aprilk's review against another edition
4.0
The Form of Things Unknown is the second book in this series. Both of which involve teens having to deal with some pretty heavy stuff amidst falling in love and trying to figure things out in general.
In The Form of Things Unknown Natalie's family has moved in with her grandmother to help take care of her since she has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Apparently Natalie's ex boyfriend gave her some ecstasy that triggered hallucinations of her own and with her family history of mental health issues she now has to take medication to keep her from possibly having more hallucinations. This would understandably be tough on anyone, much less a teenager. So I don't find it hard to believe when she makes some mistakes with skipping her medication or drinking with it when she is hanging out with friends. This may not be the smart move or even be what us as readers would want her to do but it is very realistic for her age and situation. It also adds to the mystery of her believing that she may be seeing things at the theater. It really keeps you wondering if it's because she isn't taking her medications properly or is it because the theater is truly haunted, or maybe it's something else entirely. Add in the possible budding relationship with Lucas a boy she knows from the rehabilitation facility and it definitely keeps things interesting. I like that it's not all gloom and doom and there is humor throughout as well and some fun characters like Lucas's younger sister and the boy Natalie's brother has a crush on to help keep things light. I find it refreshing to find characters in ya contemporary dealing with some big real life issues such as mental health and not just boy drama. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more novels by Ms. Robin Bridges.
** I received this book from the publisher in exchange for honest review **
In The Form of Things Unknown Natalie's family has moved in with her grandmother to help take care of her since she has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Apparently Natalie's ex boyfriend gave her some ecstasy that triggered hallucinations of her own and with her family history of mental health issues she now has to take medication to keep her from possibly having more hallucinations. This would understandably be tough on anyone, much less a teenager. So I don't find it hard to believe when she makes some mistakes with skipping her medication or drinking with it when she is hanging out with friends. This may not be the smart move or even be what us as readers would want her to do but it is very realistic for her age and situation. It also adds to the mystery of her believing that she may be seeing things at the theater. It really keeps you wondering if it's because she isn't taking her medications properly or is it because the theater is truly haunted, or maybe it's something else entirely. Add in the possible budding relationship with Lucas a boy she knows from the rehabilitation facility and it definitely keeps things interesting. I like that it's not all gloom and doom and there is humor throughout as well and some fun characters like Lucas's younger sister and the boy Natalie's brother has a crush on to help keep things light. I find it refreshing to find characters in ya contemporary dealing with some big real life issues such as mental health and not just boy drama. I will definitely be keeping my eye out for more novels by Ms. Robin Bridges.
** I received this book from the publisher in exchange for honest review **
merlin_reads's review against another edition
2.0
Umm...this one was hard for me to rate. There were some really good moments - the way the author portrayed mental illness and how it affects everyone and everything around you was by far the highlight.
Natalie suffered a mental breakdown and did some time in a mental institution. Now out and trying to get her life back together, she joins the summer theater program to help her brother get a guy. While Nat just wants to forget what happened and be normal, she runs into a fellow former patient while auditioning for the play. Lucas is an immediate threat to her. He knows her secrets and Nat is terrified that soon her new found friends will know.
I'm trying to put my finger on what didn't work for me and it's hard. The pacing seemed off a lot of the times, it either moved insanely fast or dragged. There was no balance. The ending was rushed and kind of thrown together with everything getting all wrapped up perfectly - it just wasn't very realistic. Also the characters themselves weren't memorable. Natalie constantly made horrible decisions in regards to her safety and wellbeing. Her two new friend blended into each other that I had a hard time telling their personalities apart. The best characters of the book were 5 year old Caitlin and Nat's brother, David.
I don't know. I guess with the heavy subject matter, I just wanted more.
I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Natalie suffered a mental breakdown and did some time in a mental institution. Now out and trying to get her life back together, she joins the summer theater program to help her brother get a guy. While Nat just wants to forget what happened and be normal, she runs into a fellow former patient while auditioning for the play. Lucas is an immediate threat to her. He knows her secrets and Nat is terrified that soon her new found friends will know.
I'm trying to put my finger on what didn't work for me and it's hard. The pacing seemed off a lot of the times, it either moved insanely fast or dragged. There was no balance. The ending was rushed and kind of thrown together with everything getting all wrapped up perfectly - it just wasn't very realistic. Also the characters themselves weren't memorable. Natalie constantly made horrible decisions in regards to her safety and wellbeing. Her two new friend blended into each other that I had a hard time telling their personalities apart. The best characters of the book were 5 year old Caitlin and Nat's brother, David.
I don't know. I guess with the heavy subject matter, I just wanted more.
I received an e-copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
kirstysbookshelf's review against another edition
4.0
I was provided a copy via Net Galley.
Natalie had to spend time in a mental hospital after she started having hallucinations. After leaving the hospital her family moves in with her Grandma who has schizophrenia. Her brother persuades her to try out for the summer play; A Midsummer's Night Dream. But Natalie starts seeing ghosts at the theatre.
I really enjoyed this book and I thought that the author dealt with mental illness in a really good way. The way that it was dealt with made it seem realistic and I think it did a good job of portraying what it is like to live with a mental illness.
I enjoyed the romance in this book as it was a slow building romance. I also like that the romance wasn't used as a 'cure' for the mental illness. I find a lot of books use the love interest as a way of making the character better but this is unrealistic and I felt that this relationship was a lot more realistic.
The plot twist is a bit disappointing but it did surprise me as I had no idea that a particular character was going to end up like that. I wasn't a huge fan of the ghost storyline and I feel that the book would have still worked if this hadn't been included.
Overall I really enjoyed this and I would recommend it. I can't wait to read more from the author in the future.
Natalie had to spend time in a mental hospital after she started having hallucinations. After leaving the hospital her family moves in with her Grandma who has schizophrenia. Her brother persuades her to try out for the summer play; A Midsummer's Night Dream. But Natalie starts seeing ghosts at the theatre.
I really enjoyed this book and I thought that the author dealt with mental illness in a really good way. The way that it was dealt with made it seem realistic and I think it did a good job of portraying what it is like to live with a mental illness.
I enjoyed the romance in this book as it was a slow building romance. I also like that the romance wasn't used as a 'cure' for the mental illness. I find a lot of books use the love interest as a way of making the character better but this is unrealistic and I felt that this relationship was a lot more realistic.
The plot twist is a bit disappointing but it did surprise me as I had no idea that a particular character was going to end up like that. I wasn't a huge fan of the ghost storyline and I feel that the book would have still worked if this hadn't been included.
Overall I really enjoyed this and I would recommend it. I can't wait to read more from the author in the future.
thecozyreader's review against another edition
4.0
A good new girl to new town book.
Centers around Natalie who has just had a heck of a break up, and is making new friends in her new home town after moving to help support her grandmother.
Main characters are well developed but I feel the supporting characters lacked in connection to the story. Such as Starla and Colton.
Overall, a decent read and a surprising ending.
Centers around Natalie who has just had a heck of a break up, and is making new friends in her new home town after moving to help support her grandmother.
Main characters are well developed but I feel the supporting characters lacked in connection to the story. Such as Starla and Colton.
Overall, a decent read and a surprising ending.
catiinha's review
3.0
For more reviews click HERE
Actual Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars
*I was provided a copy by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
A few months ago I read Dreaming of Antigone and I really liked that book. It had a few problems but overall I liked it. In that book we were introduced to Natalie who was the main character in The Form of Things Unknown. Because Natalie was a side characters in Dreaming of Antigone I only knew a few things about her and I didn’t know the full story. Well, let me tell you that The Form of Things Unknown is quite different from that Natalie but mostly because of something that happened to her after the first book. That was one of my main problems in this book. I didn’t like Natalie at all and I didn’t like what she was doing. Right in the beginning of the book we learnt that Natalie has mental health problems and she takes meds because of that. Being new in town she tries to hide from everyone else her problems and does some stupid things just to look normal (like drink and not take her meds when she might be having schizophrenic episodes). That was just wrong for me. I really didn’t like her in this book. I didn’t like her but I didn’t like the other characters at all. The only one I kind of liked was Luke, the love interest. He was super cute but we don’t even learn that much about him in the book. We just know Natalie likes him and he likes her but we don’t know why because we barely see them talking. The other characters were just terrible. They were all terrible friends and I didn’t like them at all. And don’t even make me talk about Natalie’s brother because he was a terrible older brother. He didn’t care about his sister at all. Most of the times he only cared about his boyfriend and when something bad happened to Natalie he didn’t even believe her. He didn’t believe the person that he has known for years and instead he believes in a girl that he has known for about a year. It was screwed up.
Not only I didn’t like the characters but I also had a few problems with the writing. It was a little bit confusing sometimes and I was constantly coming back to a certain sentence to try to understand what was happening. The good thing about this book is that at one point I was super invested in the story and couldn’t stop reading it.
Unfortunately this book was kind of disappointment to me. I would love to say that I loved it because I really liked Dreaming of Antigone but this one wasn’t that as good as the first one. I don’t think I can recommend this book but if you’re interested in the blurb go on and read it. You might enjoy it.
Actual Rating: 2.5 out of 5 Stars
*I was provided a copy by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
A few months ago I read Dreaming of Antigone and I really liked that book. It had a few problems but overall I liked it. In that book we were introduced to Natalie who was the main character in The Form of Things Unknown. Because Natalie was a side characters in Dreaming of Antigone I only knew a few things about her and I didn’t know the full story. Well, let me tell you that The Form of Things Unknown is quite different from that Natalie but mostly because of something that happened to her after the first book. That was one of my main problems in this book. I didn’t like Natalie at all and I didn’t like what she was doing. Right in the beginning of the book we learnt that Natalie has mental health problems and she takes meds because of that. Being new in town she tries to hide from everyone else her problems and does some stupid things just to look normal (like drink and not take her meds when she might be having schizophrenic episodes). That was just wrong for me. I really didn’t like her in this book. I didn’t like her but I didn’t like the other characters at all. The only one I kind of liked was Luke, the love interest. He was super cute but we don’t even learn that much about him in the book. We just know Natalie likes him and he likes her but we don’t know why because we barely see them talking. The other characters were just terrible. They were all terrible friends and I didn’t like them at all. And don’t even make me talk about Natalie’s brother because he was a terrible older brother. He didn’t care about his sister at all. Most of the times he only cared about his boyfriend and when something bad happened to Natalie he didn’t even believe her. He didn’t believe the person that he has known for years and instead he believes in a girl that he has known for about a year. It was screwed up.
Not only I didn’t like the characters but I also had a few problems with the writing. It was a little bit confusing sometimes and I was constantly coming back to a certain sentence to try to understand what was happening. The good thing about this book is that at one point I was super invested in the story and couldn’t stop reading it.
Unfortunately this book was kind of disappointment to me. I would love to say that I loved it because I really liked Dreaming of Antigone but this one wasn’t that as good as the first one. I don’t think I can recommend this book but if you’re interested in the blurb go on and read it. You might enjoy it.
lpcoolgirl's review
5.0
This book was so awesome and enjoyable, I loved the characters and the mystery, and yeah, it was so great!
kunger129's review
3.0
I enjoyed The Form of Things Unknown, but ultimately it isn’t a story that will stay with me. Natalie and her family have moved to Savannah to stay with her grandmother, who has schizophrenia. Natalie herself has just been released from a mental hospital after a brief stay following a bad experience with ecstasy. Her brother, who attends the college in town, convinces her to try out for a summer theater program. She lands the part of the fairy queen in A Midsummer’s Night Dream and begins hanging out with the theater crowd, including Lucas, a boy she knows from the mental hospital. They’re practicing in a really old theater, and there are some ghost stories involved. When Natalie starts seeing and hearing things, she begins to question whether she is going crazy again.
I loved the play aspects of this story. And there were some really great instant friendships which made me happy for Natalie. The parents were fine, and I enjoyed the brother-sister relationship. Everything was just OK with this story. It was a quick, easy read, but nothing really stood out. It just wasn’t very memorable. If you like mental illness stories, maybe you’ll want to pick this one up, but otherwise it may not be worth your time.
http://opinionatedbooklover.com/review-the-form-of-things-unknown-robin-bridges/
I loved the play aspects of this story. And there were some really great instant friendships which made me happy for Natalie. The parents were fine, and I enjoyed the brother-sister relationship. Everything was just OK with this story. It was a quick, easy read, but nothing really stood out. It just wasn’t very memorable. If you like mental illness stories, maybe you’ll want to pick this one up, but otherwise it may not be worth your time.
http://opinionatedbooklover.com/review-the-form-of-things-unknown-robin-bridges/
taegibee's review against another edition
2.0
The twins are called Hailey and Bailey. Really? Only one letter differentiates them. This literally pains me.
capa105's review against another edition
2.0
Read full review HERE
I will start by saying that I did not read the first book set in this universe, Dreaming of Antigone, but I honestly didn’t feel like I had any problems from not having read that one. Maybe if I had, though, I wouldn’t have requested this one…
Unfortunately I couldn’t connect with the writing style of this book, I felt like it was abrupt and it skipped over details and situations. I couldn’t emotionally connect and I couldn’t envision some of the scenes. I mean, sometimes simple things like an embrace were complicated for me to “see”, because I couldn’t understand how she can reach on her tiptoes to kiss the guy, if they were lying down the second before… With this said, this book had a LOT of continuity problems.
Still, I had hope! Both main characters are supposedly dealing with 2 serious mental illnesses, schizophrenia and depression (with a suicide attempt), and yet the representation of both in this book is very poorly done. To be honest, by the end of the book I couldn’t really tell you if Natalie really was schizophrenic, or if Lucas was better, because even though the subjects are talked about plenty, they are not discussed. The illnesses are just used as plot devices and I hated that.
Sorry to be the bearer of more bad news, but I kind of disliked all the characters in this book too. Nat… I don’t even know what to make of her! This is a girl who thinks that fitting in and getting drunk is more important that taking her meds… after she ended up committed because she was drinking and doing drugs, and ended up having one episode. Then at some point she goes to her doctor to up her dosage… what does she do the next day? Yep, she drinks like crazy again. I just can’t… sorry but no!
The rest of the characters had no depth at all, and they all had attitudes that left me at least a little baffled. Her brother David, who seemed cool at start, doubts his sister at every turn. I don’t get it. The supposed “friends”? How did they go from totally unknown people to “friends”? There was no development of characters or relationships in this book. NONE!
So, how about Lucas? I usually always like the romantic interest, so I should like Lucas, right? Well, I did… to some extent. He was sweet and attentive and all, but I finished the book and those, and his eyes and hair colour, would be the only things I could tell you about the guy.
The romance was weak! They were never friends… they go from strangers to totally in love, and I don’t know why, because they never talked at all. Why were so into each other? Did they have anything in common besides spending some time in the same place? No clue!
Overall I though that every single bit of this book had potential: the characters, plot and relationships, but everything fell short and lacked depth. It really wasn’t for me, unfortunately.
I will start by saying that I did not read the first book set in this universe, Dreaming of Antigone, but I honestly didn’t feel like I had any problems from not having read that one. Maybe if I had, though, I wouldn’t have requested this one…
Unfortunately I couldn’t connect with the writing style of this book, I felt like it was abrupt and it skipped over details and situations. I couldn’t emotionally connect and I couldn’t envision some of the scenes. I mean, sometimes simple things like an embrace were complicated for me to “see”, because I couldn’t understand how she can reach on her tiptoes to kiss the guy, if they were lying down the second before… With this said, this book had a LOT of continuity problems.
Still, I had hope! Both main characters are supposedly dealing with 2 serious mental illnesses, schizophrenia and depression (with a suicide attempt), and yet the representation of both in this book is very poorly done. To be honest, by the end of the book I couldn’t really tell you if Natalie really was schizophrenic, or if Lucas was better, because even though the subjects are talked about plenty, they are not discussed. The illnesses are just used as plot devices and I hated that.
Sorry to be the bearer of more bad news, but I kind of disliked all the characters in this book too. Nat… I don’t even know what to make of her! This is a girl who thinks that fitting in and getting drunk is more important that taking her meds… after she ended up committed because she was drinking and doing drugs, and ended up having one episode. Then at some point she goes to her doctor to up her dosage… what does she do the next day? Yep, she drinks like crazy again. I just can’t… sorry but no!
The rest of the characters had no depth at all, and they all had attitudes that left me at least a little baffled. Her brother David, who seemed cool at start, doubts his sister at every turn. I don’t get it. The supposed “friends”? How did they go from totally unknown people to “friends”? There was no development of characters or relationships in this book. NONE!
So, how about Lucas? I usually always like the romantic interest, so I should like Lucas, right? Well, I did… to some extent. He was sweet and attentive and all, but I finished the book and those, and his eyes and hair colour, would be the only things I could tell you about the guy.
The romance was weak! They were never friends… they go from strangers to totally in love, and I don’t know why, because they never talked at all. Why were so into each other? Did they have anything in common besides spending some time in the same place? No clue!
Overall I though that every single bit of this book had potential: the characters, plot and relationships, but everything fell short and lacked depth. It really wasn’t for me, unfortunately.
desiree930's review
2.0
This is the second book I've read by this author...and I have a feeling it will be the last, at least for awhile. There were just so many things that rubbed me the wrong way with this one that the few bright spots just don't stand out.
Things I didn't like:
1. Way too many characters. There are so many characters introduced in this little book (less than 230 pages) that it was impossible to keep them straight. None of them were fleshed out at all, and most of them were mentioned in passing and then never heard from throughout the rest of the story until the very end.
2. Using mental illness and grief as a plot device. This was really poorly done with all the characters, but especially the Grandmother. In the early part of the book, she is shown in two or three scenes being completely unhinged, paranoid that her family and the government is trying to poison her, kill her, etc. Each time this happens we are told about how her grandma has had a rough time since her grandfather passed and that she stopped taking her meds. Then, about half way through the book, she miraculously has no more manic episodes. She's still quirky and says inappropriate things, but she appears perfectly lucid. I was thinking we would get a scene or even just a line saying that she's back on her meds...but nope.
Also, what are the odds that Lucas and Natalie would be in the same psych hospital and then end up running in the same circles in Savannah? I mean, it's not a HUGE city, but there are well over 100,000 people living there...just saying...not very realistic.
3. Nat was unsympathetic. I'm sorry, but the synopsis of this book makes it sound like the big reveal is going to be that Caleb assaulted her in some way. Now, I'm not saying he is just a great guy who doesn't deserve any blame, she is responsible for her own actions. She made the decision that led to her breakdown. Also, the way she just ignored the risks of the side effect of her meds really annoyed me. If it'd been once, maybe...but over and over again? What an idiot.
4. The pacing. This story flew by, but not in a good way. It felt like the author was unable of taking her time with anything, letting moments breathe or have weight. As I said previously, the sheer volume of characters made it impossible to keep anyone straight. I needed more. More description, more backstory. More agency.
5. The romance. I actually didn't hate Lucas. I liked that he was just this young guy working his butt off to take care of his baby sister and grieving father. I liked the IDEA of Lucas and Natalie. But I don't feel like we really got to know him all THAT well. I also feel like their infatuation with each other kind of came out of nowhere. They had what...maybe two meaningful conversations before they started rubbing all over each other?
6. The friendships. Actually, the inauthentic friendships and romance circle right on back to the breakneck pacing in this book. There was no development of the characters. She literally meets them and two pages later they're buddies, hanging out getting drunk together...I just didn't buy the friendship.
7. Writing inconsistencies. There were several instances where Natalie would assert something that she'd previously denied.
One example: earlier in the book, grandma wants David to fix up her old car so Natalie will have something to drive and Natalie thinks, "As much as I want a car of my own, I dread the idea of driving grandma's Jetta. I know she'll be expecting me to take her to Lord knows where."
Then at the end of the book, she says, "I've been lusting after this car all summer. Even if it is a beat up four-door hatchback."
There are other instances as well. It kind of felt like the author forgot what she wrote...should've been caught in editing.
8. Homosexuality used as plot device/character depth. The only thing...literally, the only thing, we know about David is that he's gay and he hasn't told his parents. At the end, when grandma outs him (wacky grandma alert!) the parents are just like, "Yeah, no biggie, we already knew that." When earlier in the book Natalie's mother made a huge deal out of the possibility that he may be gay. Which is another instance of inconsistent writing.
9. The ending. Again...comes back to the pacing. The ending is very abrupt. So many different things are going on that are just tied up in a matter of a couple pages. It felt like one of those 80s or 90s sitcoms where no matter how crazy things got, everything worked itself out at the end of 22 minutes.
Things I liked:
1. Midsummer Night's Dream references
2. Lucas, although I needed to know more about him.
Man, I guess I really disliked this. When I look back on this book and the companion book, Dreaming of Antigone, I really had most of the same issues with that book that I do with this one, but this one just took it to the next level.
Things I didn't like:
1. Way too many characters. There are so many characters introduced in this little book (less than 230 pages) that it was impossible to keep them straight. None of them were fleshed out at all, and most of them were mentioned in passing and then never heard from throughout the rest of the story until the very end.
2. Using mental illness and grief as a plot device. This was really poorly done with all the characters, but especially the Grandmother. In the early part of the book, she is shown in two or three scenes being completely unhinged, paranoid that her family and the government is trying to poison her, kill her, etc. Each time this happens we are told about how her grandma has had a rough time since her grandfather passed and that she stopped taking her meds. Then, about half way through the book, she miraculously has no more manic episodes. She's still quirky and says inappropriate things, but she appears perfectly lucid. I was thinking we would get a scene or even just a line saying that she's back on her meds...but nope.
Also, what are the odds that Lucas and Natalie would be in the same psych hospital and then end up running in the same circles in Savannah? I mean, it's not a HUGE city, but there are well over 100,000 people living there...just saying...not very realistic.
3. Nat was unsympathetic. I'm sorry, but the synopsis of this book makes it sound like the big reveal is going to be that Caleb assaulted her in some way. Now, I'm not saying he is just a great guy who doesn't deserve any blame, she is responsible for her own actions. She made the decision that led to her breakdown. Also, the way she just ignored the risks of the side effect of her meds really annoyed me. If it'd been once, maybe...but over and over again? What an idiot.
4. The pacing. This story flew by, but not in a good way. It felt like the author was unable of taking her time with anything, letting moments breathe or have weight. As I said previously, the sheer volume of characters made it impossible to keep anyone straight. I needed more. More description, more backstory. More agency.
5. The romance. I actually didn't hate Lucas. I liked that he was just this young guy working his butt off to take care of his baby sister and grieving father. I liked the IDEA of Lucas and Natalie. But I don't feel like we really got to know him all THAT well. I also feel like their infatuation with each other kind of came out of nowhere. They had what...maybe two meaningful conversations before they started rubbing all over each other?
6. The friendships. Actually, the inauthentic friendships and romance circle right on back to the breakneck pacing in this book. There was no development of the characters. She literally meets them and two pages later they're buddies, hanging out getting drunk together...I just didn't buy the friendship.
7. Writing inconsistencies. There were several instances where Natalie would assert something that she'd previously denied.
One example: earlier in the book, grandma wants David to fix up her old car so Natalie will have something to drive and Natalie thinks, "As much as I want a car of my own, I dread the idea of driving grandma's Jetta. I know she'll be expecting me to take her to Lord knows where."
Then at the end of the book, she says, "I've been lusting after this car all summer. Even if it is a beat up four-door hatchback."
There are other instances as well. It kind of felt like the author forgot what she wrote...should've been caught in editing.
8. Homosexuality used as plot device/character depth. The only thing...literally, the only thing, we know about David is that he's gay and he hasn't told his parents. At the end, when grandma outs him (wacky grandma alert!) the parents are just like, "Yeah, no biggie, we already knew that." When earlier in the book Natalie's mother made a huge deal out of the possibility that he may be gay. Which is another instance of inconsistent writing.
9. The ending. Again...comes back to the pacing. The ending is very abrupt. So many different things are going on that are just tied up in a matter of a couple pages. It felt like one of those 80s or 90s sitcoms where no matter how crazy things got, everything worked itself out at the end of 22 minutes.
Things I liked:
1. Midsummer Night's Dream references
2. Lucas, although I needed to know more about him.
Man, I guess I really disliked this. When I look back on this book and the companion book, Dreaming of Antigone, I really had most of the same issues with that book that I do with this one, but this one just took it to the next level.