A review by aiueocha
Hujan by Tere Liye

informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.5

Esok should've dropped his grip so I wouldn't be reading this whole thing.

I'm sorry but the writing feels tasteless and too straight to the point. I feel like there's not a single drop of energy or passion put into this.

"Enam jam perjalanan pulang. Tiba pukul satu siang. Kejutan." ??? ???? What ?

I guess the writing is passable if you want something light or maybe you're just getting started on reading.

Lail.... If I were to describe Lail, she would be a piece of paper, white paint, plain bread... She feels like nothing. She is so nothing without Maryam. Lail barely puts anything INTERESTING to the story. Her jealousy and breakdown feels weirdly forced (Busted my guts laughing at her sudden breakdown). Why are you jealous of your crush's step-sister...? Her jealousy was also cleared up & explained immediately by Maryam (I <3 Maryam), invalidating that whole section of the book (I don't have any issues with this though I loved it). You're also mad with Esok for not making any contact when YOU yourself have ZERO courage to do so...

Maryam carried the whole story. I love her. I love her humor. I love her passion. Let's be real, she's the book's Quote Generator. But I excuse it. Without her, we wouldn't be reading anything about their volunteer work, the 'running fifty kilometers in the storm' part, hell without her Lail wouldn't have pursued nursing. Maryam is Lail's BIGGEST drive, which would be fine if the author had explored more about their friendship other than Lail blatantly following wherever Maryam goes. Maybe have conflict between them? That would be far more interesting. "Tentang Persahabatan" when it's just the main character following her friend's steps without conflict??? "Tentang Persahabatan" but it's cherry blossoms everywhere and rainbows and unicorns and bland storytelling throughout the book.

Esok is fine. I don't get his hype at all. He barely has any interesting character. He's like the science info dumper. The last bit where he got a call from Maryam... Comedy gold!

The last few parts of the book feels rushed. The reveal is so HILARIOUS... Imagine listening to a meticulously crafted speech from your crush's mother about acceptance, and she blatantly said she would upright refuse the ticket if offered, just to be told in the end that she'll be boarding the boat. Again, comedy gold.

The book gives a good message about the environment and has a genuinely cool premise I guess............ So it's not a complete waste of time. I don't know. The book had so much potential.

Tldr: good comedy book if you like an mc that does NOTHING and are fine with reading through 200 pages before getting to the good (hilarious) bits