giuliamarie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
desiree_s's review
2.0
I’m sooo sad that I didn’t like this book. I’ve read almost all of Cat Clarke’s books amd I loved them all. But this book was just bad.
inkcharm's review
1.0
Oh, where to even begin with this book. Let's start with how there is no remotely likeable character in this except for two side character whose appearances are extremely limited (Devon and Sophie). Let's continue with how the main character especially (Grace) is grating at the best of times. Let's then move on to how big, sensitive topics (teenage pregnancy, depression, self-mutilation, neglect, suicide) are treated as plot devices that have no impact expect to further the personal drama of the central characters. And let's end with how the big mysteries of the book are glaringly obvious long, very long, before they are "revealed" in the book.
I bought the book because I thought the prospect sounded like it could be exciting, with Grace waking up in a white room, imprisoned with a kidnapper who takes good care of her, but with nothing to do all day but write down her story. Except the author clearly had no idea how to use this device to narrate her story. Instead of a gripping, emotional tale I got poorly constructed teenage drama, and let's not even mention how we are supposed to believe we are reading what Grace "wrote down" when it reads more like her own inner narrative at the time things happened. Which would have worked much better than the whole "we read what she wrote down" thing when you can't suspend disbelief for more than half a dozen pages.
The story could have been beautiful and heartbreaking if it had been told differently. Cutting isn't treated as a real problem, but is once again just something a bored teenager with no real problems does to show how sensitive and emotional and troubled she is. Even when she really isn't. Pregnancy? Well, yeah, happens, but other than being a plot device to set up best friends and boyfriends acting shitty nothing comes of it anyway. Depression is apparently no real medical condition, it's just what happens when you fight with your best friend and your boyfriend is unhappy with you. I could go on, but I won't. This book isn't deep, mysterious, emotional, touching. It's just the typical teenage drama you can tune in to every night on every channel, with no originality or emotional impact whatsoever.
I bought the book because I thought the prospect sounded like it could be exciting, with Grace waking up in a white room, imprisoned with a kidnapper who takes good care of her, but with nothing to do all day but write down her story. Except the author clearly had no idea how to use this device to narrate her story. Instead of a gripping, emotional tale I got poorly constructed teenage drama, and let's not even mention how we are supposed to believe we are reading what Grace "wrote down" when it reads more like her own inner narrative at the time things happened. Which would have worked much better than the whole "we read what she wrote down" thing when you can't suspend disbelief for more than half a dozen pages.
The story could have been beautiful and heartbreaking if it had been told differently. Cutting isn't treated as a real problem, but is once again just something a bored teenager with no real problems does to show how sensitive and emotional and troubled she is. Even when she really isn't. Pregnancy? Well, yeah, happens, but other than being a plot device to set up best friends and boyfriends acting shitty nothing comes of it anyway. Depression is apparently no real medical condition, it's just what happens when you fight with your best friend and your boyfriend is unhappy with you. I could go on, but I won't. This book isn't deep, mysterious, emotional, touching. It's just the typical teenage drama you can tune in to every night on every channel, with no originality or emotional impact whatsoever.
triceliatops's review against another edition
http://sphinxou.wordpress.com/2014/04/25/confusion-_-cat-clarke/
kesar_r's review
3.0
Well that was a rollercoaster of suspense... with a ending that just, wow. I mean I saw it coming but it still hit hard. I don’t usually go for mystery or suspense but this, this was just wow. I was hooked from the beginning, unable to put it down (I only stopped for a bathroom break), the way that’s the story was told to the characters to the plot. Wow. It was just something else. A good something else.
anniedactyl's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
elanna_g's review
5.0
Trigger warning: suicide, self harm (graphic)
WOW, this book was intense! It sucked me right in from the start and I couldn't put it down it was soooo all-consuming.
As someone who struggled with self harm in the past, I never felt more understood in that aspect, EVER. And the story was so intriguing I just needed to know what had happened. This book made me fell so many emotions, I cried a lot reading it. Although I saw the ending coming, it still felt right for some reason, Idk how to explain it.
This will stay in my head for a long time.
WOW, this book was intense! It sucked me right in from the start and I couldn't put it down it was soooo all-consuming.
As someone who struggled with self harm in the past, I never felt more understood in that aspect, EVER. And the story was so intriguing I just needed to know what had happened. This book made me fell so many emotions, I cried a lot reading it. Although I saw the ending coming, it still felt right for some reason, Idk how to explain it.
This will stay in my head for a long time.
annastarlight's review
4.0
Wow. It's been ages since I've read a book that packs such an emotional punch. Entangled isn't just a jab in the gut, it's a full-frontal assault that just keeps on going.
The worst about it, I think, is that the book is often quite humorous and sarcastic in tone. At the same time, troubles are boiling away below the surface. Grace wakes up and finds herself in a white room with nothing but a bed, a table, and writing materials. As she continues to write what happened leading up to her captivity, she slowly uncovers thoughts, feelings, happenings that she would rather forget.
To be very honest, I did not enjoy Entangled. Halfway through I decided to read something else, because it was just too heavy for me. I could not digest all that it describes, and I needed a break. It is a testament to Ms Clarke that I did pick it up again and finished it. I'm not entirely glad that I did. Unlike The Bell Jar, an equally bleak book, Entangled does not offer any kind of comfort, not even of the coldest sort.
Could've known, with this kind of opening sentence.
I met Ethan on the night I was planning to kill myself.
* Trigger warnings:
The worst about it, I think, is that the book is often quite humorous and sarcastic in tone. At the same time, troubles are boiling away below the surface. Grace wakes up and finds herself in a white room with nothing but a bed, a table, and writing materials. As she continues to write what happened leading up to her captivity, she slowly uncovers thoughts, feelings, happenings that she would rather forget.
To be very honest, I did not enjoy Entangled. Halfway through I decided to read something else, because it was just too heavy for me. I could not digest all that it describes, and I needed a break. It is a testament to Ms Clarke that I did pick it up again and finished it. I'm not entirely glad that I did. Unlike The Bell Jar, an equally bleak book, Entangled does not offer any kind of comfort, not even of the coldest sort.
Could've known, with this kind of opening sentence.
I met Ethan on the night I was planning to kill myself.
* Trigger warnings:
Spoiler
suicide, graphic self-harmemmanovella's review
3.0
2.5
not what i expected and fell a little flat. I was anticipating a more mysterious book and I really enjoyed the scenes in the room/with Ethan (who is never explained??) but the majority detailing her friendship with Sal etc and her relationship with Nat... GOD HER BLOODY OBSESSION with her boyfriend. UGH
Really not for me and dragged out way too much. By the end I just did not care about it at all.
not what i expected and fell a little flat. I was anticipating a more mysterious book and I really enjoyed the scenes in the room/with Ethan (who is never explained??) but the majority detailing her friendship with Sal etc and her relationship with Nat... GOD HER BLOODY OBSESSION with her boyfriend. UGH
Really not for me and dragged out way too much. By the end I just did not care about it at all.
onceuponabookcase's review
5.0
'The same questions whirl round and round in my head:
What does he want from me?
How could I have let this happen?
AM I GOING TO DIE?'
17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got there.
As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see?
Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?
A story of dangerous secrets, intense friendships and electrifying attraction. From Amazon UK
When I received this book for review, I was extremely excited. Not only did it sound brilliant, but I've met Cat Clarke - she came along to the book bloggers meet up back in May, and is active enough in the blogosphere that many consider her "one of us". But I was also worried. What if I didn't like it? I pride myself on my honest reviews, but how could I possibly be negative about a book someone I know wrote. It scared me.
Fortunately, I was hooked from the very first page. Why was this girl locked in a room? Will she ever get out? What is her abductor planning? But after a while, I worried some more about negative review writing as it looked likely. I did not like Grace. She was too much of a typical teenager; she was loud and brash and had didn't seem to have a nice word to say about anything. She really wound me up, and I kept wanting to tell her to shut up. Yet I couldn't put the book down. Her circumstanced were just too strange, and I needed to know what was going on.
As the pages turned, my feelings towards Grace changed. As I got to know her better, understood her better, I liked her more - even if she did/said things that still annoyed me. But her story was so intriguing. The secrets, the strange behaviour. I read and read and read. Since I've started work, it has taken me well over a week to finish a book, but I was so caught up in Grace's story, it took four days. And now I'm finished, and I can really only say... wow.
The plot is just fantastic! Such a great way to tell a story, having Grace write it all down almost like a journal. The twist is just awesome, I didn't entirely see it coming. I had theories and assumptions, but they weren't completely correct, and I was just blown away with the actual outcome; just why Grace was abducted. But the story of all that happened before she was abduted really touched me. I laughed, I cried, I sympathised, I fell in love, I got mad, I had fun. It was just fantastic!
In total, there were seven characters in the book, but the three main ones are Grace, Sal, and Nat. Sal is Grace's best friend, and as nice enough as she seemed, I never really liked her. Not that I disliked her, I just didn't feel I knew her well enough to base an opinion on. Grace is the narrator, so we only know what she tells us, and as she's writing months after most of the events happen, so we don't get every detail. We don't need every detail, I just didn't feel enough of a connection to Sal to like her, though there was enough for me to care what happened to her.
Nat on the other hand you couldn't ask for me detail on. And I think I might just have to say, move over every other fictional guy I've ever read about, I have a new fic-guy to have a lit crush on. It's like Clarke crawled into my head, saw who my perfect guy would be - well, pretty much - and put him in her book. He was just so lovely! He was just awesome! The only thing I can complain about really, is not having enough conversations with him about nothing. They're not necessary for the story, but I would have enjoyed them!
Then came the end. Oh my god, the end. When everything fell into place, and we knew what was what. Some of it I was hoping desperatly wouldn't turn out like I thought it would, but it did, and there were tears, and a whole lot of anger. And the actual end! Simply amazing, but I wish it hadn't ended there! I wanted more! What happens next, Cat?
Entangled is simply fantastic! I loved it! I want to pick it up and read it over. I want to climb into the pages. Seriously, this book is just amazing, a stunning debut, and if you don't get yourself to a bookshop in January and grab yourself a copy, well, I suggest you go see a doctor. Another to add to the list of favourites. I can't wait to read whatever Clarke brings us next!
From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog
What does he want from me?
How could I have let this happen?
AM I GOING TO DIE?'
17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got there.
As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see?
Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?
A story of dangerous secrets, intense friendships and electrifying attraction. From Amazon UK
When I received this book for review, I was extremely excited. Not only did it sound brilliant, but I've met Cat Clarke - she came along to the book bloggers meet up back in May, and is active enough in the blogosphere that many consider her "one of us". But I was also worried. What if I didn't like it? I pride myself on my honest reviews, but how could I possibly be negative about a book someone I know wrote. It scared me.
Fortunately, I was hooked from the very first page. Why was this girl locked in a room? Will she ever get out? What is her abductor planning? But after a while, I worried some more about negative review writing as it looked likely. I did not like Grace. She was too much of a typical teenager; she was loud and brash and had didn't seem to have a nice word to say about anything. She really wound me up, and I kept wanting to tell her to shut up. Yet I couldn't put the book down. Her circumstanced were just too strange, and I needed to know what was going on.
As the pages turned, my feelings towards Grace changed. As I got to know her better, understood her better, I liked her more - even if she did/said things that still annoyed me. But her story was so intriguing. The secrets, the strange behaviour. I read and read and read. Since I've started work, it has taken me well over a week to finish a book, but I was so caught up in Grace's story, it took four days. And now I'm finished, and I can really only say... wow.
The plot is just fantastic! Such a great way to tell a story, having Grace write it all down almost like a journal. The twist is just awesome, I didn't entirely see it coming. I had theories and assumptions, but they weren't completely correct, and I was just blown away with the actual outcome; just why Grace was abducted. But the story of all that happened before she was abduted really touched me. I laughed, I cried, I sympathised, I fell in love, I got mad, I had fun. It was just fantastic!
In total, there were seven characters in the book, but the three main ones are Grace, Sal, and Nat. Sal is Grace's best friend, and as nice enough as she seemed, I never really liked her. Not that I disliked her, I just didn't feel I knew her well enough to base an opinion on. Grace is the narrator, so we only know what she tells us, and as she's writing months after most of the events happen, so we don't get every detail. We don't need every detail, I just didn't feel enough of a connection to Sal to like her, though there was enough for me to care what happened to her.
Nat on the other hand you couldn't ask for me detail on. And I think I might just have to say, move over every other fictional guy I've ever read about, I have a new fic-guy to have a lit crush on. It's like Clarke crawled into my head, saw who my perfect guy would be - well, pretty much - and put him in her book. He was just so lovely! He was just awesome! The only thing I can complain about really, is not having enough conversations with him about nothing. They're not necessary for the story, but I would have enjoyed them!
Then came the end. Oh my god, the end. When everything fell into place, and we knew what was what. Some of it I was hoping desperatly wouldn't turn out like I thought it would, but it did, and there were tears, and a whole lot of anger. And the actual end! Simply amazing, but I wish it hadn't ended there! I wanted more! What happens next, Cat?
Entangled is simply fantastic! I loved it! I want to pick it up and read it over. I want to climb into the pages. Seriously, this book is just amazing, a stunning debut, and if you don't get yourself to a bookshop in January and grab yourself a copy, well, I suggest you go see a doctor. Another to add to the list of favourites. I can't wait to read whatever Clarke brings us next!
From Once Upon a Bookcase - YA book blog