angel7910's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
3.0
travelseatsreads's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
I unexpectedly loved this inventive and imaginative book. It completely captivated and left me thinking about so much while reading and for a long time after. Definitely worth a reread to see what bits I may have missed.
Full review to come.
Full review to come.
fairystix's review against another edition
2.0
15/12/22 edit: bumping down to 2 stars cuz every time i think about this book and my reading experience there is no good memories
3.5... 3.75..
im so sad i didnt love this book as much as everyone else i thought it'd be another 5 stars :')
i really loved some parts of this book, some parts were fine, and some i didnt like at all which is why i couldnt rly give it 4 stars either. something just didnt click for me i cant even put my finger on what exactly
3.5... 3.75..
im so sad i didnt love this book as much as everyone else i thought it'd be another 5 stars :')
i really loved some parts of this book, some parts were fine, and some i didnt like at all which is why i couldnt rly give it 4 stars either. something just didnt click for me i cant even put my finger on what exactly
aimoxie's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.25
onleesbaar's review against another edition
2.0
Honestly, the first part was unnecessarily long and I think the book in general could have been... less pages. It did spark my interest enough to make me curious about the ending, but then... the ending felt kind of rushed? And I was definitely left unsatisfied.
Let's just say I'm glad the book is finished.
I've read worse though.
Let's just say I'm glad the book is finished.
I've read worse though.
alicerebekah's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
oddishevenish's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
spreece's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
kba76's review against another edition
4.0
I had goose bumps when I read the opening to this book, and saw the focus on stories and how they come into being. Anything featuring books is likely to be of interest, and there’s many elements of this that I enjoyed thoroughly.
The main story focuses on Benny Oh. His father is run over in the alley outside their home when Benny is a teen, and following this their family unit collapses. His mother, Annabelle, is empathetic and desperately wants to support her son, but she is clearly struggling with grief and lapses into hoarding. Perhaps as a consequence of his grief, or perhaps it was always a possibility, Benny starts to hear voices coming from the objects around him. When the scissors he is holding one day in school tell him to stab the teacher, he ignores them but ends up hurting himself.
Following this incident, life treats both characters harshly. They need support, but things have to get to crisis point before anyone seems to notice them. This is a damning indictment on modern society and how we deal with loss, grief, mental health and attitudes to consumerism/anyone a little different. The involvement of Annabelle's book, which crops up at opportune moments, introduces us to the alternative ways of considering her behaviour - seeing her hoarding as signs of a restless spirit caused by the brutality of her partner's death.
While I found myself liking individual characters and elements of the book, my overwhelming feeling by the close of play was of exhaustion. There were so many things introduced and referred to that weren't always developed or seeming to link to the main story that I wondered if all of them were strictly necessary. The business of the book itself may well reflect the chaos of Annabelle's existence, and this is certainly a book I would recommend to others.
The main story focuses on Benny Oh. His father is run over in the alley outside their home when Benny is a teen, and following this their family unit collapses. His mother, Annabelle, is empathetic and desperately wants to support her son, but she is clearly struggling with grief and lapses into hoarding. Perhaps as a consequence of his grief, or perhaps it was always a possibility, Benny starts to hear voices coming from the objects around him. When the scissors he is holding one day in school tell him to stab the teacher, he ignores them but ends up hurting himself.
Following this incident, life treats both characters harshly. They need support, but things have to get to crisis point before anyone seems to notice them. This is a damning indictment on modern society and how we deal with loss, grief, mental health and attitudes to consumerism/anyone a little different. The involvement of Annabelle's book, which crops up at opportune moments, introduces us to the alternative ways of considering her behaviour - seeing her hoarding as signs of a restless spirit caused by the brutality of her partner's death.
While I found myself liking individual characters and elements of the book, my overwhelming feeling by the close of play was of exhaustion. There were so many things introduced and referred to that weren't always developed or seeming to link to the main story that I wondered if all of them were strictly necessary. The business of the book itself may well reflect the chaos of Annabelle's existence, and this is certainly a book I would recommend to others.