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moonblossom123's review against another edition
5.0
I'm not sure if I'll be able to convey how much I loved this book, but I will try.
This is a poetic book, a very honest story and huge in all it's marvelous smallness. Though it is short and perhaps not quite as eventful as most books, it still reads like a longer fast-paced book.
I adored the descriptions, the atmosphere, the realistic thought-patterns, the love for books and music, and all the cats of course! Joanne Horniman has a great gift of picking those details that matter a lot in life and almost making them into a character of their own. Like the teapot in this book.
About a Girl portrays life as it often can be. With ups and downs and luck and mistakes. I imagine it could provide comfort in times of heartbreak too. As it is honest about it's sadness, but hopeful about the future as well.
This is a novel I will cherish and read, re-read and read yet again. I would love to try other books by the same author, but I'm slightly afraid they will never be quite as amazing as About a Girl.
This is a poetic book, a very honest story and huge in all it's marvelous smallness. Though it is short and perhaps not quite as eventful as most books, it still reads like a longer fast-paced book.
I adored the descriptions, the atmosphere, the realistic thought-patterns, the love for books and music, and all the cats of course! Joanne Horniman has a great gift of picking those details that matter a lot in life and almost making them into a character of their own. Like the teapot in this book.
About a Girl portrays life as it often can be. With ups and downs and luck and mistakes. I imagine it could provide comfort in times of heartbreak too. As it is honest about it's sadness, but hopeful about the future as well.
This is a novel I will cherish and read, re-read and read yet again. I would love to try other books by the same author, but I'm slightly afraid they will never be quite as amazing as About a Girl.
lindsaygail's review against another edition
4.0
Every description I read of this book used the word "dreamy", and that's a good choice. The writing is lovely and vivid. Anna narrates her family problems, depression, realizing she is gay, and the general difficulties of being a smart, different, loner teen, but the main story is a simple one about first love and heartbreak. A quick read, but memorable. I'll definitely look for more of Joanne Horniman's books.
trishagreenie's review against another edition
3.0
Right now I am too pissed off to write a review, because I just wrote one and LOST IT. Stupid GoodReads!
So yeah.
******
OK, here goes again. So this book is pretty short, and was a quick and easy read. I thought the writing style was beautiful, though at times I wondered where the story could possibly be going. Sometimes I thought, "Okay, everything's great, now what?" Then I sometimes expected dramatic dark secrets to be revealed, but they weren't. I guess in a way it kept me guessing, which is a good thing in terms of it not being predictable. But I did find myself thinking, "Am I going to see this as a pointless read when I'm done?"
Thankfully by the end I didn't think any such thing, and I can say this story is a compelling one in a few ways. I did feel sorry for Anna, and sympathetic, though I've never been in her situation so I can't really relate to it. I've known friends who have gone through similar things though. But I did get kind of annoyed by the emo Anna, and it was a huge relief when she finally went on meds and stopped being so horrible. I know it's important not to judge people for their depression, but she really was getting hard to handle. I'm glad her grandmother stepped in and got her to see the psych.
As for Flynn, her story was sad, and she was definitely an interesting character. I loved that her guitar was called Louise ;) Guess I've got a thing for guitarists and the name Louise, for a few reasons. Namely Louise Post, and my own character who is a guitarist named Louise. But anyway, moving on.
I was relieved with how the story ended, in a way, though I did feel sad for Anna. But hey, she survived her first love in tact, and I think grew into a fuller person for it.
Again I will reiterate that the writing was lovely, though at times I found the dialogue to be a bit too formal, not colloquial enough for a pair of teens. Even if they're later teens.
So yeah.
******
OK, here goes again. So this book is pretty short, and was a quick and easy read. I thought the writing style was beautiful, though at times I wondered where the story could possibly be going. Sometimes I thought, "Okay, everything's great, now what?" Then I sometimes expected dramatic dark secrets to be revealed, but they weren't. I guess in a way it kept me guessing, which is a good thing in terms of it not being predictable. But I did find myself thinking, "Am I going to see this as a pointless read when I'm done?"
Thankfully by the end I didn't think any such thing, and I can say this story is a compelling one in a few ways. I did feel sorry for Anna, and sympathetic, though I've never been in her situation so I can't really relate to it. I've known friends who have gone through similar things though. But I did get kind of annoyed by the emo Anna, and it was a huge relief when she finally went on meds and stopped being so horrible. I know it's important not to judge people for their depression, but she really was getting hard to handle. I'm glad her grandmother stepped in and got her to see the psych.
As for Flynn, her story was sad, and she was definitely an interesting character. I loved that her guitar was called Louise ;) Guess I've got a thing for guitarists and the name Louise, for a few reasons. Namely Louise Post, and my own character who is a guitarist named Louise. But anyway, moving on.
I was relieved with how the story ended, in a way, though I did feel sad for Anna. But hey, she survived her first love in tact, and I think grew into a fuller person for it.
Again I will reiterate that the writing was lovely, though at times I found the dialogue to be a bit too formal, not colloquial enough for a pair of teens. Even if they're later teens.
steelcranberrybatman's review against another edition
3.0
I think this is one of those books that everyone needs to read for themselves, everyone views it so differently..
I didn't appreciate Flynn as much as I guess I should have. She seemed a little immature and self centered, I wanted to love her like Anna did but I found myself a little stuck.
I am not really sure as to what I think about it, it was poetic in some parts and clunky in others.
The main character (Anna) was a little unlikable and immature in some parts and yet she pulled on my heart strings and I found her highly relate-able and loveable in others..
On a side note:
As someone who has lived in Lismore (where the book is set)I found it comical how beautifully the scenery was described, however if you haven't been there the image the book describes is lovely. To me, Lismore is a bus stop and a workers club wrapped in an anus.. But thats just my view of things :P
I didn't appreciate Flynn as much as I guess I should have. She seemed a little immature and self centered, I wanted to love her like Anna did but I found myself a little stuck.
I am not really sure as to what I think about it, it was poetic in some parts and clunky in others.
The main character (Anna) was a little unlikable and immature in some parts and yet she pulled on my heart strings and I found her highly relate-able and loveable in others..
On a side note:
As someone who has lived in Lismore (where the book is set)I found it comical how beautifully the scenery was described, however if you haven't been there the image the book describes is lovely. To me, Lismore is a bus stop and a workers club wrapped in an anus.. But thats just my view of things :P
kalliste's review against another edition
3.0
Moving and heartbreaking. This was a great read which I think would do well in high school libraries.
I felt a bit frustrated by not knowing what Flynn was thinking though. I could see what it was like to be Anna.
My only hope is that Horniman writes a sequel in Flynn's point of view.
I felt a bit frustrated by not knowing what Flynn was thinking though. I could see what it was like to be Anna.
My only hope is that Horniman writes a sequel in Flynn's point of view.
goldenjaytime's review against another edition
reflective
slow-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
3.5
lunaseassecondaccount's review against another edition
2.0
This is a very simple book to read, and I read the majority of it while on a stationary bike at the gym. I finished it in just over an hour, and my first thought when I put it down was: so what was the point? Not in my reading it- I'll read just about everything and anything- but what was the point in the book?
It's almost a Bildungsroman, but there's no real growth or development in Anna's characterisation. By the time she's arrived in Lismore, she's mostly over her bout of depression. She seems to accept that this is just a temporary jaunt away from her home, which is normal and necessary- it's a delayed gap year, is all. She also fully admits she has a tendency to fall in love with straight women.
And, well, this is all the same by the end of the novel. She gets over her depression after her break up with Flynn because she has a better grip on coping mechanisms. Her gap year is over and she has a plan for the immediate future. And, well, she's fallen in and out of love with a straight woman. Nothing has changed. She's out to her mother, but that's such a non-event it could be ignored.
As for Flynn's deep, dark secret, I was really let down. Firstly, the dead brother thing felt weak. Anna's got her special needs sister hit by a car and Flynn's brother got drunk and drowned. And then Flynn has a surprise quasi-ex-boyfriend. I was expecting something much bigger, but this all just fed into Anna's non-development.
The cover of the book also didn't help. It just didn't make sense. This isn't a child's book, and it's not a book about some bird woman and cat girl.
Son, I am disappoint.
It's almost a Bildungsroman, but there's no real growth or development in Anna's characterisation. By the time she's arrived in Lismore, she's mostly over her bout of depression. She seems to accept that this is just a temporary jaunt away from her home, which is normal and necessary- it's a delayed gap year, is all. She also fully admits she has a tendency to fall in love with straight women.
And, well, this is all the same by the end of the novel. She gets over her depression after her break up with Flynn because she has a better grip on coping mechanisms. Her gap year is over and she has a plan for the immediate future. And, well, she's fallen in and out of love with a straight woman. Nothing has changed. She's out to her mother, but that's such a non-event it could be ignored.
As for Flynn's deep, dark secret, I was really let down. Firstly, the dead brother thing felt weak. Anna's got her special needs sister hit by a car and Flynn's brother got drunk and drowned. And then Flynn has a surprise quasi-ex-boyfriend. I was expecting something much bigger, but this all just fed into Anna's non-development.
The cover of the book also didn't help. It just didn't make sense. This isn't a child's book, and it's not a book about some bird woman and cat girl.
Son, I am disappoint.
tesz's review against another edition
4.25
“I remembered that night- I must have been about fifteen- when I lay in my bed in the dark, curled up into a tiny ball. I am this way, for ever and ever, I thought. And falling in love, finding a life partner, was something I longed to do. But at the same time it filled me with fear and terror, because the world was not this way, and I was not the way of the world.”
Wow. This was such a good book, I know I seem to like every book I read and you may think I’m “too easy” with my reviews but I don’t care anymore because I love literature and I love loving it.
I saw this book on a shelf at my new school and saw that a fellow Australian wrote it! Slay.
This novel is about growing up- learning that romantic love isn’t the only love. That loving friends, family and most importantly- yourself, also makes us whole.
Throughout the novel, I thought the title was referencing the love interest, Flynn, of the protagonist, Anna. I thought this because Anna herself thought this- she subconsciously let others fill the pages of her life. And luckily, towards the end, I think she was finally able to let her life chose her. And that’s when I realised the ‘girl’ that the cover references isn’t in fact Flynn but rather Anna herself.
Not to mention that I scarily relate to the character Anna for reasons that I am not willing to explain online :).
kashvm's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like this book will always have a special place in my heart. I first encountered it at my school library and read a chapter at most - but that's all it took for me to fall in love with Flynn. Over the years I discovered that not only did i fall in love with Flynn, I've wanted to become her for as long as i can remeber. To be the kind of person that awes and mystifies people. To be the kind of person people admire and fall in love with.
And reading the book again for the first time reminded me of that.
There were times when i truely felt like Anna. Finding solace in books, feeling unlovable, feeling frustated and inexplicably angry.
And there were times when i felt like Flynn, creative and musical and aloof, lost in my own mind. Afraid and uncertain.
This book gave me new definitons for love and time. It reminded me that loving someone isn't a choice. Sometimes you just fall in head first. And Sex, age, race, religion, none of it matters, because love has no boundries. It just is.
It reminded me that time isn't just sand falling from an hour glass or a straight line. Its a coat that stretches onto infineity and beyond. And filled with never ending pockets that encapsulate the various phases of your life.
Like an air bubble underwater.
Like a hiccup in time.
That time in your life that lives in your memory forever.
Like the ending scene of a movie when the curtains are billowing in the breeze.
Even if all proof of that time has been burnt to ash and washed away, in some parallel universe, it still exists.
The writing style was gorgeous, the characters were delicate and intricate and the book itself just flowed beautifully like a river.
I loved the little gems about teapots and cats and guitars and decorative pillows. Details like that always give the book more depth and character.
And the ending faded out like song as quickly as it had come.
I just adored it.
4.5/5
And reading the book again for the first time reminded me of that.
There were times when i truely felt like Anna. Finding solace in books, feeling unlovable, feeling frustated and inexplicably angry.
And there were times when i felt like Flynn, creative and musical and aloof, lost in my own mind. Afraid and uncertain.
This book gave me new definitons for love and time. It reminded me that loving someone isn't a choice. Sometimes you just fall in head first. And Sex, age, race, religion, none of it matters, because love has no boundries. It just is.
It reminded me that time isn't just sand falling from an hour glass or a straight line. Its a coat that stretches onto infineity and beyond. And filled with never ending pockets that encapsulate the various phases of your life.
Like an air bubble underwater.
Like a hiccup in time.
That time in your life that lives in your memory forever.
Like the ending scene of a movie when the curtains are billowing in the breeze.
Even if all proof of that time has been burnt to ash and washed away, in some parallel universe, it still exists.
The writing style was gorgeous, the characters were delicate and intricate and the book itself just flowed beautifully like a river.
I loved the little gems about teapots and cats and guitars and decorative pillows. Details like that always give the book more depth and character.
And the ending faded out like song as quickly as it had come.
I just adored it.
4.5/5