The Love That Split the World
The Love That Split the World
Emily Henry
4.0⭐
Read: September 2025
Because I’m such a big fan of Emily Henry’s adult novels, one of my goals is to work through her young adult backlist. Because my brain works in an odd way, I feel like this should be done in publication order. That may be because I read all of her adult novels in that order too. In any case, I’ve finally read Emily Henry’s original debut as a young adult author.
The Love That Split the World follows the life of Natalie Cleary, an adopted woman of indigenous heritage. She’s caught between worlds, knowing nothing of her birth mother, and feeling separate and different from her family. She’s also different because she grew up with nightmares and visions as a child until a mysterious visitor (whom only Natalie can see) that she calls, “Grandmother,” replaces the terrors. Grandmother tells Natalie creation stories and legends from many cultures, thinking she’ll understand her meaning. But Grandmother stopped visiting some time before the opening of the novel and Natalie feels adrift. When she makes one last visit to share an ominous message, Natalie is even more confused than ever and she’s on a deadline to figure it out.
Part fantasy, part romance, this was a departure from my experience of the author’s work. I found myself struggling to enter into this world and when the paranormal elements combined with science, I got a little lost. However, I still thought this was a lovely story about a young woman learning about herself. Natalie is finding her place and voice even while caught between multiple worlds. Beau’s character served as a foil, even as he and Natalie fall toward each other in love.
There are several signature Henry elements that I found familiar including discussions on grief, purpose, friendship, and family. I think I would have appreciated this more had I gone into it expecting it to be more fantasy/science-fiction than romance, but overall, I still liked this one and will still be picking up the rest the author’s YA backlist.
A favorite quote:
“You’re not missing something. You’re not broken. Your grand identity will not be revealed to you like a bolt of lightning. It’s okay to be scared. Your big feelings are powerful. But it’s not okay to hide, especially when what you want more than anything is to be known.”
