A review by annabi
The Order of the Poison Oak by Brent Hartinger
5.0
guess who just read this whole book in one sitting at her colleges dining hall??? me!!! and I have No Chill!!!!
I loved the geography club so much so I decided to BUY!!!! (ME, BUYING A BOOK BEFORE IVE READ IT!!!) the order of the poison oak. I was so not disappointed. in fact, it's on the same level or possibly even BETTER than the first novel, which rarely happens in series
good ol Russel back at it again with the strikingly genuine authenticity that taps directly into the center of my heart. the best part is you Know that he's telling a story-- the book isn't just stream of consciousness and sometimes he tells the audience he's omitting things-- yet he keeps those not so appropriate/pc thoughts in the story. and by the end he comes to completely overlook people's appearances, and not out of rudeness, but out of love for who they are as people, god imma cry
Russel does a lot of growing up in this novel. he makes mistakes and he Knows that he's made them, but the best part is that he always acknowledges his flaws and tries to be a better person, for his sake and the sake of all of those whom his actions affect. (spoiler: the rainbow crow story was amazing and, like Otto and the campers, I was so incredibly touched and I fell more platonically head over heels for Russel-- idk how that's even POSSIBLE bc I loved him so much already but w/e)
the new characters in the book were great too!!! Otto oh my god like we didn't learn that much about him but I know he's gonna show up/be relevant in future novels and I'm so ready. seeing how Russel's perception of him changed throughout the book was so interesting and beautiful. Em is a lil quirky but I think we'd be friends irl. Min and Gunner made a come back and, while their relationship w Russel was rocky the whole book, I'm glad they were all together and learned about life through each other. and the fucking first weeks kids!!! god they went from so horrible to so good so fast!! it's honestly so true that you can't really accurately judge a person until you get to know them. It was intriguing to see Russel and Ian's relationship develop and change and (spoiler: see how great their relationship was by the end. Ian wanted to get another poison oak leaf to remember camp and the Order I'm not crying you're crying ðŸ˜ðŸ˜).
but yes this sequel was just as amazing as the first book and I think this series is gonna ruin my college career because all I wanna do now is read these books. thank you hartinger for writing them, they are truly life changing
I loved the geography club so much so I decided to BUY!!!! (ME, BUYING A BOOK BEFORE IVE READ IT!!!) the order of the poison oak. I was so not disappointed. in fact, it's on the same level or possibly even BETTER than the first novel, which rarely happens in series
good ol Russel back at it again with the strikingly genuine authenticity that taps directly into the center of my heart. the best part is you Know that he's telling a story-- the book isn't just stream of consciousness and sometimes he tells the audience he's omitting things-- yet he keeps those not so appropriate/pc thoughts in the story. and by the end he comes to completely overlook people's appearances, and not out of rudeness, but out of love for who they are as people, god imma cry
Russel does a lot of growing up in this novel. he makes mistakes and he Knows that he's made them, but the best part is that he always acknowledges his flaws and tries to be a better person, for his sake and the sake of all of those whom his actions affect. (spoiler: the rainbow crow story was amazing and, like Otto and the campers, I was so incredibly touched and I fell more platonically head over heels for Russel-- idk how that's even POSSIBLE bc I loved him so much already but w/e)
the new characters in the book were great too!!! Otto oh my god like we didn't learn that much about him but I know he's gonna show up/be relevant in future novels and I'm so ready. seeing how Russel's perception of him changed throughout the book was so interesting and beautiful. Em is a lil quirky but I think we'd be friends irl. Min and Gunner made a come back and, while their relationship w Russel was rocky the whole book, I'm glad they were all together and learned about life through each other. and the fucking first weeks kids!!! god they went from so horrible to so good so fast!! it's honestly so true that you can't really accurately judge a person until you get to know them. It was intriguing to see Russel and Ian's relationship develop and change and (spoiler: see how great their relationship was by the end. Ian wanted to get another poison oak leaf to remember camp and the Order I'm not crying you're crying ðŸ˜ðŸ˜).
but yes this sequel was just as amazing as the first book and I think this series is gonna ruin my college career because all I wanna do now is read these books. thank you hartinger for writing them, they are truly life changing