duchessrin's review against another edition
3.0
• 2.5 stars •
I'm gonna be very frank: I almost died from boredom because of this story.
Benjamin Nefer is that guy in school. He thinks he's God's gift to the female kind, he's a jock, he breaks hearts. He's the stereotype of what a popular guy is. But underneath that façade, he's an unfeeling bastard (ha!) and actually suffers physical abuse from his dad. He claims not to not feel anything after what he'd been through.
Enter new girl Charlie Austin. She doesn't fall with Benjamin's charms and whatnot but somehow they formed a friendship that both of them never expected.
The progress of the story was agonizingly slow. Nothing much happens until halfway of the story. Noting the slow pace, I expected a build-up to happen but the climax felt insufficient for me. The ending felt too abrupt too.
Also, even if the characters were close to my age, I couldn't connect with them. They were also very confusing.
My biggest issue here was Benjamin. He was one of those "tell but don't show" characters. He claimed to not feel anything and he once said that he couldn't care so he couldn't love or something along those lines. So of course I automatically assume that he would be indifferent with almost everything because he couldn't feel, right? He couldn't love, hate, or care at all. But no. I wasn't given that. He cared about Charlie's mom, he hated his mother, he liked treating girls he dated like doormats. I'm not saying that he shouldn't do those things save the latter but seriously, I needed consistency. Those contradictions made him a very unstable character for me.
Also, he was an enabler. Up until now, I still didn't understand why he allowed his father to beat him up almost every day. He could easily defeat him if he wanted to. For Pete's sake, he was a quarterback and a boxer. Playing those sports, surely he realized that size wasn't everything when it came to fighting. Add to that, his father was always drunk when he beat him up so what the fuck was up with that?
With Charlie, well, there were a lot of times when I said, "I told you so." Her friends kept on telling her not to fall for Benjamin's charms and she kept on saying that she wouldn't. The next thing they knew, she told them that she was Benjamin's girlfriend. And she still didn't expect that he would break her heart, after hearing her friend's story? Hahaha.
Overall, I was extremely disappointed. When I read the blurb, I expected something new because it had all of the ingredients for an NA book. (This is YA, by the way.)
He's Benjamin, Benjamin Nefer, the guy all of my friends warned me about. The guy who, on my first day here, tried to ensnare me. Who would use me and dump me at moment's notice.
I'm gonna be very frank: I almost died from boredom because of this story.
Benjamin Nefer is that guy in school. He thinks he's God's gift to the female kind, he's a jock, he breaks hearts. He's the stereotype of what a popular guy is. But underneath that façade, he's an unfeeling bastard (ha!) and actually suffers physical abuse from his dad. He claims not to not feel anything after what he'd been through.
Enter new girl Charlie Austin. She doesn't fall with Benjamin's charms and whatnot but somehow they formed a friendship that both of them never expected.
The progress of the story was agonizingly slow. Nothing much happens until halfway of the story. Noting the slow pace, I expected a build-up to happen but the climax felt insufficient for me. The ending felt too abrupt too.
Also, even if the characters were close to my age, I couldn't connect with them. They were also very confusing.
My biggest issue here was Benjamin. He was one of those "tell but don't show" characters. He claimed to not feel anything and he once said that he couldn't care so he couldn't love or something along those lines. So of course I automatically assume that he would be indifferent with almost everything because he couldn't feel, right? He couldn't love, hate, or care at all. But no. I wasn't given that. He cared about Charlie's mom, he hated his mother, he liked treating girls he dated like doormats. I'm not saying that he shouldn't do those things save the latter but seriously, I needed consistency. Those contradictions made him a very unstable character for me.
Also, he was an enabler. Up until now, I still didn't understand why he allowed his father to beat him up almost every day. He could easily defeat him if he wanted to. For Pete's sake, he was a quarterback and a boxer. Playing those sports, surely he realized that size wasn't everything when it came to fighting. Add to that, his father was always drunk when he beat him up so what the fuck was up with that?
With Charlie, well, there were a lot of times when I said, "I told you so." Her friends kept on telling her not to fall for Benjamin's charms and she kept on saying that she wouldn't. The next thing they knew, she told them that she was Benjamin's girlfriend. And she still didn't expect that he would break her heart, after hearing her friend's story? Hahaha.
Overall, I was extremely disappointed. When I read the blurb, I expected something new because it had all of the ingredients for an NA book. (This is YA, by the way.)
karenfausto8's review against another edition
4.0
Me sacudió este libro. Esta genial para pasar el rato pero algo de lo que te das cuenta, es que las escenas no son seguidas. Si no de forma alternativa. Tiene un punto en el que está rodeada todo el libro, y los personajes son como cualquier otro.
Charlotte Austin, "Charlie", es una chica que se va con su mamá a la casa de su tía a vivir después de morir su abuela. Además de una nueva casa, nuevo lugar, también una nueva escuela. Ahí conoce al chico más popular de la escuela, Benjamín Nefer.
Es la única chica que no quiere salir con él y la única que se convierte en su verdadera amiga.
Benjamín, es el chico más popular de la escuela. También el mariscal de fútbol e imán de chicas.
Solo que él tiene una regla: salir en dos citas y después adiós.
Hasta que conoce a la chica nueva, que no está impresionada por él y no cae en sus encantos.
Cada personaje, como por parte de Benjamín y de Charlie, tiene sus propios problemas y secretos. Dan como vueltas y vueltas para tratar por mantenerlos. Solo que sentí que la historia no era constante con las escenas, se hablaba de una cosa y luego era de otra.
Para ser el segundo libro de esta autora, está bien, pero siento que los dos me dejaron esperando que la forma en que se desarrolla toda la trama fuera más consecutiva, así la oportunidad de hacerlo mejor.
Charlotte Austin, "Charlie", es una chica que se va con su mamá a la casa de su tía a vivir después de morir su abuela. Además de una nueva casa, nuevo lugar, también una nueva escuela. Ahí conoce al chico más popular de la escuela, Benjamín Nefer.
Es la única chica que no quiere salir con él y la única que se convierte en su verdadera amiga.
Benjamín, es el chico más popular de la escuela. También el mariscal de fútbol e imán de chicas.
Solo que él tiene una regla: salir en dos citas y después adiós.
Hasta que conoce a la chica nueva, que no está impresionada por él y no cae en sus encantos.
Cada personaje, como por parte de Benjamín y de Charlie, tiene sus propios problemas y secretos. Dan como vueltas y vueltas para tratar por mantenerlos. Solo que sentí que la historia no era constante con las escenas, se hablaba de una cosa y luego era de otra.
Para ser el segundo libro de esta autora, está bien, pero siento que los dos me dejaron esperando que la forma en que se desarrolla toda la trama fuera más consecutiva, así la oportunidad de hacerlo mejor.
danicapage's review against another edition
4.0
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Disclaimers: I received an e-galley of this novel from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not obligated to write a good review nor did I receive any compensation for writing this review.
The Characters: Benjamin was a character that surprisingly I could relate to. He was stupid and totally used girls and was kind of an idiot, but all in a justifiable way. He had told himself he needed to be past feeling to survive and so that's what he did. He didn't let himself feel the pain of being abandoned, the pain of what his dad did, or the pain he inflicted on others. He just survived. Until he finally got rejected by Charlie and became her friend.
Charlie was a character that I could also relate to. Like Benjamin she faced hard challenges. She also was stupid at times, but in an understandable way. She was intriguing and I liked her as a character.
The secondary characters could maybe have been more developed, but all things considered, they were fairly well-developed.
My Overall Thoughts/Impressions: I really enjoyed the novel. I thought that certain aspects could have been more developed and I thought the ending could have been provided more closure. However, I enjoyed the writing and the characters.
The book proved to be both intriguing and original. This is a book that I would definitely recommend for fans of young adult novels that explore hard family issues that aren't talking about rape or sexual abuse. I like those novels, but every now and then it's nice to read one that's a little different.
It was a good novel and I will definitely read more by the author.
So why 4 stars? It was good, but I felt like it could have provided more closure. It wasn't quite good enough to be a 5.
Warnings/Side-notes: None. This novel is quite clean.
The Wrap-up: An enjoyable read about self-discovery and first love that is thoroughly enjoyable.
Love,
Danica Page
Disclaimers: I received an e-galley of this novel from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion. I was not obligated to write a good review nor did I receive any compensation for writing this review.
The Characters: Benjamin was a character that surprisingly I could relate to. He was stupid and totally used girls and was kind of an idiot, but all in a justifiable way. He had told himself he needed to be past feeling to survive and so that's what he did. He didn't let himself feel the pain of being abandoned, the pain of what his dad did, or the pain he inflicted on others. He just survived. Until he finally got rejected by Charlie and became her friend.
Charlie was a character that I could also relate to. Like Benjamin she faced hard challenges. She also was stupid at times, but in an understandable way. She was intriguing and I liked her as a character.
The secondary characters could maybe have been more developed, but all things considered, they were fairly well-developed.
My Overall Thoughts/Impressions: I really enjoyed the novel. I thought that certain aspects could have been more developed and I thought the ending could have been provided more closure. However, I enjoyed the writing and the characters.
The book proved to be both intriguing and original. This is a book that I would definitely recommend for fans of young adult novels that explore hard family issues that aren't talking about rape or sexual abuse. I like those novels, but every now and then it's nice to read one that's a little different.
It was a good novel and I will definitely read more by the author.
So why 4 stars? It was good, but I felt like it could have provided more closure. It wasn't quite good enough to be a 5.
Warnings/Side-notes: None. This novel is quite clean.
The Wrap-up: An enjoyable read about self-discovery and first love that is thoroughly enjoyable.
Love,
Danica Page
juliaspence422's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this - love the mental health focus, great characters. Amazing YA read!
daisies8's review
4.0
Me sacudió este libro. Esta genial para pasar el rato pero algo de lo que te das cuenta, es que las escenas no son seguidas. Si no de forma alternativa. Tiene un punto en el que está rodeada todo el libro, y los personajes son como cualquier otro.
Charlotte Austin, "Charlie", es una chica que se va con su mamá a la casa de su tía a vivir después de morir su abuela. Además de una nueva casa, nuevo lugar, también una nueva escuela. Ahí conoce al chico más popular de la escuela, Benjamín Nefer.
Es la única chica que no quiere salir con él y la única que se convierte en su verdadera amiga.
Benjamín, es el chico más popular de la escuela. También el mariscal de fútbol e imán de chicas.
Solo que él tiene una regla: salir en dos citas y después adiós.
Hasta que conoce a la chica nueva, que no está impresionada por él y no cae en sus encantos.
Cada personaje, como por parte de Benjamín y de Charlie, tiene sus propios problemas y secretos. Dan como vueltas y vueltas para tratar por mantenerlos. Solo que sentí que la historia no era constante con las escenas, se hablaba de una cosa y luego era de otra.
Para ser el segundo libro de esta autora, está bien, pero siento que los dos me dejaron esperando que la forma en que se desarrolla toda la trama fuera más consecutiva, así la oportunidad de hacerlo mejor.
Charlotte Austin, "Charlie", es una chica que se va con su mamá a la casa de su tía a vivir después de morir su abuela. Además de una nueva casa, nuevo lugar, también una nueva escuela. Ahí conoce al chico más popular de la escuela, Benjamín Nefer.
Es la única chica que no quiere salir con él y la única que se convierte en su verdadera amiga.
Benjamín, es el chico más popular de la escuela. También el mariscal de fútbol e imán de chicas.
Solo que él tiene una regla: salir en dos citas y después adiós.
Hasta que conoce a la chica nueva, que no está impresionada por él y no cae en sus encantos.
Cada personaje, como por parte de Benjamín y de Charlie, tiene sus propios problemas y secretos. Dan como vueltas y vueltas para tratar por mantenerlos. Solo que sentí que la historia no era constante con las escenas, se hablaba de una cosa y luego era de otra.
Para ser el segundo libro de esta autora, está bien, pero siento que los dos me dejaron esperando que la forma en que se desarrolla toda la trama fuera más consecutiva, así la oportunidad de hacerlo mejor.
kerrikins's review against another edition
4.0
Yeah, I'm going to go ahead and give this 4.5 stars, because a;lsdkjfas, this book.
I'm sitting here at work and I actually teared up a little because this book was so sweet and heartwrenching, from start to finish.
Every once in awhile a book comes along that takes two flawed, so incredibly real characters and weaves a story about them that's emotional and amazing. This is one of those books, at least for me.
If you read the summary of the book, it actually tells you a lot about the plot, in a sense. But what it doesn't tell you is the slow, careful story that's held inside and the way it will take your heart and squeeze, making you feel protective over the characters, make you smile and laugh and maybe even cry a little. It's got a charming bad boy and a pretty girl with secrets, and backstories that will make your stomach clench and your heart turn over.
This isn't a story of insta-love and fatal attraction, etc. Oh, the first-look attraction is there, but it's not that shallow 'omg he makes my head spin' story, where characters go from meeting to 'so in love' overnight. It's so much more than that.
The two main characters are Charlie and Benjamin, each with their own burdens, hidden secrets and wounds that they're hiding from almost everyone. Neither of them have any intention of even becoming friends with each other, at first - Ben's hardened to the world and is looking for an easy conquest as usual, and Charlie doesn't have any time for that, with everything else going on in her life and having been warned about him by her friends.
That initial barrier between the two of them is what makes the progress from there all the more wonderful to read, to be honest. The friendship and building relationship between the two of them is important but there's other stuff that's going on as well, and that extra depth is really what takes the book to another level and makes it shine.
As the story unfolds, we switch back and forth between Charlie and Ben's point of view, getting inside their heads and seeing the conflict and emotional chaos that they're both dealing with. And that's really where my heart was squeezed, because both characters are so young, and they're both dealing with things that teenagers should never have to deal with - yet all too often, they do. Yet in spite of the burdens they're carrying, they do their best to continue on as normal, to hide their differences from the world, because what every teenager wants is pretty simple: to be normal. And I get that, I really do, because I remember how I felt in highschool myself and what it was like when I had my own crap going on at home, and a facade to put up at school. You present a face to the world and try not to let anyone see past, and sometimes not letting that crack is the most important thing in the world.
I think what I loved so much about this book was how real it seemed, in many ways. Charlie and Ben both think that each other's life is perfect, but the opposite is true - and in many ways, the one person who can understand them better than anyone else is the other person, as much as they try to hold each other at bay. Even as that proves increasingly futile, both of them are growing up and things are changing in their lives as they learn about themselves and each other, and start to heal from pain they've been carrying for most of their lives. They're intent on being friends, but slowly that blossoms into more - against their own best intentions, but it's for the best and anyone reading can determine that.
My one quibble would be when it comes to the ending, and in particular, Ben's story. I don't think that it was quite as well fleshed out as Charlie's, and was too abrupt for the depth of it throughout the book - I think it needed a lot more, and that's why I deducted the one star, in the end. It's a case of a too-quick climax, without the thoroughness and the breadth of emotion that had been put into the rest of the story, and it detracts from the impact, in my opinion. I also would have liked to see more from the cast of characters in the background - I wanted to know more about these people who are so important to Charlie and Ben, and I think it could have been done without taking away from the overall story. Again, just something that decreased my overall opinion of the book.
Overall, though, this was just a book that made me care a lot about the characters in the span of a few hundred pages, and left me smiling at the end.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm sitting here at work and I actually teared up a little because this book was so sweet and heartwrenching, from start to finish.
Every once in awhile a book comes along that takes two flawed, so incredibly real characters and weaves a story about them that's emotional and amazing. This is one of those books, at least for me.
If you read the summary of the book, it actually tells you a lot about the plot, in a sense. But what it doesn't tell you is the slow, careful story that's held inside and the way it will take your heart and squeeze, making you feel protective over the characters, make you smile and laugh and maybe even cry a little. It's got a charming bad boy and a pretty girl with secrets, and backstories that will make your stomach clench and your heart turn over.
This isn't a story of insta-love and fatal attraction, etc. Oh, the first-look attraction is there, but it's not that shallow 'omg he makes my head spin' story, where characters go from meeting to 'so in love' overnight. It's so much more than that.
The two main characters are Charlie and Benjamin, each with their own burdens, hidden secrets and wounds that they're hiding from almost everyone. Neither of them have any intention of even becoming friends with each other, at first - Ben's hardened to the world and is looking for an easy conquest as usual, and Charlie doesn't have any time for that, with everything else going on in her life and having been warned about him by her friends.
That initial barrier between the two of them is what makes the progress from there all the more wonderful to read, to be honest. The friendship and building relationship between the two of them is important but there's other stuff that's going on as well, and that extra depth is really what takes the book to another level and makes it shine.
As the story unfolds, we switch back and forth between Charlie and Ben's point of view, getting inside their heads and seeing the conflict and emotional chaos that they're both dealing with. And that's really where my heart was squeezed, because both characters are so young, and they're both dealing with things that teenagers should never have to deal with - yet all too often, they do. Yet in spite of the burdens they're carrying, they do their best to continue on as normal, to hide their differences from the world, because what every teenager wants is pretty simple: to be normal. And I get that, I really do, because I remember how I felt in highschool myself and what it was like when I had my own crap going on at home, and a facade to put up at school. You present a face to the world and try not to let anyone see past, and sometimes not letting that crack is the most important thing in the world.
I think what I loved so much about this book was how real it seemed, in many ways. Charlie and Ben both think that each other's life is perfect, but the opposite is true - and in many ways, the one person who can understand them better than anyone else is the other person, as much as they try to hold each other at bay. Even as that proves increasingly futile, both of them are growing up and things are changing in their lives as they learn about themselves and each other, and start to heal from pain they've been carrying for most of their lives. They're intent on being friends, but slowly that blossoms into more - against their own best intentions, but it's for the best and anyone reading can determine that.
My one quibble would be when it comes to the ending, and in particular, Ben's story. I don't think that it was quite as well fleshed out as Charlie's, and was too abrupt for the depth of it throughout the book - I think it needed a lot more, and that's why I deducted the one star, in the end. It's a case of a too-quick climax, without the thoroughness and the breadth of emotion that had been put into the rest of the story, and it detracts from the impact, in my opinion. I also would have liked to see more from the cast of characters in the background - I wanted to know more about these people who are so important to Charlie and Ben, and I think it could have been done without taking away from the overall story. Again, just something that decreased my overall opinion of the book.
Overall, though, this was just a book that made me care a lot about the characters in the span of a few hundred pages, and left me smiling at the end.
Disclosure: I received a copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
sammah's review against another edition
3.0
In some respects I found this book to be really different and refreshing. In other ways though it was pretty typical YA insta-romance type fare. Which isn't to say that it was bad, it wasn't, but sometimes books fail pretty hard where that sort of thing is concerned.
What I did like was the inclusion of Charlie's mother, and that entire backstory. It was so different and really got you in an emotional way. It's not a situation you see very often in YA lit, and I appreciate that so much. There was also Nefer's backstory and the situation with his father, which is ALSO something you don't see a whole lot of. When you have an abuse story line it very often revolves around a female character, so that was just very refreshing indeed.
The love story was just so-so, but the parts where they were just friends were where the characters shone the most. I loved all of that, and I wanted more. The ending was decent though, and I'm glad that the lines with their parents got more or less warapped up nicely.
What I did like was the inclusion of Charlie's mother, and that entire backstory. It was so different and really got you in an emotional way. It's not a situation you see very often in YA lit, and I appreciate that so much. There was also Nefer's backstory and the situation with his father, which is ALSO something you don't see a whole lot of. When you have an abuse story line it very often revolves around a female character, so that was just very refreshing indeed.
The love story was just so-so, but the parts where they were just friends were where the characters shone the most. I loved all of that, and I wanted more. The ending was decent though, and I'm glad that the lines with their parents got more or less warapped up nicely.
daisies8's review against another edition
4.0
Me sacudió este libro. Esta genial para pasar el rato pero algo de lo que te das cuenta, es que las escenas no son seguidas. Si no de forma alternativa. Tiene un punto en el que está rodeada todo el libro, y los personajes son como cualquier otro.
Charlotte Austin, "Charlie", es una chica que se va con su mamá a la casa de su tía a vivir después de morir su abuela. Además de una nueva casa, nuevo lugar, también una nueva escuela. Ahí conoce al chico más popular de la escuela, Benjamín Nefer.
Es la única chica que no quiere salir con él y la única que se convierte en su verdadera amiga.
Benjamín, es el chico más popular de la escuela. También el mariscal de fútbol e imán de chicas.
Solo que él tiene una regla: salir en dos citas y después adiós.
Hasta que conoce a la chica nueva, que no está impresionada por él y no cae en sus encantos.
Cada personaje, como por parte de Benjamín y de Charlie, tiene sus propios problemas y secretos. Dan como vueltas y vueltas para tratar por mantenerlos. Solo que sentí que la historia no era constante con las escenas, se hablaba de una cosa y luego era de otra.
Para ser el segundo libro de esta autora, está bien, pero siento que los dos me dejaron esperando que la forma en que se desarrolla toda la trama fuera más consecutiva, así la oportunidad de hacerlo mejor.
Charlotte Austin, "Charlie", es una chica que se va con su mamá a la casa de su tía a vivir después de morir su abuela. Además de una nueva casa, nuevo lugar, también una nueva escuela. Ahí conoce al chico más popular de la escuela, Benjamín Nefer.
Es la única chica que no quiere salir con él y la única que se convierte en su verdadera amiga.
Benjamín, es el chico más popular de la escuela. También el mariscal de fútbol e imán de chicas.
Solo que él tiene una regla: salir en dos citas y después adiós.
Hasta que conoce a la chica nueva, que no está impresionada por él y no cae en sus encantos.
Cada personaje, como por parte de Benjamín y de Charlie, tiene sus propios problemas y secretos. Dan como vueltas y vueltas para tratar por mantenerlos. Solo que sentí que la historia no era constante con las escenas, se hablaba de una cosa y luego era de otra.
Para ser el segundo libro de esta autora, está bien, pero siento que los dos me dejaron esperando que la forma en que se desarrolla toda la trama fuera más consecutiva, así la oportunidad de hacerlo mejor.
moonchild720's review against another edition
3.0
I downloaded this book on Audible because it sounded cute and I have read a book by this author before and I really enjoyed it. This story was cute. I didn't find myself being able to relate to either of the main characters all that much. I also didn't get emotionally invested in the story. I thought the story was cute and it was enjoyable to listen. I didn't find myself needing to listen because I had to know what happened. I wouldn't read this again and I won't be purchasing it in paperback.