantha falling in love? Is the project helping them achieve self-discovery? (Maybe both?)

All of the stories we see through the book, are secret stories told by those characters. Meaning, our main characters won't read them until the project ends. Seeing how the stories of those close to Levon and Samantha were combined, and seeing how it all mixed with what they were writing and living, it really is unique! It's like the book IS the project itself!

The book touches (somewhat lightly) topics like self-harm, depression, and mental health. The concept of a small school like this one, where there are classrooms of 5-6 students and where people who need more attention or just a small place to be themselves are given the opportunity to express themselves, grow and learn? It's amazing. I really wish we had these types of school. (Maybe they exist and I just don't know?)

To end my quick review… this book has a rough beginning, but it's definitely worth the read! If you can get used to multiple POVs, don't miss the chance to pick up this unique contemporary book!

Overall rating: 3.5 stars

LOVE IS BOTH WAVE AND PARTICLE is Paul Cody's first novel for young adults and while there were glimmers of interest, I do not plan to recommend this book. I did like the title and its reference to light and physics. Other aspects that initially attracted my attention include the Ithaca, New York setting and the gifted and affluent, but troubled protagonists. Frankly, however, I was disappointed in the focus on suicide and I thought that the numerous (for perspective, there's easily more than 10) narrators simply added confusion and created further distance for the reader. Three stars feels a bit generous; for more perspective, check out the professional reviews. School Library Journal, for examples, lists this as grade 9 up and says "Better titles have tackled the subject of mental illness."

I couldn't decide on a 3-star or 4-star review.

I enjoy Paul Cody's writing style and I appreciate the idea of this book. I cared about the characters and liked reading all the different stories of their lives, their reflections, and their connections to each other. I like the idea that we're all a bit broken and that when we acknowledge it and allow others in, we realize we're not so different and we don't have to be alone in the journey. Good message for all.

However. I had trouble with the premise, the set up. It's senior year at an alternative school for bright-but-troubled teens, and Levon and Samantha's teacher Meg creates this year-long writing project for them. The project combines their writing with writing of others who've known them. Levon and Sam will share their writing with each other, but they won't read the other voices until it's all been combined.

I'm a teacher, and while this sounds like it could be a cool project, it's a bit half-baked. It's the same issue I had with John Green's Will Grayson, Will Grayson when the school board allowed an openly gay character to direct and produce a school musical about his own experiences. I love the idea, but I don't buy it. Maybe if there'd been more explanation of the project itself, or how it was being shaped. I get that it's means to an end - that you need the project to put these two characters together and to share their vulnerability - but I wanted more.

Cody also has strong interesting chapters written by other people in Sam and Levon's life. It wasn't clear that these were the chapters/writings that others did for the project. It makes sense that they are, but all of these other characters are beautiful writers and reflective human beings who take responsibility for their mistakes. I have trouble buying it.

Having said that, though, I think my students will enjoy this story, and I'll recommend it. I think they'll be able to get around the things that bother me.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the setting of the school as well as the characters; beautifully flawed and totally believable.
thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book as an ARC

This book will be a fantastic addition to YA shelves in libraries everywhere. The alternating viewpoint was extremely well done. I especially appreciated the wide variety of voices in the novel. Voices were authentic. Stayed up way too late to finish it. Personally, I could have done with some quotation marks, but overall, a fantastic read.

Love is Both Wave and Particle is a great book for older teens. It takes a candid look at teens who not only have to deal with typical teen issues such as college acceptance, sex, and drugs but also issues such as mental illness and depression. I especially loved the school where the students went. I admire the dedication of the staff and the creativity that they use to reach these teens.

I don't know what it is about this book, but something about it just really rubbed me the wrong way. Was it because everyone was just so beautiful, but not typically beautiful, as we were constantly reminded? Maybe. Was it because everyone was just so brilliant but also really, really tragic? Perhaps. Was it because this book tried too hard to create characters that were so different but ended up becoming caricatures instead? Probably. I think conceptually, there's a lot of good here, but something was lost in the execution. There are a lot of important topics touched upon, such as depression and suicide, but it was all lost in a cloud of pretension and characters that were, quite honestly, not very likable (and not in a good way). It would be really hard for me to recommend this book because there so much of it that never really rang true to me or felt sincere. Maybe I'm missing something fundamentally huge, maybe I need to read it again, but I think a lot of the same topics have been addressed in other novels and done so in a way that was just . . . well . . . better. I'll probably still end up purchasing it for the collection because I do think there were aspects of Samantha's depression that teens could relate to - but I also purchase it with some trepidation.

This is a beautiful book. I wasn't sure at first whether I was going to like it; the changing narrator, a different one for each chapter, is a bit on the intrusive side. But ultimately it all makes sense, and the story that unfolds is haunting. Two brilliant, troubled teens are brought together by a year-long school project that transforms their lives and the lives of many around them. I expect this book to win awards -- it certainly deserves to.

Lovely, curious, and an honest look into the lives of two exceptional people.