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sammysreadingnook's review against another edition
4.0
Still loving the CP rep in this so, so much even though it's only a side-character
lauralynnwalsh's review against another edition
4.0
I read this one on my iPhone en route to Australia. I really dislike reading on the phone, but in spite of that, I nearly read the book straight through - loooong flights tend to allow things like that.
Kostakis has the ability to write his way into both your heart and your mind. A very thoughtful and emotional read.
Kostakis has the ability to write his way into both your heart and your mind. A very thoughtful and emotional read.
chl037's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful coming of age book, I read this book well over 5 years ago and I still think about how well it portrayed being a teenager and loving your family but needing to grow.
Highly recommend
Highly recommend
weirdfi's review against another edition
5.0
I haven't read a book that's made me laugh and cry so much in a while.
It surprised me, hurt me and warmed me all at the same time.
Now I really want to try moussaka, anyone want to make it for me?
It surprised me, hurt me and warmed me all at the same time.
Now I really want to try moussaka, anyone want to make it for me?
valentina97's review against another edition
3.0
I don't think a book as short as this one has ever made me laugh as well as cry so much. As far as young adult books go, this is a story more real than any other I have read. The characters are normal people who we may recognise as people we know but the relationships in The First Third are unlike any I have read about before. It's real with just the right amount of quirky.
The First Third is about a typical Greek/Australian family. For any wog reading this book, it is highly relatable. I found myself laughing time and time again at things which my own family do similar to Bill's family. But no matter what nationality you are, chances are you will be able to see some aspect of your life in Bill's life. At the end of the day, a family is a family as crazy as they may be. And that is exactly what this book is about more than anything else. Family. And the complexes of sibling relationships, the perils of having a single parent and the food that comes with grandparents. And keeps coming.
If I didn't appreciate my family before (I did) I do now (even more so). I would love to see more books by authors who are writing purely about families and their stories, like The First Third.
The last two pages of the book (in particular) are genius. Within 60 seconds the mood changes entirely giving the story its lasting effect and making it unlike any other I have read.
The First Third is about a typical Greek/Australian family. For any wog reading this book, it is highly relatable. I found myself laughing time and time again at things which my own family do similar to Bill's family. But no matter what nationality you are, chances are you will be able to see some aspect of your life in Bill's life. At the end of the day, a family is a family as crazy as they may be. And that is exactly what this book is about more than anything else. Family. And the complexes of sibling relationships, the perils of having a single parent and the food that comes with grandparents. And keeps coming.
If I didn't appreciate my family before (I did) I do now (even more so). I would love to see more books by authors who are writing purely about families and their stories, like The First Third.
The last two pages of the book (in particular) are genius. Within 60 seconds the mood changes entirely giving the story its lasting effect and making it unlike any other I have read.
bern_loves's review against another edition
5.0
This review was originally posted on The Bumbling Bookworm
The First Third is a heartfelt novel about the importance of family and being true to yourself. Other than Looking for Alibrandi, I can’t remember reading a book that spoke to my soul the way The First Third did, so much so that I sobbed when I finished reading it and didn’t stop for a good 5 minutes. All I can say is that I’m glad I was in bed because I reckon I would’ve scared my parents had they seen my reaction!
The First Third follows Bill, a Greek-Australian high-schooler doing his HSC and living with this family in Sydney. His Yiayia* becomes sick, she gives Bill her bucket list and it’s his job to fix the family. He has to find a husband for his mum, find a girlfriend for his {gay} older brother Simon so he’ll come back to Sydney from Brisbane, and somehow make his younger brother Peter like him again. Piece of cake, huh? Yeah right!
My favourite part of this book, without a doubt, has to be every scene with Yiayia Filyo. My background is Italian, so I had a Nonna* rather than a Yiayia, but this story was relatable regardless. Everything she did reminded me in some way of my Nonna – from offering people food at any time or place, to her meddling, not to mention her attitude in the lead up to her operation. It was everything really, right down to her mannerisms. Even her pronunciation of the word sheets! {FYI, my Nonna pronounced it ‘shits’ like Yiayia, and also pronounced both peas and peace as ‘piss’} Of course, Yiayia’s storyline hit me like a ton of bricks and had me sobbing nonstop when I reached the end of the book. I don’t cry all that easily when reading a book, so this reaction was nothing short of extreme.
This is a time in my life that I keep buried deep down, for good reason – I wouldn’t be functioning adult if I continued to dwell on the past. I’ve read books over the years that dealt with parent/grandparent death in similar circumstances, but none affected me the way this did. When reading The First Third, I felt like Kostakis had written my story. This is no mean feat, considering I’m not male, Greek, from a single parent family, or a high-schooler. That’s the beauty of the writing – it’s THAT relatable, even for an almost 28-year-old, Italo-Australian female.
Contrary to what I may have led you to believe, this book is not all about Yiayia Filyo. There are a whole host of other characters, all incredibly important in helping Bill through this transition in his life. I don’t quite know how to describe it, but Kostakis has written these characters from Bill’s perspective in such a manner that their diversities don’t seem like such a big deal. For example, you’ve got Sticks, Bill’s best mate with cerebral palsy who happens to be gay. Bill’s brother Simon is also gay, and it’s all completely understated. This book doesn’t scream “look at me, I’m diverse!” It just IS diverse, reflecting the society we all inhabit. As a multi-cultural Australian with a disability myself, it was refreshing to read about diversity in an entirely natural way, like it’s the norm {which it should be}. While it may be the norm in real life, whether or not people are willing to accept it as such, it’s sadly not the case in a lot of literature. In The First Third, Kostakis succeeds in bringing diversity to the forefront in a natural manner without descending into tokenism.
This book celebrates many things – family, friendship, diversity. Quintessentially Aussie, for a funny, heartfelt, diverse and genuine read, pick up The First Third. You probably won’t cry as much as I did (and I really hope you don’t, it was like having a hangover the next morning), but I guarantee you’ll be moved nonetheless.
Yiayia = grandmother in Greek
Nonna = grandmother in Italian
The First Third is a heartfelt novel about the importance of family and being true to yourself. Other than Looking for Alibrandi, I can’t remember reading a book that spoke to my soul the way The First Third did, so much so that I sobbed when I finished reading it and didn’t stop for a good 5 minutes. All I can say is that I’m glad I was in bed because I reckon I would’ve scared my parents had they seen my reaction!
The First Third follows Bill, a Greek-Australian high-schooler doing his HSC and living with this family in Sydney. His Yiayia* becomes sick, she gives Bill her bucket list and it’s his job to fix the family. He has to find a husband for his mum, find a girlfriend for his {gay} older brother Simon so he’ll come back to Sydney from Brisbane, and somehow make his younger brother Peter like him again. Piece of cake, huh? Yeah right!
My favourite part of this book, without a doubt, has to be every scene with Yiayia Filyo. My background is Italian, so I had a Nonna* rather than a Yiayia, but this story was relatable regardless. Everything she did reminded me in some way of my Nonna – from offering people food at any time or place, to her meddling, not to mention her attitude in the lead up to her operation. It was everything really, right down to her mannerisms. Even her pronunciation of the word sheets! {FYI, my Nonna pronounced it ‘shits’ like Yiayia, and also pronounced both peas and peace as ‘piss’} Of course, Yiayia’s storyline hit me like a ton of bricks and had me sobbing nonstop when I reached the end of the book. I don’t cry all that easily when reading a book, so this reaction was nothing short of extreme.
Spoiler
Like Yiayia, my Nonna was my last grandparent. She was the only grandparent I ever knew, and I was incredibly close to her. Her passing was in quite similar circumstances to Yiayia’s, and while I can now say that I’m glad her suffering wasn’t prolonged, at the time I was completely devastated. When reading about Yiayia’s passing it tapped into those same emotions for me. Like Yiayia holding on waiting for Simon to come home, it reminded me of my Nonna holding on until I got home from Melbourne. That last scene where they make moussaka took me back to all the food we didn’t know how to make after my Nonna left us, and all our trial and error! You think they’re going to be around forever, but then all of a sudden there’s no time left and no-one way to pass on the traditions. Kostakis captured the essence of this brilliantly.This is a time in my life that I keep buried deep down, for good reason – I wouldn’t be functioning adult if I continued to dwell on the past. I’ve read books over the years that dealt with parent/grandparent death in similar circumstances, but none affected me the way this did. When reading The First Third, I felt like Kostakis had written my story. This is no mean feat, considering I’m not male, Greek, from a single parent family, or a high-schooler. That’s the beauty of the writing – it’s THAT relatable, even for an almost 28-year-old, Italo-Australian female.
Contrary to what I may have led you to believe, this book is not all about Yiayia Filyo. There are a whole host of other characters, all incredibly important in helping Bill through this transition in his life. I don’t quite know how to describe it, but Kostakis has written these characters from Bill’s perspective in such a manner that their diversities don’t seem like such a big deal. For example, you’ve got Sticks, Bill’s best mate with cerebral palsy who happens to be gay. Bill’s brother Simon is also gay, and it’s all completely understated. This book doesn’t scream “look at me, I’m diverse!” It just IS diverse, reflecting the society we all inhabit. As a multi-cultural Australian with a disability myself, it was refreshing to read about diversity in an entirely natural way, like it’s the norm {which it should be}. While it may be the norm in real life, whether or not people are willing to accept it as such, it’s sadly not the case in a lot of literature. In The First Third, Kostakis succeeds in bringing diversity to the forefront in a natural manner without descending into tokenism.
This book celebrates many things – family, friendship, diversity. Quintessentially Aussie, for a funny, heartfelt, diverse and genuine read, pick up The First Third. You probably won’t cry as much as I did (and I really hope you don’t, it was like having a hangover the next morning), but I guarantee you’ll be moved nonetheless.
Yiayia = grandmother in Greek
Nonna = grandmother in Italian
melbsreads's review against another edition
4.0
Trigger warnings:
I honestly don't know why it took me so long to get around to reading this because I've read Will Kostakis' stuff before and really enjoyed it. And yet it took me literal years to pick this up.
That being said, I fell instantly into this story, which is about a teenage boy whose grandmother ends up in hospital and gives him her bucket list for him to complete, all of which are things about bringing his family back together. It's a surprisingly funny story a lot of the time, and I loved all of the characters and the complexity of the family relationships.
It's also a book that gave me a ton of Feelings With a Capital F and I may have cried a little bit at the end. If you haven't read it, please do.
Spoiler
death of a grandparentI honestly don't know why it took me so long to get around to reading this because I've read Will Kostakis' stuff before and really enjoyed it. And yet it took me literal years to pick this up.
That being said, I fell instantly into this story, which is about a teenage boy whose grandmother ends up in hospital and gives him her bucket list for him to complete, all of which are things about bringing his family back together. It's a surprisingly funny story a lot of the time, and I loved all of the characters and the complexity of the family relationships.
It's also a book that gave me a ton of Feelings With a Capital F and I may have cried a little bit at the end. If you haven't read it, please do.
mishlist's review against another edition
3.0
I love a well written story of the immigrant experience, and 'The First Third' is a lovely example. It alternates between chance meetings and the dizzying tornado that is navigating family life, while drawing on the difficulties of death, tradition and culture, all bundled up in the quest to keep family together.
While the characters are a little too simple for me to really connect with - I never felt as if I knew who Billy was inside, away from the surface of the tricky situations he gets himself in (a comedian, a good friend, very family oriented) - I think the whole narrative and some of the more serious questions of growing up are handled really maturely by Kostakis. Some of the plot lines aren't really resolved , which sort of added to an abrupt finish, such as why Peter has felt like Bill is taking things away from him? Sweet, funny and ultimately a very hopeful novel, it's a relatable read for teens.
While the characters are a little too simple for me to really connect with - I never felt as if I knew who Billy was inside, away from the surface of the tricky situations he gets himself in (a comedian, a good friend, very family oriented) - I think the whole narrative and some of the more serious questions of growing up are handled really maturely by Kostakis. Some of the plot lines aren't really resolved , which sort of added to an abrupt finish, such as why Peter has felt like Bill is taking things away from him? Sweet, funny and ultimately a very hopeful novel, it's a relatable read for teens.
anneweaver9's review against another edition
4.0
Greek growing up story about family set in Australia.