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A review by elizatheearthling
Yellow by Megan Jacobson
2.0
41 shits were given in this book.
No, really, 41. By shits, I mean the protagonist thinking “Shit” to herself over something that happens in the book. I can’t say that it added much to the story. Unfortunately, that’s more shits than I gave this book, though I wanted to care more about it.
Seeing this in the bookshop, I was enthralled by the beautiful cover and was then intrigued by the book’s premise. I was so excited to read a story that explored some dark themes, such as bullying and substance abuse, but with an added supernatural element (I love me a good – or not so good - ghost). However, as I cringed my way through reading the first chapter, I had a feeling that I’d be disappointed.
The book is not badly written, but I found the author’s writing to be somewhat clunky and stilted. I felt like the author was trying to explain the protagonist’s thoughts, feelings and actions, rather than describe them, so that was clear to the reader that the protagonist would always react a certain way to a certain situation. It left little room for subtlety. It was like the author had forgotten the “show don’t tell” rule. Though there were a few paragraphs throughout that I thought really captured some beautiful description, the writing didn’t captivate me.
Our protagonist was better. The book is narrated by Kirra, a lonely fourteen year-old girl with yellow eyes (I did not like this motif as I don’t think it added any depth to Kirra’s experience, it was just a cool thing to identify her by). Kirra’s friends bully her, her parents are negligent and she struggles with self-doubt. Though it is quite clear from the beginning of the book what lesson she is going to learn, it was good to see Kirra develop confidence in herself and build authentic friendships as the story progressed. This is not to say that she didn’t make mistakes along the way, but she persevered through all the crap that she went through and I was glad that she was in a better place at the end of the book. I think that Kirra’s a reasonable role model as she sends a good message to people struggling with feelings of loneliness, anxiety and depression: “I’m still shy… and I might always be, I don’t’ know, but I think you can be shy and still feel okay about yourself at the same time.”
None of the other characters really stuck with me. Kirra’s mother is an alcoholic for most of the book, so when that went away I felt like there wasn’t much left in regards to characterisation as she had been so defined by her drinking problem. I didn’t really have a feel for who she was behind the drinker, which was a shame, especially since her character actually turns out to be a major factor in the story. It was similar with the other characters; Kirra’s father’s defining trait is that he’s a surfer, the school mean girls are just as they sound, and the love interest is barely present so of course we don’t learn much about him other than through his little monologues that pop up out of nowhere. Kirra’s friend Willow could be entertaining and I admired how she did her own thing, but her voice could seem a bit forced with how she’d refer to Kirra with pet names. It felt very much like an adult trying to be “hip and with it” through writing a teenage character who uses terms that very few teenagers would actually use, even if it was set in the 90s.
Now, the ghost. I did see the twist coming. I’m still not sure about how things ended with Boogie, whether that was right thing for Kirra to do in the end or not, but I do think it’s keeping in line with the book’s message.
Yellow isn’t a book that will stay with me nor a book that I would read again, but it did explore some interesting themes. I’m just disappointed it wasn’t quite the ghost story I was thought it would be.
If you’ve read this, let me know what you think:
If she hadn’t, Boogie would have just stayed in his limbo state and could very well have tried to have another person die so that they’d be with him, so I understand why Kirra forgiving him was a neat way to tie up the end with Boogie rather than leaving this unresolved. BUT, I’m not sure if Kirra should have forgiven Boogie or not. He committed suicide and blamed Judy for it, and then he tried to have Kirra die. He had long enough to realise his mistake with blaming Judy and making her feel guilty, but then he manipulated Kirra. Perhaps the forgiveness has less to do with Boogie deserving it, though, and more to do with Kirra needing to be able to let go. I also have mixed feelings about Judy not having anything with Boogie resolved either: it could have been interesting for her to have talked to him but I don’t know if that would have suited the tone of the story as it was more about Kirra’s relationship with Boogie, not Judy’s. What do you think?
No, really, 41. By shits, I mean the protagonist thinking “Shit” to herself over something that happens in the book. I can’t say that it added much to the story. Unfortunately, that’s more shits than I gave this book, though I wanted to care more about it.
Seeing this in the bookshop, I was enthralled by the beautiful cover and was then intrigued by the book’s premise. I was so excited to read a story that explored some dark themes, such as bullying and substance abuse, but with an added supernatural element (I love me a good – or not so good - ghost). However, as I cringed my way through reading the first chapter, I had a feeling that I’d be disappointed.
The book is not badly written, but I found the author’s writing to be somewhat clunky and stilted. I felt like the author was trying to explain the protagonist’s thoughts, feelings and actions, rather than describe them, so that was clear to the reader that the protagonist would always react a certain way to a certain situation. It left little room for subtlety. It was like the author had forgotten the “show don’t tell” rule. Though there were a few paragraphs throughout that I thought really captured some beautiful description, the writing didn’t captivate me.
Our protagonist was better. The book is narrated by Kirra, a lonely fourteen year-old girl with yellow eyes (I did not like this motif as I don’t think it added any depth to Kirra’s experience, it was just a cool thing to identify her by). Kirra’s friends bully her, her parents are negligent and she struggles with self-doubt. Though it is quite clear from the beginning of the book what lesson she is going to learn, it was good to see Kirra develop confidence in herself and build authentic friendships as the story progressed. This is not to say that she didn’t make mistakes along the way
Spoiler
eg. going to McGinty’s house to investigate after she suspects he’s killed someone – I couldn’t stop hitting the book against my head when she did this; if he was the murderer in a horror movie she would surely be deadNone of the other characters really stuck with me. Kirra’s mother is an alcoholic for most of the book, so when that went away I felt like there wasn’t much left in regards to characterisation as she had been so defined by her drinking problem. I didn’t really have a feel for who she was behind the drinker, which was a shame, especially since her character actually turns out to be a major factor in the story. It was similar with the other characters; Kirra’s father’s defining trait is that he’s a surfer, the school mean girls are just as they sound, and the love interest is barely present so of course we don’t learn much about him other than through his little monologues that pop up out of nowhere. Kirra’s friend Willow could be entertaining and I admired how she did her own thing, but her voice could seem a bit forced with how she’d refer to Kirra with pet names. It felt very much like an adult trying to be “hip and with it” through writing a teenage character who uses terms that very few teenagers would actually use, even if it was set in the 90s.
Now, the ghost. I did see the twist coming
Spoiler
Although I suspected that Boogie/Robert was trying to kill Kirra because of a deep resentment of and desire for revenge on Kirra’s mother since she rejected him, not because he was lonely and wanted a friendYellow isn’t a book that will stay with me nor a book that I would read again, but it did explore some interesting themes. I’m just disappointed it wasn’t quite the ghost story I was thought it would be.
If you’ve read this, let me know what you think:
Spoiler
Do you think that Kirra should have forgiven Boogie?If she hadn’t, Boogie would have just stayed in his limbo state and could very well have tried to have another person die so that they’d be with him, so I understand why Kirra forgiving him was a neat way to tie up the end with Boogie rather than leaving this unresolved. BUT, I’m not sure if Kirra should have forgiven Boogie or not. He committed suicide and blamed Judy for it, and then he tried to have Kirra die. He had long enough to realise his mistake with blaming Judy and making her feel guilty, but then he manipulated Kirra. Perhaps the forgiveness has less to do with Boogie deserving it, though, and more to do with Kirra needing to be able to let go. I also have mixed feelings about Judy not having anything with Boogie resolved either: it could have been interesting for her to have talked to him but I don’t know if that would have suited the tone of the story as it was more about Kirra’s relationship with Boogie, not Judy’s. What do you think?