http_essi's review against another edition
3.0
I must say, I got the book because a youtuber is making a film out of it and I was very curious about it. When I started the book it confused me a lot I didn't really get the idea of it and when it goes to Arthur the language is really... how would I say it, unpleasant to read because of the language.
The storytelling was good, also kinda strange because it was written differently for each person.
Now the best books in my opinion are the ones you can not put down and sadly this was not one of them until very close to the end of the book.
Nevertheless I would still probably read it again a few times.
The storytelling was good, also kinda strange because it was written differently for each person.
Now the best books in my opinion are the ones you can not put down and sadly this was not one of them until very close to the end of the book.
Nevertheless I would still probably read it again a few times.
eleana's review against another edition
4.0
Okay so I originally picked up this book based purely on the fact that I'd seen Carrie Fletcher mentioning it on youtube and I thought the cover was gorgeous and it looked really dark and mysterious (don't think I even watched the review at the time, just ordered the book based on the cover cause I'm vain lol), so I had not read the blurb, I didn't know what genre this was, I had basically no expectations from this book at all. So this pleasantly surprised me in all ways possible and I can say it was pretty enjoyable and kept me reading. I didn't really expect there to be magic elements in this, I was mostly thinking this was a sort of Perks of Being a Wallflower contemporary coming of age story, but I wasn't disappointed.
First of all, I have to give props to the way this was written before anything else, because it's honestly so well done. The concept was executed amazingly, the characters were all unique and believable and all had a distinct voice and personality, the bits and pieces of information given at each chapter were just enough to keep the suspence going and it all came together and connected beautifully by the end of the story. The missing person reports were also incorporated really well into each chapter and added to the whole aura of mystery and creepiness of this book. I'm not sure how really necessary the whole Earth,Water,Air,Fire thing and the script used for Delphina's POV was, but either way I didn't mind them.
I fell in love so instantly from Laurel's first few chapters that I was just gutted when I realised she wasn't actually our protagonist. Our actual protagonist, Arthur Braxton, on the other hand was not really that fun to read about. Don't get me wrong his chapters were written really well and he was very fleshed out and believable, but he resembled teenage boys at my school so much to the point where he kind of became despicable in a way. I tried my best to relate to him and to his story, but I just really couldn't get behind the way he talked about girls and the weird fixation with pubic hair and the constant "gay thoughts". Not to mention he was just really dumb in all honesty. Who else just finds a girl who is constantly naked and in the water, has never been to school, or knows anything about technology and just thinks "lol that's cute and totally nothing out of the ordinary". My fav Arthur moment was when he thought Delphina didn't like him so he just..changed his relationship status on facebook??? I'm sure that solved everything, great job Arthur!
Okay so as far as a story goes, I loved it, but I truly, deeply hated the romance aspect of all of this. It wasn't really love or anything it was just this weird power imbalance and Delphina admired Arthur and felt actual affection for him and then Arthur was just to some extent using her for the fact that a cute girl liked him, idk probably looking too far into this I was just seriously hoping they wouldn't actually end up together at the end.
But other than that I just really loved all the characters. I find it really funny how Silver could just never be more specific than "Run", like run from where, why you being so vague damn. I would have liked some more explanation of Madame Pythia's (was that her name?) character, she kinda just remained this mystery until the very end of the book, I was expecting some kind of explanation as to why she does what she does, how she is this way, why she left Delphina, but none came.
First of all, I have to give props to the way this was written before anything else, because it's honestly so well done. The concept was executed amazingly, the characters were all unique and believable and all had a distinct voice and personality, the bits and pieces of information given at each chapter were just enough to keep the suspence going and it all came together and connected beautifully by the end of the story. The missing person reports were also incorporated really well into each chapter and added to the whole aura of mystery and creepiness of this book. I'm not sure how really necessary the whole Earth,Water,Air,Fire thing and the script used for Delphina's POV was, but either way I didn't mind them.
Spoiler
I fell in love so instantly from Laurel's first few chapters that I was just gutted when I realised she wasn't actually our protagonist. Our actual protagonist, Arthur Braxton, on the other hand was not really that fun to read about. Don't get me wrong his chapters were written really well and he was very fleshed out and believable, but he resembled teenage boys at my school so much to the point where he kind of became despicable in a way. I tried my best to relate to him and to his story, but I just really couldn't get behind the way he talked about girls and the weird fixation with pubic hair and the constant "gay thoughts". Not to mention he was just really dumb in all honesty. Who else just finds a girl who is constantly naked and in the water, has never been to school, or knows anything about technology and just thinks "lol that's cute and totally nothing out of the ordinary". My fav Arthur moment was when he thought Delphina didn't like him so he just..changed his relationship status on facebook??? I'm sure that solved everything, great job Arthur!
Okay so as far as a story goes, I loved it, but I truly, deeply hated the romance aspect of all of this. It wasn't really love or anything it was just this weird power imbalance and Delphina admired Arthur and felt actual affection for him and then Arthur was just to some extent using her for the fact that a cute girl liked him, idk probably looking too far into this I was just seriously hoping they wouldn't actually end up together at the end.
But other than that I just really loved all the characters. I find it really funny how Silver could just never be more specific than "Run", like run from where, why you being so vague damn. I would have liked some more explanation of Madame Pythia's (was that her name?) character, she kinda just remained this mystery until the very end of the book, I was expecting some kind of explanation as to why she does what she does, how she is this way, why she left Delphina, but none came.
ghgemawesome's review against another edition
5.0
Such a fucked up book and THERE NEEDS TO BE A RAPE TRIGGER WARNING. Brilliant book.
lizziebirch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
snoakes7001's review
5.0
This is a dark tale, with an edge of fantasy - a modern and sweary fairy tale if you like. Right up my street then! Loved it.
livthebooknerd's review against another edition
4.0
Rating: undecided...I'll decide tomorrow
Full review coming in September
Full review coming in September
kellymac96's review against another edition
3.0
I bought this book because Luke Cutforth (LukeIsNotSexy) is making it into a movie (I did donate) and although I completely understand why he wants to do so and yes I did enjoy it and found it hard to put down, I can only give it 3 stars.
I found the character Arthur to be rather annoying. It was more to do with how he was written, he was too stereotypical and too vulgar almost and he'd get on my nerves when he spoke about girls and Delphina. I fount the love story between the two to be lacking, I didn't think they were in love and yet it claims to be about first love.
Another character/ moment in the book I found frustrating was Arthur's dad. I understand his situation and I get the Oracles water can do all sorts but I found his character to be unrealistic, I found it hard to believe he wouldn't read his post (I'm talking after miracle) and not know his son wasn't going to school. The idea that he simply became better was frustrating because this book has some hard themes and I feel through the dad the author kinda just turned around and went *bam* better because it's that simple to cure mental illness!
I know that's not what the author meant but I found everything to be too simple to fix and I didn't really like that.
Apart from the above and the fact the words "pupes" (in reference to shaving them) and "shag" were mentioned far too many times, Arthur's on going reference to Waterloo road (I find it hard to believe anyone would measure a length of time using a TV show the amount of times he does) and his erection that never seemed to calm down... I did enjoy the book, it may seem like I didn't but I did. I liked The writing technique and the way everyone's different stories fitted together, but unfortunately that can't make up for the problems I had when reading.
In short: I did enjoy it and would recommend but Arthur's personality dragged on me which I think was more to do with the author attempting to relate to a teenage audience and less to do with the character himself. (I hope that makes sense!)
I found the character Arthur to be rather annoying. It was more to do with how he was written, he was too stereotypical and too vulgar almost and he'd get on my nerves when he spoke about girls and Delphina. I fount the love story between the two to be lacking, I didn't think they were in love and yet it claims to be about first love.
Another character/ moment in the book I found frustrating was Arthur's dad. I understand his situation and I get the Oracles water can do all sorts but I found his character to be unrealistic, I found it hard to believe he wouldn't read his post (I'm talking after miracle) and not know his son wasn't going to school. The idea that he simply became better was frustrating because this book has some hard themes and I feel through the dad the author kinda just turned around and went *bam* better because it's that simple to cure mental illness!
I know that's not what the author meant but I found everything to be too simple to fix and I didn't really like that.
Apart from the above and the fact the words "pupes" (in reference to shaving them) and "shag" were mentioned far too many times, Arthur's on going reference to Waterloo road (I find it hard to believe anyone would measure a length of time using a TV show the amount of times he does) and his erection that never seemed to calm down... I did enjoy the book, it may seem like I didn't but I did. I liked The writing technique and the way everyone's different stories fitted together, but unfortunately that can't make up for the problems I had when reading.
In short: I did enjoy it and would recommend but Arthur's personality dragged on me which I think was more to do with the author attempting to relate to a teenage audience and less to do with the character himself. (I hope that makes sense!)
ellen5525's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book. So many twists I didn't expect it was absolutely captivating.
My favourite thing about the book was the way each person involved in the story had their own section and the way the sections way it was set up. At the beginning there was Laurel who's section was in chapters, Arthur's which was kind of like a monologue, Silver's and Maddie's which was them telling a story, Kester and Pollock which was dialogue and Delphina my favourite of all was set out like a script.
And the missing persons at the beginning of every part of Arthur's perspective I only clocked halfway through what they were all about. It was just so good.
My favourite thing about the book was the way each person involved in the story had their own section and the way the sections way it was set up. At the beginning there was Laurel who's section was in chapters, Arthur's which was kind of like a monologue, Silver's and Maddie's which was them telling a story, Kester and Pollock which was dialogue and Delphina my favourite of all was set out like a script.
And the missing persons at the beginning of every part of Arthur's perspective I only clocked halfway through what they were all about. It was just so good.
rhireadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Finished on the 29th and im still shook at that ending
suannelaqueur's review against another edition
4.0
I'm between three and four stars. This was one weird book. But I kind of liked it. Actually I'm at a total loss, I'm going to have to think about it and mambo dogface for the banana patch.....