Reviews

I hate to give this book such a low rating because it definitely had beautiful moments. And, somehow, a lot of it was strangely, acutely related to things going on in my life in just the two weeks in which I was reading this book. That really did feel magical. However, I just didn't understand this story. Kumiko was enigmatic, but just kind of a cop-out for me. She came in at the end like a deus ex machina and that kind of thing just always strikes me as lazy writing. And I've read another book of Mr. Ness's, so I know that he is not a lazy writer. And that's why this book disappointed me.

I did come to care about George and Amanda. But whenever something happened to them, I didn't really know where it was going or why I was reading about it. And not in the pleasant way, which is when a plot keeps you guessing. This plot didn't strike me as planned or foreshadowed or linear enough to be something to even guess at. And, more importantly I didn't care to. I didn't know why Amanda slept with Henri and it was just kind of annoying that she did. And then the subsequent pointless 'is she pregnant?' plot. Stuff like that, I was just like what is the point of all this?

Kumiko really was what bothered me the most, though. Everyone loves her. She's incredibly talented. She's mystifying. Amanda loves her immediately. George gets greedy with how much he wants of her. But she doesn't let him get too close because, ooh, she's just that special and enigmatic. And then she sacrifices herself for Amanda at the end. It's all just... Ridiculous. And the rest of the story wasn't good enough to forgive that.

If I'm honest, the best crafted part of the book was probably Rachel. Which is a shame, because I didn't really enjoy reading anything with her. But her story made sense. And it was definitely familiar, even cliche in places, but not overly so. And it was believable. All that was relieving in the midst of a story I couldn't make sense out of.

I'm going to end this here, because I don't want to beat a dead horse to the ground. I absolutely think that this book was worth my time. I do not regret reading it. However, the low rating comes from the fact that I will never read it again. That I can say with certainty.

connorthemiller's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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