Scan barcode
A review by andintothetrees
I Love You, I Love You, I Love You by Laura Dockrill
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
What I liked/didn't like - potentially spoiler-y
Liked:
- The early 00s nostalgia
- Especially as I also met my partner in the early 00s when we were teenagers, the whole mixtape-in-the-post scene was incredibly relatable, in the best possible way
- I think the descriptions of life/emotions in your teens/university years were very well done (and again nostalgic)
- I thought the subplot about sobriety was interesting and well-done
- The book was easy/enjoyable to read, I didn't feel it was a chore to pick it up
Disliked:
- That said, I was glad to finish it and I don't feel the need to seek out podcasts etc. discussing it - those are both signs this didn't really hit the spot for me
- The whole "OMG 30 is sooooooo old"-ness of the "now" plotline
- Also it wasn't really "now", was it? It was c2017, which is 7 years ago
- Tbh, the whole central premise was kind of annoying! Neither Lowe or Ella ever say how they feel out loud to each other, and at the times one at least kind of does, the other isn't receptive to it. I don't buy that it was some sort of "true love" tbh, if it was why TF did it take them so long to actually communicate that to each other?! (I know the idea was that they didn't want to spoil their ~beautiful friendship~ but nah, not buying it.)
- As the novel is very much based on the author's real life (she has said this), it felt a bit self-congratulatory, especially towards the end of the book when Ella is going on about how amazing she is; and in all the sections about how incredibly successful Lowe's band were
- Although some parts of the novel were very relatable, a lot of it was not your average UK-00s-teen experience: Ella goes to the BRIT school and the book is full of people who live in London and work in ~media~. I get that that is the author's world (and that of many people, though only a small minority) but I am a bit bored of reading things set there
I have Laura Dockrill's memoir to read too but I'm not sure now if it'll be annoying for similar reasons...
Plot/compellingness 3/5
Themes 3/5
Characters 3/5
Emotional resonance 3/5
Writing style 4/5
Liked:
- The early 00s nostalgia
- Especially as I also met my partner in the early 00s when we were teenagers, the whole mixtape-in-the-post scene was incredibly relatable, in the best possible way
- I think the descriptions of life/emotions in your teens/university years were very well done (and again nostalgic)
- I thought the subplot about sobriety was interesting and well-done
- The book was easy/enjoyable to read, I didn't feel it was a chore to pick it up
Disliked:
- That said, I was glad to finish it and I don't feel the need to seek out podcasts etc. discussing it - those are both signs this didn't really hit the spot for me
- The whole "OMG 30 is sooooooo old"-ness of the "now" plotline
- Also it wasn't really "now", was it? It was c2017, which is 7 years ago
- Tbh, the whole central premise was kind of annoying! Neither Lowe or Ella ever say how they feel out loud to each other, and at the times one at least kind of does, the other isn't receptive to it. I don't buy that it was some sort of "true love" tbh, if it was why TF did it take them so long to actually communicate that to each other?! (I know the idea was that they didn't want to spoil their ~beautiful friendship~ but nah, not buying it.)
- As the novel is very much based on the author's real life (she has said this), it felt a bit self-congratulatory, especially towards the end of the book when Ella is going on about how amazing she is; and in all the sections about how incredibly successful Lowe's band were
- Although some parts of the novel were very relatable, a lot of it was not your average UK-00s-teen experience: Ella goes to the BRIT school and the book is full of people who live in London and work in ~media~. I get that that is the author's world (and that of many people, though only a small minority) but I am a bit bored of reading things set there
I have Laura Dockrill's memoir to read too but I'm not sure now if it'll be annoying for similar reasons...
Plot/compellingness 3/5
Themes 3/5
Characters 3/5
Emotional resonance 3/5
Writing style 4/5