jazzy1227's review against another edition
5.0
4.5– I throughly enjoyed this book! It was super fun finding things out with Nick along the way but also knowing his secret. Trying to figure out his family’s secret & seeing his relationships with the characters develop. But also seeing the twist at the end when everything is revealed was exciting and I didn’t expect it.
thebooknerdscorner's review against another edition
3.0
I went into this book thinking it was going to be horrible (for some reason), so when I started it, I was quite pleased that it wasn't. Nick was decent enough protagonist, who was funny at times and also quite oblivious most of the time. But eventually, his attitude began to bother me a bit. He tries to act way cooler and smarter than he is, yet still manages to piece together the mystery before everything goes down. I thought the whodunnit in this thriller was a bit obvious, so I wasn't ever on the end of my seat. My favorite thing about this book was the diversity of the cast. Nick is African American, the two secondary characters, Reya and Eli, were from a Latinx household. Overall, it was a decent read with nothing too negative to say about it. It just wasn't my favorite book either. It would be a good book for people who are a fan of thrillers that still have plenty of character development and many subplots.
wombat_88's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
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
4.0
marcopoloreads's review against another edition
2.0
The problem with this book is that it didn't surprise me much. I expect thrillers to have a lot more suspense in them, and this one didn't do much for. Once again, I am not a fan of romances in books (especially thrillers and fantasy) and it was extremely unnecessary. I hated the way this book was written. The writing style and the narration was just extremely juvenile and I think that this is definitely a book for the younger side of YA. The plot was also just a huge mess and was all over the place as well.
I still think a lot of people will enjoy this but it didn't work for me. Also, a plus is that this book does have diversity in it which rarely happens in thrillers.
I still think a lot of people will enjoy this but it didn't work for me. Also, a plus is that this book does have diversity in it which rarely happens in thrillers.
unlifeoftheparty's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
emilyanne3000's review against another edition
2.0
I had a hard time finishing this book. It’s not that the characters or plot or writing was horrible... it was just that I never clicked enough with the story to be fully immersed. Nevertheless, I am sure some others people will enjoy Fake ID. I just... struggled.
The number one thing that had me yawning during the story, was that I never connected enough to the characters to care what happened to them. Maybe I am cold-hearted, but I have to feel a connection to fictional characters before I care about their life. I feel like the characters had a lot of potential. For example, I felt that Nick and I seriously should have loved each other. I (usually) really like humorous male protagonists. However, I didn't really care for Nick. I just don't think the author ever developed his characters enough for me to grow attached.
The novel did have some positive aspects. Kudos to the main character for being humorous. Also, kudos to the author for bringing non-white and non-female protagonists to the YA genre. Thank you!
That said, I still never connected to the book. The plot never pulled me in. Honestly, I remember very little of the story line and I finished this book only a month ago. That should tell you a lot about how I felt about the book. It wasn't memorable.
Overall, Fake ID wasn't terrible in any way. In fact, there were a few things I liked. Sadly, the book was pretty bland in my opinion. If the author had worked a little more on the characters, I feel like I could have enjoyed this more. I will still look out for Lamar Gile's next work.
I had the hardest time deciding what to rate the book. I'm going with 2.5 Stars.
The number one thing that had me yawning during the story, was that I never connected enough to the characters to care what happened to them. Maybe I am cold-hearted, but I have to feel a connection to fictional characters before I care about their life. I feel like the characters had a lot of potential. For example, I felt that Nick and I seriously should have loved each other. I (usually) really like humorous male protagonists. However, I didn't really care for Nick. I just don't think the author ever developed his characters enough for me to grow attached.
The novel did have some positive aspects. Kudos to the main character for being humorous. Also, kudos to the author for bringing non-white and non-female protagonists to the YA genre. Thank you!
That said, I still never connected to the book. The plot never pulled me in. Honestly, I remember very little of the story line and I finished this book only a month ago. That should tell you a lot about how I felt about the book. It wasn't memorable.
Overall, Fake ID wasn't terrible in any way. In fact, there were a few things I liked. Sadly, the book was pretty bland in my opinion. If the author had worked a little more on the characters, I feel like I could have enjoyed this more. I will still look out for Lamar Gile's next work.
I had the hardest time deciding what to rate the book. I'm going with 2.5 Stars.
lilythebibliophile's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is face-paced and compelling, with twists that I didn't see coming. The twists were foreshadowed perfectly, but I was too wrapped up in the story to be able to predict them. Lamar Giles is very talented at plotting and pacing out his thrillers.
I loved reading all the moments where Nick was outsmarting and outmaneuvering people. I was cheering for him in my head!
I did not appreciate that our main character calls a girl a skank at one point. He is written to be a slightly morally gray character, but most of his actions are coming from a good place, except that one line. I will let it slide for the most part, because Lamar Giles wrote a whole book about toxic masculinity and misogyny 6 years after this book was published, and I think the impact of Not So Pure and Simple outweighs the impact of Nick using the word skank here.
I loved reading all the moments where Nick was outsmarting and outmaneuvering people. I was cheering for him in my head!
I did not appreciate that our main character calls a girl a skank at one point. He is written to be a slightly morally gray character, but most of his actions are coming from a good place, except that one line. I will let it slide for the most part, because Lamar Giles wrote a whole book about toxic masculinity and misogyny 6 years after this book was published, and I think the impact of Not So Pure and Simple outweighs the impact of Nick using the word skank here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, and Child death
tullyndmom's review against another edition
4.0
Works for Book Riot's Read Harder 2020 task 3 - Read a mystery where the victim(s) is not a woman.