mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
Not a very long review, just a short/medium one to express my thoughts and feelings on this book.
Althea and Oliver, the cover didn't pull me in (I am still a cover lover), but the description and genres did pull me in. And I am really happy that, regardless of the ugly cover (though pretty colour), I loved the book. That doesn't happen often. :)
The book is written from two POVs. Althea and Oliver. Friends since childhood, however things are now changing. At least for Althea. Althea is slowly, but very surely, falling in love with Oliver. Sadly Oliver doesn't think of her in that way. Which causes lots of awkwardness between the two. Add to that that Oliver has a rare disease that causes him to fall asleep, not for a night, no for days, for weeks, sometimes for months. Causing him to wake up in a world that is quite different, events having happened and he missing those.
I loved Althea, sure she had quite a few things I didn't like (like her smoking or her taking advantage of Oliver (and sure at that event he also had a hand in it, but still not a good choice)), but other than the few things I didn't like, I loved her. She was interesting, kick-ass and I was just cheering for her to get the boy. Hoping she would be lucky, hoping she could be happy.
Like I said, she makes some stupid choices, does some stupid things and lies at times, but we can also see she feels terrible and sorry afterwards. She is not inhuman, she is just a teenager, a very confused teenager. Faced with the end of high school, seeing the love of your life being sick and not feeling the same way as you do, I can imagine one might do things wrong.
I loved her more during the later parts, during the New York time. You could see her glow, grow up and live her life more. She found a place she can call home, made friends and found something she wants to do.
Oliver, mm, I am still not entirely sure I liked him or not. At times I know I did, at times I felt sorry for him. But I think the fact that we barely saw him (after all he slept through quite a bit of the book), is the reason I couldn't connect to him that much. Also the fact that he was utterly confusing. Saying how he likes Althea, how beautiful he found her, and a few other things, yet not loving her in the way she does love him. It was a bit confusing and contradictory. Also his disease and what he did when he woke up in between stuff was a bit disturbing. Add to that, the fact he like to guilt trip people when he found out months has passed. Not like they can do anything about it!
I have also seen enough people talk about the ending and that people apparently didn't like it. I loved it. Sure it was open-ended, but I loved that it ended like that, not forced, but instead as expected. I hate it when an author would try to make something happen, something we as readers cannot see happening. I won't spoil much, but I can say I am really delighted by the ending. Of course this leaves open a space for maybe a few short novellas with some after stuff. What happened to Oliver (did he or did he not make a certain decision, and if he did, what happened to him?), how is it going with Althea (did she stay or did she find another place, did she go home, did she go and study)?
There were also various fun references and a lot of things that clearly showed the age the book was written in. I really loved that.
All in all this book is really highly recommended. A story about love, friendship, sickness and finding a place you belong in this wonderful world.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Althea and Oliver, the cover didn't pull me in (I am still a cover lover), but the description and genres did pull me in. And I am really happy that, regardless of the ugly cover (though pretty colour), I loved the book. That doesn't happen often. :)
The book is written from two POVs. Althea and Oliver. Friends since childhood, however things are now changing. At least for Althea. Althea is slowly, but very surely, falling in love with Oliver. Sadly Oliver doesn't think of her in that way. Which causes lots of awkwardness between the two. Add to that that Oliver has a rare disease that causes him to fall asleep, not for a night, no for days, for weeks, sometimes for months. Causing him to wake up in a world that is quite different, events having happened and he missing those.
I loved Althea, sure she had quite a few things I didn't like (like her smoking or her taking advantage of Oliver (and sure at that event he also had a hand in it, but still not a good choice)), but other than the few things I didn't like, I loved her. She was interesting, kick-ass and I was just cheering for her to get the boy. Hoping she would be lucky, hoping she could be happy.
Like I said, she makes some stupid choices, does some stupid things and lies at times, but we can also see she feels terrible and sorry afterwards. She is not inhuman, she is just a teenager, a very confused teenager. Faced with the end of high school, seeing the love of your life being sick and not feeling the same way as you do, I can imagine one might do things wrong.
I loved her more during the later parts, during the New York time. You could see her glow, grow up and live her life more. She found a place she can call home, made friends and found something she wants to do.
Oliver, mm, I am still not entirely sure I liked him or not. At times I know I did, at times I felt sorry for him. But I think the fact that we barely saw him (after all he slept through quite a bit of the book), is the reason I couldn't connect to him that much. Also the fact that he was utterly confusing. Saying how he likes Althea, how beautiful he found her, and a few other things, yet not loving her in the way she does love him. It was a bit confusing and contradictory. Also his disease and what he did when he woke up in between stuff was a bit disturbing. Add to that, the fact he like to guilt trip people when he found out months has passed. Not like they can do anything about it!
I have also seen enough people talk about the ending and that people apparently didn't like it. I loved it. Sure it was open-ended, but I loved that it ended like that, not forced, but instead as expected. I hate it when an author would try to make something happen, something we as readers cannot see happening. I won't spoil much, but I can say I am really delighted by the ending. Of course this leaves open a space for maybe a few short novellas with some after stuff. What happened to Oliver (did he or did he not make a certain decision, and if he did, what happened to him?), how is it going with Althea (did she stay or did she find another place, did she go home, did she go and study)?
There were also various fun references and a lot of things that clearly showed the age the book was written in. I really loved that.
All in all this book is really highly recommended. A story about love, friendship, sickness and finding a place you belong in this wonderful world.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
babbieabbi's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Ugh. The writing was amazing, the characters were amazing, the story was amazing. I loved the chronic illness representation and this book felt like it should have been so meaningful to me. But there is a scene involving sexual assault that is just basically disregarded throughout the rest of the book. The casual rape culture is something I’m not willing to support, even though I feel like this book had a lot of potential.
alifromkc1907's review against another edition
4.0
Gut Instinct Rating: 4
Characters: 4
Believability: 3
Uniqueness: 5
Writing Style: 5
Excitement Factor: 3
Story Line: 4
Title Relevance: 5
Artwork Relevance: 5
Overall: 4.22
Characters: 4
Believability: 3
Uniqueness: 5
Writing Style: 5
Excitement Factor: 3
Story Line: 4
Title Relevance: 5
Artwork Relevance: 5
Overall: 4.22
madiison4hunt's review
this book came to me in a vision and i remembered just how conflicting of a story it was for me (who was in 8th grade i think???) to read… idk even know how to rate it but just save yourself the heart palpitations and don’t read it
sc104906's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. At first I couldn't tell if it was realistic or fantasy fiction. However, it is realistic fiction. Althea and Oliver have been friends since childhood. As the two got older, Althea developed romantic feelings for Oliver and Oliver developed a sleeping sickness. Oliver falls asleep for weeks at a time, only waking up in a weird feral state. Oliver is determined to fix his messed up brain and Althea won't be left behind. Can the two learn to stand on their own?
There are some ethical issues that come up within this novel. It isn't something that I would give to a young teen. However, I really like Althea and Oliver. The characters speak to me.
There are some ethical issues that come up within this novel. It isn't something that I would give to a young teen. However, I really like Althea and Oliver. The characters speak to me.
camrynndb's review
2.0
I picked up this book when I was at Barnes and Nobles and I needed a book to read. I did not read anything about it before or even read the description, I just bought it and started reading. I honestly have never hated a book as much as this one and not even for the writing style which is usually the reason for it. The reason I am giving this book two stars instead of one (I will get into that later) is because the writing was really good and I thought that the author has talent in her writing abilities.
Okay now to why I absolutely despised this story:
Althea raped Oliver. Simple as that. She knew about his mental condition and that he wasn't himself at all in fact he didn't even remember any of the events that happened during his sleeping episodes.
And all of the characters played it off like it wasn't anything, some even said that he was lucky. This book really proves that gender stereotypes and rape are still prevalent and misunderstood because the book basically says that men cannot be victims of rape and that since they know each other so well it can't be distinguished as rape.
I just felt it was brushed aside and the whole thing obviously was important to Oliver (his virginity) and he felt like he was taken advantage of (which he was).
The book made it seem like a small mistake when really it was a big one and that is why I did not like this book at all.
Okay now to why I absolutely despised this story:
Althea raped Oliver. Simple as that. She knew about his mental condition and that he wasn't himself at all in fact he didn't even remember any of the events that happened during his sleeping episodes.
And all of the characters played it off like it wasn't anything, some even said that he was lucky. This book really proves that gender stereotypes and rape are still prevalent and misunderstood because the book basically says that men cannot be victims of rape and that since they know each other so well it can't be distinguished as rape.
I just felt it was brushed aside and the whole thing obviously was important to Oliver (his virginity) and he felt like he was taken advantage of (which he was).
The book made it seem like a small mistake when really it was a big one and that is why I did not like this book at all.
notlikethebeer's review
1.0
CN r*pe
Lost me when Althea r*ped Oliver and barely anyone fully recognised that. Shame, as the writing was great.
Lost me when Althea r*ped Oliver and barely anyone fully recognised that. Shame, as the writing was great.
rustbeltjessie's review
5.0
The characters and (many of) the situations in this book were so familiar to me - being that I was around the same age as Althea and Oliver, at the same time (mid-late '90s). I felt like the characters were all people that I was friends with, or could have been friends with. Honestly, though, Cristina Moracho's writing is so gorgeous and descriptive that I think anyone who has ever been a teenager, in any time period, can recognize themselves and their friends (or enemies) in the characters; also, she makes all the experiences relatable so that even if you've never been through them, by the end of the book you feel like you have.
Of course, and this is speaking as a former misfit teen myself, I think that anyone who was a misfit teen in some way - a punk or an outsider, or anyone who found 'salvation' in things like punk shows, chapters of 'Bread and Roses,' Replacements records, and aimless drives - might relate to this book especially well.
And the ending made me cry like a baby. Perfect.
(Plus - Non-Stop Party Wagon! I remember that from an issue of Burn Collector, and reading about it in Althea & Oliver inspired me!)
Of course, and this is speaking as a former misfit teen myself, I think that anyone who was a misfit teen in some way - a punk or an outsider, or anyone who found 'salvation' in things like punk shows, chapters of 'Bread and Roses,' Replacements records, and aimless drives - might relate to this book especially well.
And the ending made me cry like a baby. Perfect.
(Plus - Non-Stop Party Wagon! I remember that from an issue of Burn Collector, and reading about it in Althea & Oliver inspired me!)