Review : The Theory of Everything by Kari Luna

Posted by Kay on August 9, 2013 12:02 am in 4 stars reads | 4 comments

The Theory of Everything by Kari Luna
Pages : 320
Genre : YA, Contemporary fiction, Magical realism
Stand Alone My Rating : 4/5

From the back of the book  :

My Thoughts :

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I jumped into The Theory of Everything. From the synopsis, it could have gone anywhere from « completely insane » to « not nearly as original as it pretends to be ». Luckily, the book fell comfortably somewhere in between the two extremes, offering a touch of magical realism that was still well grounded on Earth.

Reading The Theory of Everything put me in such a great mood! I’m not sure how to explain it. I appreciated Kari Luna’s humor, her colorful imagination, her quirky characters, and her giant talking pandas, of course! I also loved all of the ’80s nostalgia that surrounded the book, mainly with the music; I felt like the author used it efficiently to build Sophie Sophia’s character, and to create a unique link to her father.

The book also had much more depth than I had expected. I thought it would be a mostly fun and crazy adventure, but Sophie’s quest to find her extravagant father turned out to be much more emotional than I would have thought. Some of Sophie’s memories of her father were simply heartbreaking, the way some childhood memories are when you think back on them with a more mature point of view. Even though I was rooting for her to find some answers, I was also a little scared that she would only get hurt more.

Lucky for her, Sophie was surrounded by a nice cast of characters who truly cared for her. Mainly she was accompanied by her new best friend Finny, whom I simply adored. He was colorful, entertaining, but also didn’t hesitate to put Sophie back in her place when she needed it. His interest in physics was super cute, but it also made him the perfect companion for Sophie’s quest. I also liked the touch of romance the author added with the character of Drew. They were a good match, even though Drew was quite secondary to everything else that was going on.

For the longest part it wasn’t clear whether Sophie Sophia was hallucinating from some mental illness or really traveling through dimensions, and I think that book is a perfect occasion to open discussion on the subject. I can’t say that I am entirely convinced by the explanations for it all, and it is maybe the only place for me where the book lost a few points. Sophie is so convinced that she isn’t crazy, that physics are the cause for what she sees, that she travels rather than hallucinates; yet I, as a reader, wasn’t so convinced, and it both worried and saddened me. I wish the author could have insisted a little more on the « mental health » side of the story rather than brushing it aside so easily. Just a thought.

All in all though, I really, truly, deeply adored this book. It made me smile, it tugged at my heart, it took me to a new universe and absolutely entertained me. It won’t be for everyone, but if you can accept a little bit of magic and giant pandas in your universe, then The Theory of Everything is a book you might want to add to your wishlist!