scubasarah's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Had a tear at the end 😌
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Drug use
bookerbride's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I really wanted to like this book, but I guess it wasn't for me. I was into the premise of finding your 5, of questioning who (still) matters.
The build-up took up too much of the book and the end felt rushed.
Plus, I'm willing to pay extra to get quotation marks.
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I thought that Freckles and Rooster had a great thing going of giving each other advice and after the hurt it would have been nice to explore how they make each other better.
One really weird character was Pops. Let's ignore the questionworthy relationship/encounter with his student. But what was up with him hearing mice, neglecting himself after being called out by a woman who wasn't into his advances? And all of a sudden, he's back to normal?! This didn't make sense to me.
The build-up took up too much of the book and the end felt rushed.
Plus, I'm willing to pay extra to get quotation marks.
Â
Spoiler
I thought that Freckles and Rooster had a great thing going of giving each other advice and after the hurt it would have been nice to explore how they make each other better.
One really weird character was Pops. Let's ignore the questionworthy relationship/encounter with his student. But what was up with him hearing mice, neglecting himself after being called out by a woman who wasn't into his advances? And all of a sudden, he's back to normal?! This didn't make sense to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Drug use, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Self harm, and Sexual content
Moderate: Pregnancy, Blood, and Infidelity
honeyreads1066's review
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
2.75
First off, Cecilia Ahren creates such a unique narrative voice here that I felt like I knew Allegra myself.
This book is about a girl named Allegra, a parking warden who loves to Malahide leaving her home and eccentric father behind. After a stranger tells her that you're the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, she goes into a tailspin reevaluating her life and relationships.
This book is ultimately about friendships, loneliness and human connection.Â
My favourite thing about this book was the narrative voice, it was original and unusual pulling you into the story with Allegra. The only problem I had with this is that I didn't like her. I'm not sure whether I was supposed to but aside from a select 3 characters I didn't find any of them likeable and thus didn't feel that much when they didn't succeed.
The story itself is complex with a lot of events that are seemingly pretty unconnected. While I did enjoy these little events they were far and few up until 70% in the book. It got to the point where I cared very little about what was going on outside these 3 characters I enjoyed seeing.Â
I did like the ending, I feel like although not uplifting in the way you expect it does make you look at yourself and now I'm asking who I'm the average of.
This book is about a girl named Allegra, a parking warden who loves to Malahide leaving her home and eccentric father behind. After a stranger tells her that you're the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with, she goes into a tailspin reevaluating her life and relationships.
This book is ultimately about friendships, loneliness and human connection.Â
My favourite thing about this book was the narrative voice, it was original and unusual pulling you into the story with Allegra. The only problem I had with this is that I didn't like her. I'm not sure whether I was supposed to but aside from a select 3 characters I didn't find any of them likeable and thus didn't feel that much when they didn't succeed.
The story itself is complex with a lot of events that are seemingly pretty unconnected. While I did enjoy these little events they were far and few up until 70% in the book. It got to the point where I cared very little about what was going on outside these 3 characters I enjoyed seeing.Â
I did like the ending, I feel like although not uplifting in the way you expect it does make you look at yourself and now I'm asking who I'm the average of.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Self harm and Sexual content
Minor: Pedophilia
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