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kimching232's review against another edition
3.0
Janie and Micah. Micah and Janie. One who dreams about fairytales; the other about the apocalypse. Janie and Micah, Micah and Janie - two people who couldn't have been more right or more wrong for each other.
This Is Where the World was a very promising book. When I was around the middle of the book, I was actually really enjoying it and was prepared to give it 4 or 4.5 stars. There were so meaningful quotations, and the author clearly had a way with words. I really enjoyed the writing style, and even though I didn't know where the story was going, I was really liking it. I felt like the story was meaningful, and I wanted to find out what happens next.
I finished this book in just one day, which I haven't been able to do for months and months now. I chose to read this even when I had a lot of homework to do because I felt that sense of urgency, that sense of need to find out what happened to Janie and Micah. So you ask, why only three stars?
Well, after reading 70% of the book, it just slowly went downhill from there. Yes, the book is still meaningful; yes, the writing is still amazing. However, I expected something more from this novel, you know? I thought it was going to end up being this epic book that I wouldn't be able to forget about because of how it started, but I was wrong. When I closed the book, I thought, "What, that's it?" I just couldn't believe how flat the ending turned out to be. And I guess yeah, it's kind of my fault for expecting something from this book that it didn't exactly promise, but I still felt disappointed, you know?
Overall, I thought I was going to love this book, but I was just disappointed by the ending. I still enjoyed it, but it just fell flat of my expectations.
"Stars and stars, night after night, secrets spilled in a world too big for sleep."
This Is Where the World was a very promising book. When I was around the middle of the book, I was actually really enjoying it and was prepared to give it 4 or 4.5 stars. There were so meaningful quotations, and the author clearly had a way with words. I really enjoyed the writing style, and even though I didn't know where the story was going, I was really liking it. I felt like the story was meaningful, and I wanted to find out what happens next.
I finished this book in just one day, which I haven't been able to do for months and months now. I chose to read this even when I had a lot of homework to do because I felt that sense of urgency, that sense of need to find out what happened to Janie and Micah. So you ask, why only three stars?
"He says my problem is that I was born with a thousand beginnings and no endings at all."
Well, after reading 70% of the book, it just slowly went downhill from there. Yes, the book is still meaningful; yes, the writing is still amazing. However, I expected something more from this novel, you know? I thought it was going to end up being this epic book that I wouldn't be able to forget about because of how it started, but I was wrong. When I closed the book, I thought, "What, that's it?" I just couldn't believe how flat the ending turned out to be. And I guess yeah, it's kind of my fault for expecting something from this book that it didn't exactly promise, but I still felt disappointed, you know?
"And that's how we lie, telling secrets after secrets after we drift...."
Overall, I thought I was going to love this book, but I was just disappointed by the ending. I still enjoyed it, but it just fell flat of my expectations.
michalannne's review against another edition
3.0
I need to re-read the ending. I was riding my bike and was too frustrated by the 3 mile hill-climb at the end of the ride/book to pay attention. It was gripping, however!
ficklefever's review against another edition
3.0
WHOA yeah definitely was not expecting that particular plot point to happen, but it definitely went there
very enjoyable writing style — makes me want to read FALLING INTO PLACE even more than i already did, if only because i was left feeling kind of unsatisfied with the characters in this novel. like individually i loved janie and micah but when they're together they're just AWFUL with each other and i couldn't connect with their weird pseudo-ultra-friendship at all?? if you're gonna go the whole "everything is shitty, let's be shitty together" route, you need to make the relationship somewhat likable overall
but still a great, fast read that i breezed through for the mystery elements of it & the stellar writing
very enjoyable writing style — makes me want to read FALLING INTO PLACE even more than i already did, if only because i was left feeling kind of unsatisfied with the characters in this novel. like individually i loved janie and micah but when they're together they're just AWFUL with each other and i couldn't connect with their weird pseudo-ultra-friendship at all?? if you're gonna go the whole "everything is shitty, let's be shitty together" route, you need to make the relationship somewhat likable overall
but still a great, fast read that i breezed through for the mystery elements of it & the stellar writing
marenkae's review
2.0
Ummm.
This book is basically the lovechild of Paper Towns by John Green and We We Liars by E. Lockhart except it's exponentially more pretentious and has a total of zero likable characters.
This may be somewhat spoilery so I'll mark it as such to be safe but I really need to emphasize how blindsidingly triggering this book was for. And listen... it was not written as carefully as it should have been. I could see some messages Amy Zhang was trying to convey and many of them were things I agreed with. But the heavy stuff in this book was teetering so close to just existing for shock value that I couldn't support it.
This was basically how I felt about almost every aspect of the book...I could see a glimpse of something positive...I would really WANT to like it.... but I couldn't. It just wasn't quite there.
This book is basically the lovechild of Paper Towns by John Green and We We Liars by E. Lockhart except it's exponentially more pretentious and has a total of zero likable characters.
This may be somewhat spoilery so I'll mark it as such to be safe but I really need to emphasize how blindsidingly triggering this book was for
Spoiler
rape and suicideThis was basically how I felt about almost every aspect of the book...I could see a glimpse of something positive...I would really WANT to like it.... but I couldn't. It just wasn't quite there.
aoibhinnannwn's review against another edition
5.0
I really loved this book- it was a slow start for me but when it got going I couldn't put it down. The characters felt very real and even though it was heartbreaking, it was beautiful.
fatimareadsbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Thanks to HarperCollins for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. This in no way impacted my views & opinions below.
This is the first Amy Zhang book I’ve ever picked up. All I could say is that it was so-so. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the writing but… I can’t say the same about the story itself. I tend to usually steer clear of books with poetic or nonlinear prose because I feel like the writing kind of takes away from the reader’s ability to connect with the story. I don’t know, maybe it’s just the books that I’ve read, but so far, I haven’t encountered a single book written in nonlinear prose that still left me able to empathize with the characters and their story. (Except for [b:We Were Liars|16143347|We Were Liars|E. Lockhart|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402749479s/16143347.jpg|21975829]).
Let me tell you, when I started reading this book, I was confused for 35% of it. That was probably because of Micah. He didn’t even know what was going on around him and his forgetfulness made him a very unreliable narrator. Janie, on the other hand, was a bit more of a complex character. She was sweet and naïve, yes, but she was also rude to people and obnoxious. She has so many personality traits that her character gave me a whiplash sometimes. However, the extremes of her personality were very compelling to read about. Her fairytale fantasies were whimsical and quirky which I think contrasted with Micah’s bleak grayness. Even though I couldn’t connect with either of them, it was interesting to read about their downward spiral and the toxicity of their relationship with each other and other people.
What bothered me about this story was the way Janie treated Micah. Micah would do anything for Janie, which she was quite aware of, and Janie used that to manipulate him. Why did she tell him she loved him and then date other people? Why did she ignore him at school but talk to him outside it? Janie practically had Micah at her beck-and-call and he was too spineless to do something about it. In a weird/sick way, it was fascinating watching all of this unfold.
The main factor that irked me about this book was its predictability. It was obvious where the story was going, which made it lack a sense of urgency. The inability to connect with any of the characters contributed to that, too. Yes, Janie and Micah were two very emotional narrators but it was just very difficult to devote myself to their story. Also, was it just me or was the ending extremely lacking? So many loose ends, unanswered questions and zero impact. When I finished the book, it was less of an “oh damn” moment and more of an “oh okay” moment.
There are so many conflicting emotions about this book. The writing was magnificent and outstanding, but the story itself failed to pull me in. The unreliable narrators were very hard to connect with and the story was predictable. I adored the writing but disliked the story. The struggle is real. I won’t be dissuaded by this book, though. I’ve heard tons of good things about Amy Zhang’s [b:Falling into Place|18163646|Falling into Place|Amy Zhang|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393613084s/18163646.jpg|25526485] so I will definitely be giving that shot!
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This is the first Amy Zhang book I’ve ever picked up. All I could say is that it was so-so. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the writing but… I can’t say the same about the story itself. I tend to usually steer clear of books with poetic or nonlinear prose because I feel like the writing kind of takes away from the reader’s ability to connect with the story. I don’t know, maybe it’s just the books that I’ve read, but so far, I haven’t encountered a single book written in nonlinear prose that still left me able to empathize with the characters and their story. (Except for [b:We Were Liars|16143347|We Were Liars|E. Lockhart|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402749479s/16143347.jpg|21975829]).
Let me tell you, when I started reading this book, I was confused for 35% of it. That was probably because of Micah. He didn’t even know what was going on around him and his forgetfulness made him a very unreliable narrator. Janie, on the other hand, was a bit more of a complex character. She was sweet and naïve, yes, but she was also rude to people and obnoxious. She has so many personality traits that her character gave me a whiplash sometimes. However, the extremes of her personality were very compelling to read about. Her fairytale fantasies were whimsical and quirky which I think contrasted with Micah’s bleak grayness. Even though I couldn’t connect with either of them, it was interesting to read about their downward spiral and the toxicity of their relationship with each other and other people.
What bothered me about this story was the way Janie treated Micah. Micah would do anything for Janie, which she was quite aware of, and Janie used that to manipulate him. Why did she tell him she loved him and then date other people? Why did she ignore him at school but talk to him outside it? Janie practically had Micah at her beck-and-call and he was too spineless to do something about it. In a weird/sick way, it was fascinating watching all of this unfold.
The main factor that irked me about this book was its predictability. It was obvious where the story was going, which made it lack a sense of urgency. The inability to connect with any of the characters contributed to that, too. Yes, Janie and Micah were two very emotional narrators but it was just very difficult to devote myself to their story. Also, was it just me or was the ending extremely lacking? So many loose ends, unanswered questions and zero impact. When I finished the book, it was less of an “oh damn” moment and more of an “oh okay” moment.
There are so many conflicting emotions about this book. The writing was magnificent and outstanding, but the story itself failed to pull me in. The unreliable narrators were very hard to connect with and the story was predictable. I adored the writing but disliked the story. The struggle is real. I won’t be dissuaded by this book, though. I’ve heard tons of good things about Amy Zhang’s [b:Falling into Place|18163646|Falling into Place|Amy Zhang|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393613084s/18163646.jpg|25526485] so I will definitely be giving that shot!
Follow me on my blog, Book Whizz | Bloglovin' | Twitter
sashreads's review against another edition
3.0
TW for
Homophobic slurs
Rape
Suicide
Pretentious teenage girls who thinks the world owes her
I don't think I've hated a character more than Janie Vivien.
Tamlin and Meghan Chase come close though.
Homophobic slurs
Rape
Suicide
Pretentious teenage girls who thinks the world owes her
I don't think I've hated a character more than Janie Vivien.
Tamlin and Meghan Chase come close though.
rennegade's review against another edition
4.0
I did not like this as much as [b:Falling into Place|18163646|Falling into Place|Amy Zhang|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393613084s/18163646.jpg|25526485] , but I still really enjoyed it. I've decided that Amy Zhang is one of those authors who I will happily read any time she publishes a book. Even when I don't think I should like it, I am engrossed.
It didn't take long for me to realize that Janie is a total Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She's like a magnified version of all of John Green's MPDGs. I had a sort of sinking feeling that the book would be too quirky for its own good.
Neither of the main characters were particularly likable, the big plot points were obvious from the jump, and the ending wrapped up almost too abruptly, but it was still a total page-turner for me. I wanted Micah to remember, and I wanted to see what led Janie to the day of the incident. Something about Zhang's writing completely works for me. I still marvel at the fact that the author is a teenager. She captures high school perfectly while still sounding as though she is far beyond it.
Be prepared for John Green-esque writing (although, like I said, I prefer Zhang to green), but I enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to future novels from Zhang!
It didn't take long for me to realize that Janie is a total Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She's like a magnified version of all of John Green's MPDGs. I had a sort of sinking feeling that the book would be too quirky for its own good.
Neither of the main characters were particularly likable, the big plot points were obvious from the jump, and the ending wrapped up almost too abruptly, but it was still a total page-turner for me. I wanted Micah to remember, and I wanted to see what led Janie to the day of the incident. Something about Zhang's writing completely works for me. I still marvel at the fact that the author is a teenager. She captures high school perfectly while still sounding as though she is far beyond it.
Be prepared for John Green-esque writing (although, like I said, I prefer Zhang to green), but I enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to future novels from Zhang!
khairun_atika's review against another edition
3.0
This is the tragic story of the mismatched couple who "shares" a soul, Micah and Janie. Janie and Micah. They are inspiring and dynamic and explosive and unstoppable. But their friendship is also a secret. It does not help that Janie has a boyfriend and Micah truly loves her, and is the only one who truly understands her. Janie is a vibrant young girl with big dreams and big ideas, and big plans that could either be pranks or wonderful surprises for the people she loves. And Micah is with her for every adventure. This is sort of reminiscent of Paper Towns by John Green. Except Janie wishes so much to be found and loved and appreciated, and this is where the world ends for her - Janie was both bullied and worshipped by her peers, and she struggles to find herself, with Micah quietly reaching out to her. Zhang's writing is beautifully poetic and poignant, albeit the slightly scattered plot. Still, this is a truly engaging and heartbreaking story.