A review by beergeekgirl
Personal Effects by E.M. Kokie
1.0
I really wanted to like this book. I went into it with a positive attitude. Nick Podehl is one of my favorite narrators. But I just never connected with the story in a positive way.
Part of the issue for me was the side story of Matt dealing with his feelings for Shauna. At first, it was okay and lent a certain depth to their relationship. But after the first few chapters, if I heard the word "tits" one more time, I was going to become a road rage statistic (I was listening in my car). The constant inner monologue of "she has tits! I like her tits! I have a hard on because of her tits!" made me just hate both Matt and Shauna so that I lost any investment in where they ended up.
With that in mind, I skipped over whatever was going to happen with Harley. When the scene started out describing how her shorts were so short he could palm them...and he could palm her tits, too, I knew nothing good would come.
I like where the story of TJ went and how it played out, and I think that was a really important story. But by the time I met Curtis, I hated Matt so much--and particularly hated his reaction to Celia and Curtis--that I turned it off there. Matt's reaction felt really out of the blue. There was nothing in the story up to that point to indicate he would react so badly to knowing his brother was gay.
I was also put off by the nasty descriptions of the residents of the hostel. Vegans apparently are dirty, smelly, and flaky. Awesome.
Final nitpick...the location. I couldn't quite place where this was supposed to be taking place, but figured Reading/Lancaster. Which would make a day job in Johnstown seem a little far fetched. Also, not sure where along the PA Turnpike/I-80 one encounters and exit for Williamsburg...Williamsport, maybe. But honestly, by the time he was on the road, I was just doing some serious hating on the story.
I like the potential of this book, but there wasn't enough about Matt to make me care about his journey.
Part of the issue for me was the side story of Matt dealing with his feelings for Shauna. At first, it was okay and lent a certain depth to their relationship. But after the first few chapters, if I heard the word "tits" one more time, I was going to become a road rage statistic (I was listening in my car). The constant inner monologue of "she has tits! I like her tits! I have a hard on because of her tits!" made me just hate both Matt and Shauna so that I lost any investment in where they ended up.
With that in mind, I skipped over whatever was going to happen with Harley. When the scene started out describing how her shorts were so short he could palm them...and he could palm her tits, too, I knew nothing good would come.
I like where the story of TJ went and how it played out, and I think that was a really important story. But by the time I met Curtis, I hated Matt so much--and particularly hated his reaction to Celia and Curtis--that I turned it off there. Matt's reaction felt really out of the blue. There was nothing in the story up to that point to indicate he would react so badly to knowing his brother was gay.
I was also put off by the nasty descriptions of the residents of the hostel. Vegans apparently are dirty, smelly, and flaky. Awesome.
Final nitpick...the location. I couldn't quite place where this was supposed to be taking place, but figured Reading/Lancaster. Which would make a day job in Johnstown seem a little far fetched. Also, not sure where along the PA Turnpike/I-80 one encounters and exit for Williamsburg...Williamsport, maybe. But honestly, by the time he was on the road, I was just doing some serious hating on the story.
I like the potential of this book, but there wasn't enough about Matt to make me care about his journey.