‘Love, Creekwood’ by Becky Albertalli is a novella that that serves as a mini epilogue for the previous stories in the Simonverse. The book consists of a series of emails between Simon and his friends, especially Bram, Leah and Abby, as they go through their first year of college.
I really enjoyed this book. I was afraid that because I wasn't a fan of ‘Leah on the Offbeat’ I wouldn’t enjoy it, but I was super glad that I did. It is a super cute and heartfelt addition to the Simonverse that besides serving the fans brought up real life conflicts that high schooler’s relationships face once they start college. Also, it deals with some personal conflicts unrelated to relationships that college freshmen may go through, especially if they move away from home.
Moreover, since the novella is super short and written in email format, it’s an extremely easy read that could be enjoyed by anyone at any time.
If you read and enjoyed ‘Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda’ and ‘Leah on the Offbeat’, then I highly recommend this novella. I especially recommend it if you soon will be or are just now starting college.
A More In Depth Review
***SPOILER ALERT***
Both couples in this book are going through different circumstances due to their new life as college freshmen. Simon and Bram are going to different colleges and thus maintaining a long-distance relationship. On the other hand, Leah and Abby have chosen the same university. Therefore, they serve as an opposite image to Simon and Bram’s relationship.
As time passes, the reader can notice how much the long distance is putting a strain in Simon and Bram’s lives, especially Simon’s. And while Simon does eventually manage to enjoy his time at Haverford, he ultimately makes the decision that he would rather transfer to NY and be with Bram. We saw this transfer coming miles away. As Simon said:
“Something scary and exciting and extremely inevitable.”
However, I was pleased with how the author made Simon arrive to this decision. During the first couple of emails, I was feeling a little out of sorts with the story. After all, I am a firm believer that independence and having a life outside your relationship is crucial to an individual’s mental health and the longevity of said relationship. However, once Simon started actually making friends and giving his school a chance, I was on board with whatever decision he made in regard to transferring. I believe Simon truly tried everything to enjoy his freshman experience. Thus, when he decided he rather spend his other college years close to Bram, I was totally on board. He is following the path that will make him happy and I can’t reproach him that.
While Bram seems to be struggling less with the long-distance relationship, the reader notices this is not the case when we discover he has been keeping things from Simon. Unlike Simon, Bram managed to fit in his school and new home almost instantly. However, this made him insecure to share his happiness with his boyfriend that did not seem to be fitting in at his own school at all. By sharing this happiness, Bram felt that Simon may think he was missing him less than the other. However, this is obviously not the case. Each person is different. And while Simon needed more time to open up to his new life without Bram, Bram didn’t. And that’s ok. Sometimes relationships fall apart because one of the individuals in it feels underappreciated when the other seems to feel and manages differently the conflicts they’re facing. However, it’s extremely important for individuals to realize that the way a person manages a circumstance does not mean that he or she is not as invested in the relationship.
This novella also deals briefly with how students manage the change from high school to college.
“And we don’t get to go back. We don’t get to do High School again.”
“I (Bram) was in this brand new school, in this brand-new town, and every decent moment felt like a betrayal to my old life.”
Most college freshmen feel themselves missing their previous life. However, it’s important to appreciate the memories and move on to make new ones. Just because you find yourself enjoying your new life, does not mean that everything that happened previously is somehow inferior. After all, it’s our experiences in the past that have driven us to our present life and happiness.
Comments