Alex Rufus is everything you’d expect a 16-year-old to be, he has a job at an ice cream shop, in his safe, suburban town. He has a girlfriend, and he and his brother are on good terms. However, this seemingly normal boy has a secret: after touching anything, he can see the future of that object. He knows one thing about his “power,” that it came after the car crash of his parents. When he learns that his brother, Isaiah, will die from unforeseeable reasons, and that he and his girlfriend, Talia, will break up, Alex becomes desperate to save him, as well as his relationship. Alex knows he can’t make the same mistake again. Alex knows he must save them. Along his journey, Alex learns the important of truth, identity, and what it means to be family.
I thought the book was paced slowly, and even with the amount of pages, some things weren’t explained as thoroughly as I would have liked. Despite being important people to the main character, Alex, the parents weren’t spoken of in the amount of depth I would have expected them to be. There were too many characters that were introduced, with little explanation of their significance. However, I enjoyed the development between Alex, his brother, and his girlfriend. It was realistic, the feelings, the words, and how the characters come to understand each other and their differences.
One memorable thing about the book would be Morris’s mastery of the human nature. The expression and feelings of each character were real; the interactions in the book happen incredibly often in real life. The Cost of Knowing brings true events to light, giving readers a chance to read about topics they might have not known about, or have been sheltered from.
Reviewed by Melody Y., Twin Hickory
HCPL TeenScene's Read + Review 