A Taxonomy of Love is a coming of age novel that spans the teenage years of Spencer and Hope. Rarely, if ever, do we get to see this many years of a character’s life. So many books I’ve read have centered around a single incident or a specific time period. With this novel, I felt as if I’d watched these kids grow up.

The moment Spencer meets Hope the summer before seventh grade, it’s . . . something at first sight. He knows she’s special, possibly even magical. The pair become fast friends, climbing trees and planning world travels. After years of being outshone by his older brother and teased because of his Tourette syndrome, Spencer finally feels like he belongs. But as Hope and Spencer get older and life gets messier, the clear label of “friend” gets messier, too.
Through sibling feuds and family tragedies, new relationships and broken hearts, the two grow together and apart, and Spencer, an aspiring scientist, tries to map it all out using his trusty system of taxonomy. He wants to identify and classify their relationship, but in the end, he finds that life doesn’t always fit into easy-to-manage boxes, and it’s this messy complexity that makes life so rich and beautiful. (NetGalley)

One of the perks of a novel covering so many years is the ability to cover a wide range of topics, then see how they unravel, and what short and long term affects are on each character. The topics in this novel included Tourette syndrome (a neurological disorder), bullying, sibling rivalry, death, multigenerational relationships, young love, first times, and interracial relationships in the south. Whew! That’s a tremendous amount to fit into one story, but Rachael Allen does it seamlessly. The events and characters are woven together just like real life.

The relationships between the characters are what make this story special. They are realistic, not neat and wrapped up in a bow. The kids are faced with hardships and triumphs and it is how they deal with each situation that makes this book so addicting. The voices and characters are so beautifully crafted with strong voices that grow as the kids age, I did not want to let them go.

As an individual with Tourette syndrome, finding a novel with a character living with this disorder was what originally drew me to this book. I was so pleased with Spencer’s character and how Rachael Allen explained and dealt with the issues of his Tourette’s. Again as a novel that spans many years, readers are able to see how this disorder impacts his life at different stages. Like life, this is a disorder that is constantly changing.

You can purchase this book today at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and IndiBound

For more information about author Rachael Allen, you can find her here.

HALLI GOMEZ teaches martial arts and writes for children and young adults because those voices flow through her brain. She enjoys family, outdoors, reading, and is addicted to superhero movies. Her middle grade science fiction novel is represented by Kathy Green of Kathryn Green Literary Agency. You can find Halli on Twitter.