ellynmendy's review against another edition
5.0
This is high praise from me because I can really be mean about YA!!!!
m33ch4's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this one specifically for the mystical and hyperbolic writing. The timeline was a bit hard to follow. Great ending centered around familial love rather than romantic.
13delathauwere's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
sadea7's review against another edition
4.0
A refreshing story of losing and finding hope within, as well as finding the courage to be ones true self. Discovery the art of seeing all the beauty of the world.
lindseysreading's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Just wow. Definitely going on my list of favorite books of all time.
offinherownmind's review against another edition
4.0
At first, I really struggled to get into the novel. I liked Noah's first perspective, but when it switched over to Jude caused my interest to majorly drop. I couldn't stand Jude. However, I knew if I didn't push through then the book would be staring me down on my shelf. So I continued, and I am crazy glad I did. I actually ended up really enjoying Jude and her perspective in the book. I would find my self becoming frustrated in a good way when the perspectives would switch because gosh dang it, I was so absorbed in that time frame. Then I got over it and I found myself absorbed yet again.
The book's plot twist, well one of them. I saw coming. I knew from pretty early on in the book that it was going to happen. There were other plot twists? that I saw coming so it is all okay.
Overall this was an extremely heart warming novel about siblings, and finding yourself in the world.
The book's plot twist, well one of them. I saw coming. I knew from pretty early on in the book that it was going to happen. There were other plot twists? that I saw coming so it is all okay.
Overall this was an extremely heart warming novel about siblings, and finding yourself in the world.
slimychimera's review against another edition
3.0
immediately after finishing i rated this 4 stars because i was still reeling from emotion and i love stories about healing. but after having digested it i can't ignore the issues i have with this story ;
-making that rapist teenager "have her and her brother's back" might be a quickly mentioned detail and might not even be a statement of any kind but it does not sit well with me. maybe because there was not enough, or not substantial enough, dialogue between him + her highlighting how horrible his behavior was?
-this might just be a me problem but this is essentially a book about kids acting horribly towards each other and their mother, who caused her so much grief which might have participated in the circumstances around the accident that caused her death, and dealing with their guilt, while there is not enough substantial vocalization on their part about just how badly they treated her? the 'healing and forgiving' part was centered around these twins behavior towards each other and not enough about accounting for + feeling bad about what they did to their mother? again maybe it's just me who doesn't feel like their mother was treated correctly by the novel, idk.
i'd say this is a better YA novel than most i've read but the issue i mentioned is quite grave in my opinion for a book targeted at teenagers.
Spoiler
-the author did the good job of, as she wrote about a teenage girl being raped by a guy 3 years older, making the teenage girl see + say that she was too young. only to write this girl at 16 force a 19 year old guy (who told her they should wait until she's old enough) to date her when she was 16, saying "16yo girls and 19yo guys are at the same level of maturity", thinking the 3 yr age gap in her past is so much different than this 3yr age gap. which might make sense to a middle aged author who grew up in the 70s, but is not the case at all, she + everyone who thinks like that should do some reading if they don't yet have the common sense to see how vastly maturity + life experience changes from one year to the next when you're a teenager and a young adult. both kids being traumatized doesn't make them "more mature".-making that rapist teenager "have her and her brother's back" might be a quickly mentioned detail and might not even be a statement of any kind but it does not sit well with me. maybe because there was not enough, or not substantial enough, dialogue between him + her highlighting how horrible his behavior was?
-this might just be a me problem but this is essentially a book about kids acting horribly towards each other and their mother, who caused her so much grief which might have participated in the circumstances around the accident that caused her death, and dealing with their guilt, while there is not enough substantial vocalization on their part about just how badly they treated her? the 'healing and forgiving' part was centered around these twins behavior towards each other and not enough about accounting for + feeling bad about what they did to their mother? again maybe it's just me who doesn't feel like their mother was treated correctly by the novel, idk.
i'd say this is a better YA novel than most i've read but the issue i mentioned is quite grave in my opinion for a book targeted at teenagers.
easage81's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
4.0