laughingrecord's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
royaz92's review against another edition
5.0
YES. This is what actual YA literature looks like. This is what actually goes through the mind of an actual person who is actually grappling with life and adolescence and shit
eversnow's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, and Mental illness
Minor: Car accident, Bullying, and Vomit
neenor's review against another edition
2.0
I thought this book was both good and bad at the same time. Portraying Fate as a conscious living thing is really interesting, and plays a major part in keeping the reader reading, because the book itself isn't the most captivating I have read. If you get bored easily by books, this definitely isn't the book for you. In my view, it wasn't written that well, and the way it kept randomly changing from character to character and sometimes without use of punctuation made it really confusing about what was going on at what time. I reckon that if it had been written better, with the character descriptions improved, then it would be a really top quality book. Also, the characters of David/Justin, Agnes, Boy and Dorothea were really interesting and mysterious - but at the end of the book, those mysteries are still unsolved, so the ending can be quite anti-climatic and disappointing.
However, the book did have its good points. The initial storyline is good, and the scenery description is good - especially at the plane crash. During that part in the book, you really feel like you are there, watching the havoc unfold right before your eyes. And even though the ending was anti-climatic, it was sweet, which was - in a way - a nice way to end the book.
However, the book did have its good points. The initial storyline is good, and the scenery description is good - especially at the plane crash. During that part in the book, you really feel like you are there, watching the havoc unfold right before your eyes. And even though the ending was anti-climatic, it was sweet, which was - in a way - a nice way to end the book.
toystory242's review against another edition
4.0
Meg Rosoff has a GIFT for writing--this book was written beautifully, and I really enjoyed it and the characters. However, it is no How I Live Now, which is the other book I read by her. While this one was very interesting and deep, How I Live Now just seemed bigger. However, I still really enjoyed it. :)
dorod59's review against another edition
3.0
Il s'agit de ma deuxième tentative avec un roman de Meg Rosoff, après ma perplexité face à 'Ce que j'étais'. Je l'ai vu à la bibliothèque, alors pourquoi pas, même si je voulais plutôt lire 'Maintenant c'est ma vie', son plus grand succès.
On y retrouve l'histoire de David Case, un adolescent un peu paumé, qui réalise que tout peut arriver à n'importe quel moment de sa vie, après avoir rattrapé son petit frère au rebord d'une fenêtre à deux doigts de l'envol. Il décide de tout tenter pour échapper au destin, et donc pour tromper ce dernier, il décide de devenir Justin, Justin Case (pour le jeu de mot en anglais, Just in case : Au cas où). Il se prend d'amitié avec Peter au lycée, et avec Agnès, une fille rencontrée dans un magasin. Le roman raconte la vie de David/Justin essayant de trouver sa place, sans faire face au destin.
Autant le début du livre est assez clair dans les événements, plus on avance et plus on est perdu. C'est l'impression que j'en ai eu. C'est un livre parfois assez complexe dans ses réflexions sur la vie. Je pense que l'auteur essaie de nous faire ressentir la complexité de l'esprit de Justin, et ça reste un peu brouillon. Je reste persuadée que c'est une jolie histoire mais je ne suis pas sûre que je me souviendrai très longtemps de ce roman.
On passe du réel à l'irréel par moment, c'est assez étrange, je suppose que c'est du Meg Rosoff. C'est un style assez particulier, un peu philosophique par moment! :-)
On y retrouve l'histoire de David Case, un adolescent un peu paumé, qui réalise que tout peut arriver à n'importe quel moment de sa vie, après avoir rattrapé son petit frère au rebord d'une fenêtre à deux doigts de l'envol. Il décide de tout tenter pour échapper au destin, et donc pour tromper ce dernier, il décide de devenir Justin, Justin Case (pour le jeu de mot en anglais, Just in case : Au cas où). Il se prend d'amitié avec Peter au lycée, et avec Agnès, une fille rencontrée dans un magasin. Le roman raconte la vie de David/Justin essayant de trouver sa place, sans faire face au destin.
Autant le début du livre est assez clair dans les événements, plus on avance et plus on est perdu. C'est l'impression que j'en ai eu. C'est un livre parfois assez complexe dans ses réflexions sur la vie. Je pense que l'auteur essaie de nous faire ressentir la complexité de l'esprit de Justin, et ça reste un peu brouillon. Je reste persuadée que c'est une jolie histoire mais je ne suis pas sûre que je me souviendrai très longtemps de ce roman.
On passe du réel à l'irréel par moment, c'est assez étrange, je suppose que c'est du Meg Rosoff. C'est un style assez particulier, un peu philosophique par moment! :-)
michhellongrace's review against another edition
2.0
I am honestly tossing up between 2 and 3 stars. It was okay enough but super fucking weird and I kind of didn't get the point of it at all. There was some beautiful writing in this book but it didn't really feel relatable in terms of how teens and children act and was trying too hard.
shrlyj's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kieranlit's review against another edition
4.0
This proved very funny. The little boy would think a long philosophical discussion, and all that would actually come out would be "Duck." There is also an invisible greyhound that the entire family can see, a rabbit the size of a dog, a photographer with a very cool dress sense, and a boy who is, in his own words, mad as a muffin. I docked a star because it doesn't end very satisfactorily.