A review by shile87
Hiroku by Laura Lascarso
5.0
Buddy reread with Ele, Jan and Moony. Dec 2019.
Still one of the best book i have ever had the pleasure of reading. Hits harder the second time.
*********************************************
Infinity Stars for Hiroku.
This is one of those stories that will stay with me for life.
This is the story of Hiroku, told in his POV, taking the Now/Then format and how his first love went to shit. I can’t bring myself to write a proper review. I will try writing something though. Or just quote the damn book!
The first time I saw Seth Barrett, he was leaning against a chain-link fence with his fingers hooked on the metal, arms spread wide, and I remember thinking he reminded me of a tiger or some other large predator. Caged, for the time being.
I noticed him almost immediately though I pretended not to.
Like Hiroku, I noticed Seth too. I become addicted to him.
The characterization in this book is flawless. Miss, Laura created two of the best YA characters I have read to date. The growth, changes, mistakes that Hiroku and Seth go through felt so real; to a point you can’t help but see yourself through them.
“My name’s Seth Barrett.”
“What’s your name?” he asked me with a cocky tilt to his head.
“Hiroku Hayashi.” I was breathless when I said it. It wasn’t from exertion.
“Hiroku Hayashi.” He sculpted my name with a special attention to every syllable, a loving caress of tongue and lips around its shape. I’d never heard anyone say my name so beautifully before. “What a pretty name.” Seth smiled
The writing is flawless, I was hooked from the first chapter. I am becoming used to the present and past narration style, well, at least the ones well written. Both the main and the secondary characters are very well written. I loved that, i did not find any of the moments in this book OTT, there was no exaggeration here, just pure, realistic writing.
Hiroku and Seth, meet at a basketball court, Hiroku is a sophomore, Seth is a senior and a musician trying to form a band. From the moment they meet they both become infatuated with each other. Then we are taken through a painful journey of manipulation, obsession, drug addiction and teenage stupid love affair. It is fascinated and painful to read. Seth’s obsession with Hiroku was so engaging to read, I hated him and loved him at the same time. He helped Hiroku come out of his shell and at the same time, molded him into a perfect puppet that he saw fit to play with.
I identified with Hiroku so much, I felt his pain, his stupid infatuation/teenage love for Seth, his need to fit in and be accepted. He is also a masochist. He kept putting up with Seth’s abuse, I wanted to shake him and tell him to open his eyes and leave, then again I understood him. Seth’s force and control was too much. I loved how the author wrote these two characters, they were not perfect, and they fed off their toxic relationship.
Perhaps I should just write Seth off as an asshole and our relationship as an utter disaster, but I’m afraid that if I don’t deconstruct it down to its individual components, I won’t be able to resist him in the future. I don’t want to fall into that same pattern of behavior because it’s not the drugs I fear most outside the walls of New Vistas.
It’s the temptation of Seth
This story is not a romance story, it is a love story of two teenagers who become addicted to each other to a point it becomes toxic. I do believe Seth and Hiroku loved each other, it just became too much.
“I love you more than anything else in this world,” Seth whispered with tears in his eyes, but I was a helium balloon, and he was so far away and getting smaller and more irrelevant by the second.
There was no room in my mind for Seth or anything else. All of that space was taken up by this all-encompassing and otherworldly pleasure.
“Hallelujah,” I uttered as my soul escaped my body.
It was better than falling in love.
This is my second YA book written by Laura, and I have officially become a STAN. This woman knows how to write YA shit!
A big Thank you to the Mischievous ElfMinx for this gift.
Still one of the best book i have ever had the pleasure of reading. Hits harder the second time.
*********************************************
Infinity Stars for Hiroku.
This is one of those stories that will stay with me for life.
This is the story of Hiroku, told in his POV, taking the Now/Then format and how his first love went to shit. I can’t bring myself to write a proper review. I will try writing something though. Or just quote the damn book!
The first time I saw Seth Barrett, he was leaning against a chain-link fence with his fingers hooked on the metal, arms spread wide, and I remember thinking he reminded me of a tiger or some other large predator. Caged, for the time being.
I noticed him almost immediately though I pretended not to.
Like Hiroku, I noticed Seth too. I become addicted to him.
The characterization in this book is flawless. Miss, Laura created two of the best YA characters I have read to date. The growth, changes, mistakes that Hiroku and Seth go through felt so real; to a point you can’t help but see yourself through them.
“My name’s Seth Barrett.”
“What’s your name?” he asked me with a cocky tilt to his head.
“Hiroku Hayashi.” I was breathless when I said it. It wasn’t from exertion.
“Hiroku Hayashi.” He sculpted my name with a special attention to every syllable, a loving caress of tongue and lips around its shape. I’d never heard anyone say my name so beautifully before. “What a pretty name.” Seth smiled
The writing is flawless, I was hooked from the first chapter. I am becoming used to the present and past narration style, well, at least the ones well written. Both the main and the secondary characters are very well written. I loved that, i did not find any of the moments in this book OTT, there was no exaggeration here, just pure, realistic writing.
Hiroku and Seth, meet at a basketball court, Hiroku is a sophomore, Seth is a senior and a musician trying to form a band. From the moment they meet they both become infatuated with each other. Then we are taken through a painful journey of manipulation, obsession, drug addiction and teenage stupid love affair. It is fascinated and painful to read. Seth’s obsession with Hiroku was so engaging to read, I hated him and loved him at the same time. He helped Hiroku come out of his shell and at the same time, molded him into a perfect puppet that he saw fit to play with.
I identified with Hiroku so much, I felt his pain, his stupid infatuation/teenage love for Seth, his need to fit in and be accepted. He is also a masochist. He kept putting up with Seth’s abuse, I wanted to shake him and tell him to open his eyes and leave, then again I understood him. Seth’s force and control was too much. I loved how the author wrote these two characters, they were not perfect, and they fed off their toxic relationship.
Perhaps I should just write Seth off as an asshole and our relationship as an utter disaster, but I’m afraid that if I don’t deconstruct it down to its individual components, I won’t be able to resist him in the future. I don’t want to fall into that same pattern of behavior because it’s not the drugs I fear most outside the walls of New Vistas.
It’s the temptation of Seth
This story is not a romance story, it is a love story of two teenagers who become addicted to each other to a point it becomes toxic. I do believe Seth and Hiroku loved each other, it just became too much.
“I love you more than anything else in this world,” Seth whispered with tears in his eyes, but I was a helium balloon, and he was so far away and getting smaller and more irrelevant by the second.
There was no room in my mind for Seth or anything else. All of that space was taken up by this all-encompassing and otherworldly pleasure.
“Hallelujah,” I uttered as my soul escaped my body.
It was better than falling in love.
This is my second YA book written by Laura, and I have officially become a STAN. This woman knows how to write YA shit!
A big Thank you to the Mischievous ElfMinx for this gift.