claire_xoxo's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
allieeveryday's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars. It was so beautiful and wistful and sad and manic and great.
pikasqueaks's review against another edition
2.0
This book, while the author's words are always beautiful (despite that it seems she's trying a little hard to capture that painful "tumblr" language) was muddled. Mental illness is not an excuse for abusive behavior, and Vivi is just another abuser whose mental illness gives a convenient excuse for her wreaking havoc on everyone's lives. Nobody comes out and calls her an abuser, and so she is free to keep abusing people in her life under the guise that it's her mental illness at fault.
Jonah was a throwaway character, and I didn't get why he had his own chapters. What a boring, unrealistic boy with a doubly boring family.
Jonah was a throwaway character, and I didn't get why he had his own chapters. What a boring, unrealistic boy with a doubly boring family.
doanut's review against another edition
2.0
Could've been a cute story but Vivi was incredibly frustrating. Her narration is whack. She makes up words like “burstsomeness” which I guess was supposed to be quirky?? she’s jealous, self entitled, and her train of thought is hard to follow. The writing is so disjointed and I didn't find it engaging. Also not sure how accurate of a depiction it is of bipolar disorder.
lovetoread18's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
cynthia04's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
katherinem32's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5 STARS
This book. Oh lord. It destroyed me. I would have given it 5 stars, but because of the insta-love and the slow paced beginning, I had to dock it down half a star. Looking past that though, THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. I'm usually not a fan of straight up teen love stories, but this one was done so well. I loved that the chapters were split between Jonah's perspective and Vivi's perspective. If it hadn't been written like that, I think this book would have been a lot worse. The dueling perspectives gave readers an intimate look into each other the characters struggles.
Jonah's story made me break for him and his family. I wanted to give him a hug along with all of his siblings and his poor mom. I felt so much for them all even though I can't even imaging going through something like losing a parent, especially with so many siblings.
And Vivi- I related to her so much. The topic of mental illness was done so well, which is a hard thing to find in novels. I loved that in the beginning she was happy and going about her life, deciding to throw away her pills because they made her feel "off." I 100 percent get that, and I have done the same thing. And I myself, like Vivi, went off the deep end. Seeing Vivi's slow decent into her bipolar disorder was beautiful and tragic, and it was done so expertly well. I could see as each chapter went on that something was changing, no matter how slight it was. By the end, the disease had taken over and almost cost her her life. But with the help of her therapist and mother and doctors, she decided to start a new plan with medication and therapy. Again- I relate so much because something extremely similar happened to me recently, and I have now finally found the right mixture of medication and therapy to keep my depression at bay.
I pretty much knew all along that they weren't going to stay together. It was just too good to be true. Although deep inside I held out hope for them. But despite being crushed that they left each other, it was done so beautifully. Vivi leaving with a note was fitting for her, and THAT MURAL THOUGH. OH LAWD I BAWLED MY EYES OUT WITH THAT. Literally that scene single handedly made me fall in love with this book all over again.
I am so glad I picked up this book. I will definitely be recommending it to everyone I know. Seriously, pick this book up. It will wreck you, but in the best way possible!!
This book. Oh lord. It destroyed me. I would have given it 5 stars, but because of the insta-love and the slow paced beginning, I had to dock it down half a star. Looking past that though, THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. I'm usually not a fan of straight up teen love stories, but this one was done so well. I loved that the chapters were split between Jonah's perspective and Vivi's perspective. If it hadn't been written like that, I think this book would have been a lot worse. The dueling perspectives gave readers an intimate look into each other the characters struggles.
Jonah's story made me break for him and his family. I wanted to give him a hug along with all of his siblings and his poor mom. I felt so much for them all even though I can't even imaging going through something like losing a parent, especially with so many siblings.
And Vivi- I related to her so much. The topic of mental illness was done so well, which is a hard thing to find in novels. I loved that in the beginning she was happy and going about her life, deciding to throw away her pills because they made her feel "off." I 100 percent get that, and I have done the same thing. And I myself, like Vivi, went off the deep end. Seeing Vivi's slow decent into her bipolar disorder was beautiful and tragic, and it was done so expertly well. I could see as each chapter went on that something was changing, no matter how slight it was. By the end, the disease had taken over and almost cost her her life. But with the help of her therapist and mother and doctors, she decided to start a new plan with medication and therapy. Again- I relate so much because something extremely similar happened to me recently, and I have now finally found the right mixture of medication and therapy to keep my depression at bay.
I pretty much knew all along that they weren't going to stay together. It was just too good to be true. Although deep inside I held out hope for them. But despite being crushed that they left each other, it was done so beautifully. Vivi leaving with a note was fitting for her, and THAT MURAL THOUGH. OH LAWD I BAWLED MY EYES OUT WITH THAT. Literally that scene single handedly made me fall in love with this book all over again.
I am so glad I picked up this book. I will definitely be recommending it to everyone I know. Seriously, pick this book up. It will wreck you, but in the best way possible!!
alyssacreechie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is a very interesting story about grief and pain and how it’s okay to admit that you aren’t okay. I really liked the concept of this book and how the topics were handled. I’m not sure if we were supposed to be rooting for Vivi and Jonah or if the romance is insignificant compared to everything else in this story, but honestly, I was rooting for Jonah and Ellie. Yes, I know that there is way more to this story than the romance and it doesn’t really matter who Jonah ends up with, but i can’t help who I ship. Jonah is such a sweetheart and he deserves the world. I enjoyed this book, but the majority of the time I was frustrated with Vivi so that brought my rating down.
Spoiler
Ultimately, I think it was the best decision for both of them to break up in the end.ashleytaylorg's review against another edition
3.0
this was definitely an easy read romance. wasn’t my favorite book because I feel like vivi took advantage of jonah in a lot of ways. she whirled into his life very unexpectedly and disrupted a lot, some could argue for good. but I really do sympathize with jonah and what I feel vivi put him through in the name of love.
to an extent she showed him a different way to look at pain and what he’d been through, but all while also deeply struggling herself and refusing help, almost being hypocritical in that way. the only person I somewhat liked was jonah, but even his character was conflicting.
the writing was poetic in a way, very detailed. every scene was thoroughly described down to the smallest detail. it painted a good picture, but sometimes seemed over the top.
to an extent she showed him a different way to look at pain and what he’d been through, but all while also deeply struggling herself and refusing help, almost being hypocritical in that way. the only person I somewhat liked was jonah, but even his character was conflicting.
the writing was poetic in a way, very detailed. every scene was thoroughly described down to the smallest detail. it painted a good picture, but sometimes seemed over the top.
rae_the_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Emery Lord has an incredible talent for beautiful endings