The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
cooper_michael's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5 Stars*
This book was wild. I mean jumping through stories, epic musical numbers, weird out of place fight scenes. It was crazy... yet I thoroughly enjoyed the plot. It was humors and exciting. The writing may not have been perfect and the characters were annoying, but sometimes you just need that cheesy YA book in your life!
This book was wild. I mean jumping through stories, epic musical numbers, weird out of place fight scenes. It was crazy... yet I thoroughly enjoyed the plot. It was humors and exciting. The writing may not have been perfect and the characters were annoying, but sometimes you just need that cheesy YA book in your life!
annaleloe's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
wrenlee's review against another edition
2.0
I made a mistake when I read the reviews for this book. After having finished it, though, I can see why people might give it 1-2 stars. Josie is whiny but in a way most teenagers are. I really enjoyed the hopping into books thing, even if I think she should have had less control over it.
I really admired her character development even if it didn’t make much sense. What got her to change exactly? And the supernatural elements kind of came out of left field.
And the ending? Well, I’m not sure what the book is trying to say. It’s great that she’s open to new opportunities, but why bring in Justin? Is the moral of the story about boys? I’m so confused!
I really admired her character development even if it didn’t make much sense. What got her to change exactly? And the supernatural elements kind of came out of left field.
And the ending? Well, I’m not sure what the book is trying to say. It’s great that she’s open to new opportunities, but why bring in Justin? Is the moral of the story about boys? I’m so confused!
heather425's review against another edition
3.0
Josie Pie was kind of a big deal in high school. She actually tells people this several times in the book. At the beginning of her senior year her drama teacher convinces her that she's so good she should leave school to audition for Broadway. So, at seventeen Josie packs off to NYC to pursue her dreams. And, not surprising to any adult, that doesn't work out like she thinks it will. She goes from a big fish in a little pond to a very tiny fish in the ocean. Not wanting to admit defeat she stays in NYC and eventually becomes a nanny for a family that ends up moving to Montana. In Montana we see Josie basically raising the little girl while licking her wounds from her failures. Then one day the little girl pulls Josie into a bookstore and Josie rediscovers her love of books. Only now instead of just enjoying the stories she is literally pulled into them.
I liked the idea of a reader being pulled into the pages of the book they are reading. However, this was clunky at times. Part of what didn't work for me was she was envisioning the characters in the books as people she knew in real life. Which makes sense, but then the author would alternately refer to them as the in real life name and the book character name. It made things a bit confusing. I could see this working on the screen, but in a book it just felt hard to follow.
Josie does grow as a character and that was needed. She starts off as someone who is stuck in their glory days of high school and by the end she sees that she still has a lot of learning to do. I wish we had more in depth of her relationship with Nina. That would have been more interesting to see the past, present, and future of than her relationship with Justin. I could have used less of the crazy plot lines of the books Josie read and more of how she grew as a person within her real life relationships.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!
I liked the idea of a reader being pulled into the pages of the book they are reading. However, this was clunky at times. Part of what didn't work for me was she was envisioning the characters in the books as people she knew in real life. Which makes sense, but then the author would alternately refer to them as the in real life name and the book character name. It made things a bit confusing. I could see this working on the screen, but in a book it just felt hard to follow.
Josie does grow as a character and that was needed. She starts off as someone who is stuck in their glory days of high school and by the end she sees that she still has a lot of learning to do. I wish we had more in depth of her relationship with Nina. That would have been more interesting to see the past, present, and future of than her relationship with Justin. I could have used less of the crazy plot lines of the books Josie read and more of how she grew as a person within her real life relationships.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!
lattes_lipstick_literature's review against another edition
2.0
So, I really wanted to love this, a book about getting sucked into stories, and getting to live it out seems so fun and exciting but somewhere along the way it feel completely flat. First of all, Josie just gave me anxiety and I could not for the life of me like her. Yes, she does go through some personal growth, but its towards the end of the book. So, it felt like too little too late. Secondly, the parts where she is in the book just seemed to repeat, just written a little differently depending on the genre.
Lastly, the romance was just weird, she spends the entire book obsessing over the emotional and physical distance between her boyfriend, Justin only for it to wrap up neatly in one chapter. I feel like if this was a shorter story it would have been pretty great, but it just kinda dragged on and the whole muses thing kinda felt weird and out of place. There were some fun parts, like her singing Spice Girls at Zomboids. Overall, this just felt a little short of what I was hoping for.
*A Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this for an honest and unbiased review*
Lastly, the romance was just weird, she spends the entire book obsessing over the emotional and physical distance between her boyfriend, Justin only for it to wrap up neatly in one chapter. I feel like if this was a shorter story it would have been pretty great, but it just kinda dragged on and the whole muses thing kinda felt weird and out of place. There were some fun parts, like her singing Spice Girls at Zomboids. Overall, this just felt a little short of what I was hoping for.
*A Thank you to Netgalley for allowing me to read this for an honest and unbiased review*
senexosaweffers's review against another edition
4.0
I don’t know why this is getting such poor reviews. I can only guess that this is one of those rare occasions in which the audiobook is better than the book itself.
I found Kind of a Big Deal to be funny and unexpected. I genuinely giggled at a few parts, and it was easy to picture the scenes in my mind. Sure, things did start to slow down and get really strange toward the end, but it’s clear to me that this was Hale’s intention before tying up loose ends.
The writing did not feel stilted on audio (on 1.25x speed—how I listen to all audiobooks), and the humor shined through. I haven’t read anything like this in a long time, and I appreciate Hale’s imagination.
I found Kind of a Big Deal to be funny and unexpected. I genuinely giggled at a few parts, and it was easy to picture the scenes in my mind. Sure, things did start to slow down and get really strange toward the end, but it’s clear to me that this was Hale’s intention before tying up loose ends.
The writing did not feel stilted on audio (on 1.25x speed—how I listen to all audiobooks), and the humor shined through. I haven’t read anything like this in a long time, and I appreciate Hale’s imagination.
tishreads's review against another edition
2.0
This book wasn’t the worst way to spend an afternoon, but it’s not something I’m going to add to our collection. I have been a fan of Shannon Hale’s other books, but this one reads like something I would have written with my friends in high school. It’s very cliche and many of the characters are caricatures of themselves. The best relationship in the whole book is Josie and Mia’s. So as long as you know what you’re getting into, this is a quick and lighthearted read, but don’t expect any revelations or especially strong writing.
madds939's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0