I'm normally hard to please when it comes to a split narrative but I think it worked really well for this book. It's told from the perspective of thirteen-year-old Noah and sixteen-year-old Jude, which means we get to experience both characters thoughts, complexities and lives before and after a tragic loss. The time jumps are cleverly done and not at all choppy. 
 I found Noah and Jude to be great characters and felt every moment with them. 
 Now onto the downside of this book - the heavy use of artistic metaphors and the romance grated on me. I found it irritating where others seem to have found it endearing. I found the way the British character was portrayed to be annoying also, not ever other word needed to be slang!