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kalliste's review
2.0
I'm pretty confused by the praise of this book. Based on all the rave reviews I was expecting some more than I got. I spent most of this book hoping it would be finished soon.
Duke and his friends were just so unlikeable. There was a lot of talk about how Duke was such a great kid meanwhile, the book starts with him in trouble for spraypainting a penis on his principal's car... and getting a lesser punishment because his parents waved money at the problem.
It mostly felt like the focus was on the wrong parts of the story.
Duke and his friends were just so unlikeable. There was a lot of talk about how Duke was such a great kid meanwhile, the book starts with him in trouble for spraypainting a penis on his principal's car... and getting a lesser punishment because his parents waved money at the problem.
It mostly felt like the focus was on the wrong parts of the story.
emadlma's review
3.0
I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley. There were many things I liked about the book as reader, but also things that bothered me as a reviewer. First of all, the author threw everything but the kitchen sink in the plot: secret society initiation, trying to lose his virginity, writing a book with a kid with cancer, crush on principal's goth daughter, friends in a love triangle, anger at dad, whacky grandma. It all just seemed to be too much to do well.
I felt like the transitions between scenes could have been done better. Maybe it was because I had an ARC copy, which could have been missing section breaks, but there were several times when it jumped to a new scene abruptly before the previous scene seemed to be finished. This could have been done with more chapter breaks. Also there were several scenes, such as his disastrous date with Amanda and the basketball, that were skipped over entirely.
The hardest thing for me to overlook though was the discrepancy in the school sports seasons. First of all, I don't know anywhere in the country that has football in the spring rather than the fall. Also, basketball and swimming tend to be winter sports, not spring ones. The author could have easily moved the season to winter or changed the sports to something else, such as soccer, lacrosse, or baseball which are traditionally spring sports. Also, Duke played his championship game (after barely practicing) and then had games after that. That didn't seem very realistic. Overall, I wish that more time had been spent on the relationship between Duke and Jaime which was the heart of the story.
I felt like the transitions between scenes could have been done better. Maybe it was because I had an ARC copy, which could have been missing section breaks, but there were several times when it jumped to a new scene abruptly before the previous scene seemed to be finished. This could have been done with more chapter breaks. Also there were several scenes, such as his disastrous date with Amanda and the basketball, that were skipped over entirely.
The hardest thing for me to overlook though was the discrepancy in the school sports seasons. First of all, I don't know anywhere in the country that has football in the spring rather than the fall. Also, basketball and swimming tend to be winter sports, not spring ones. The author could have easily moved the season to winter or changed the sports to something else, such as soccer, lacrosse, or baseball which are traditionally spring sports. Also, Duke played his championship game (after barely practicing) and then had games after that. That didn't seem very realistic. Overall, I wish that more time had been spent on the relationship between Duke and Jaime which was the heart of the story.
trisha_thomas's review
2.0
I wanted to like this one. Even though the title is odd (and a bit wordy), I was thinking an emotional read would pull at me and I would love it. Instead, I found myself not liking Duke. I didn't feel his draw to her nor did I feel the sadness and emotional pull I should have. But the cover is lovely and if you like emotional reads, this one still might just be for you.
If you're intrigued, go ahead and give it a try!
If you're intrigued, go ahead and give it a try!
smutreadscb's review
emotional
lighthearted
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Heartfelt book. I loved Duke's relationship with his grams and his love of vocabulary.
lauroberge's review against another edition
4.0
*SORRY FOR THE CRAPPY REVIEW*
I'm just unable to write something okay right now, but I need to post my review, so here it is.
I feel like I'm heartless because I didn't cry... Oh well, it doesn't mean I didn't like the book!
There's something really funny about this book. I think it has to do with the fact that it's told in Duke's perspective, which makes the story a whole lot different than it would have been if it had been told in Cora's. Duke can have quite stupid thoughts, which made me want to slap him or just face-palm, but most of the things he said were actually quite funny, which I liked. The fact that it's told in his words also make him seem more compassionate and nice, and it made Cora seem more mysterious and intriguing. I wasn't sure about the narrator at first, but I ended up really liking it!
The story is pretty sad, even though most of the story isn't about the sadness. Jaime is an incredible little guy who has a difficult life but never gives up or stops smiling, so if that doesn't give you hope, then I don't know what would. I loved how everyone tried to make his life better and how most of their time together was spent laughing, which made me forget about cancer and death.
There's a bit of everything in this book, from romance to sadness, which makes it great for everyone. I really enjoyed the time I spent reading it, so I'd definitely recommend it. It's different from most books I've read before, which is even better.
(Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)
I'm just unable to write something okay right now, but I need to post my review, so here it is.
I feel like I'm heartless because I didn't cry... Oh well, it doesn't mean I didn't like the book!
There's something really funny about this book. I think it has to do with the fact that it's told in Duke's perspective, which makes the story a whole lot different than it would have been if it had been told in Cora's. Duke can have quite stupid thoughts, which made me want to slap him or just face-palm, but most of the things he said were actually quite funny, which I liked. The fact that it's told in his words also make him seem more compassionate and nice, and it made Cora seem more mysterious and intriguing. I wasn't sure about the narrator at first, but I ended up really liking it!
The story is pretty sad, even though most of the story isn't about the sadness. Jaime is an incredible little guy who has a difficult life but never gives up or stops smiling, so if that doesn't give you hope, then I don't know what would. I loved how everyone tried to make his life better and how most of their time together was spent laughing, which made me forget about cancer and death.
There's a bit of everything in this book, from romance to sadness, which makes it great for everyone. I really enjoyed the time I spent reading it, so I'd definitely recommend it. It's different from most books I've read before, which is even better.
(Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.)
readinggrrl's review against another edition
5.0
This is a fabulous YA book that reminded me of John Green's books. Duke is a pretty boy who hangs with the popular kids and is trying to get initiated into a secret society within his school. During his initiation he gets caught and finds himself sentenced to help clean up the school. It is during this time that he meets Cora, the Goth girl who for reasons he can't seem to explain intrigues and excites him.
Duke lives with his mom, dad and grandmother. The interplay between Dukes mother and grandmother give this book some much needed comic relief to what could be a downer of a book. Don't get me wrong I cried, but I also found myself laughing and smiling through some of those tears. I was totally drawn in by the characters and despite knowing just as all the other characters did that Jaime's prognosis was not good it still hurt when anything went wrong and I still was hoping for a miracle.
However, Jaime also has a fabulous upbeat outlook on life and as much as we all think that Duke was helping him I think it was very mutual. What Duke learned from working with Jaime was about living life to the fullest. Not to take things so seriously and laugh at yourself once in a while. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are a John Green fan.
Duke lives with his mom, dad and grandmother. The interplay between Dukes mother and grandmother give this book some much needed comic relief to what could be a downer of a book. Don't get me wrong I cried, but I also found myself laughing and smiling through some of those tears. I was totally drawn in by the characters and despite knowing just as all the other characters did that Jaime's prognosis was not good it still hurt when anything went wrong and I still was hoping for a miracle.
However, Jaime also has a fabulous upbeat outlook on life and as much as we all think that Duke was helping him I think it was very mutual. What Duke learned from working with Jaime was about living life to the fullest. Not to take things so seriously and laugh at yourself once in a while. I highly recommend this book, especially if you are a John Green fan.
msoblong's review against another edition
3.0
**I received a free ebook copy from the author**
While I did enjoy this book, there was too much unnecessary buildup in the beginning. I found it was difficult to get into as there wasn't anything too meaningful happening. As the story progressed it got better and was overally a pretty good read.
While I did enjoy this book, there was too much unnecessary buildup in the beginning. I found it was difficult to get into as there wasn't anything too meaningful happening. As the story progressed it got better and was overally a pretty good read.
tiffybshelby's review against another edition
5.0
I received an ebook from the author and must say I enjoyed every second of this story. It was a great YA story. I fell in love with all the characters especially the main three: Cora, Duke, and Jamie. I love when I am emotionally attached to a book, which happened in this book. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good YA story filled with emotion.
kunger129's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a bit of a struggle for me, but I ultimately enjoyed it. I bought this book on Kindle for my phone, and then I ended up purchasing the Audible add on because I couldn’t make myself read the book.
The main character Duke is incredibly obnoxious. He’s just too “cool” and guy-ish. I had a hard time reading from his perspective. He develops a crush on the principal’s daughter, the goth girl, despite his better intentions. And then he finds himself involved with her younger brother, who is dying of brain cancer.
The story was right up my alley. I enjoy books with illnesses and even death, but this book wasn’t executed as well as some others. Duke grows some because of his experience with Jaime, but it reminded me too much of the sub-plot in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants with Tibby and Bailey, but I enjoyed that story so much more.
The romance was sweet, but it didn’t redeem the whole book for me.
http://opinionatedbooklover.com/review-ghostboy-chameleon-duke-graffiti-olivia-wildenstein/
The main character Duke is incredibly obnoxious. He’s just too “cool” and guy-ish. I had a hard time reading from his perspective. He develops a crush on the principal’s daughter, the goth girl, despite his better intentions. And then he finds himself involved with her younger brother, who is dying of brain cancer.
The story was right up my alley. I enjoy books with illnesses and even death, but this book wasn’t executed as well as some others. Duke grows some because of his experience with Jaime, but it reminded me too much of the sub-plot in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants with Tibby and Bailey, but I enjoyed that story so much more.
The romance was sweet, but it didn’t redeem the whole book for me.
http://opinionatedbooklover.com/review-ghostboy-chameleon-duke-graffiti-olivia-wildenstein/