A review by hallht98
A Year to the Day by Robin Benway
1.0
DNF @ 50% (Skipped to and read the 3 chapters before and the climax chapter)
Listen, this book is a VERY cool concept, especially that it is written with time moving backwards. However, the execution was not very good. I found myself bored after the first ten chapters, not only because they were repetitive, but because they were alluding to things that I felt like I would NEVER get to read (there is one particular fight that you read about for 20% that is just not climatic enough for the drama of it all). The drama was anticlimactic, I felt like I was doom-scrolling about grief, and, because of the repetitive nature, it felt redundant.
Also, the dialogue in this book is AWFUL to read at times. Of course this is a book about teens and I understand that the language will be a) slightly less poetic than an adult novel and b) if it's good, slightly cringy or awkward like all teens are. However, some of the lines felt unrealistic or so cliched that I physically winced reading them. It was just not for me.
Finally, this book was about grief in a tragedy. I have lived through almost the exact same circumstance unfortunately. However, the grief that Leo experiences alongside her parents, East, and a whole other cast of characters felt so linear and so steadily progressive? Grief is not linear, much like is often said now. Even in the first year of experiencing that pain, the grief grows and shrinks from day to day, sometimes minute to minute. I felt like Benway occasionally made attempts at a non-linear grief progression, but I feel like she didn't quite capture it or even the essence of it. Grief is not just sobbing or just the occasional fond memory or sitting in their bed at night or dreading scrolling through their phone. Grief is living everyday after that, knowing part of your existence has disappeared, and it will never return. Sometimes that means recognizing that and giving into the feelings that come with it, but most of the time it just means moving forward and living life more fully so as not to take advantage of the gift of the one life you're given.
Idk... from my perspective, the book lacked a lot in terms of its handling of grief, its repetition, its dramatic moments, and it's dialogue. But that's just me.
Listen, this book is a VERY cool concept, especially that it is written with time moving backwards. However, the execution was not very good. I found myself bored after the first ten chapters, not only because they were repetitive, but because they were alluding to things that I felt like I would NEVER get to read (there is one particular fight that you read about for 20% that is just not climatic enough for the drama of it all). The drama was anticlimactic, I felt like I was doom-scrolling about grief, and, because of the repetitive nature, it felt redundant.
Also, the dialogue in this book is AWFUL to read at times. Of course this is a book about teens and I understand that the language will be a) slightly less poetic than an adult novel and b) if it's good, slightly cringy or awkward like all teens are. However, some of the lines felt unrealistic or so cliched that I physically winced reading them. It was just not for me.
Finally, this book was about grief in a tragedy. I have lived through almost the exact same circumstance unfortunately. However, the grief that Leo experiences alongside her parents, East, and a whole other cast of characters felt so linear and so steadily progressive? Grief is not linear, much like is often said now. Even in the first year of experiencing that pain, the grief grows and shrinks from day to day, sometimes minute to minute. I felt like Benway occasionally made attempts at a non-linear grief progression, but I feel like she didn't quite capture it or even the essence of it. Grief is not just sobbing or just the occasional fond memory or sitting in their bed at night or dreading scrolling through their phone. Grief is living everyday after that, knowing part of your existence has disappeared, and it will never return. Sometimes that means recognizing that and giving into the feelings that come with it, but most of the time it just means moving forward and living life more fully so as not to take advantage of the gift of the one life you're given.
Idk... from my perspective, the book lacked a lot in terms of its handling of grief, its repetition, its dramatic moments, and it's dialogue. But that's just me.