savvylit's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
2.0
The good: relatively well written and empathetic towards very specific new adult feelings of anxiety and depression.
The bad: I found the book boring and naive. Mostly because I am certainly not the target audience at all. To begin, the initial trio of girls obsessed with death were full of intrigue. But Claire left the other "death girls" behind so quickly. Additionally, I didn't realize quite how young this entire book would feel. Wolitzer was twenty-one when she published Sleepwalking and it shows. I think I might have enjoyed this when I was somewhere around that same age. At 32, though, Sleepwalking just seemed like a shallow story striving too hard for meaning. I've read much better debuts by young authors.
The bad: I found the book boring and naive. Mostly because I am certainly not the target audience at all. To begin, the initial trio of girls obsessed with death were full of intrigue. But Claire left the other "death girls" behind so quickly. Additionally, I didn't realize quite how young this entire book would feel. Wolitzer was twenty-one when she published Sleepwalking and it shows. I think I might have enjoyed this when I was somewhere around that same age. At 32, though, Sleepwalking just seemed like a shallow story striving too hard for meaning. I've read much better debuts by young authors.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Grief
ottiedottie's review against another edition
2.0
HMmmm. 2.5?
Well the way this book most decidedly romanticized mental illness, suicide and obsession with death frankly did not sit all that well with me. It felt like a harmful mindset that 13 year old me would be immersed in. And I would've have loved if it somehow deconstructed it rather than played that straight? I didn't really know how to feel about that.
And I didn't really get the juicy dark academia vibes I came here for. Although I did find the author's introduction to the book interesting where she talked about what the perceived interests of these college aged characters came to be in the YA scene lately-stereotypical partying/ drugs/ hooking up- and so I guess in that way this was a breath of fresh air.
But the reason I couldn't put it down is because romanticised as they were, I could find so many little nuggets of truth within them in terms of thought patterns that almost seem like they could've sprung from my own mind back then.
I also found the writing light and easy with some fun little extended metaphors sprinkled in.
Well the way this book most decidedly romanticized mental illness, suicide and obsession with death frankly did not sit all that well with me. It felt like a harmful mindset that 13 year old me would be immersed in. And I would've have loved if it somehow deconstructed it rather than played that straight? I didn't really know how to feel about that.
And I didn't really get the juicy dark academia vibes I came here for. Although I did find the author's introduction to the book interesting where she talked about what the perceived interests of these college aged characters came to be in the YA scene lately-stereotypical partying/ drugs/ hooking up- and so I guess in that way this was a breath of fresh air.
But the reason I couldn't put it down is because romanticised as they were, I could find so many little nuggets of truth within them in terms of thought patterns that almost seem like they could've sprung from my own mind back then.
I also found the writing light and easy with some fun little extended metaphors sprinkled in.
whatwordsdidnttouch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
emmaroseup's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
i think ray ascher would benefit from getting a canine bestie
fortunesdear's review against another edition
DNF at 41% (Page 93)
*2 stars for what I did read. Just not for me.
May finish in the future but currently have no interest in doing so. I got sucked in by a gorgeous cover (1984 Avon Flare Paperback) and a great review by a favorite booktuber. I started reading it even though I usually never enjoy books when they deal with grief in a non-fantasy setting.
*2 stars for what I did read. Just not for me.
May finish in the future but currently have no interest in doing so. I got sucked in by a gorgeous cover (1984 Avon Flare Paperback) and a great review by a favorite booktuber. I started reading it even though I usually never enjoy books when they deal with grief in a non-fantasy setting.
annakillilea's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
josefinem's review against another edition
5.0
this feels like a book i won't be able to let go of for a long time to come