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A review by rkinnard
The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life by Tara Altebrando
3.0
This was a much needed light read for me. The last few books I’ve read have been a lot more intense and involved, so it felt nice to read something that I’d classify as fun (not that all books aren’t fun to read, of course). I don’t remember how I found out about this one, I just know that it’s been on my tbr list since it was released.
My favorite part of this book was overall premise for the story. Though I never participated in one, kids at my highschool did scavenger hunts like this all the time. They were never nearly as intense as the one in the book, but they still looked like a ton of fun. I think the only word that sums of the scav hunt in the book is insane. There are easy items on the list, but there are also some incredibly difficult ones that take a lot of creativity to figure out. I loved the idea of the winner of each hunt planning the hunt for the next year. And the fact that it was annual. It’s a fun tradition for seniors to pass on.
Though the scav hunt is supposed to be a fun way to end senior year, this year’s hunt is anything but. Mary’s team is filled with a ton of drama. Every person on her team has a beef with someone at one point or another. How they manage to make it through the hunt is beyond me, considering the amount of tension that was a near constant amongst a few of the teammates, especially concerning romantic relationships. I found the characters to be a bit boring and lacking in depth, but this novel was mainly plot driven, so that’s understandable.
Altebrando had great plot pacing throughout the novel. The entire story takes place in span of hours, yet I didn’t really ever find myself getting bored. There was always plenty of action going on that it’s easy to stay involved. I can’t really identify any loose ends after finishing, either, which is always nice. When a story rests heavily on the plot, it’s important that everything is taken care of by the end.
This wasn’t my favorite book ever, but it wasn’t the worst, either. Like I said, it was a fun read with an interesting premise. I think it’d be especially fun to read if you were currently a senior, as it would be incredibly relevant.
This review (and more!) can be found at Rachel Reads
My favorite part of this book was overall premise for the story. Though I never participated in one, kids at my highschool did scavenger hunts like this all the time. They were never nearly as intense as the one in the book, but they still looked like a ton of fun. I think the only word that sums of the scav hunt in the book is insane. There are easy items on the list, but there are also some incredibly difficult ones that take a lot of creativity to figure out. I loved the idea of the winner of each hunt planning the hunt for the next year. And the fact that it was annual. It’s a fun tradition for seniors to pass on.
Though the scav hunt is supposed to be a fun way to end senior year, this year’s hunt is anything but. Mary’s team is filled with a ton of drama. Every person on her team has a beef with someone at one point or another. How they manage to make it through the hunt is beyond me, considering the amount of tension that was a near constant amongst a few of the teammates, especially concerning romantic relationships. I found the characters to be a bit boring and lacking in depth, but this novel was mainly plot driven, so that’s understandable.
Altebrando had great plot pacing throughout the novel. The entire story takes place in span of hours, yet I didn’t really ever find myself getting bored. There was always plenty of action going on that it’s easy to stay involved. I can’t really identify any loose ends after finishing, either, which is always nice. When a story rests heavily on the plot, it’s important that everything is taken care of by the end.
This wasn’t my favorite book ever, but it wasn’t the worst, either. Like I said, it was a fun read with an interesting premise. I think it’d be especially fun to read if you were currently a senior, as it would be incredibly relevant.
This review (and more!) can be found at Rachel Reads