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keen23's review against another edition
4.0
Lots of uncontrollable sobbing on my part, during the third act of this book.
inkandbooksforever's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
relaxing
fast-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? No
3.75
This was a fast, easy going read. There is not much to think about, just to reflect on the adventures the characters are going through. It gives a nice perspective on death and how teens (and adults) can view it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
gharv03's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book a lot! It was extremely entertaining as well as distracting from my crazy life. It was a nice get a way and an enjoyable easy read.
subzera's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
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
5.0
freadomlibrary's review against another edition
2.0
Actual rating 2.5 stars
This just wasn't for me but those last few chapters were very good. If only the whole book would've been like that.
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/
Critically
Plot – 3 out of 5 stars
I liked the concept of this book and I feel like for such a hard topic, it was dealt with and handled very well. However, the plot just felt flat to me. I liked the destinations the cruise went to and the experiences the characters had there were interesting. But overall, it was boring for me. There was too much drama and an aspect of instalove that I did not appreciated. I like how it ended up incorporating the title and the meaning of it into the story but it wasn’t enough for me to enjoy.
Writing Style – 2 out of 5 stars
I think this is the part of the book that I disliked the most. I didn’t understand it or enjoy it in anyway. It was dry and very simple. It was supposed to be funny but I didn’t find it humorous or entertaining at any point. Some of the jokes were inappropriate and weird, they made me uncomfortable and kind of upset as well. The writing style was very bland and I didn’t feel like it transmitted emotion very well, at least it didn’t make me feel anything.
Characters – 3 out of 5 stars
Yet another part of this book that I wasn’t a fan of. I don’t know what the author’s intention was but the character just felt like caricatures. Their personalities were too extreme and I didn’t find it believable. Maddie annoyed me. She’s insecure, and judgemental and shallow. She’s self-centered and annoying. I didn’t understand her or like her in any way. I couldn’t connect with her and I didn’t feel sorry for her. It made the story so much harder to read. I think one of the only character I actually liked was her Gram. She’s was cooky and crazy but really sweet. She stood up for what she wanted and she tried very hard to make her family be more accepting and aware of other people, even though it didn’t work that well most of the time. Wes was also a character that I liked, his intentions were good and he was a sweetheart. But then again, he wasn’t actually a part of that cray family. I feel like there were too many side characters. They didn’t feel developed enough and they could easily be confused by the reader. Most of them were over the top, dramatic and unrealistic. I wanted to feel for them and it just didn’t happen.
Emotionally
The plot is farfetched. We follow Maddie whose Gram drops some news the summer before she’s leaving for college. She’s dying of cancer and she wants to take them on a cruise in which she’ll die with dignity at the end. First thing I wanted to mention is that I read this book with another book blogger and while I managed to finish it, she DNF’d halfway through. We were both really disappointed because it was our first buddy read and it ended up not being an enjoyable book for either of us. That being said, I liked the premise of the story and of the cruise ship. I loved seeing all the places they traveled to and why Gram picked them and the adventures they had there. That part was really interesting and even sweet in some parts. And I liked some of the secondary characters, some of the other patients on the ship managed to tug at my heart strings which was nice. But that’s it. The actual story line, the one from the main character’s perspective which we’re supposed to connect to felt flat and boring. I didn’t connect with Maddie, her interests, her personality, her thought process, nothing. And I didn’t connect with her family either which the majority felt like caricatures of really judgemental and self-centered people. I quickly saw where Maddie got her winning personality. And yet, my biggest issue with this book is with the writing style and that’s why I mentioned above that this book is not for me. The writing is supposed to be funny, sarcastic but in an almost in your face, rude way. And while some people have been able to accept it and fall in love with it, it bothered me. It was impersonal and unemotional. It wasn’t funny to me at all, I felt insulted quite a few times actually, and it further disconnected me from the characters and from the story.
I didn’t like Maddie. At all. From the very beginning. I found her to be really self-centered, shallow and insecure. She made a big deal about leaving her friends for the summer and yet we know nothing about them besides the fact that she’s always designated driver to three other teenage girls. Her one actual friend is someone she doesn’t spend time with, who she doesn’t want to be seen one and who she’s convinced herself to think they have nothing in common. Even after her Gram finally passed away, she still only thought about her grief and her family had to rally around her and get her to live again. It just felt like she was really selfish and I didn’t connect or understand her at all.
The romance in this book had instalove written all over it. Besides the fact that the guy was too exotic and mixed for his own good, I didn’t get much from his personality. I didn’t understand why they were attracted to each other besides the fact that they were both teenagers on a cruise for people who are dying. Their relationship developed way too fast and was too intense, specially considering all the supposed emotional hits Maddie was taking with her Gram’s upcoming goodbye. It bothered me how her family wasn’t aware of her relationship and how quickly it was developing. The family was too focused on being judgemental of the other passengers and their lives and it was sickening in one specific case. I was disturbed. Quite frankly, they were just unrelatable characters.
Overall, I was really disappointed with this book. I didn’t enjoy the writing style, it felt too jarring, unemotional and it disconnected me from the plot. The characters were flawed to a maximum percent and I didn’t care or connect with them. I didn’t support the romance and I felt like it developed too quickly and took too much of a spotlight from the rest of the plot. I will most likely not be reading another book by this author.
This just wasn't for me but those last few chapters were very good. If only the whole book would've been like that.
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/
Critically
Plot – 3 out of 5 stars
I liked the concept of this book and I feel like for such a hard topic, it was dealt with and handled very well. However, the plot just felt flat to me. I liked the destinations the cruise went to and the experiences the characters had there were interesting. But overall, it was boring for me. There was too much drama and an aspect of instalove that I did not appreciated. I like how it ended up incorporating the title and the meaning of it into the story but it wasn’t enough for me to enjoy.
Writing Style – 2 out of 5 stars
I think this is the part of the book that I disliked the most. I didn’t understand it or enjoy it in anyway. It was dry and very simple. It was supposed to be funny but I didn’t find it humorous or entertaining at any point. Some of the jokes were inappropriate and weird, they made me uncomfortable and kind of upset as well. The writing style was very bland and I didn’t feel like it transmitted emotion very well, at least it didn’t make me feel anything.
Characters – 3 out of 5 stars
Yet another part of this book that I wasn’t a fan of. I don’t know what the author’s intention was but the character just felt like caricatures. Their personalities were too extreme and I didn’t find it believable. Maddie annoyed me. She’s insecure, and judgemental and shallow. She’s self-centered and annoying. I didn’t understand her or like her in any way. I couldn’t connect with her and I didn’t feel sorry for her. It made the story so much harder to read. I think one of the only character I actually liked was her Gram. She’s was cooky and crazy but really sweet. She stood up for what she wanted and she tried very hard to make her family be more accepting and aware of other people, even though it didn’t work that well most of the time. Wes was also a character that I liked, his intentions were good and he was a sweetheart. But then again, he wasn’t actually a part of that cray family. I feel like there were too many side characters. They didn’t feel developed enough and they could easily be confused by the reader. Most of them were over the top, dramatic and unrealistic. I wanted to feel for them and it just didn’t happen.
Emotionally
The plot is farfetched. We follow Maddie whose Gram drops some news the summer before she’s leaving for college. She’s dying of cancer and she wants to take them on a cruise in which she’ll die with dignity at the end. First thing I wanted to mention is that I read this book with another book blogger and while I managed to finish it, she DNF’d halfway through. We were both really disappointed because it was our first buddy read and it ended up not being an enjoyable book for either of us. That being said, I liked the premise of the story and of the cruise ship. I loved seeing all the places they traveled to and why Gram picked them and the adventures they had there. That part was really interesting and even sweet in some parts. And I liked some of the secondary characters, some of the other patients on the ship managed to tug at my heart strings which was nice. But that’s it. The actual story line, the one from the main character’s perspective which we’re supposed to connect to felt flat and boring. I didn’t connect with Maddie, her interests, her personality, her thought process, nothing. And I didn’t connect with her family either which the majority felt like caricatures of really judgemental and self-centered people. I quickly saw where Maddie got her winning personality. And yet, my biggest issue with this book is with the writing style and that’s why I mentioned above that this book is not for me. The writing is supposed to be funny, sarcastic but in an almost in your face, rude way. And while some people have been able to accept it and fall in love with it, it bothered me. It was impersonal and unemotional. It wasn’t funny to me at all, I felt insulted quite a few times actually, and it further disconnected me from the characters and from the story.
I didn’t like Maddie. At all. From the very beginning. I found her to be really self-centered, shallow and insecure. She made a big deal about leaving her friends for the summer and yet we know nothing about them besides the fact that she’s always designated driver to three other teenage girls. Her one actual friend is someone she doesn’t spend time with, who she doesn’t want to be seen one and who she’s convinced herself to think they have nothing in common. Even after her Gram finally passed away, she still only thought about her grief and her family had to rally around her and get her to live again. It just felt like she was really selfish and I didn’t connect or understand her at all.
The romance in this book had instalove written all over it. Besides the fact that the guy was too exotic and mixed for his own good, I didn’t get much from his personality. I didn’t understand why they were attracted to each other besides the fact that they were both teenagers on a cruise for people who are dying. Their relationship developed way too fast and was too intense, specially considering all the supposed emotional hits Maddie was taking with her Gram’s upcoming goodbye. It bothered me how her family wasn’t aware of her relationship and how quickly it was developing. The family was too focused on being judgemental of the other passengers and their lives and it was sickening in one specific case. I was disturbed. Quite frankly, they were just unrelatable characters.
Overall, I was really disappointed with this book. I didn’t enjoy the writing style, it felt too jarring, unemotional and it disconnected me from the plot. The characters were flawed to a maximum percent and I didn’t care or connect with them. I didn’t support the romance and I felt like it developed too quickly and took too much of a spotlight from the rest of the plot. I will most likely not be reading another book by this author.
tayberryjelly's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.5
papertraildiary's review against another edition
3.0
Maddie is so close to finishing high school when she finds out that her beloved grandma has pancreatic cancer. But not only that – Maddie’s grandma, Astrid, has booked the entire family for an eight week summer ‘vacation’ on a death with dignity cruise to see her off in style. From Maddie’s Loose Ends List of things to do before she starts university, in which she had crossed out ‘change hair colour,’ to Astrid’s list that takes the family all over the world in order to say goodbye, you could say Maddie’s boat has been rocked. >> See the full review at The Paper Trail Diary!
nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I’m warning you ahead of time that this review is going to be long and possibly slightly ranty. I’m so incredibly conflicted about this book! On the one hand, it was a touching depiction of loss and the myriad of ways we deal with it, but I just couldn’t connect to these characters and there were some aspects of the book that really bothered me.
Normally, I start with the positives and then talk about the things that bothered me, but in this case, I’m doing it the opposite way. Why? Because the second half of the book is what won me over (at least partially), and I feel the need to talk about this book in the way I experienced it. So, here I go –
What Left Me Wanting More:
An MC that frustrated me.
From the very beginning of the book, I was not a fan of Maddie – she was completely insufferable, stuck-up and kind of generally mean. She tells us right at the very beginning that she’s only dating her boyfriend Ethan because he’s captain of the something-or-other team (I don’t remember what, honestly) and she likes team captains. Then she spends the whole beginning of the book whining about him. It’s all about status for her and her little popular clique of friends. I just plain didn’t like Maddie. Now, she did change as the book went on, but I have to say that I didn’t really see where the growth came from. I guess hanging around with dying people? I just didn’t really see the transition. She just suddenly wasn’t as shallow anymore. So, while I liked her better, I was still conflicted.
Other characters who frustrated me.
Honestly, none of the other characters thrilled me at the beginning of the book either. Mostly, I was kind of horrified by Gram at first. She was supposed to be this hip, ultra-cool grandma who has a tattoo and talks about sex, but I had a hard time liking a woman who went around randomly grabbing her granddaughter’s boob, borderline mocking her for not having sex yet, and making random comments about her weight.
Conflicted messages about sex.
As you can probably tell, a lot of my issues with this book have to do with sex. I just got frustrated with the messages that this book was putting forth. Maddie was basically made to feel bad for not sleeping around by everyone in her life. At one point she played Never Have I Ever with a group of people (including her grandma) and they all treated her like this poor, naive little girl for not being able to live up to their sexual escapades, basically telling her, “Don’t worry, you’ll get there eventually.” REALLY?! She was seventeen years old, so why on earth did everyone act like she was a joke for being sexually inexperienced? I got sick and tired of Maddie having to explain away the fact that she was a virgin to her family and friends. Meanwhile, her (slightly) older cousin was looked at as this more experienced, cosmopolitan person because she’d slept with A LOT of guys, but then she was also kind of looked down on too. I couldn’t quite tell what the message with her was supposed to be. She was kind of a mess when it came to boys, yet for the most part she seemed to be a character Maddie (and others) looked up to because she was worldly and experienced. One minute Maddie would seem to think negatively about her cousin’s behavior and then the next she’d excuse her for cheating (since her cousin was drunk – obviously it’s not her fault if she cheats on someone when she’s drunk, right? Even if that’s a complete pattern in her life.). I don’t know, I guess I just wasn’t very happy with the messages this book was sending – making it seem that sex is just plain expected and if someone decides to wait on it, it must be because they’re naive. This frustrated me so much that I was VERY close to DNFing this book. Multiple times. But I kept going, and I eventually got to the second half of the book, which I liked much better. (Since Maddie eventually had sex, her friends and family were able to lay off about the issue, so I could stop thinking about it every minute or so of reading.)
What Fed My Addiction:
Zest for life.
While I didn’t love the messages that this book set forth about sex, I DID love the overall message that you should savor life and truly live every minute of it. The cruise that Maddie and her family went on wasn’t about death (even though, ultimately, many of the passengers died), it was about truly experiencing the things this world has to offer and savoring time with friends and family. Maddie learned what was important in life while on the cruise – and left it a different person.
Enzo.
While I did feel like the romance was borderline instalove, that didn’t stop me from loving Enzo. Once we got to about halfway through the book, I felt like the romance really blossomed and I was invested in Enzo and Maddie as a couple. These two were sweet and cute together, and he helped Maddie’s transformation into a person who was not completely self-absorbed!
Processing death.
The best part of this book was showing how different people process death and not glossing over it. When Gram died, Maddie wasn’t zen about it – even though she’d had plenty of time to prepare for the inevitable. No, her response to the loss was honest and real, painful and heart wrenching – she was a mess, and rightfully so. While the ultimate message was about savoring life, there was no ignoring the fact that death is, in fact, a painful part of life. I may not have loved every minute of this book, but I adored the last quarter or so – where Maddie came to terms with everything.
Some people will probably love this book. They’ll relate to these quirky characters and feel liberated by the message that sex is something to be enjoyed as often as possible with no guilt. I was not one of those people (which is not to say that people should feel guilty for having sex – I just didn’t like the fact that Maddie was being pushed into it so much). I struggled a lot with my rating on this one and had to wait to process the book before I could come up with my final verdict. In the end, I decided to give this book 2.5/5 stars, but I’m aware that there will be others who will feel like this book is perfect for them – you might be one of them! (If you think you might love it, I’m giving away my copy, so enter for a chance to win! Check out the giveaway HERE!)
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via BEA in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
I’m warning you ahead of time that this review is going to be long and possibly slightly ranty. I’m so incredibly conflicted about this book! On the one hand, it was a touching depiction of loss and the myriad of ways we deal with it, but I just couldn’t connect to these characters and there were some aspects of the book that really bothered me.
Normally, I start with the positives and then talk about the things that bothered me, but in this case, I’m doing it the opposite way. Why? Because the second half of the book is what won me over (at least partially), and I feel the need to talk about this book in the way I experienced it. So, here I go –
What Left Me Wanting More:
An MC that frustrated me.
From the very beginning of the book, I was not a fan of Maddie – she was completely insufferable, stuck-up and kind of generally mean. She tells us right at the very beginning that she’s only dating her boyfriend Ethan because he’s captain of the something-or-other team (I don’t remember what, honestly) and she likes team captains. Then she spends the whole beginning of the book whining about him. It’s all about status for her and her little popular clique of friends. I just plain didn’t like Maddie. Now, she did change as the book went on, but I have to say that I didn’t really see where the growth came from. I guess hanging around with dying people? I just didn’t really see the transition. She just suddenly wasn’t as shallow anymore. So, while I liked her better, I was still conflicted.
Other characters who frustrated me.
Honestly, none of the other characters thrilled me at the beginning of the book either. Mostly, I was kind of horrified by Gram at first. She was supposed to be this hip, ultra-cool grandma who has a tattoo and talks about sex, but I had a hard time liking a woman who went around randomly grabbing her granddaughter’s boob, borderline mocking her for not having sex yet, and making random comments about her weight.
Conflicted messages about sex.
As you can probably tell, a lot of my issues with this book have to do with sex. I just got frustrated with the messages that this book was putting forth. Maddie was basically made to feel bad for not sleeping around by everyone in her life. At one point she played Never Have I Ever with a group of people (including her grandma) and they all treated her like this poor, naive little girl for not being able to live up to their sexual escapades, basically telling her, “Don’t worry, you’ll get there eventually.” REALLY?! She was seventeen years old, so why on earth did everyone act like she was a joke for being sexually inexperienced? I got sick and tired of Maddie having to explain away the fact that she was a virgin to her family and friends. Meanwhile, her (slightly) older cousin was looked at as this more experienced, cosmopolitan person because she’d slept with A LOT of guys, but then she was also kind of looked down on too. I couldn’t quite tell what the message with her was supposed to be. She was kind of a mess when it came to boys, yet for the most part she seemed to be a character Maddie (and others) looked up to because she was worldly and experienced. One minute Maddie would seem to think negatively about her cousin’s behavior and then the next she’d excuse her for cheating (since her cousin was drunk – obviously it’s not her fault if she cheats on someone when she’s drunk, right? Even if that’s a complete pattern in her life.). I don’t know, I guess I just wasn’t very happy with the messages this book was sending – making it seem that sex is just plain expected and if someone decides to wait on it, it must be because they’re naive. This frustrated me so much that I was VERY close to DNFing this book. Multiple times. But I kept going, and I eventually got to the second half of the book, which I liked much better. (Since Maddie eventually had sex, her friends and family were able to lay off about the issue, so I could stop thinking about it every minute or so of reading.)
What Fed My Addiction:
Zest for life.
While I didn’t love the messages that this book set forth about sex, I DID love the overall message that you should savor life and truly live every minute of it. The cruise that Maddie and her family went on wasn’t about death (even though, ultimately, many of the passengers died), it was about truly experiencing the things this world has to offer and savoring time with friends and family. Maddie learned what was important in life while on the cruise – and left it a different person.
Enzo.
While I did feel like the romance was borderline instalove, that didn’t stop me from loving Enzo. Once we got to about halfway through the book, I felt like the romance really blossomed and I was invested in Enzo and Maddie as a couple. These two were sweet and cute together, and he helped Maddie’s transformation into a person who was not completely self-absorbed!
Processing death.
The best part of this book was showing how different people process death and not glossing over it. When Gram died, Maddie wasn’t zen about it – even though she’d had plenty of time to prepare for the inevitable. No, her response to the loss was honest and real, painful and heart wrenching – she was a mess, and rightfully so. While the ultimate message was about savoring life, there was no ignoring the fact that death is, in fact, a painful part of life. I may not have loved every minute of this book, but I adored the last quarter or so – where Maddie came to terms with everything.
Some people will probably love this book. They’ll relate to these quirky characters and feel liberated by the message that sex is something to be enjoyed as often as possible with no guilt. I was not one of those people (which is not to say that people should feel guilty for having sex – I just didn’t like the fact that Maddie was being pushed into it so much). I struggled a lot with my rating on this one and had to wait to process the book before I could come up with my final verdict. In the end, I decided to give this book 2.5/5 stars, but I’m aware that there will be others who will feel like this book is perfect for them – you might be one of them! (If you think you might love it, I’m giving away my copy, so enter for a chance to win! Check out the giveaway HERE!)
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via BEA in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
readmoreyall's review against another edition
2.0
I'm so conflicted! On one hand I love the way it deals with grief. But I hateeeee the relationship and the main character is just....blah.
lilianaj's review against another edition
4.0
This definitely made me cry. I absolutely loved it. The only thing that really annoyed me was how obnoxiously rich Maddie and her family were. Other than that, it was spectacular.