johanna_b's review against another edition
2.0
Thank you to Harper360YA for providing me with an ARC!
Where to start with this book? For being so short, I sure have some pretty complicated feelings towards it! First off, it was marketed all wrong. The blurb simultaneously gives away way too much about the plot while not really telling you anything at all. Confusing I know, but if you’ve read it, you understand. I was also expecting something a lot more uplifting from the story but in reality, this book just sucks every last bit of happiness from you. I highly recommend looking up trigger warnings before reading! I thought Ocean’s character was interesting but I really didn’t like how much time she spent thinking vs. actually doing or saying. She seemed to be constantly thinking of things to say for example but never went ahead and actually voiced anything which created such awkward exchanges between her and the rest of the characters. I’m not sure if this was done on purpose but by the end it was starting to get on my nerves.
I really liked Georgie and Tasha and wish more of the book could’ve been spent on them instead of Constant. The author’s note at the front of the book made Ocean and Constant’s relationship sound cute, but if you’ve tracked with my review this far, you’ll know that what we expect is not what we get with this book. And let me tell you, their relationship was NOT cute. I could never fully figure it out and there was so much baggage coming from both of them that I just didn’t enjoy reading about it. After I finished this book and even before that when I was nearing the end, I just had to accept that I’m in a very different stage of life and share a very different mindset to that of the characters in this book. So, while I feel that there is an audience out there that could potentially really enjoy this book, in the end I just couldn’t connect with it. Happy Reading :)
Content Notes:
Sex: one on-page scene and some discussion of it afterwards
Violence: suicide is a recurring theme
Other: Georgie and Tasha are in a same-sex relationship, characters regularly drink throughout the book and use drugs, though the second less frequently.
Where to start with this book? For being so short, I sure have some pretty complicated feelings towards it! First off, it was marketed all wrong. The blurb simultaneously gives away way too much about the plot while not really telling you anything at all. Confusing I know, but if you’ve read it, you understand. I was also expecting something a lot more uplifting from the story but in reality, this book just sucks every last bit of happiness from you. I highly recommend looking up trigger warnings before reading! I thought Ocean’s character was interesting but I really didn’t like how much time she spent thinking vs. actually doing or saying. She seemed to be constantly thinking of things to say for example but never went ahead and actually voiced anything which created such awkward exchanges between her and the rest of the characters. I’m not sure if this was done on purpose but by the end it was starting to get on my nerves.
I really liked Georgie and Tasha and wish more of the book could’ve been spent on them instead of Constant. The author’s note at the front of the book made Ocean and Constant’s relationship sound cute, but if you’ve tracked with my review this far, you’ll know that what we expect is not what we get with this book. And let me tell you, their relationship was NOT cute. I could never fully figure it out and there was so much baggage coming from both of them that I just didn’t enjoy reading about it. After I finished this book and even before that when I was nearing the end, I just had to accept that I’m in a very different stage of life and share a very different mindset to that of the characters in this book. So, while I feel that there is an audience out there that could potentially really enjoy this book, in the end I just couldn’t connect with it. Happy Reading :)
Content Notes:
Spoiler
Language: frequent use of strong language including the f-wordSex: one on-page scene and some discussion of it afterwards
Violence: suicide is a recurring theme
Other: Georgie and Tasha are in a same-sex relationship, characters regularly drink throughout the book and use drugs, though the second less frequently.
atelmari's review against another edition
Too philosophy based, didn't care to know how it ended
lazyshazy's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jamieeliz's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
loveat1stwrite's review
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Minor: Drug use
drullard's review against another edition
5.0
I took me several days. The book is not long but dense. The angst is so real, the gloom of the depression weights you down so completely. I cried in parts too. This book is out what I normally read but I love it.
marbledjubilee's review against another edition
2.0
upset how this didn't really involve that many maps but i kinda got my year of rest and relaxation (from the depression) x sally rooney (from people writing to each other about meaningless pretentious topics online and acting like it's super substantial) vibes. also why would you create a contemporary YA novel and make the main plotline a wmaf with a toxic older eastern european philosophy bro who has an asian fetish
cielliez's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
babro_soya's review against another edition
4.0
I both hated and liked this one. So it made me feel things, which I think is one way how reading a book can be fulfilling.
I hated the way the character felt all too familiar to me: indecisive, unopinionated and reactive instead of active, stuck in depressive episodes and prone to overthinking while having no feeling of self-worth.
I liked its spot-on descriptions of the above, which is ironic since the novel also reflects about the disparity between language and perceived reality. Reading someone's musings about life in the first person also makes it easier to identify reality as such: it's subjective perception, not universal truth and might also just be a passing episode in life. As of yet, no feeling is the final one.
I hated the way the character felt all too familiar to me: indecisive, unopinionated and reactive instead of active, stuck in depressive episodes and prone to overthinking while having no feeling of self-worth.
I liked its spot-on descriptions of the above, which is ironic since the novel also reflects about the disparity between language and perceived reality. Reading someone's musings about life in the first person also makes it easier to identify reality as such: it's subjective perception, not universal truth and might also just be a passing episode in life. As of yet, no feeling is the final one.