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A review by jomoone
Loner by Georgina Young
3.0
** Received a free ARC copy of this for an honest review from NetGalley **
Firstly, thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC. As this is an ARC, many things can change from the version I’ve received, and so I can only base my review on that and not the published book due out in February 2021.
I’ve rated this book three stars, as I enjoyed reading it—but only for the most part. I feel the story primarily being told from Lona’s point of view is good, but due to her inner thoughts we get a clunky idea of her friends and family dynamic.
She seems to have anxiety, (that at least is mentioned) but we see no one in her life bringing it up except fleetingly by George who acknowledges it. It would have been nice for Lona to act upon her own admission of her anxiety as she even realises she often cannot cope with emotions and things.
There was a real interesting development between Tab and Lona that I feel ultimately went nowhere other than Tab leaving university, but her ‘disappearance’ and odd behaviour isn’t mentioned other than that. I understand this is from Lona’s POV, but it would have at least felt like the plot had come full circle, like the ending did.
I did love that Lona started at the skate and ended there. I loved that she herself was constantly, mind the pun, skating around it all the time, never really wanting to give it up as it was, in some ways, the centre of her. Her beginning to paint and turn the books into her own art was beautiful, but I wish this had been more fleshed out, understanding what her future intentions are.
Overall, I enjoyed the writing style of this author. I liked their tone and the voicing for Lona, but there were times I wasn’t sure what the purpose of the story was, not knowing why I’m following Lona and what will be gained from it. I found myself feeling the same at the end, especially with the phone ringing and not knowing whether it would be good news or bad at the other end. I also think whilst I enjoyed the tone and character of Lona, I’m not sure what path she was in to begin with, as it’s hard to tell if she’s lost or just purposefully deviating from a plan she made when she was younger.
If that is the point of the entire thing, it isn’t as clear as it could be.
Firstly, thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC. As this is an ARC, many things can change from the version I’ve received, and so I can only base my review on that and not the published book due out in February 2021.
I’ve rated this book three stars, as I enjoyed reading it—but only for the most part. I feel the story primarily being told from Lona’s point of view is good, but due to her inner thoughts we get a clunky idea of her friends and family dynamic.
She seems to have anxiety, (that at least is mentioned) but we see no one in her life bringing it up except fleetingly by George who acknowledges it. It would have been nice for Lona to act upon her own admission of her anxiety as she even realises she often cannot cope with emotions and things.
There was a real interesting development between Tab and Lona that I feel ultimately went nowhere other than Tab leaving university, but her ‘disappearance’ and odd behaviour isn’t mentioned other than that. I understand this is from Lona’s POV, but it would have at least felt like the plot had come full circle, like the ending did.
I did love that Lona started at the skate and ended there. I loved that she herself was constantly, mind the pun, skating around it all the time, never really wanting to give it up as it was, in some ways, the centre of her. Her beginning to paint and turn the books into her own art was beautiful, but I wish this had been more fleshed out, understanding what her future intentions are.
Overall, I enjoyed the writing style of this author. I liked their tone and the voicing for Lona, but there were times I wasn’t sure what the purpose of the story was, not knowing why I’m following Lona and what will be gained from it. I found myself feeling the same at the end, especially with the phone ringing and not knowing whether it would be good news or bad at the other end. I also think whilst I enjoyed the tone and character of Lona, I’m not sure what path she was in to begin with, as it’s hard to tell if she’s lost or just purposefully deviating from a plan she made when she was younger.
If that is the point of the entire thing, it isn’t as clear as it could be.