aiyaivy's review against another edition
2.0
I received this book for free from Goodreads first reads.
I would give this a 2.5 if I could.
I hated the first 1/2 of the book. It was easier to continue with the story as the plot picked up allowing me not to focus on the main character but rather on the story. I really did not like the protagonist of this story. Hayley is just always angry with everyone and she always seems to go against the rules of a given task. She doesn't listen. Rather than appearing as a strong and stubborn character, it just gives her this "I'm better than you" vibe. I hated how she categorized everyone into two categories: (1) freaks (2) zombies. She acts like everyone is a brainless figure and just part of a background. Apparently only she is the one who isn't so brainless and actually does things and thinks about things. I hated how she acted like she was better than everyone else because she viewed their choices in life as stupid. I hated how she acted like she was the only one who had a life and that everyone around her (in school, on the bus, etc) are all just drones. Her best friend Gracie is described as neither a freak nor a zombie. WOW BIG SURPRISE. WHAT A SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP. TWO LIVING PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT ZOMBIES OR FREAKS ARE BEST FRIENDS. WOOOOOWWW. Or maybe...GRACIE IS JUST HUMAN WHO MADE AN EFFORT TO GET TO KNOW YOU AND YOU LIKED HER AS A FRIEND AS WELL AND SUDDENLY YOU KNOW HER BETTER AND REALIZE SHE IS MORE THAN JUST A FREAK OR A ZOMBIE.
I couldn't understand how Hayley could be so angry all the time. People can be angry but they also have their quiet moments and their happy moments. Hayley had none of that. It was just a continuous feeling of anger. She was just angry and always making accusations. She never really tried to think about things from another person's point of view. She was a very egocentric character who had to deal with very troublesome family problems because her father had PTSD.
Also...the author must not know how teenagers text one another. Reading their "text messages" was like deciphering alien code. If any of my friends texted like "y dos he wnt yr nmber" and "finz a swimer buterfly u shuld c him nakd" and "swm teemsutes betr thn nakd," I would make an effort to call them instead of text them.
Also, on page 150, she was talking about the people in her high school who talk about being sexually active. It's their choice and I'm sure they are very responsible as well. As zombie-like as she thinks everyone is, people have brains and people have lives. People have thoughts. They think just as much as you do. Maybe differently but they still think. She was literally like, "Oh, I know the statistics and the people in my school are all stupid so they wouldn't use birth control...how is everyone not getting pregnant?" and then saying that because they weren't getting pregnant, they were probably lying about having sex. WHAT? WHAT LOGIC? WHAT? People are really not dumb to be like, "Yes, let me throw my future away for a high school romance." (Some people are but evidently no one in her school is since they are all having sex and not getting pregnant). The fact that she acts as though she's better than them because her choices are different from their choices and because she isn't sexually active is a stupid idea and awfully judgmental. To be honest, I'm not surprised she would be like that. She has shown a consistent prejudice toward everyone because they are zombies and freaks and they are different from her and her friends. She has also displayed ideas of internal misogyny that another girl's choice is stupid because it isn't what she would have done.
The story did pick up as it went. But it's hard for me to really like this book because of how unlikable her character is. The romance was cute at times but I didn't feel like they were always that compatible. The characters weren't to die for. Her relationship with Finn is cute at times. It is realistic at times. Her friendship with Gracie was cute and realistic at times. But at the same time, I didn't feel like any of them were compatible with each other. These characters were uncomfortably mushed together. Gracie and her boyfriend Topher were such an awkward couple to read about. Finn and Hayley felt so on and off and their relationship was a huge moodswing. No one made an effort to solve anything when one got upset. WHERE WAS THE COMMUNICATION? And then you have characters like Gracie telling Hayley how perfect they are together. I dont get it??? Also Hayley and Gracie are pretty awkward to read about too. As friends, they should be listening to one another's problems and then comforting one another. Instead, they seem to be talking over each other...both stuck in their own world of problems without making an effort to help one another. Also, the plot was interesting when it started focusing more on family issues and PTSD/depression. But I have trouble falling for a book when I hate the narrator so much.
I would give this a 2.5 if I could.
I hated the first 1/2 of the book. It was easier to continue with the story as the plot picked up allowing me not to focus on the main character but rather on the story. I really did not like the protagonist of this story. Hayley is just always angry with everyone and she always seems to go against the rules of a given task. She doesn't listen. Rather than appearing as a strong and stubborn character, it just gives her this "I'm better than you" vibe. I hated how she categorized everyone into two categories: (1) freaks (2) zombies. She acts like everyone is a brainless figure and just part of a background. Apparently only she is the one who isn't so brainless and actually does things and thinks about things. I hated how she acted like she was better than everyone else because she viewed their choices in life as stupid. I hated how she acted like she was the only one who had a life and that everyone around her (in school, on the bus, etc) are all just drones. Her best friend Gracie is described as neither a freak nor a zombie. WOW BIG SURPRISE. WHAT A SPECIAL FRIENDSHIP. TWO LIVING PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT ZOMBIES OR FREAKS ARE BEST FRIENDS. WOOOOOWWW. Or maybe...GRACIE IS JUST HUMAN WHO MADE AN EFFORT TO GET TO KNOW YOU AND YOU LIKED HER AS A FRIEND AS WELL AND SUDDENLY YOU KNOW HER BETTER AND REALIZE SHE IS MORE THAN JUST A FREAK OR A ZOMBIE.
I couldn't understand how Hayley could be so angry all the time. People can be angry but they also have their quiet moments and their happy moments. Hayley had none of that. It was just a continuous feeling of anger. She was just angry and always making accusations. She never really tried to think about things from another person's point of view. She was a very egocentric character who had to deal with very troublesome family problems because her father had PTSD.
Also...the author must not know how teenagers text one another. Reading their "text messages" was like deciphering alien code. If any of my friends texted like "y dos he wnt yr nmber" and "finz a swimer buterfly u shuld c him nakd" and "swm teemsutes betr thn nakd," I would make an effort to call them instead of text them.
Also, on page 150, she was talking about the people in her high school who talk about being sexually active. It's their choice and I'm sure they are very responsible as well. As zombie-like as she thinks everyone is, people have brains and people have lives. People have thoughts. They think just as much as you do. Maybe differently but they still think. She was literally like, "Oh, I know the statistics and the people in my school are all stupid so they wouldn't use birth control...how is everyone not getting pregnant?" and then saying that because they weren't getting pregnant, they were probably lying about having sex. WHAT? WHAT LOGIC? WHAT? People are really not dumb to be like, "Yes, let me throw my future away for a high school romance." (Some people are but evidently no one in her school is since they are all having sex and not getting pregnant). The fact that she acts as though she's better than them because her choices are different from their choices and because she isn't sexually active is a stupid idea and awfully judgmental. To be honest, I'm not surprised she would be like that. She has shown a consistent prejudice toward everyone because they are zombies and freaks and they are different from her and her friends. She has also displayed ideas of internal misogyny that another girl's choice is stupid because it isn't what she would have done.
The story did pick up as it went. But it's hard for me to really like this book because of how unlikable her character is. The romance was cute at times but I didn't feel like they were always that compatible. The characters weren't to die for. Her relationship with Finn is cute at times. It is realistic at times. Her friendship with Gracie was cute and realistic at times. But at the same time, I didn't feel like any of them were compatible with each other. These characters were uncomfortably mushed together. Gracie and her boyfriend Topher were such an awkward couple to read about. Finn and Hayley felt so on and off and their relationship was a huge moodswing. No one made an effort to solve anything when one got upset. WHERE WAS THE COMMUNICATION? And then you have characters like Gracie telling Hayley how perfect they are together. I dont get it??? Also Hayley and Gracie are pretty awkward to read about too. As friends, they should be listening to one another's problems and then comforting one another. Instead, they seem to be talking over each other...both stuck in their own world of problems without making an effort to help one another. Also, the plot was interesting when it started focusing more on family issues and PTSD/depression. But I have trouble falling for a book when I hate the narrator so much.
fictionalkate's review against another edition
5.0
Hayley has been helping her dad, Andy, fight the demons inside his head for years. But when things start to get even worse, Andy moves them both back to the town he grew up in to give Hayley some kind of a normal life. Preferring to be on the road than stuck in public school, Hayley tries to make the most of it for her dad’s sake but things get more difficult when people from their past and the nightmares Andy face become unavoidable. And then there’s Finn – a boy who won’t let Hayley ignore him – pushes himself into her life.
I’ve never read a Laurie Halse Anderson novel before and I’m so glad that I got the opportunity to read The Impossible Knife of Memory. It’s a beautiful story about a teenage girl with a lot of responsibility trying to keep her small family together. She has a lot of love for her dad but she’s also scared. Scared of what might happen to him and scared for herself when the past gets a hold of him and she can’t bring him back. Hayley is a great character. She’s tough because she has needed to be and isn’t an easy person for others to get to know. It makes a lovely contrast with the effervescent Finn who calls Hayley out on her prickly nature and brings out the best in her. Together they are one of my favourite fictional couples because they both have their own problems with neither one of them being perfect however they do make each other stronger. The development of their relationship throughout the book is a strength. I loved getting to see them interact as strangers then something more and finally seeing them support each other as a couple when life gets tough.
This is a book about relationships and in addition to the romance between Hayley and Finn, there is also the father/daughter dynamic between Hayley and Andy. It’s a hard relationship because whilst as a reader it is evident that there is a lot of love on both sides, it’s also a relationship that is dangerous and destructive for both of them. Hayley is doing all she can but it’s not enough and both she and Andy know it. Dispersed throughout Hayley’s narrative are memories from Andy’s time as a soldier. There may only be short and few however they show where Andy’s head is. I really felt for Hayley – she’s trying to do so much and this part of the novel is heartbreaking.
The Impossible Knife of Memory is a beautifully written book. I loved how the authors described memories and situations. The relationships are heartbreaking yet there is hope and I think that’s what makes this book so emotionally draining. There is so much love and yet there is the knowledge that it might not be enough. The supporting characters being drama, distraction but ultimately help the story and Hayley along. It’s only six weeks into the year but I have no doubt that come December this book will still be among my favourites for 2014.
I’ve never read a Laurie Halse Anderson novel before and I’m so glad that I got the opportunity to read The Impossible Knife of Memory. It’s a beautiful story about a teenage girl with a lot of responsibility trying to keep her small family together. She has a lot of love for her dad but she’s also scared. Scared of what might happen to him and scared for herself when the past gets a hold of him and she can’t bring him back. Hayley is a great character. She’s tough because she has needed to be and isn’t an easy person for others to get to know. It makes a lovely contrast with the effervescent Finn who calls Hayley out on her prickly nature and brings out the best in her. Together they are one of my favourite fictional couples because they both have their own problems with neither one of them being perfect however they do make each other stronger. The development of their relationship throughout the book is a strength. I loved getting to see them interact as strangers then something more and finally seeing them support each other as a couple when life gets tough.
This is a book about relationships and in addition to the romance between Hayley and Finn, there is also the father/daughter dynamic between Hayley and Andy. It’s a hard relationship because whilst as a reader it is evident that there is a lot of love on both sides, it’s also a relationship that is dangerous and destructive for both of them. Hayley is doing all she can but it’s not enough and both she and Andy know it. Dispersed throughout Hayley’s narrative are memories from Andy’s time as a soldier. There may only be short and few however they show where Andy’s head is. I really felt for Hayley – she’s trying to do so much and this part of the novel is heartbreaking.
The Impossible Knife of Memory is a beautifully written book. I loved how the authors described memories and situations. The relationships are heartbreaking yet there is hope and I think that’s what makes this book so emotionally draining. There is so much love and yet there is the knowledge that it might not be enough. The supporting characters being drama, distraction but ultimately help the story and Hayley along. It’s only six weeks into the year but I have no doubt that come December this book will still be among my favourites for 2014.
dawn_dickerson's review against another edition
5.0
heart strings. tugged. thoroughly enjoyed this easy ya read.
rennegade's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to the audiobook version of this. I really liked her novels Speak and Wintergirls, but this book didn't do as much for me as those two did. It took too long to get to the meat of the story, and by that point my attention had waned. I wasn't a huge fan of the main character either. I do appreciate how the author handled her father's PTSD, though.
kelseybee17's review against another edition
4.0
I did enjoy this book, but it didn't exactly 'wow' me. Of course, Laurie Halse Anderson's writing is superb. The relationship between Hayley and her father, Andy, was definitely the best part of this novel. His issues dealing with PTSD were harsh but Anderson wrote it SO well. I'm very impressed. Just for that I would want to get this book five stars.
The only thing holding me back from this novel was Hayley. While I actually really liked her a lot, she seemed slightly immature for her age and her friends seemed immature also. I didn't feel much chemistry between her and Finn at all. It actually seemed like Finn was just the male version of Hayley. Had I known the characters were, say, fifteen/sixteen instead of seventeen going on eighteen, the book would have felt more realistic. Also, there were definitely some flaws timeline wise that I noticed.
Laurie Halse Anderson is an excellent writing; that's a given. But her stories have not also done it for me. While I loved Speak and Wintergirls is one of my favorite books, Catalyst and Prom were definitely not memorable. Just for the father-daughter relationship and the portrayal of war PTSD, The Impossible Knife of Memory falls just under Wintergirls.
The only thing holding me back from this novel was Hayley. While I actually really liked her a lot, she seemed slightly immature for her age and her friends seemed immature also. I didn't feel much chemistry between her and Finn at all. It actually seemed like Finn was just the male version of Hayley. Had I known the characters were, say, fifteen/sixteen instead of seventeen going on eighteen, the book would have felt more realistic. Also, there were definitely some flaws timeline wise that I noticed.
Laurie Halse Anderson is an excellent writing; that's a given. But her stories have not also done it for me. While I loved Speak and Wintergirls is one of my favorite books, Catalyst and Prom were definitely not memorable. Just for the father-daughter relationship and the portrayal of war PTSD, The Impossible Knife of Memory falls just under Wintergirls.
poorashleu's review against another edition
3.0
Originally posted at yAdultReview
I was lucky enough to read this book for reblogbookclub, on tumblr. Which is genius and I could not recommend more. That being said, even after talking about the book on tumblr, I still wanted to talk about the book. This is the story of Hayley, who has not had an easy life. Her father, is a solider, who returned from Iraq quite different than he was before Iraq, understandably. Andy has PTSD, there is an argument going around tumblr and goodreads if this was a textbook case of PTSD, or a downplayed version of PTSD. As someone who does not live with PTSD, or have a relative who has PTSD, I found it easy to understand. I was able to see why Hayley had to grow up fast and why Andy was having problems getting up in the morning. I found it to be very telling and it broke my heart in multiple places, because I wanted both of them to be okay, and real life does not always work that way.
Hayley deals with her home life by putting up massive walls that no one is able to work their way through. She has one best friend and everyone else, to Hayley, is a zombie. Just going through the motions of living without really living. The irony is throughout the novel, I started to question, is Hayley just a zombie herself? A girl, just going through the motions of living?
Throughout the story, there are a cast of other characters. From Hayley’s BFF, to Finn, the boy who tries to get through the hard exterior. Both of whom, are fighting their own demons at home.
I found The Impossible Knife of Memory to be an interesting read in the fact it is so not my normal read. I am a light! fluffy! reader. I have never hidden this. So this got me to go outside my normal boundaries and enjoy something I would have normally not enjoyed. But that being said, it was not a pleasant read for me. It made me cringe, made me want to shake things and made me look outside of my normal world.
I was lucky enough to read this book for reblogbookclub, on tumblr. Which is genius and I could not recommend more. That being said, even after talking about the book on tumblr, I still wanted to talk about the book. This is the story of Hayley, who has not had an easy life. Her father, is a solider, who returned from Iraq quite different than he was before Iraq, understandably. Andy has PTSD, there is an argument going around tumblr and goodreads if this was a textbook case of PTSD, or a downplayed version of PTSD. As someone who does not live with PTSD, or have a relative who has PTSD, I found it easy to understand. I was able to see why Hayley had to grow up fast and why Andy was having problems getting up in the morning. I found it to be very telling and it broke my heart in multiple places, because I wanted both of them to be okay, and real life does not always work that way.
Hayley deals with her home life by putting up massive walls that no one is able to work their way through. She has one best friend and everyone else, to Hayley, is a zombie. Just going through the motions of living without really living. The irony is throughout the novel, I started to question, is Hayley just a zombie herself? A girl, just going through the motions of living?
Throughout the story, there are a cast of other characters. From Hayley’s BFF, to Finn, the boy who tries to get through the hard exterior. Both of whom, are fighting their own demons at home.
I found The Impossible Knife of Memory to be an interesting read in the fact it is so not my normal read. I am a light! fluffy! reader. I have never hidden this. So this got me to go outside my normal boundaries and enjoy something I would have normally not enjoyed. But that being said, it was not a pleasant read for me. It made me cringe, made me want to shake things and made me look outside of my normal world.
suvata's review against another edition
3.0
Continuing my TBR project:
This is one the oldest selection on my TBR list - Originally added June 2, 2015.
Heartbreaking story about a teenager who has to deal with her father’s PTSD from the Gulf Wars. All I can say is that I cannot believe what shattered lives some people have to live.
This is one the oldest selection on my TBR list - Originally added June 2, 2015.
Heartbreaking story about a teenager who has to deal with her father’s PTSD from the Gulf Wars. All I can say is that I cannot believe what shattered lives some people have to live.
jennifervu's review against another edition
4.0
A really poignant novel that I thoroughly enjoyed. I loved how Laurie Halse Anderson managed to mix in different elements to create this novel but kept it more about the struggle that she and her father had with their memories and the effects they had on their own lives and the ones surrounding them. The books had three-dimensional characters that really reflected reality, maybe even exaggerating it a bit.
**I was in a hurry to finish this because the author is about to come to my city in a week! :)**
**I was in a hurry to finish this because the author is about to come to my city in a week! :)**
cd1310's review against another edition
2.0
Overall plot had great potential. The ending wasn't the best at concluding and left some parts of the book feeling pointless. Characters also gave me mixed feelings. I still credit Anderson for writing really well and keeping your attention through the whole book.
madlee's review against another edition
4.0
Even though this book made me depressed again, I still enjoyed it. I liked Hailey's sarcasm but it's when she got a little too childish is when she got on my nerves. There are some parts that irked me but overall I thought it was pretty good. Judging by these comments, this book is a hit or miss. Some people love it, and some people do not from the portrayal of PTSD. That's kind of how it is with these kinds of books that deals with mental illnesses and other stuff. Everyone's perception and what they have dealt with is different. I never had any experience with PTSD or know anyone well enough that deals with it, but this book gave me a better insight on it even if some people claim this book to be a "clean" version of PTSD. It's still pretty good either way and I would read it again.