Ethan, Who Loved Carter

I don't recall how I found this book, but I'm glad I did.
Ethan is a 27 year old man who suffered a traumatic head injury as a child, and now faces new challenges in his everyday life.
Carter is a 24 year old young man with a lot of deep seated insecurities who is still discovering who he is, and needs to learn to love and accept himself as he is.

This book is written in the third person POV and we get to see the story from both Ethan and Carter's perspectives. The character development is really great. I love when characters learn from their mistakes and actually work at changing themselves. In the beginning, Carter messes up an encounter with Ethan, but he works hard to fix it. From there, a beautiful story of learning to appreciate differences and seeing things through someone else's eyes starts blossoming. If getting attached to characters through seeing them grow as people is something that you're looking for, I would recommend this book for sure.

Carter really flourishes under Ethan's attention, and Ethan is such a bright light as a characters. I enjoyed also seeing Ethan's little brother Elliot go from being an angry teenager to someone with a deeper understanding of relationships, respect, and his brother. He had a very interesting perspective on this story and we get to understand why he acts out the way he does.

All in all, good story, lovable characters, and best of all, a satisfying ending :)
Happy reading!

Absolutely freakin' fantastic. I was impressed by so much of this book. I liked that family and friends treated Ethan and Carter as able adults. Sure there were concessions made but they were seen as capable adults; equals. Carter loved Ethan as he was, not despite his special needs or because of them. That Ethan saw Carters tics as music, a beautiful part of Carter, was wonderful. They each filled in the gaps of the other and made one another complete. I loved the supporting characters. Ethan's parents are amazing and Ethan's brother was, just wow. Lots of reality there.
Highly recommended
Adult read

I discovered Ethan, Who Loved Carter after listening to K.C. Kelly’s narration of Knave of Broken Hearts. I fell in love with Kelly’s voice, so having credits I needed to use, I went in search of other audiobooks he’d narrated. When I read the blurb for Ethan, Who Loved Carter, I knew that I had to have it. I’ve worked with persons with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and persons with stutters and tics similar to those of Tourette’s, so I couldn’t wait to delve into Ethan and Carter’s story. And Loveless’s words and Kelly’s performance made this an audiobook I know I will listen to again and again. I’m actually writing this review after listening to the audiobook for a second time, six months after the first. I wanted to experience Ethan and Carter’s story again because Loveless is releasing a young adult version of the novel entitled Ethan later this month.

Ethan, Who Loved Carter is an absolutely beautiful tale of acceptance – of one’s self and of others. Because of his stutters and tics, Carter is often underestimated by those around him who don’t know him. Sadly, this is an all too real occurrence, people assuming that because an individual has a disorder that impedes their ability to communicate, that they are not intelligent. Even knowing this, Carter’s initial interaction with Ethan is tinged with similar misjudgment because Carter assumes that whatever is “wrong” with Ethan will make him easier to talk to; and while Carter is able to stop stuttering while talking to Ethan, it only lasts long enough for Carter to stick his foot in his mouth. Despite his tendency to avoid stressful situations, Carter forces himself to go to Ethan’s house next door and apologize for what he said. Thus begins the journey of two men becoming friends, learning to enjoy one another’s company, learning to care about one another and each wanting to take care of other, and eventually becoming more once Carter admits to himself that he wants to be more than just friends with Ethan – something Ethan has wanted from the very beginning.

One of the many things I love about Ethan is how he sees Carter’s tics as music and is able to communicate his enjoyment of Carter’s “music” in such a way that Carter takes pleasure in Ethan’s joy. I also found Ethan’s capacity to love and to forgive to be beyond heartwarming. It’s far too easy to focus on the negative and see what’s missing in a person after they’ve experienced a TBI, but Ethan reminds us that we need to look at the entire person because while Ethan may not have had the chance to become the person he was on his way to being, his life is still rich – full of friends, family, happiness, and love. Ethan’s family plays a pivotal role in the novel as they are a big part in his life. I really liked how Loveless was able to show the love and support of the family, while adding the realism of the frustration and occasional resentment siblings may experience. Ethan’s family is not portrayed as being perfect and I love the author for that because it not only adds to the realism of the story, but keeps other caregivers from feeling guilty for not living up to fictional characters. And their easy acceptance of Carter into Ethan’s life made me happier than I can express for so many reasons. Having just finished the audiobook, with Carter’s wish for a teen-aged Ethan to have been in his life fresh on my mind, I cannot wait to crack open Ethan.

I reviewed my personal copy of this audiobook for Wicked Reads.

I have to say this has become one of my favorite books. I love this author's writing style and narrative.
Ethan and Carter are made for each other ... the friendship and love is beautiful ....

This is one of the sweetest books I've ever read. I laughed, I cried and I even learned about two different conditions that I really had nothing but the basic information on beforehand. Ethan was such a breath of fresh air, just breezing in to make life so much better. Carter was such a great match for him. The way they both looked out for and took care of each other is exactly what I like to read in my romance books.