orfhlaithxo's review against another edition
4.0
The book was slow at first but really picked up in the end. I thought this story was going to have more depth but it was a short good read.
bookishnicole's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not really sure where to begin talking about this book. For starters, I really liked it and it was a quick read, and I absolutely adored that about this book, but since it was quick and so short, I'm finding it hard to put my words on the page, or maybe its because I'm absolutely exhausted after staying up all night reading it.
I guess I'll start with the Jules, or Julia, our main character who keeps seeing these glimpses of this horrible explosion in which people die. She has no idea when or where it's going to happen, and she spends a good portion of the book trying to determine when this is all going down. I have to say that I admired her comittment to trying to figure this out when she could have just ignored it.
I love her family and how they each had these strange little quirks about them, like how her mom tries to be happy all the time, and her sister is devoted and hard working, and her brother, well, its hard to describe him other than being a completely loyal brother. I adored their relationships and interactions. I wish that there had been a little bit more of Jules' little sister Rowan, who we see less of.
I liked how the explosion presented themselves to Jules, how it started out as an image on a billboard, and then progressed into being more aggressive so she paid attention to them and made sure that she didn't just sit idly by. I found that her actions when it came to the crash a little...interesting.
I can see why it was so hard for Jules to try to explain what was happening to her. If I didn't read so much I probably would have thought she was crazy too. I was not a fan of Jules' father and the other family in this book, but not much I can do about that. I don't usually do this, but this is definitely Final Destination meets Romeo and Juliet. Check it out for sure.
I guess I'll start with the Jules, or Julia, our main character who keeps seeing these glimpses of this horrible explosion in which people die. She has no idea when or where it's going to happen, and she spends a good portion of the book trying to determine when this is all going down. I have to say that I admired her comittment to trying to figure this out when she could have just ignored it.
I love her family and how they each had these strange little quirks about them, like how her mom tries to be happy all the time, and her sister is devoted and hard working, and her brother, well, its hard to describe him other than being a completely loyal brother. I adored their relationships and interactions. I wish that there had been a little bit more of Jules' little sister Rowan, who we see less of.
I liked how the explosion presented themselves to Jules, how it started out as an image on a billboard, and then progressed into being more aggressive so she paid attention to them and made sure that she didn't just sit idly by. I found that her actions when it came to the crash a little...interesting.
I can see why it was so hard for Jules to try to explain what was happening to her. If I didn't read so much I probably would have thought she was crazy too. I was not a fan of Jules' father and the other family in this book, but not much I can do about that. I don't usually do this, but this is definitely Final Destination meets Romeo and Juliet. Check it out for sure.
sc104906's review against another edition
5.0
Jules lives in a suburb of Chicago above her family's pizzeria. Similar (but not really at all) to Romeo and Juliet, her family's pizzeria is at odds with the Angotti pizzeria, which includes Sawyer the love of Jules's life.
Recently Jules has been having a vision of a car crash, explosion, and body bags with Sawyer in one of them. The vision's frequency begins to increase and Jules knows she can't ignore it because she could never forgive herself if Sawyer dies (even if she isn't supposed to see him or talk to him ever). Crazy mystery solving ensues.
I though this book was funny and fun, even though body bags were present throughout the novel. It was a quick read, but I really liked the characters. I thought they were well developed and could picture interacting with them in the real world.
Recently Jules has been having a vision of a car crash, explosion, and body bags with Sawyer in one of them. The vision's frequency begins to increase and Jules knows she can't ignore it because she could never forgive herself if Sawyer dies (even if she isn't supposed to see him or talk to him ever). Crazy mystery solving ensues.
I though this book was funny and fun, even though body bags were present throughout the novel. It was a quick read, but I really liked the characters. I thought they were well developed and could picture interacting with them in the real world.
shuofthewind's review against another edition
3.0
Not quite as well done as the Wake trilogy, but definitely interesting and charming.
sandylovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
I thought this book would be too much like the authors Wake series but it isn't. They are both similar with visions of some sort but I saw this one more of a love story than the other series. I really liked Jules and Sawyer and rooted for them. I love Trey and the fact that he is gay and it was no big deal was great. The family feud story line was really interesting. Can't wait until the next book is out in this series.
michelle_pink_polka_dot's review against another edition
4.0
Jules whole life is pretty much consumed by her family's Italian Restaurant which they live above. Her dad has mental issues and severe depression, so the family has to pull together that much more to make it work. She's always working and driving around the super-embarrassing meatball truck. Then she starts having visions of a crash. In the vision an out-of-control snow plow crashes into a building and the building explodes. Nine body bags are then seen in the snow beside the burned out building. This crash is very realistic and she figures out the building getting crashed into is the Agnotti's, the restaurant-rival of her family. She tries to ignore/block it out, convinced she's just crazy, but the vision refuses to be ignored.
Eventually she comes to the realization that she's not crazy and that this is going to happen. The body bags she sees in the snow after the crash.... well one of them belongs to Sawyer Agnotti, her super-crush. She knows she has to try to save him and his family, but how in the world do you tell people about a crash that hasn't happened yet without them thinking you are completely nuts?
My Thoughts:
I got really into this book. It was super addicting!! The more the crash would show up on random signs and TV screens, the more anxious I got wondering when the heck this was going to happen! I love that feeling like you HAVE to know what's going to happen. You can't go to bed because you don't know if the characters are going to be okay. This book definitely is an up all night kind of read.
I read the first Wake book, and while this definitely had some of the same elements to it as that, it was completely better!! The side characters in this book were so cool. I really dug the siblings and their relationships with each other. Being an only-child it made me a little jealous even. Rowan, Trey, and Jules were like this awesome team who looked out for each other, joked around together, and just had this protecting love between them. I was really glad that Jules had this and wasn't all alone like Janie was in Wake.
The book is short and written sort of choppy. But if you read my stuff I write that way too, so it didn't bother me in the least. I like how this author doesn't dick around explaining and explaining things... but it can be a good and a bad thing. The good- she gets to the point... and sometimes it's just nice to read a shorter book. The bad- some of the characters suffer a little from it.
The love story part was a little ehhh for me. I wasn't expecting it to come together so fast at the end and I really didn't love that part of it. I was into the Romeo and Juliet vibe, but all the family-drama and Jules just being so forward at one point was throwing me off a little. Also I think I just wanted more personality from Sawyer to know what was so love-able about him... besides the sharing of plastic animals. Plus Jules gets really creepy at times during this book (for good reason, but still) and I wanted Sawyer to react like a normal person and tell her she was a freaking weirdo!!
Jules was a really funny character (even if she was a little stalkerish). I loved the "oh my dogs" stuff and the way her and her brother Trey would talk to each other. They always had super funny convos that just completely made the book for me.
The ending was definitely surprising! I'm trying not going to get all spoilery here, but I was expecting another vision, just not who it came from at all!!! I'm definitely up for reading the 2nd book like immediately.... when does it come out?????
Overall: Very addicting, suspenseful book. A must-read for Lisa McMann fans and anyone just looking for something that will keep you up all night reading!! Also the cover is GORGEOUS in person!
My Blog:
http://pinkpolkadotbookblog.blogspot.com
Eventually she comes to the realization that she's not crazy and that this is going to happen. The body bags she sees in the snow after the crash.... well one of them belongs to Sawyer Agnotti, her super-crush. She knows she has to try to save him and his family, but how in the world do you tell people about a crash that hasn't happened yet without them thinking you are completely nuts?
My Thoughts:
I got really into this book. It was super addicting!! The more the crash would show up on random signs and TV screens, the more anxious I got wondering when the heck this was going to happen! I love that feeling like you HAVE to know what's going to happen. You can't go to bed because you don't know if the characters are going to be okay. This book definitely is an up all night kind of read.
I read the first Wake book, and while this definitely had some of the same elements to it as that, it was completely better!! The side characters in this book were so cool. I really dug the siblings and their relationships with each other. Being an only-child it made me a little jealous even. Rowan, Trey, and Jules were like this awesome team who looked out for each other, joked around together, and just had this protecting love between them. I was really glad that Jules had this and wasn't all alone like Janie was in Wake.
The book is short and written sort of choppy. But if you read my stuff I write that way too, so it didn't bother me in the least. I like how this author doesn't dick around explaining and explaining things... but it can be a good and a bad thing. The good- she gets to the point... and sometimes it's just nice to read a shorter book. The bad- some of the characters suffer a little from it.
The love story part was a little ehhh for me. I wasn't expecting it to come together so fast at the end and I really didn't love that part of it. I was into the Romeo and Juliet vibe, but all the family-drama and Jules just being so forward at one point was throwing me off a little. Also I think I just wanted more personality from Sawyer to know what was so love-able about him... besides the sharing of plastic animals. Plus Jules gets really creepy at times during this book (for good reason, but still) and I wanted Sawyer to react like a normal person and tell her she was a freaking weirdo!!
Jules was a really funny character (even if she was a little stalkerish). I loved the "oh my dogs" stuff and the way her and her brother Trey would talk to each other. They always had super funny convos that just completely made the book for me.
The ending was definitely surprising! I'm trying not going to get all spoilery here, but I was expecting another vision, just not who it came from at all!!! I'm definitely up for reading the 2nd book like immediately.... when does it come out?????
Overall: Very addicting, suspenseful book. A must-read for Lisa McMann fans and anyone just looking for something that will keep you up all night reading!! Also the cover is GORGEOUS in person!
My Blog:
http://pinkpolkadotbookblog.blogspot.com
ashhanna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5