A review by clovetra
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

you know how you can easily tell if i’m not gonna like a book? if it takes me 2 months to finish a 386 page book. i do not get the hype around this book. 
i mean i didn’t hate this!!! it was a perfectly fine book. nothing more than that for me honestly.
i could kind of feel for elizabeth? like yes relatable feminism type of beat. but idk man the book felt so monotone the entire time because she herself is so monotone! i mean i love a bad bitch who likes chemistry but idk she felt incredibly one dimensional. like why did the fucking dog interest me more than the main character. anyways shout out six-thirty he’s a real one.
well what else is there to say? the plot just seemed to read like a biography & ended at a super odd place imo. like the way this book was formatted i was here thinking it would end with mad becoming a chemist or elizabeth dying or something and then it just…. stopped randomly. like why was that point chosen to end the story?? but honestly i wouldn’t have cared if it kept going because i actually didn’t give a shit about any character except the dog. THE DOG!
idk based on the hype this book has & the fact it has its own tv show…. i expected More. this was a really odd book. but i mean i finished it. i had a decent time. i like the overall message & the chemistry themes. other than that tho…… this is not for me. honestly it felt like a waste of time. i mean not every book needs a “message”, but when i don’t give a flying fart about ur characters ANNNDDD ur book said nothing new. yawn 
ok the argument can be made this book is about found family. but for what this book was most of the time, it did not succeed in satisfying me. 
i feel like im being demonic in writing this review but i promise im only this scathing when its a popular book sorry i’d self combust if i was this mean to a book with <100,000 reviews. but luckily this book is popular so i don’t feel bad for dunking on it! 
i think the reason im so “disappointed” in this book is because of its hype. it’s a perfectly tolerable book, with what i will admit to be some funny dialogue, but the plot felt all over the place, was uninteresting, and imo never actually interested me. i’m so serious i only picked up this book just so i could finish it. for a while i was a tad invested in mad, but at some point i think i stopped caring & just wanted to finish it because i own this book (i mean not after today you best believe im donating this sorry my shelf space is for all time faves). 
anyways i will say this book DID excite me for my next neuroscience class next semester LETS GOOOO
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