caledonia's review
2.0
Word cannot explain how let down I was by this book. Let's start with the ending. The big giant lie, the grand finale, the moment that was mentioned time and time again what we waited 358 pages for, was 3 pages long and then the book ended. Then the epilogue, 2 pages and Andrew smiles at her. What. The. Fuck. Sarah was also probably one of the most annoying characters I have ever read. She had absolutly no depth to her. This is where my beef with the author comes in, if your going to make a female character more than science and nerds and have a shitty ex boyfriend who says she needs to "live more" do not reduce her and how she sees other women to cocktail dresses and cute boys to make out with. The problem with Sarah and Scarlett is when they saw other girls who were different they automatically thought the worst of them. And as Sarah did this experiment she still reduced other girls to the worst quatlies to make fun of them. This book could have been so much better I'm actually a little hurt I bought this book.
khairun_atika's review
4.0
Between Us and the Moon is one of the most genuine young adult books I have read. This is a wonderful testament to coming-of-age, a brilliant story of a girl who discovers who she really is, and with by adopting one of the sins we hate but make use of anyway - lying. Aspiring scientist Sarah pretends to be more like her elegant and popular sister Scarlett, stealing her clothes and lying about her age. She eventually meets Andrew, who loves her for who she really is, but he is soon spun in her own web of lies. I adored the characterisations of both Sarah and Scarlett, and how their relationship parallels that of Gran and Nancy's. This is a truly beautiful coming-of-age tale, and I highly recommend it.
wandereaderr's review
5.0
READ THE FULL REVIEW AT cosmicreads.blogspot.com!!!
Here I am, again, feeling cheap and used after reading through a book in one sit. Why do I continue to do this to myself? Why can’t I ever take it slow and really savor everything? Doing the Walk of Shame past my friends and family after knowing I finished a book after starting it only a mere few hours before is truly embarrassing. What do they think of me? What does everyone else think of me? Why can’t I just be normal?
Talk about a beautiful book. Holy fucking shit. I had no idea what I was getting myself into with this one. Again, I’ve been reading so much NA this summer that I almost forgot just how beautiful, intense, raw, and heartbreaking YA could be! I mean, holy fuck, this book blew me away. It was just absolutely incredible. The way Rebecca Maizel wove this story was breathtaking and extremely captivating.
Here I am, again, feeling cheap and used after reading through a book in one sit. Why do I continue to do this to myself? Why can’t I ever take it slow and really savor everything? Doing the Walk of Shame past my friends and family after knowing I finished a book after starting it only a mere few hours before is truly embarrassing. What do they think of me? What does everyone else think of me? Why can’t I just be normal?
Talk about a beautiful book. Holy fucking shit. I had no idea what I was getting myself into with this one. Again, I’ve been reading so much NA this summer that I almost forgot just how beautiful, intense, raw, and heartbreaking YA could be! I mean, holy fuck, this book blew me away. It was just absolutely incredible. The way Rebecca Maizel wove this story was breathtaking and extremely captivating.
jang's review against another edition
3.0
That ending was good but too abrupt ffs why do YA authors that all the time?!!
Nah but seriously that was one ball of a cute and enjoyable summer lovin'. I had my apprehensions about the story at first because I thought it was displaying really poor characterization but the character managed to change towards the end.
Love stories like this is a nice read until you get to the part where the girl is trying wayyyy too hard to make the boy like her (which, in this case, is 80% of the story) and you just go fuccckkkk that this is 2015 and smart girls more than hold their own now in the love department! I get that the moral of the story is to be true to yourself, and to embrace your uniqueness, and to never change even if you're vying for the attention of a guy you like or you like to be Ms. Popular, BUT WHY DID IT TAKE TOO FUCKING LONG FOR BEAN TO ADMIT THAT SHE LIED. That ending hurts because of that, we could have had more sunsets and saltwater sex LOL.
What I enjoyed about the book was the dialogue. Those cute intellectual banters between Bean and Andrew made the story even more entertaining and really fun in a teen fun kind of way. Everyone loves a cute nerd lbr.
Nah but seriously that was one ball of a cute and enjoyable summer lovin'. I had my apprehensions about the story at first because I thought it was displaying really poor characterization but the character managed to change towards the end.
Love stories like this is a nice read until you get to the part where the girl is trying wayyyy too hard to make the boy like her (which, in this case, is 80% of the story) and you just go fuccckkkk that this is 2015 and smart girls more than hold their own now in the love department! I get that the moral of the story is to be true to yourself, and to embrace your uniqueness, and to never change even if you're vying for the attention of a guy you like or you like to be Ms. Popular, BUT WHY DID IT TAKE TOO FUCKING LONG FOR BEAN TO ADMIT THAT SHE LIED. That ending hurts because of that, we could have had more sunsets and saltwater sex LOL.
What I enjoyed about the book was the dialogue. Those cute intellectual banters between Bean and Andrew made the story even more entertaining and really fun in a teen fun kind of way. Everyone loves a cute nerd lbr.
brokenrecord's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I had a really hard time with Sarah pursuing a relationship with Andrew and not telling him she was 16 (and had only just turned 16, at that!). I couldn't really enjoy any of the romance because of that. The rest was fine, but nothing particularly special.
Spoiler
I was glad at least that they didn't end up together after he found out, but still, I really didn't enjoy reading anything about their relationship knowing that he probably would not want to be dating a 16 year old if he was aware of her age.ac223's review against another edition
3.0
This review can also be found at http://thepaperbackaddict.blogspot.com/
I can't decide how I feel about this book. I enjoyed reading it, hoping until the very last page for a happily ever after. As I sit here having finished it there are so many things that make me wish it were written a little bit differently. I wish Sarah hadn't lied but that's the premise of the book, so maybe not such a big lie..
Sarah is all about science and the stars. She's been tracking the Comet Jolie for 11 months and she's using this research to apply for a scholarship that will free her parents from the burden of accepting her tuition money from her aunt. After her first heartbreak, she decides she is tired of being the girl who spends every moment looking at the stars, or watching the world around her. She is reinventing herself and no longer has to be one or the other, she can be both good at science and have a social life. She starts the Scarlett Experiment, using her sister's clothes and mannerisms she wants to learn if changing who she is can also change her place on the outside to one on the inside. Sarah meets Andrew and though he was initially attracted to the girl in Scarlett's clothes, he likes Sarah for who she is. What she expects to be a casual conversation, a social experiment turns into a real relationship that has been built on a lie.
I can't decide how I feel about this book. I enjoyed reading it, hoping until the very last page for a happily ever after. As I sit here having finished it there are so many things that make me wish it were written a little bit differently. I wish Sarah hadn't lied but that's the premise of the book, so maybe not such a big lie..
Sarah is all about science and the stars. She's been tracking the Comet Jolie for 11 months and she's using this research to apply for a scholarship that will free her parents from the burden of accepting her tuition money from her aunt. After her first heartbreak, she decides she is tired of being the girl who spends every moment looking at the stars, or watching the world around her. She is reinventing herself and no longer has to be one or the other, she can be both good at science and have a social life. She starts the Scarlett Experiment, using her sister's clothes and mannerisms she wants to learn if changing who she is can also change her place on the outside to one on the inside. Sarah meets Andrew and though he was initially attracted to the girl in Scarlett's clothes, he likes Sarah for who she is. What she expects to be a casual conversation, a social experiment turns into a real relationship that has been built on a lie.
_anne_05's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
kristy_k's review against another edition
3.0
Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars
For the most part I really enjoyed this book. Sarah's journey to find herself and the struggles she deals with as a sibling, child, and outsider are wonderfully written and explored. However, the one thing that irritated me almost to the point of infuriating, is the fact that she lied about her age to Andrew. I know it is an integral part of the story, but I found that her reasoning for why she never told him was flawed. She justifies it as not being important to who she is and who they are, but really, that age gap at that time in life is a huge deal and I can't imagine she didn't really know that. (I also did not know that the age of consent in MA was 16; I think that should have been stated early on as this is rare. I spent most of the book being furious that she would put Andrew in a position where he could possibly, unknowingly, commit a crime).
Sarah thinks logically and often rationalized aspects of her Scarlett Experiment using faulty logic. I like that although she was smart, she still thought like a 16 year old girl trying to find her place in the world. As she works her way through the experiment, she discovers many things about herself and finds her voice when so many teens that age do not.
For the most part I really enjoyed this book. Sarah's journey to find herself and the struggles she deals with as a sibling, child, and outsider are wonderfully written and explored. However, the one thing that irritated me almost to the point of infuriating, is the fact that she lied about her age to Andrew. I know it is an integral part of the story, but I found that her reasoning for why she never told him was flawed. She justifies it as not being important to who she is and who they are, but really, that age gap at that time in life is a huge deal and I can't imagine she didn't really know that. (I also did not know that the age of consent in MA was 16; I think that should have been stated early on as this is rare. I spent most of the book being furious that she would put Andrew in a position where he could possibly, unknowingly, commit a crime).
Sarah thinks logically and often rationalized aspects of her Scarlett Experiment using faulty logic. I like that although she was smart, she still thought like a 16 year old girl trying to find her place in the world. As she works her way through the experiment, she discovers many things about herself and finds her voice when so many teens that age do not.
danicapage's review against another edition
4.0
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Disclaimers: I received a copy 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.
My Overall Thoughts/Impressions: This book had several elements that I normally don't like. I'm not going to give anything away, so don't worry.
I generally don't like books that have characters who tell lies or books that have relationships between a girl and a guy when one is under the age of 18 and the other is over that age.
However, somehow in this book I was able to overlook those elements and was left with a book I adored. I really wasn't bugged by either of those elements in this book and that surprised me. I think the book was so well written and I loved the characters so much that I just wasn't phased by it.
I adored the fact that the romance didn't take center stage in this book. The book was more about self-discovery and being okay with who you really are.
I actually could relate to the themes in this book. This might be Maizel's first realistic novel, but in my opinion, she knocked it out of the park. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.
The Characters: They were flawed. They were real. They were stupid. All of which made me love the book. I liked how nerdy Bean was. It was so cute.
Major Strengths: The writing style itself.
Major Weaknesses: Bean didn't act like any 16 year old I know. She acted much older, but I still liked it.
So why 4 stars? Due to certain plotlines, I made it a 4. I had an issue with certain parts, but I won't talk about that here because it would give too much away.
Warnings/Side-notes: Vague sexual references (totally appropriate for 14+). References to drinking and alcohol.
The Wrap-up: A fun, enjoyable book that I was still thinking about long after I finished it.
Love,
Danica Page
charmaineac's review against another edition
5.0
This book is beautiful, heady, and romantic... with a fierce and intense sense of impending doom. Sarah is truly experiencing LIFE for the first time, and it's an incredible journey. But it's completely unsustainable. The whole time, you're bracing yourself and waiting for the jig to finally be up. There were so many near-confessions. I honestly thought that things would end during a certain event, but the magic continued just a little bit longer.
My heart went out to Bean. I get what it's like to feel like you don't belong, or don't know what to say or act. At times, I was surprised by her naivety and awkwardness, but it always just made me wish I could be her best friend and guide her through these years of discovery.
Andrew was the perfect first love. He's kind, thoughtful, and caring. Every girl deserves a guy like him.
I wish the Tucker situation was resolved more neatly. He was kind of brushed off at the end, but played such a large part of Sarah's life and motivated many of her actions.
The dynamic between Sarah and Scarlett is an interesting one. I have a brother, not a sister. So I never understood what it was like to be in the shadow of someone so similar to me. Between sisters, there's a sense of competition and jealousy, but so, so much unconditional love, too. I'm glad we got to see the foil to this sisterly bond, generations later, through the girls' Gran and Aunt Nancy.
This story had an almost dreamy, nostalgic voice to it. I would've loved to see how Sarah turned out a few years later, rather than just a year or so. I would've been over the moon if we got to see Sarah two and a half years later, walking through the streets of Boston (back to MIT, naturally)—and catching sight of a familiar blond head and crooked smile. There's nothing quite as sad as a relationship that has everything going for it except timing. A few years down the line, that kind of age difference wouldn't even matter.
My heart went out to Bean. I get what it's like to feel like you don't belong, or don't know what to say or act. At times, I was surprised by her naivety and awkwardness, but it always just made me wish I could be her best friend and guide her through these years of discovery.
Andrew was the perfect first love. He's kind, thoughtful, and caring. Every girl deserves a guy like him.
I wish the Tucker situation was resolved more neatly. He was kind of brushed off at the end, but played such a large part of Sarah's life and motivated many of her actions.
The dynamic between Sarah and Scarlett is an interesting one. I have a brother, not a sister. So I never understood what it was like to be in the shadow of someone so similar to me. Between sisters, there's a sense of competition and jealousy, but so, so much unconditional love, too. I'm glad we got to see the foil to this sisterly bond, generations later, through the girls' Gran and Aunt Nancy.
This story had an almost dreamy, nostalgic voice to it. I would've loved to see how Sarah turned out a few years later, rather than just a year or so. I would've been over the moon if we got to see Sarah two and a half years later, walking through the streets of Boston (back to MIT, naturally)—and catching sight of a familiar blond head and crooked smile. There's nothing quite as sad as a relationship that has everything going for it except timing. A few years down the line, that kind of age difference wouldn't even matter.