A review by annakat
Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak by Adi Alsaid
emotional
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Feeling a little conflicted over the rating on this one. Mostly I think it's well crafted, but I have one major complaint that is bringing my rating down (see the end of this review).
This book is good for writers and people who like writing, since the main character, Lu, is a writer and thinks like one.
Not a cute or fun read, exactly. First, it's about teenage heartbreak. Second, Lu makes lots and lots of bad decisions, repeatedly, and is very unlikable for a lot of the book. This is the point of the book, so it makes sense, but if you need to be able to like the main character, this is not your book. (Also I got MAJOR secondhand panic from reading about this girl procrastinating.)
Writing is forgettable in a good way. I've enjoyed Adi Alsaid's writing in the past. I appreciate that it doesn't distract from the story at all.
Having the best friend, Pete, be aro ace (I think) was a fun surprise since I didn't even seek out the aspec rep this time! It was kind of a weird choice, though, because the amatonormativity in this book is extreme (and really frustrating). I wish it had been talked about more because, being a book about love, there was this constant assumption that everyone experiences the same thing. Seriously, it was EVERYWHERE. Despite there being a character that supposedly doesn't experience all of this the same way, that perspective isn't explored at all, and that really hurts this book a lot imo. There were lots of interesting musings on love that would have been greatly enriched (and less grating) if aspec experiences were considered.
This book is good for writers and people who like writing, since the main character, Lu, is a writer and thinks like one.
Not a cute or fun read, exactly. First, it's about teenage heartbreak. Second, Lu makes lots and lots of bad decisions, repeatedly, and is very unlikable for a lot of the book. This is the point of the book, so it makes sense, but if you need to be able to like the main character, this is not your book. (Also I got MAJOR secondhand panic from reading about this girl procrastinating.)
Writing is forgettable in a good way. I've enjoyed Adi Alsaid's writing in the past. I appreciate that it doesn't distract from the story at all.
Having the best friend, Pete, be aro ace (I think) was a fun surprise since I didn't even seek out the aspec rep this time! It was kind of a weird choice, though, because the amatonormativity in this book is extreme (and really frustrating). I wish it had been talked about more because, being a book about love, there was this constant assumption that everyone experiences the same thing. Seriously, it was EVERYWHERE. Despite there being a character that supposedly doesn't experience all of this the same way, that perspective isn't explored at all, and that really hurts this book a lot imo. There were lots of interesting musings on love that would have been greatly enriched (and less grating) if aspec experiences were considered.