fellumhistane's review
4.0
This was a wholesome well rounded adventure about love, wonder and trust. I read this very quickly as it flows magically and I did cry at the end.
Lost a star for me because of the following:
-Art is just too powerful and her abilities make the apparent threat coming for the characters just an annoyance more than anything else. It broke some of the drama for me. Could have used more weaknesses for the baddies to exploit and for the characters to overcome.
-It took too damn long for Nate to get on-board the crazy train, he was shell shocked and just plain annoying for 3/4s of the novel. Sure he's a journalist based in facts and this is the early nineties, but his muggleness was just unbelievable to me after a time.
-The Steven Cooper rants were very long, came up way too often and tended to detach me from the flow of the story and action.
Lost a star for me because of the following:
-Art is just too powerful and her abilities make the apparent threat coming for the characters just an annoyance more than anything else. It broke some of the drama for me. Could have used more weaknesses for the baddies to exploit and for the characters to overcome.
-It took too damn long for Nate to get on-board the crazy train, he was shell shocked and just plain annoying for 3/4s of the novel. Sure he's a journalist based in facts and this is the early nineties, but his muggleness was just unbelievable to me after a time.
-The Steven Cooper rants were very long, came up way too often and tended to detach me from the flow of the story and action.
flo77k's review against another edition
emotional
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? No
4.5
dylan_wilder's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
wiscobooks74's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
susssu's review against another edition
4.0
A little bit self-indulgent and dramatic in an action movie fashion (with all the explosions and special effects suitable to the genre) but I can't help but love Klune's writing, characters, and themes. Makes a heart happy, even if it also has you affectionately rolling your eyes, here and there.
bee26's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
alyssatuininga's review
5.0
I have read quite a few of TJ Klune's YA books. This one was much like those, with some more complicated story lines, violence and sex. All in all I loved it. I maybe missed the sweetness of his YA stuff a little but I still loved it.
abhidnya's review
4.0
bIG EDDIE AND BENJI MY BABIES im CRYING
also im 27% in amd im fucking sobbing i can't see straight
update: done reading this. it's fucking brilliant. i had to read it on my phone because my stupid kindle isn't working. my head hurts from the screen and crying. i adore tj klune so much. this is a love story, through and through.
also im 27% in amd im fucking sobbing i can't see straight
update: done reading this. it's fucking brilliant. i had to read it on my phone because my stupid kindle isn't working. my head hurts from the screen and crying. i adore tj klune so much. this is a love story, through and through.
josy's review against another edition
5.0
This book was everything I hoped it would be and so, so much more.
No, I didn't know what to expect. Beyond the blurb, I didn't look for further details about the story before I started reading it and I strongly recommend you do the same. I think going in blind and letting the story unfold as it is told without any previous knowledge about what's going to happen is the way to read this book.
So no, I won't tell you much about what is going on in this book but I'm going to tell you a little bit about how it made me feel even though I know that I won't be able to put all my thoughts and feelings into words.
It's TJ Klune and he has this incredible talent to bring out all the emotions in me - anger, hurt, relief, sadness, delight, and everything in between. And this book was no different. There has been more than one moment where tears were mixed with smiles and heartache was mixed with joy. Be prepared for a perfect balance between Wookie Cry Face and snorting laughter.
The main characters in this book - Artemis, Alex, and Nate - are simply amazing!
Little Artemis is such a delight! Reading about her enthusiasm and wide-eyed curiosity as she discovers the world around her, her innocence, compassion, and pureness as well as her straightforwardness and no-nonsense attitude - everything that makes her this very perfect, special child - was such a pleasure and I can't thank TJ enough for giving us such a fantastic, precious character.
She's also the one who brings Alex and Nate, two men shaped by their pasts and by the choices they've made, together and helps them to discover there is hope in life after all. Just by being who she is, she helps them to learn how to live with a deep grief that never vanishes completely; helps them to recognize the happiness even the smallest, seemingly insignificant, things can bring you; helps them to see beauty and love in the world around them. Helps them to realize that they can be more, so much more, if they only allow themselves to open their hearts. She's compelling and she not only got under Alex's and Nate's skin but under mine as well.
Still, by the end, this book left me a bit unsettled and it took me a while to figure out why. See, this book is not only sunshine, a calm lake, and a field of flowers. This book also shows us what humankind is made of. And it ain't always pretty.
We are selfless, loving creatures who want to be happy and make others happy but we also have a dark side. And this book shows us exactly how dark it can be: how destructive we can be - towards our kind and our world; how arrogant we can be; how we think ourselves better than the people around us; how we think we know it all; how we think we can control everything and everyone around us. It shows us how violent we can be when we feel threatened by things we cannot understand but that we are also not willing to learn about. How we can turn on each other instead of holding out our hand.
And having this dark side of mankind shown to me by this wonderful little girl made me feel ashamed and small. Because I recognized myself in some of the things she pointed out and I know there have been times where I could have done better.
I know I will never be as perfect as little Artemis but after having accompanied her on this adventure - one I know I will think of for a long time to come - I vow to do better.
I believe we all can do better.
And maybe we will one day have a little Artemis at our side who can help us be better.
And because my buddy read partner Karen said it so much better than I ever could, here is her review and you should go read it!
A big thank you to my buddy read ladies Karen and Simone who I got to share this special experience with <3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 🤩😍🤩😍🤩
An overwhelmingly, I-don't-have-enough-words THANK YOU to my amazing friend Jewel who just made my year 😘💕
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Of course I pre-ordered this beauty!
No, I didn't know what to expect. Beyond the blurb, I didn't look for further details about the story before I started reading it and I strongly recommend you do the same. I think going in blind and letting the story unfold as it is told without any previous knowledge about what's going to happen is the way to read this book.
So no, I won't tell you much about what is going on in this book but I'm going to tell you a little bit about how it made me feel even though I know that I won't be able to put all my thoughts and feelings into words.
It's TJ Klune and he has this incredible talent to bring out all the emotions in me - anger, hurt, relief, sadness, delight, and everything in between. And this book was no different. There has been more than one moment where tears were mixed with smiles and heartache was mixed with joy. Be prepared for a perfect balance between Wookie Cry Face and snorting laughter.
The main characters in this book - Artemis, Alex, and Nate - are simply amazing!
Little Artemis is such a delight! Reading about her enthusiasm and wide-eyed curiosity as she discovers the world around her, her innocence, compassion, and pureness as well as her straightforwardness and no-nonsense attitude - everything that makes her this very perfect, special child - was such a pleasure and I can't thank TJ enough for giving us such a fantastic, precious character.
She's also the one who brings Alex and Nate, two men shaped by their pasts and by the choices they've made, together and helps them to discover there is hope in life after all. Just by being who she is, she helps them to learn how to live with a deep grief that never vanishes completely; helps them to recognize the happiness even the smallest, seemingly insignificant, things can bring you; helps them to see beauty and love in the world around them. Helps them to realize that they can be more, so much more, if they only allow themselves to open their hearts. She's compelling and she not only got under Alex's and Nate's skin but under mine as well.
Still, by the end, this book left me a bit unsettled and it took me a while to figure out why. See, this book is not only sunshine, a calm lake, and a field of flowers. This book also shows us what humankind is made of. And it ain't always pretty.
We are selfless, loving creatures who want to be happy and make others happy but we also have a dark side. And this book shows us exactly how dark it can be: how destructive we can be - towards our kind and our world; how arrogant we can be; how we think ourselves better than the people around us; how we think we know it all; how we think we can control everything and everyone around us. It shows us how violent we can be when we feel threatened by things we cannot understand but that we are also not willing to learn about. How we can turn on each other instead of holding out our hand.
And having this dark side of mankind shown to me by this wonderful little girl made me feel ashamed and small. Because I recognized myself in some of the things she pointed out and I know there have been times where I could have done better.
I know I will never be as perfect as little Artemis but after having accompanied her on this adventure - one I know I will think of for a long time to come - I vow to do better.
I believe we all can do better.
And maybe we will one day have a little Artemis at our side who can help us be better.
And because my buddy read partner Karen said it so much better than I ever could, here is her review and you should go read it!
A big thank you to my buddy read ladies Karen and Simone who I got to share this special experience with <3
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH 🤩😍🤩😍🤩
An overwhelmingly, I-don't-have-enough-words THANK YOU to my amazing friend Jewel who just made my year 😘💕
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Of course I pre-ordered this beauty!