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harpies's review
3.0
The last paragraph bumped this down to a 3. It seems like a lot of people hate this book, but I found it eerily charming?
deegullz's review
5.0
The last chapter of this book made me want to rip my heart out and toss it and the book out the window. This was one of those slow-burning books about life that manages to reach into you in a way that gives you comfort and security because the ways the characters discover themselves and the world in such poignant and relatable ways. But once it's reached you and it's under your skin, it turns on you. It forces you to experience the chaos and unpredictability of life in such an unsettling way.
I'm glad I read this book, but I was gasping for air as I finished it.
I'm glad I read this book, but I was gasping for air as I finished it.
s4fe_sound's review
3.0
3.5/5
Honestly, this was not all too bad!
On the other hand, I was noticing some issues that really started to get to me the further I got into the book -
(why is everyone wearing something funky? they don’t HAVE to be all that dramatic, right? I mean, what’s the thing about leopard print bras and neon green briefs and bright orange lipstick and purple hair? I guess it would be appropriate for a specific character, but the author makes every single character this annoying dramatic thing.. smh. he makes it really clear that he tries too hard to be funny or something
Okay. Thanks for hearing me out. Back to the review.)
However, despite all that, I can’t remember being so invested while reading a contemporary. It was lighthearted, fun and witty. The characters were unique (except the repeating styles-) and I fell in love with some of them (can Lucy be my bestie??).
I hate one specific character, Paolo, but I can’t help but sympathise with him. I can see his perspective and the reason why he acts the way he does, despite me not agreeing with him. That says a bit about the depth built in that one character, which I really like. A great character.
Although, I have to admit that the crime aspect of the story, a girl gone missing, is really out of place. It serves no purpose to the story, whatsoever, and I forgot from time to time that it was even a thing. I was more invested in Dade and his drama, rather than the one side plot that got mentioned every 20 pages. How she went missing and where they found her didn’t ‘wow’ me, and rather made me skip a paragraph to go back to what really interested me.
I will definitely reread it for the purpose of laughs or the memories I made while reading it last time, not to mention my rants throughout the book in form of pen and highlights.
Would recommend if you liked the books Rainbow Boys, Rainbow High and Rainbow Road by Alex Sánchez.
Honestly, this was not all too bad!
On the other hand, I was noticing some issues that really started to get to me the further I got into the book -
(why is everyone wearing something funky? they don’t HAVE to be all that dramatic, right? I mean, what’s the thing about leopard print bras and neon green briefs and bright orange lipstick and purple hair? I guess it would be appropriate for a specific character, but the author makes every single character this annoying dramatic thing.. smh. he makes it really clear that he tries too hard to be funny or something
Okay. Thanks for hearing me out. Back to the review.)
However, despite all that, I can’t remember being so invested while reading a contemporary. It was lighthearted, fun and witty. The characters were unique (except the repeating styles-) and I fell in love with some of them (can Lucy be my bestie??).
I hate one specific character, Paolo, but I can’t help but sympathise with him. I can see his perspective and the reason why he acts the way he does, despite me not agreeing with him. That says a bit about the depth built in that one character, which I really like. A great character.
Although, I have to admit that the crime aspect of the story, a girl gone missing, is really out of place. It serves no purpose to the story, whatsoever, and I forgot from time to time that it was even a thing. I was more invested in Dade and his drama, rather than the one side plot that got mentioned every 20 pages. How she went missing and where they found her didn’t ‘wow’ me, and rather made me skip a paragraph to go back to what really interested me.
I will definitely reread it for the purpose of laughs or the memories I made while reading it last time, not to mention my rants throughout the book in form of pen and highlights.
Would recommend if you liked the books Rainbow Boys, Rainbow High and Rainbow Road by Alex Sánchez.
lekoweko's review
3.0
About ten months after reading this book, I'm only now starting to realize why I liked it. True, it's your run of the mill/coming of age/typical suburbia young adult novel. It doesn't get particularly heavy though it has that piquant teenage angst throughout. But I don't like this book because of all those things. Why I liked it was because it brought these images into my head. Perhaps I should start with the title: The Vast Fields of Ordinary. I can just see how that relates to the typical, sheltered American teen. I can see an upper middle class house with all the furnishings of luxury and none of the depth. I can see driving through corn fields at night just to escape the routine, or rather, the ordinary. That's why I liked it. In a perfectly typical young adult novel it was able to capture all the magic and disenchantment of American suburbia.
hexijosh's review
5.0
I absolutely loved this book from beginning to end and just couldn't put it down. I have to open with that because it's all I can really think about.
The Vast Fields of Ordinary is a fantastic coming-of-age story told from the point of view of a gay boy fresh out of high school, facing life during the summer before he starts college.
Reading this, I saw so much of myself in Dade Hamilton and could identify with the character on so many levels and I think many other readers will agree. You're instantly transported back to that time in your life where nothing makes sense and the road ahead of you is just one massive blur of people and events that ultimately shape your character and allow you to carve your own path in life.
This book perfect for both the young who are approaching this amazing time in their lives and those of us who have already grown past it and think back on that time, remembering how surreal it all felt.
The story is raw, uncompromising and honest, never saccharine or pandering. It captures youth in a bottle for a new generation.
This book deserves a place right alongside The Catcher in the Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower on everyones' shelves. If you haven't read it, grab a copy now!
The Vast Fields of Ordinary is a fantastic coming-of-age story told from the point of view of a gay boy fresh out of high school, facing life during the summer before he starts college.
Reading this, I saw so much of myself in Dade Hamilton and could identify with the character on so many levels and I think many other readers will agree. You're instantly transported back to that time in your life where nothing makes sense and the road ahead of you is just one massive blur of people and events that ultimately shape your character and allow you to carve your own path in life.
This book perfect for both the young who are approaching this amazing time in their lives and those of us who have already grown past it and think back on that time, remembering how surreal it all felt.
The story is raw, uncompromising and honest, never saccharine or pandering. It captures youth in a bottle for a new generation.
This book deserves a place right alongside The Catcher in the Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower on everyones' shelves. If you haven't read it, grab a copy now!
rose_d's review
5.0
I really loved this book. I honestly couldn't put it away. This books definitely deserves a place in my top 10.
sidneyellwood's review
4.0
[review written 2011]
This is my second time attempting to read The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd, but only my first time finishing it, so I’m counting this as a “new book”. It was a very good novel. I found myself laughing out loud sometimes, which got awkward in class, and Dade was a very cute main character, but not entirely likable. He got drunk far too many times in my opinion. I loved his and Alex’s and Pablo’s relationship (not Pablo himself; Pablo, in Dade’s words, was a dick).
What I didn’t like much about The Vast Fields of Ordinary was that the girl, Jenny Moore’s subplot didn’t seem to add to the story and could have done without, and that the conclusion seemed a little foregone. It was also kind of strange that the Hamiltons had a pool in their backyard, but hey, I guess people do have pools in their backyard. All in all, quite an enjoyable book.
This is my second time attempting to read The Vast Fields of Ordinary by Nick Burd, but only my first time finishing it, so I’m counting this as a “new book”. It was a very good novel. I found myself laughing out loud sometimes, which got awkward in class, and Dade was a very cute main character, but not entirely likable. He got drunk far too many times in my opinion. I loved his and Alex’s and Pablo’s relationship (not Pablo himself; Pablo, in Dade’s words, was a dick).
What I didn’t like much about The Vast Fields of Ordinary was that the girl, Jenny Moore’s subplot didn’t seem to add to the story and could have done without, and that the conclusion seemed a little foregone. It was also kind of strange that the Hamiltons had a pool in their backyard, but hey, I guess people do have pools in their backyard. All in all, quite an enjoyable book.