readingwithlibby's review
4.0
This book was so relatable!! I really enjoyed it. I loved Olive as a character, even though she really frustrated me at times. I felt the dynamics between the characters were well developed and I really enjoyed them coming together and trying to spread kindness. The ending was perfect. It didn’t tie anything up neatly in a bow and that resonated with me because mental illness doesn’t often have endings like that and it was really good to see that she didn’t have some random epiphany and wasn’t suddenly cured because that can be really annoying in stories about mental illness. I really liked Sophie, Jamie and Lewis as characters and I loved how they supported Olive. Overall I really enjoyed the book!!
misspashx's review
challenging
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Quite a heavy book. Just from reading the blurb, you would see it deals quite indepth with mental health struggles.
Olive was a complicated character, and was sometimes quite hard to like and understand why she was behaving the way she was.
Olive was a complicated character, and was sometimes quite hard to like and understand why she was behaving the way she was.
Spoiler
My heart broke for Lewis.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Sexual content
hipster_nefelibata's review against another edition
5.0
#KindnessIsContagious
Ohmygosh, I didn’t even know where to start. First, I thought this book is one of those YA books where the main character will stay miserable all throughout the book until the end, and I’m not saying that this book is any different per se, but I guess it is in a way that the main character actually becomes better but doesn’t know how to be better in a good way.
I also like how the story progresses into tiny moments that would make the whole point, like the story flows easily, which I really like soo much when I think of this book. And also! I like how Ms. Holly Bourne uses the ice bucket challenge and the mannequin challenge as Lewis’ example when they were discussing about their “new” project which really shows that this book was written 5 years ago, lol. It’s just cool because it feels like time travelling.
But! However! I could say that the end was the kind of end I was expecting, I wouldn’t spill any beans because that would means I’m spoiling the story to anyone who accidentally read my review lol, all I want for u to do (for those people who accidently read this) is to prepare yourself!
And also…. thank God I found this book, it’s like serendipity… I’m currently working on loving myself more, and this book has really taught me that I should love myself first, be compassionate with myself first before spreading kindness like confitte.
Ohmygosh, I didn’t even know where to start. First, I thought this book is one of those YA books where the main character will stay miserable all throughout the book until the end, and I’m not saying that this book is any different per se, but I guess it is in a way that the main character actually becomes better but doesn’t know how to be better in a good way.
I also like how the story progresses into tiny moments that would make the whole point, like the story flows easily, which I really like soo much when I think of this book. And also! I like how Ms. Holly Bourne uses the ice bucket challenge and the mannequin challenge as Lewis’ example when they were discussing about their “new” project which really shows that this book was written 5 years ago, lol. It’s just cool because it feels like time travelling.
But! However! I could say that the end was the kind of end I was expecting, I wouldn’t spill any beans because that would means I’m spoiling the story to anyone who accidentally read my review lol, all I want for u to do (for those people who accidently read this) is to prepare yourself!
And also…. thank God I found this book, it’s like serendipity… I’m currently working on loving myself more, and this book has really taught me that I should love myself first, be compassionate with myself first before spreading kindness like confitte.
heyitskai's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 ⭐
When I first picked it up I wasn't sure I would like it for two reasons - (1) all the trigger warnings this book has and (2) because of the current state of my own mental health. Surprisingly, though, I did really, really, really like it. A big commitment saying this but this just might be my favorite book I've read by Holly Bourne to this date.
It was hard to read at times as I struggle with my own MH problems as well but to my big surprise, I didn't mind it very much. Olive was a BIG character, not just because, you know, she's the main character, but because in my opinion she's just such an intricate one.
I could resonate with most of the people from the Prime Numbers group at different times. It also felt like I was PART of the group, working out the algorithm and starting the kindness virus project. Also, since I wrote "part" in all caps I think it's an appropriate time to mention I actually liked the fact that Holly Bourne wrote a lot of things in caps. Because sometimes that's exactly what your mind does - screams at you. I'm not sure if that was her intention but I'm taking the freedom to interpret it like that.
Also, since most of the books I read I get from the local library then... I NEED to get my hands on this book because it just spoke to me on so many different levels and I have to annotate the hell out of it.
When I first picked it up I wasn't sure I would like it for two reasons - (1) all the trigger warnings this book has and (2) because of the current state of my own mental health. Surprisingly, though, I did really, really, really like it. A big commitment saying this but this just might be my favorite book I've read by Holly Bourne to this date.
It was hard to read at times as I struggle with my own MH problems as well but to my big surprise, I didn't mind it very much. Olive was a BIG character, not just because, you know, she's the main character, but because in my opinion she's just such an intricate one.
I could resonate with most of the people from the Prime Numbers group at different times. It also felt like I was PART of the group, working out the algorithm and starting the kindness virus project. Also, since I wrote "part" in all caps I think it's an appropriate time to mention I actually liked the fact that Holly Bourne wrote a lot of things in caps. Because sometimes that's exactly what your mind does - screams at you. I'm not sure if that was her intention but I'm taking the freedom to interpret it like that.
Also, since most of the books I read I get from the local library then... I NEED to get my hands on this book because it just spoke to me on so many different levels and I have to annotate the hell out of it.
socoolfr's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
eilidhreads's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
abbie_al2001's review
hopeful
sad
fast-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? Yes
3.5