maddydaisy's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
4.5
slc333's review against another edition
3.0
I like the Aussie country town setting and the story was good enough to keep me reading but a little slow. A little different from most YA i read in that it was all told from the guys POV.
sharyn_swanepoel's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting story written from a teenage boys point of view ...
lifeandliterature's review against another edition
4.0
White Night started off a little slowly for me. I'm not sure if that was the story, or I was just so busy with life that I didn't have a lot of time to sit and read. But then at about a third of the way in things really picked up and I was so hooked. Ellie Marney writes characters that are impossible not to become invested in and you become swept along in their journey. She's such a vivid storyteller. I've loved everything I've read of hers so far, and really look forward to the next one!
melbsreads's review against another edition
4.5
Trigger warnings: bullying, assault, mention of domestic violence, terminal illness,
26/11/2020
On reread, I'm bumping this down to 4.5 stars just because there's a LOT happens in the last...75??...pages of the book. So while I still love the characters and the plot and the sense of creepiness, there definitely could have been less of the going to class stuff in the first half to make space for more of the fast paced action stuff in the second half. But, like, 2020 Me is super picky and kind of a bitch, so who know what I'll think next time I read it...
24/2/2018
I've been dying to get my hands on this book ever since Ellie announced it last year. I didn't care what it was about, I didn't care how much it cost, I was going to buy it regardless. And then when the blurb came out, my excitement only grew.
And this did NOT disappoint at all.
I devoured the first hundred pages on my half hour tram ride home from the launch last night. And I sped through the rest of it in about an hour and a half this afternoon. Basically? I was HOOKED from start to finish.
I loved Bo as a protagonist. I loved his friends and their dynamic. I adored his family and how present they were in the story. I loved Rory and her constant awe at the world. The writing is phenomenal. The small town setting was wonderful. The story is great. The relationship between Bo and Rory is wonderful (also, can we talk about the fact that we have a YA book with a love interest who doesn't shave her legs or underarms? YAAAAAAAAAAS) and I loved it. I also absolutely ADORED the dynamic between Sprog and Cam. Like, a LOT.
Basically? This was wonderful from start to finish and I loved everything about it. *insert heart eyes emoji here* Okay bye
Spoiler
fire, poison, suicide26/11/2020
On reread, I'm bumping this down to 4.5 stars just because there's a LOT happens in the last...75??...pages of the book. So while I still love the characters and the plot and the sense of creepiness, there definitely could have been less of the going to class stuff in the first half to make space for more of the fast paced action stuff in the second half. But, like, 2020 Me is super picky and kind of a bitch, so who know what I'll think next time I read it...
24/2/2018
I've been dying to get my hands on this book ever since Ellie announced it last year. I didn't care what it was about, I didn't care how much it cost, I was going to buy it regardless. And then when the blurb came out, my excitement only grew.
And this did NOT disappoint at all.
I devoured the first hundred pages on my half hour tram ride home from the launch last night. And I sped through the rest of it in about an hour and a half this afternoon. Basically? I was HOOKED from start to finish.
I loved Bo as a protagonist. I loved his friends and their dynamic. I adored his family and how present they were in the story. I loved Rory and her constant awe at the world. The writing is phenomenal. The small town setting was wonderful. The story is great. The relationship between Bo and Rory is wonderful (also, can we talk about the fact that we have a YA book with a love interest who doesn't shave her legs or underarms? YAAAAAAAAAAS) and I loved it. I also absolutely ADORED the dynamic between Sprog and Cam. Like, a LOT.
Basically? This was wonderful from start to finish and I loved everything about it. *insert heart eyes emoji here* Okay bye
acdom's review against another edition
4.0
I am so incredibly lucky to have a friend in Australia who sent me the new Ellie Marney book, as it's not available in the US yet. I love you, K!!
Ellie Marney's writing style and storytelling are so compelling. I read this over the course of a day, and I got so mad every time I had to put it down. The characters are diverse (as expected from an EM book) and so authentically teenagery. Bo is an excellent narrator and his family story was interesting. I loved the Garden of Eden storyline. As awesome and ecological the community is trying to be, there's an air of cult about it, which makes it so much more fascinating. The ending was fairly predictable, but that didn't take away from my reading experience.
Side note: I only had to ask K about two Australian slang words. (Avro means afternoon? WTF 'Straya?!"
Second side note: The cover of this book is fucking phenomenal.
Once again, I'm always in for an Ellie Marney book!!
Ellie Marney's writing style and storytelling are so compelling. I read this over the course of a day, and I got so mad every time I had to put it down. The characters are diverse (as expected from an EM book) and so authentically teenagery. Bo is an excellent narrator and his family story was interesting. I loved the Garden of Eden storyline. As awesome and ecological the community is trying to be, there's an air of cult about it, which makes it so much more fascinating. The ending was fairly predictable, but that didn't take away from my reading experience.
Side note: I only had to ask K about two Australian slang words. (Avro means afternoon? WTF 'Straya?!"
Second side note: The cover of this book is fucking phenomenal.
Once again, I'm always in for an Ellie Marney book!!
emalee08's review against another edition
5.0
Such a thrilling story. Love the wide variety of issues it covers throughout the book and the plot twist. Just the right amount of everything. A great #Loveozya
novelty_reads's review against another edition
2.0
I thought it would be SO MUCH better but... I was very disappointed.
After doing a whole assignment on cults earlier this year I was so excited to actually read a book that highlighted cults and their leaders. I was so ready to psychoanalyse cult...ure and put that assignment into good bookish use and eagerly I opened the book up...
Only to find out towards the end that there was very little about cults and in fact I found that nothing really happened except for an uninteresting romance that didn't have any real connection.
This was so disappointing given that White Night has been such a hyped up #LoveOzYA book and it has a super cool cover and everything. I thought the blurb sounded epic and I was so ridiculously keen to read it and it just fell short of my expectations especially with the characters.
For example with Bo, I found him really bland and there was nothing really to his character that made me truly fall in love with him. His reactions to things happening were average and as a reader, we didn't find out much about him or the things he likes. Also the build up of his relationship with Rory just happened and there wasn't much of a build up at all it was more like "home, school = see Rory, home, school = see Rory, home, school = see my girlfriend Rory." Speaking of which, I found that there wasn't anything that made Rory that special or amazing other than "she's different and interesting." As a romance reader, I couldn't see what made them interested in each other in the first place and there wasn't much of a romantic connection really.
But going back to the whole cult thing, it was a lot like "I don't want Bo coming here anymore" to some massive thing happening towards the end that I became disinterested in. All in all, it wasn't enough to bump my rating up unfortunately.
I am really sad that this book fell short for me and I know I won't be eagerly reading it anytime soon :(
ACTUAL RATING: 1.8 STARS
After doing a whole assignment on cults earlier this year I was so excited to actually read a book that highlighted cults and their leaders. I was so ready to psychoanalyse cult...ure and put that assignment into good bookish use and eagerly I opened the book up...
Only to find out towards the end that there was very little about cults and in fact I found that nothing really happened except for an uninteresting romance that didn't have any real connection.
This was so disappointing given that White Night has been such a hyped up #LoveOzYA book and it has a super cool cover and everything. I thought the blurb sounded epic and I was so ridiculously keen to read it and it just fell short of my expectations especially with the characters.
For example with Bo, I found him really bland and there was nothing really to his character that made me truly fall in love with him. His reactions to things happening were average and as a reader, we didn't find out much about him or the things he likes. Also the build up of his relationship with Rory just happened and there wasn't much of a build up at all it was more like "home, school = see Rory, home, school = see Rory, home, school = see my girlfriend Rory." Speaking of which, I found that there wasn't anything that made Rory that special or amazing other than "she's different and interesting." As a romance reader, I couldn't see what made them interested in each other in the first place and there wasn't much of a romantic connection really.
But going back to the whole cult thing, it was a lot like "I don't want Bo coming here anymore" to some massive thing happening towards the end that I became disinterested in. All in all, it wasn't enough to bump my rating up unfortunately.
I am really sad that this book fell short for me and I know I won't be eagerly reading it anytime soon :(
ACTUAL RATING: 1.8 STARS