dlberglund's review
5.0
This is billed as a young adult book, but I wish more adults would give young adult novels a chance. I loved it. The chapters are all written by different authors, and most have different narrators from each other. They are all linked however, even if it takes you a few pages to read it. The ending, by Gregory Maguire, was a surprise to me. I want to know more about the authors' process together--how much did they collaborate and map out the direction that the plot would take? How much was independent? Add to it that part of the profits go to Amnesty International, and you've got a winner.
knz_edmo's review
I loved this book. For me i like to get inside books. In other words i like to live the book. I thought it was a very inspiring book, I think this because it had very many different thoughts and ideas. This was a quick read for me and I liked how it was fast paced. It told of very many lifelines.
julkatt's review
3.0
Fairly seamless considering the many different voices involved. I liked all of the stories and a couple were exquisite. Compelling premise with a very intriguing reveal. Published by scholastic, is suitable for YAs as well as adults.
nbrickman's review
4.0
I initially picked this up because Nick Hornby is one of the ten writers who contributed to this unique "novel". However I found the other contributions equally intriguing. The premise was quite compelling. Maggie and Jason's grandfather Gee dies and leaves them each an unusual gift that inspires their lives. The remaining stories are all connected back to Gee (George Keane) who was a well known photojournalist who traveled many places and influenced many lives. I was loving it and getting ready to give it a 5 when I got to the last chapter which was written by Gregory Maguire. It was strangely futuristic and where I could see the point it just seemed like the only chapter that stuck out like a sore thumb! plus, I think it freaked me out.
debz57a52's review against another edition
4.0
While I was reading through this book, I kept thinking about Paul Fleischman's Whirlgig, since it includes short stories that are both independent of themselves and part of a wider story. Of course, in Whirligig, Fleischman wrote all the stories, whereas Click includes stories from different writers, with different styles, word choice preferences, imaginations, and understandings of the final purpose of the story. That's not a bad thing; it added a layer of complexity to this book as a whole. Sometimes, there were stories written for the characters who were related to the photographer Gee Keane, but they were separated in this volume by stories about people who may Gee out in the world or were affected by his life's work of observing the world as it is. There are a few big things going in this book and the author's of each story deal with these big issues and concepts in gentle ways. A youth reading the chapters may need to have a chat with an adult after a few of the more distressing topics, if they truly grasp what is going on. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, and I just find it disappointing that it's so hard to find out in the world.
Spoiler
including a look at the victims of Hiroshima, prisoners of war, a man with multiple families who don't know each other, an emotional struggle with adoption by the adopted, not to mention the grief that comes with Gee's passingartsymusings's review against another edition
4.0
Every once in a while a book picked up ends up leaving one feeling speechless. Click was such a book for me. Every single of the ten chapters I read were so intricately linked with the idea of being alive.
From Maggie's couch-mourning to Annie's tales to Jason's period of being lost to Lev's great escapes. Then back to Maggie discovering things and coming to terms with Gee's loss. To Vincent's, Vee's, carefree days to Min's heavy silence and Jiro's rage to Afela's personalities and finally back to where it all was to end. Back to the future or it is really a future of the past.
My favorite story was of Min, the glass shards and the photography series. The earlier thing with the dog attack was intriguing enough to kept me engrossed. I loved the simplicity of Min and the unrelenting efforts of Jason. It ran deep and struck a cord; the way Jason spoke to Min about her pain as if he could sense it.
Click was nothing short of being a great book about everything and how a single human being can touch so many lives and never get unstuck. Although the authors were different, the feel of the story was continuous and each one of them was simply beautiful. An inspiring, mellow read.
From Maggie's couch-mourning to Annie's tales to Jason's period of being lost to Lev's great escapes. Then back to Maggie discovering things and coming to terms with Gee's loss. To Vincent's, Vee's, carefree days to Min's heavy silence and Jiro's rage to Afela's personalities and finally back to where it all was to end. Back to the future or it is really a future of the past.
My favorite story was of Min, the glass shards and the photography series. The earlier thing with the dog attack was intriguing enough to kept me engrossed. I loved the simplicity of Min and the unrelenting efforts of Jason. It ran deep and struck a cord; the way Jason spoke to Min about her pain as if he could sense it.
Click was nothing short of being a great book about everything and how a single human being can touch so many lives and never get unstuck. Although the authors were different, the feel of the story was continuous and each one of them was simply beautiful. An inspiring, mellow read.
amandabock's review
3.0
I was intrigued by the concept of this one. Ten authors each wrote a chapter. I’d love to know what the process was. From what I’ve read (one interview is here), it seems that the chapters were completed individually, in order, although perhaps not the order they appear in the final book. I enjoyed seeing how it starts out as Maggie’s story, but is really Gee’s, despite a half-hearted return to Maggie at the end. I don’t remember who was responsible for the fantastical twist (it might have been Nick Hornby, but it was developed by Greg McGuire), but that element didn’t quite fit in. Besides, I’ve never really been able to just accept fantasy elements in an otherwise realistic book without some kind of explanation. “Just because it’s magic” doesn’t cut it.
ajsterkel's review
3.0
This novel in short stories is written by ten different authors. The royalties from the sale of the book benefit Amnesty International. All of the stories revolve around a photographer named Gee. The stories range from realism to magical realism to science fiction. Like all short story collections, some of the stories are more successful than others.
These are some of the stand-outs for me:
"Jason" by Eoin Colfer is about Gee's grandson, Jason, who considers selling his inheritance to buy a ticket to Tobago to meet his birth father. This story is funnier than it sounds.
"Lev" by Deborah Ellis is about a teenage boy who is serving time in a Russian prison.
"Min" by Tim Wynne-Jones is about a girl who becomes involved in a photography project that ends up changing her life. This is the best-written story in the collection.
"Jiro" by Ruth Ozeki is about a young boy who lives in poverty in Japan after his older brother loses his legs in WWII and is unable to support the family. This is my favorite story in the collection. It's deeper and more complex than many of the others.
None of the stories in the collection are awful, but most of them are pretty bland. I'm usually a fan of magical realism and science fiction, but I didn't think those stories worked in this collection. They were possibly too constrained by the overall story and themes of the collection.
This book is a quick read and benefits a good cause. There's nothing mind-blowing in it, but it's an entertaining way to pass a few hours.
These are some of the stand-outs for me:
"Jason" by Eoin Colfer is about Gee's grandson, Jason, who considers selling his inheritance to buy a ticket to Tobago to meet his birth father. This story is funnier than it sounds.
"Lev" by Deborah Ellis is about a teenage boy who is serving time in a Russian prison.
"Min" by Tim Wynne-Jones is about a girl who becomes involved in a photography project that ends up changing her life. This is the best-written story in the collection.
"Jiro" by Ruth Ozeki is about a young boy who lives in poverty in Japan after his older brother loses his legs in WWII and is unable to support the family. This is my favorite story in the collection. It's deeper and more complex than many of the others.
None of the stories in the collection are awful, but most of them are pretty bland. I'm usually a fan of magical realism and science fiction, but I didn't think those stories worked in this collection. They were possibly too constrained by the overall story and themes of the collection.
This book is a quick read and benefits a good cause. There's nothing mind-blowing in it, but it's an entertaining way to pass a few hours.
k_lee_reads_it's review
2.0
Loved the Linda Sue Park chapter. Was okay with most of the middle chapters from other authors. Thought the end got rather strange. It was definately the strangest multiple author book I have read so far.