Blog Tour: Dear Fang, With Love by Rufi Thorpe

Title: Dear Fang, With Love

Author: Rufi Thorpe

Published: June 2nd 2016 by Corsair

Amazon | Amazon UK

Blurb: A bold, spellbinding novel featuring one of the most fascinating protagonists in recent memory, Dear Fang, With Love tells the story of seventeen-year-old Vera - ravishing, troubled, wildly intelligent - who travels to Europe with her estranged father, hoping that an immersion in history might help them forget his past mistakes and her uncertain future.

Lucas and Katya were boarding school seniors when, blindingly in love, they decided to have a baby. Seventeen years later, after a decade of absence, Lucas is a weekend dad, newly involved in his daughter Vera's life. But after Vera suffers a terrifying psychotic break at a high school party, Lucas takes her to Lithuania, his grandmother's homeland, for the summer. Here, in the city of Vilnius, Lucas hopes to save Vera from the sorrow of her diagnosis. As he uncovers a secret about his grandmother, a Home Army rebel who escaped Stutthof, Vera searches for answers of her own. Why did Lucas abandon her as a baby? What really happened the night of her breakdown? And who can she trust with the truth? Skillfully weaving family mythology and Lithuanian history with a story of mental illness, inheritance, young love, and adventure, Rufi Thorpe has written a breathtakingly intelligent, emotionally enthralling book.

*First of all I would like to thank the publishers for sending me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Dear Fang, With Love is one of those unique and especial books that take a while to get into but that once you are immersed in the story, you just can't stop reading. Contrary to what you might think, the story is not about Fang but about her girlfriend Vera and her father Lucas. These two characters embark on a historical tour around Vilnius, Lithuania, to try and reconnect with each other and take a break from their life, where everything is quite messy.

The story is told from Lucas' point of view, who has never really been present in Vera's life and is trying to get to know and understand her. Also, each chapter starts with an email from Vera to Fang, so we also get to read how she is feeling and how she sees this new chapter on her life. Life is quite complicated for her, as she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder but is not quite sure she really suffers from it. During the story, we really get to know these two characters and with every new little detail and uncovered secret, we see them in a new light. Vera is a fascinating character, she lives everything intensely and her thoughts always go one step further than what you might expect. She is definitely the star of the book and I ended up really caring for her. I could see how she was struggling with everything and I never knew what to expect next.

The story also touched some other topics like the holocaust and Lithuania's history, as Lucas' family comes from here and he wants to somehow reconnect with his heritage. Lucas' own journey during the book was very interesting to read. I felt that his voice was honest and darkly funny and I could really see he was one of the good guys, even if a little lost.

During the novel, emotions are running high and the multiple subplots make this a touching and quite especial story. Rufi Thorpe's writing is simple and direct but also very rich and detailed. Vera's story will capture you and I'm sure Dear Fang, With Love will leave no one indifferent. 

Rating: 4 stars