Book Review: Like No Other by Una LaMarche

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Like No Other
Author: Una LaMarche
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary | Romance
Released: July 24th 2014
Review Source: Razorbill

Fate brought them together. Will life tear them apart?

Devorah is a consummate good girl who has never challenged the ways of her strict Hasidic upbringing.

Jaxon is a fun-loving, book-smart nerd who has never been comfortable around girls (unless you count his four younger sisters).

They've spent their entire lives in Brooklyn, on opposite sides of the same street. Their paths never crossed . . . until one day, they did.

When a hurricane strikes the Northeast, the pair becomes stranded in an elevator together, where fate leaves them no choice but to make an otherwise risky connection.

Though their relation is strictly forbidden, Devorah and Jax arrange secret meetings and risk everything to be together. But how far can they go? Just how much are they willing to give up?

In the timeless tradition of West Side Story and Crossing Delancey, this thoroughly modern take on romance will inspire laughter, tears, and the belief that love can happen when and where you least expect it.

This book needs more airtime; Like No Other needs to be put on blast in the name of diversity. Recently there has been a need for more diverse books in our community and this book right here is exactly what people are asking for. Like No Other is a mix of West Side Story, Eleanor and Park, and some Romeo and Juliet, put into a mixing pot to give us this new love story.

Like No Other follows two teens, Devorah and Jaxon, two kids whom lived near each other but their paths have never crossed, until one fateful day. Devorah is a very faithful and rule abiding Hasidic Jew until she meets Jaxon who makes her question the rules she has been following all her life. Jaxon is just a regular teen who loves his family, definitely shy around girls, and the first of his family with plans to attend college. When a storm hits Brooklyn Devorah and Jax end up in the same hospital where their future is about to get shaken up. Devorah’s sister has gone into early labor and since the storm has gotten increasingly worse Devorah has to be there for support and help in the delivery room, and just down in the emergency room is Jax and his friend who tried to jump over a tree with his skateboard. The two of them have helped their loved ones and both have ended up onto an elevator when the power goes out and they get stuck together. This deems very difficult for Devorah her religion states to not be along with a male in a room, let alone talk to them, but something is different about Jaxon and he’s very well trying to become the hero in the situation. From that very day everything changed for the two, they have the instalove, but unfortunately the Hasidic religion has already set up a future for Devorah that does not include her falling in love with someone, especially someone of another faith.

This book was a lot of them sneaking around to see each other, talk again, or even just to have a quick glimpse of one another. They are risking a lot, especially Devorah, but to them it is worth it all, their love is all consuming and worth the risks. I loved this story from start to finish, and is everything we want in a diverse book. Not only did I get a forbidden love story but I got a real lesson on the Hasidic religion. I love reading a book where I actually pick up a life story but actually learn a thing or two. I enjoyed Jaxon and his trial and tribulations, but it was Devorah that I was really invested in throughout the time. She was really becoming herself and questioning things she would have never questioned if she hadn’t met Jaxon.

Please read this story, we want diverse stories and here is one right in front of our faces. It was a beautiful coming of age story that truly shows growth within the characters.