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randomly_kait's review against another edition
2.0
*2.75
There was a lot going on in this story. Some of it worked and some of it didn't. I wasn't really a fan of Iris, it was hard for me to find likable qualities about her, because... Well, I won't get into that right now. There were a lot of things that I felt needed more closure, but it didn't happen. Oh well, it happens.
Don't let my opinions sway you, give it a read and make that decision for yourself. You may love it!
There was a lot going on in this story. Some of it worked and some of it didn't. I wasn't really a fan of Iris, it was hard for me to find likable qualities about her, because... Well, I won't get into that right now. There were a lot of things that I felt needed more closure, but it didn't happen. Oh well, it happens.
Don't let my opinions sway you, give it a read and make that decision for yourself. You may love it!
caiskel's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
syraluna's review
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
emburklin's review
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
lauren716's review against another edition
4.0
Actual rating is 3.75 stars. There were things about that I didn’t particularly care fo like the MC being so self absorbed and her having to visit her family in China to understand how bad her behavior is. My review full review is on my blog.
https://laurenbodiford123.wordpress.com/2020/05/29/blog-tour-my-summer-of-love-misfortune-review-giveaway/
https://laurenbodiford123.wordpress.com/2020/05/29/blog-tour-my-summer-of-love-misfortune-review-giveaway/
invisibleninjacat's review against another edition
Being in Iris' head was The Worst. She's incredibly dense, and has no concept that she's not a genius. She continuously makes bad decisions with no understanding of consequences, and it's pretty clear her parents have given her neither boundaries nor consequences as she grew up. They're also uninvolved enough to fail to notice their daughter smoking pot, drinking, throwing wild parties in their house, skipping classes, never studying, flunking literally half her classes, taking her SATs hungover, and getting into $6000 of credit card debt until she crashes their expensive car into their garage, while drunk, during a wild party, and then opens her college admissions letters in front of them to find she didn't get in anywhere. It would not be hard to spot these things. Iris has no conception of hiding them. When they find out, they send her to China. To her uncle she's only just been told exists, and whose name they fail to tell her. She ends up helplessly wandering the Beijing airport looking for anyone who looks like her dad, because she can barely even say her own name in Chinese. Her parents also don't tell her they love her before they ship her off (and she ASKS). The failure here certainly lies with the parents (they could have noticed and helped LONG before this), but being in Iris' head is just painful. Oof.
liralen's review against another edition
2.0
So, Iris: the thing you need to know about Iris is that if she can simultaneously flunk all her classes, ruin her nicest dress, ruin somebody else's nicest dress, crash a car, rack up an enormous bill on a credit card someone else is paying for, gorge herself with 'delicious' food of any variety, and spill said food all over herself...she will. And if she can't, not to worry! There's always tomorrow.
I have to think that Iris's over-the-top-ness is intentional. She's...not the brightest crayon in the box, is she? Skips half her classes and puts zero effort into the rest and blows off her SATs and scribbles some nonsense as an admissions essay and still expects to get into every Ivy and be declared valedictorian. Thinks Tiananmen Square is nothing but a great selfie spot. Throws money (never her own money) at every problem. Can't understand why it's a problem that the first thing she does upon staying with relatives is explore a stranger's room and try on all her very expensive clothes. She's exhausting. Her fleeting moments of insight only last until they make her brain hurt (roughly 3.5 seconds later) and she sets them aside.
Iris could maybe, if she worked at it for the entire book, rise up from her starting point to someone you'd want to spend more than two minutes with. But she doesn't—she stays self-absorbed and shallow and willfully ignorant for the vast majority of the book, having money and new clothing and god knows what else thrown her way, and then does an about-face and raises some money for the less privileged (on behalf of a very rich corporation that could donate that same amount of money and not even notice) and becomes hard-working and lauded for her efforts. All in the span of...a few pages? It comes way too late, and with way too little effort or insight, to be believable. Would that Iris hadn't spent so much of the book locked in her over-the-top-ness.
Side note: the book descriptions are not the most accurate, are they? They imply that Iris's parents aren't at their wits' end, that Iris has ever thought about her Chinese-American identity, that she cares about tourist attractions (unless she can buy something expensive there—truly, this is a girl who is disappointed to learn that you can't buy the contents of a museum), and that Iris is surprised to find herself among the wealthy instead of assuming that she's finally being rewarded for being such a spectacular human being.
I have to think that Iris's over-the-top-ness is intentional. She's...not the brightest crayon in the box, is she? Skips half her classes and puts zero effort into the rest and blows off her SATs and scribbles some nonsense as an admissions essay and still expects to get into every Ivy and be declared valedictorian. Thinks Tiananmen Square is nothing but a great selfie spot. Throws money (never her own money) at every problem. Can't understand why it's a problem that the first thing she does upon staying with relatives is explore a stranger's room and try on all her very expensive clothes. She's exhausting. Her fleeting moments of insight only last until they make her brain hurt (roughly 3.5 seconds later) and she sets them aside.
Iris could maybe, if she worked at it for the entire book, rise up from her starting point to someone you'd want to spend more than two minutes with. But she doesn't—she stays self-absorbed and shallow and willfully ignorant for the vast majority of the book, having money and new clothing and god knows what else thrown her way, and then does an about-face and raises some money for the less privileged (on behalf of a very rich corporation that could donate that same amount of money and not even notice) and becomes hard-working and lauded for her efforts. All in the span of...a few pages? It comes way too late, and with way too little effort or insight, to be believable. Would that Iris hadn't spent so much of the book locked in her over-the-top-ness.
Side note: the book descriptions are not the most accurate, are they? They imply that Iris's parents aren't at their wits' end, that Iris has ever thought about her Chinese-American identity, that she cares about tourist attractions (unless she can buy something expensive there—truly, this is a girl who is disappointed to learn that you can't buy the contents of a museum), and that Iris is surprised to find herself among the wealthy instead of assuming that she's finally being rewarded for being such a spectacular human being.
thebookandfilmcorner's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
mouwuol's review against another edition
1.0
there is a reason why this book is rated so low on goodreads.... yeah don't bother with this book if you enjoy having happiness present in your life.
the mc was the WORST.
the mc was the WORST.