slightly_devious's review against another edition
1.0
Not for me. I couldn't even finish, I cated so little. Not going to continue w/the next one.
storytimed's review against another edition
3.0
Beautiful prose, ultimately unsatisfying. The casual diversity of book 3 (which I loved so much more) felt forced and performative here, and the dreamlike stream of consciousness prose turned into a frustrating refusal for anyone to explain anything ever. Also has a noxious message of "learning to let people go" aka never holding them accountable for their actions or having a conversation or attempting to maintain a relationship with someone even if your lives go down separate paths! McCarry fixed the problems of book 1 later in the series, but reading it still makes me want to skip book 2.
kellylynnthomas's review against another edition
5.0
All Our Pretty Songs is an accurate portrayal of what it's like to be a teenager. It's urban fantasy full of danger, mystery, and music. The prose is strikingly beautiful. And the ending is perfect yet unexpected. I highly recommend.
liralen's review against another edition
5.0
Judging by other reviews, this is largely a love-it-or-hate-it book. It's not hard to see why -- the stream-of-consciousness-like narration, the nameless protagonist, the quiet shift into the paranormal and surreal.
To be honest, the only thing that really bothered me is that this turned out to be not a standalone but the first installment in a trilogy. I like it when things don't end tidily for the characters. I like it when love is not the be all and end all, when characters make mistakes and do things that render them less likable, when they accept -- and like -- themselves as they are but also wish things were different.
How badly I want to save her and how badly I want to be her, beautiful and doomed in a pretty dress. How badly I want someone else to do the saving for once. (page 137)
These are not perfect characters. They fall prey to insta-love and immediate gratification; they are not always fair; they are not necessarily people you would want to trust. They're also a lot more interesting that way.
There's a much higher level of acceptance of the supernatural here than one might ordinarily see, and while that's not fully explained, it adds to the sort of...floaty...tone of the book.
But as for the trilogy: why? I mean, I'll read the second book (and probably the third), and hopefully the writing will be as dreamily purple (not normally a compliment, but I'll make an exception) as it is here -- but whether continuing the story will be an improvement over this appealingly messy ending remains to be seen.
This is a story about love, but not the kind of love you think. You'll see. (page 2)
To be honest, the only thing that really bothered me is that this turned out to be not a standalone but the first installment in a trilogy. I like it when things don't end tidily for the characters. I like it when love is not the be all and end all, when characters make mistakes and do things that render them less likable, when they accept -- and like -- themselves as they are but also wish things were different.
How badly I want to save her and how badly I want to be her, beautiful and doomed in a pretty dress. How badly I want someone else to do the saving for once. (page 137)
These are not perfect characters. They fall prey to insta-love and immediate gratification; they are not always fair; they are not necessarily people you would want to trust. They're also a lot more interesting that way.
There's a much higher level of acceptance of the supernatural here than one might ordinarily see, and while that's not fully explained, it adds to the sort of...floaty...tone of the book.
But as for the trilogy: why? I mean, I'll read the second book (and probably the third), and hopefully the writing will be as dreamily purple (not normally a compliment, but I'll make an exception) as it is here -- but whether continuing the story will be an improvement over this appealingly messy ending remains to be seen.
This is a story about love, but not the kind of love you think. You'll see. (page 2)
futurememory's review against another edition
4.0
Phew, first book I've read after an extremely long hiatus, and I wasn't unhappy with this one.
I think fans of Francesca Lia Block would love this novel. It's short, poetic, raw, unflinching, dreamy, surreal, and intensely focused on female love and relationships. There's not much to All Our Pretty Songs - the bones of the story are a fairly standard take on Greek mythology. The plot isn't reinventing the wheel.
It's what it does with that story that elevates it. McCarry explores the blurry lines of female friendship and sexuality. Her characters are off the rails, stubborn, electric. It's a coming-of-age novel in the best way possible, and our main character learns to grow and accept who she is, and pivot from what she thought she was. All Our Pretty Songs doesn't flinch. It sees the punches coming, and accepts them. Pretty brave, especially for a YA novel.
It's definitely a bit wordy and overwrought at times, and these types of punk/music/teen type stories aren't exactly my favorite, but the Greek myth touches were pretty great, and the writing held it all together.
I think fans of Francesca Lia Block would love this novel. It's short, poetic, raw, unflinching, dreamy, surreal, and intensely focused on female love and relationships. There's not much to All Our Pretty Songs - the bones of the story are a fairly standard take on Greek mythology. The plot isn't reinventing the wheel.
It's what it does with that story that elevates it. McCarry explores the blurry lines of female friendship and sexuality. Her characters are off the rails, stubborn, electric. It's a coming-of-age novel in the best way possible, and our main character learns to grow and accept who she is, and pivot from what she thought she was. All Our Pretty Songs doesn't flinch. It sees the punches coming, and accepts them. Pretty brave, especially for a YA novel.
It's definitely a bit wordy and overwrought at times, and these types of punk/music/teen type stories aren't exactly my favorite, but the Greek myth touches were pretty great, and the writing held it all together.
superdilettante's review against another edition
4.0
This was, essentially, the same story as About A Girl, but I enjoyed it all the same. I’m a total sucker for the set-dressing in stories like this, from the jarred herbs to the descriptions of teenage bedrooms, to the ruby-red jewels draped around someone’s neck, to the bone forest.
librarypatronus's review against another edition
1.0
This was just not for me. I found the language obnoxious and boring and kept catching myself reading the same paragraphs over - DNF at only like 30 pages 😭 I may try again another time and see if it was my head space but I just wasn’t enjoying it at all
delaneybull's review against another edition
3.0
I really love retellings, and this was a great one.
readinggrrl's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written with poetic visuals, I would find myself getting lost in her descriptions of places, music, life. The lives of these two girls are so intertwined that at times I couldn't figure out if their relationship was sisterly, or like lovers. The narrator is the more stable of the two girls and Aurora is so ethereal she almost doesn't seem real. Gorgeous and reckless Aurora often gets herself into difficult situations that the narrator saves her from and every now and then Aurora's madness filters over onto the narrator.
Aurora and the narrator's mothers are best friends - one is stable the other not so much, much like their children. The narrator's mother claims to be a witch and is very worried about her daughter and her friend. She thinks there is evil lurking around and wants to try to protect them. As Aurora and Jack become entrenched with a man named Minos, they may end up on a path that our narrator cannot travel. As much as she loves them both, the narrator isn't sure if she can save them or if they even want to be saved.
This book is both beautiful and dangerous. The supernatural elements of the book are woven throughout making you unsure whether it is really happening or if it is in the narrators imagination.
I found it interesting that you never learn the name of the narrator. We follow her, love with her, and are scared with her but we never learn her name, making her an enigma. I loved that she was mysterious, yet I felt like I knew her.
I don't think I have ever read a book like this before and I'm glad I found this one. I can't wait to read the next two books of this trilogy and hope that they are just as poetic and mysterious as this one.
Aurora and the narrator's mothers are best friends - one is stable the other not so much, much like their children. The narrator's mother claims to be a witch and is very worried about her daughter and her friend. She thinks there is evil lurking around and wants to try to protect them. As Aurora and Jack become entrenched with a man named Minos, they may end up on a path that our narrator cannot travel. As much as she loves them both, the narrator isn't sure if she can save them or if they even want to be saved.
This book is both beautiful and dangerous. The supernatural elements of the book are woven throughout making you unsure whether it is really happening or if it is in the narrators imagination.
I found it interesting that you never learn the name of the narrator. We follow her, love with her, and are scared with her but we never learn her name, making her an enigma. I loved that she was mysterious, yet I felt like I knew her.
I don't think I have ever read a book like this before and I'm glad I found this one. I can't wait to read the next two books of this trilogy and hope that they are just as poetic and mysterious as this one.