The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
marisamoo's review against another edition
5.0
"It's too hard to explain. I can't say why I love the book. I just do. You don't pick the books you fall in love with. It just happens, and when it happens, you know. Who's to say where love comes from?
Oh my gosh. Oh my GOSH. I am c r y I n g
I was not expecting this book to be that beautiful. I thought it'd be so so. Another weird and annoyingly inappropriate contemporary read.
but instead I am in love. I want to read this story over and over. I need to buy it and drown again in it's words.
I mean it's not for everyone but for some reason this book spoke to me and I just related to Gloria and her journey.
Maybe it's just me perhaps everyone else will dislike her and the book but this book hit me hard.
Like I can't even write a review but I will try.
Ok basics. The words. Were beautiful.
GRANTED. Certain bits did seem a tad forced, like the author was trying REALLY hard to be poetic and quotable. She certainly did succeed but some things did not.
The characters. I related to Gloria insanely well. Everything she felt and did was me.
The charactersssss. All of them. I loved every one of them. Some came in seeming like stereotypes and bam. They changed. Every single character was real, and beautiful. A lot of people stopped midway through because they seemed lame and typical but thatttt is one of the problems with stopping a book midway for that reason. This book had a lot of character development that you get to watch, so you really have to stick with it if you don't like the characters at first.
Reading through reviews so many people described Gloria as self absorbed, shallow. And that is opinion of course but to me she isn't. She is actually very relatable. She's anxious, scared to do a lot with her life. She thinks she knows herself, life, she thinks organizing everything will work out and make it all easier. She thinks categorizing people will make it easier. She is caught up with wondering why people like her and that may sound selfish but pls. Who hasn't thought that.
She did not say it outspokenly but really that's why it was pretty. Gloria had anxiety. Self esteem, even. Maybe. But it never really SAID that and that's why I love it because most of the times you don't put titles on problems they just are and you cant explain it.
The story was REALISTIC. So it had swearing but wasn't a gross gritty realistic. It was REAL and beautiful and inspiring.
There was romance but it never really happened which I appreciated. It was far from insta-love, but cute but far from fluffy. It was...real.
I really cant explain it but this book means a lot to me. This book struck me hard and I am in love.
The quote at the top describes it perfectly anddd here's another
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes you can love a book not so much because of what it's about or what happens in it, but because it belongs to a certain time or person in your life -- like you'll always remember where you were when you read it for the first time, or who gave it to you, or what season it was, or who you were before you read it and how you were different when it was over."
content: Ehhhhh PG13 just because of swearing.
Oh my gosh. Oh my GOSH. I am c r y I n g
I was not expecting this book to be that beautiful. I thought it'd be so so. Another weird and annoyingly inappropriate contemporary read.
but instead I am in love. I want to read this story over and over. I need to buy it and drown again in it's words.
I mean it's not for everyone but for some reason this book spoke to me and I just related to Gloria and her journey.
Maybe it's just me perhaps everyone else will dislike her and the book but this book hit me hard.
Like I can't even write a review but I will try.
Ok basics. The words. Were beautiful.
GRANTED. Certain bits did seem a tad forced, like the author was trying REALLY hard to be poetic and quotable. She certainly did succeed but some things did not.
The characters. I related to Gloria insanely well. Everything she felt and did was me.
The charactersssss. All of them. I loved every one of them. Some came in seeming like stereotypes and bam. They changed. Every single character was real, and beautiful. A lot of people stopped midway through because they seemed lame and typical but thatttt is one of the problems with stopping a book midway for that reason. This book had a lot of character development that you get to watch, so you really have to stick with it if you don't like the characters at first.
Reading through reviews so many people described Gloria as self absorbed, shallow. And that is opinion of course but to me she isn't. She is actually very relatable. She's anxious, scared to do a lot with her life. She thinks she knows herself, life, she thinks organizing everything will work out and make it all easier. She thinks categorizing people will make it easier. She is caught up with wondering why people like her and that may sound selfish but pls. Who hasn't thought that.
She did not say it outspokenly but really that's why it was pretty. Gloria had anxiety. Self esteem, even. Maybe. But it never really SAID that and that's why I love it because most of the times you don't put titles on problems they just are and you cant explain it.
The story was REALISTIC. So it had swearing but wasn't a gross gritty realistic. It was REAL and beautiful and inspiring.
There was romance but it never really happened which I appreciated. It was far from insta-love, but cute but far from fluffy. It was...real.
I really cant explain it but this book means a lot to me. This book struck me hard and I am in love.
The quote at the top describes it perfectly anddd here's another
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that sometimes you can love a book not so much because of what it's about or what happens in it, but because it belongs to a certain time or person in your life -- like you'll always remember where you were when you read it for the first time, or who gave it to you, or what season it was, or who you were before you read it and how you were different when it was over."
content: Ehhhhh PG13 just because of swearing.
madhatter360's review against another edition
3.0
I have attended programs for gifted students, and worked as a counselor at two of them. IN NO UNIVERSE WOULD STUDENTS BE ALLOWED TO JUST WANDER AROUND UNSUPERVISED WITH A SCAVENGER HUNT BUT NO PROFESSOR OR TA/COUNSELOR! We had to do attendance regularly, to let the main office know that we weren't missing any children. Kids were allowed off campus, but there was a sign out system and designated hours. I just-the safety violations. The characters are all underage, so this gets taken very seriously.
I also thought the ending was weird.
I also thought the ending was weird.
sarahannkateri's review against another edition
2.0
The characters were all too self-impressed. I couldn't get into it.
gritshelme's review against another edition
1.0
I wanted so badly to like this book. I really did. But Gloria is the absolute worst sort of judgmental and melodramatic attempt at writing a "real" teenage girl. Or, perhaps, Gloria is very real but I am completely unable to relate to her because I'm not nearly so shallow and self-absorbed as she.
adrianna0313's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to like this book but, I just had a really hard time connecting to it in any way. But, I did appreciate the meaning behind it and the way Sarah tried to recreate emotions/life experiences that everyone goes through at some point. I think my main issue was the way she described the characters was very basic. There just wasn't much depth to any of them.
hazelcat13's review against another edition
3.0
I wasn't expecting much when I started this one. This isn't typically the book I go for; in fact, I never pick up books like this. But I'm going to an author luncheon where Combs will be speaking and I wanted to have read her work. I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised.
I've never read a book that takes place in the state I've lived most of my life. I've never had the pleasure of experiencing the shock of familiarity when I see landmarks, counties, and places that I drive past and through before. For that reason, this novel became that more real for me. I loved the way Combs wrote about Kentucky in such an up-front matter. She talked about coal, mountaintop removal, basketball, the rolling hills, and the blue-grass.
This book is a beautiful portrait of young adulthood in a state that has a pension for being misrepresented. I only wish that it would have been around when I was in high school, when I needed to be reminded of all the beautiful things that make up Kentucky.
I've never read a book that takes place in the state I've lived most of my life. I've never had the pleasure of experiencing the shock of familiarity when I see landmarks, counties, and places that I drive past and through before. For that reason, this novel became that more real for me. I loved the way Combs wrote about Kentucky in such an up-front matter. She talked about coal, mountaintop removal, basketball, the rolling hills, and the blue-grass.
This book is a beautiful portrait of young adulthood in a state that has a pension for being misrepresented. I only wish that it would have been around when I was in high school, when I needed to be reminded of all the beautiful things that make up Kentucky.
percyflies's review against another edition
Really insufferable main character. Big not like other girls/women hating energy.
Felt like it was trying to be cool and quirky like John Green or Ferris Bueller but fell flat and just came across as overwrought, unrealistic, and annoying.
Felt like it was trying to be cool and quirky like John Green or Ferris Bueller but fell flat and just came across as overwrought, unrealistic, and annoying.
nedge's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-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
4.0
mlindsey441's review against another edition
3.0
I loved the premise of this book and it involved some interesting characters, including a boxer puppy. It involves a summer of growth and change for a group of talented young people who attend a month long camp at state college. The novel centers around one teen-aged girl and three new friends who end up in the same strand of the program. It includes some of the teen angsty stuff that I have grown a bit tired of -- Really -- how can you fall in love hate-love with someone through the window of your dorm? And Gloria (the main character) was at times a bit overly reflective about things, which lent a sense of drama to the whole narrative that was a little tiresome. And I could have done without the butterfly sub-metaphor that ran through the book.
At the same time -- boxer puppy! So cool that a dog got to play such a key role in the formation of these young people. And the adults, while rarely in the picture, are rather cool people when they are -- not in a "We all want to be your friends way," but in a "We have lives of our own and we will share those lives with you if you let us" way. There are also some great literary references in here and good conversations about books and the importance of reading in shaping lives.
Overall, I liked the book. I didn't love it, mainly because I found it so hard to relate to Gloria, but I did find it a nice quick read. I am also not this book's intended audience, so readers who are in their teens may find in this book a dear set of friends. I would certainly not hesitate to recommend it to my young adult readers.
At the same time -- boxer puppy! So cool that a dog got to play such a key role in the formation of these young people. And the adults, while rarely in the picture, are rather cool people when they are -- not in a "We all want to be your friends way," but in a "We have lives of our own and we will share those lives with you if you let us" way. There are also some great literary references in here and good conversations about books and the importance of reading in shaping lives.
Overall, I liked the book. I didn't love it, mainly because I found it so hard to relate to Gloria, but I did find it a nice quick read. I am also not this book's intended audience, so readers who are in their teens may find in this book a dear set of friends. I would certainly not hesitate to recommend it to my young adult readers.