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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
This had the potential to be so much better than it was. in my opinion. I loved the escapology element of the novel, and although it was definitely a prominent part, it wasn't the only arc. There was Will's story arc, where he was conflicted about hiding his homosexuality. There were a lot of comparisons between Mattie hiding her escapology secret and Will hiding his homosexuality secret - these two just don't seem like they fit into the same category as each other, so their friendship was a weird one.
I did appreciate the diversity, but I think it could've been executed better. A lot of the 'acceptance' just read as quotes from Google Images which had been shoved into a novel to tell everyone that it's okay to be gay. And yes, I agree that gay is okay; what I don't agree with is the way Erin Callahan dealt with his homosexuality. She had the room to explore it further and I feel like she gave up halfway.
The characters were a little unbearable and cliche at times, and there was one instance where the chapter was repeated, just from someone else's perspective, and I feel like that was a waste of words which could've been used to explore something else (for example: Will's sexuality). I think the first person narrative was a mistake for this novel - even though we did get a lot of insight, it was very two-dimensional. A third person narrative would've been better I think - I would've liked to see more from Miyu's point of view, for example.
So, although the plot idea was great, its execution wasn't so great. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an eBook of Callahan's novel.
I did appreciate the diversity, but I think it could've been executed better. A lot of the 'acceptance' just read as quotes from Google Images which had been shoved into a novel to tell everyone that it's okay to be gay. And yes, I agree that gay is okay; what I don't agree with is the way Erin Callahan dealt with his homosexuality. She had the room to explore it further and I feel like she gave up halfway.
The characters were a little unbearable and cliche at times, and there was one instance where the chapter was repeated, just from someone else's perspective, and I feel like that was a waste of words which could've been used to explore something else (for example: Will's sexuality). I think the first person narrative was a mistake for this novel - even though we did get a lot of insight, it was very two-dimensional. A third person narrative would've been better I think - I would've liked to see more from Miyu's point of view, for example.
So, although the plot idea was great, its execution wasn't so great. Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an eBook of Callahan's novel.
"There’s something romantic about a young girl sneaking out in the middle of the night to fulfill a lifelong dream. Unless you’re the girl. Then it’s just a giant, anxiety-provoking pain in the ass that turns you into a lying liar-face."
This is a really upbeat exploration of teenage friendship. I loved this book so much.
Our main character Mattie stalks Miyu, who is a 30-year-old agoraphobic. The reason being that hse is the daughter of the famous escape artist and has a secret that might help Mattie reach her dreams. After a series of brutal challenges, she teaches Mattie how to escape from restraints that are tied underwater, which is one of the biggest tricks of all time.
Mattie is a great main character. This is because she is super relatable and reliable. She is your average teenager, she has anxiety and is self-conscious, loving, and has pretty nifty passions. She has a best friend and that is about it. She isn't the popular girl and she isn't an overwritten character.
This book made me feel so many different things. It made me feel like life was right, like good wins in the end, it felt like I was really in the story. Like I was dreaming at times. It made me motivated to find something I love doing, and then actually start doing it. It made me interested in escapology which isn't a subject I had ever thought I would think about, let alone love!
There are some LGBTQ themes in this book and they are complex and honesty. I can't say if they are true or own voices but I liked them. I enjoyed the structure of them and the dual point of view made the book interesting.
As a whole I really enjoyed this super vibrant novel, it was so unique. I loved all the metaphors the author used and I loved the writing style immensely. The atmosphere of the high school felt real and not overly cliche or dramatic. Great book!
Recommended for: Fans of escapology, Houdini, fantasy fans, contemporary, people that love stories with a bit of magic, those looking for LGBT+ representation, anyone interested in stories set in a high school setting.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. My thoughts and opinions are my own and are not reflective of that.
This is a really upbeat exploration of teenage friendship. I loved this book so much.
Our main character Mattie stalks Miyu, who is a 30-year-old agoraphobic. The reason being that hse is the daughter of the famous escape artist and has a secret that might help Mattie reach her dreams. After a series of brutal challenges, she teaches Mattie how to escape from restraints that are tied underwater, which is one of the biggest tricks of all time.
Mattie is a great main character. This is because she is super relatable and reliable. She is your average teenager, she has anxiety and is self-conscious, loving, and has pretty nifty passions. She has a best friend and that is about it. She isn't the popular girl and she isn't an overwritten character.
This book made me feel so many different things. It made me feel like life was right, like good wins in the end, it felt like I was really in the story. Like I was dreaming at times. It made me motivated to find something I love doing, and then actually start doing it. It made me interested in escapology which isn't a subject I had ever thought I would think about, let alone love!
There are some LGBTQ themes in this book and they are complex and honesty. I can't say if they are true or own voices but I liked them. I enjoyed the structure of them and the dual point of view made the book interesting.
As a whole I really enjoyed this super vibrant novel, it was so unique. I loved all the metaphors the author used and I loved the writing style immensely. The atmosphere of the high school felt real and not overly cliche or dramatic. Great book!
Recommended for: Fans of escapology, Houdini, fantasy fans, contemporary, people that love stories with a bit of magic, those looking for LGBT+ representation, anyone interested in stories set in a high school setting.
Disclaimer: I received this book for free from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. My thoughts and opinions are my own and are not reflective of that.
The Art of Escaping is a Young Adult novel by Erin Callahan. It tells the life of Mattie, a budding escapologist, and Will, a popular student hiding a secret. It also, in part, tells the story of Akiko and her daughter Miyu, and the struggles they’ve faced.
There are two things I am very grateful for in this book. One, there is no weird Asian fetishization, no stereotypes or awkward moments. It’s refreshing to read, as the Asian heritage is not glossed over, and race is spoken of, but I never felt that it strayed into creepy territory. Second, there is no romance in the story between the main characters. It’s honestly amazing to read a YA book that doesn’t try and set up the main female character with a random boy halfway through the story, and I am so, so, pleased that Callahan didn’t go down this route. Mattie doesn’t need a love story to be herself.
This is my personal opinion, but I don’t think the dual perspective was needed. I liked Akiko’s excerpts from the diary, but Will’s ‘footnotes’ got in the way of the main story, as it just repeated what had happened to Mattie but from a different viewpoint. I also was not interested by Will at all, and I found him really boring and pretentious at times. He was the Marlon Blando of the book.
There were some interesting subplots throughout the book, Mattie’s older brother Kyle for one. I also liked how there wasn’t a big focus on Mattie’s virginity, as normally happens in YA books. Stuff happened, and that was that. It was nice to read, as you don’t often get that casual perspective in books for teenagers.
In conclusion, The Art of Escaping is the book for you if you like escapology, teenage girls with developed personalities, and LGBT subplots. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves Young Adult novels.
Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for a review.
There are two things I am very grateful for in this book. One, there is no weird Asian fetishization, no stereotypes or awkward moments. It’s refreshing to read, as the Asian heritage is not glossed over, and race is spoken of, but I never felt that it strayed into creepy territory. Second, there is no romance in the story between the main characters. It’s honestly amazing to read a YA book that doesn’t try and set up the main female character with a random boy halfway through the story, and I am so, so, pleased that Callahan didn’t go down this route. Mattie doesn’t need a love story to be herself.
This is my personal opinion, but I don’t think the dual perspective was needed. I liked Akiko’s excerpts from the diary, but Will’s ‘footnotes’ got in the way of the main story, as it just repeated what had happened to Mattie but from a different viewpoint. I also was not interested by Will at all, and I found him really boring and pretentious at times. He was the Marlon Blando of the book.
There were some interesting subplots throughout the book, Mattie’s older brother Kyle for one. I also liked how there wasn’t a big focus on Mattie’s virginity, as normally happens in YA books. Stuff happened, and that was that. It was nice to read, as you don’t often get that casual perspective in books for teenagers.
In conclusion, The Art of Escaping is the book for you if you like escapology, teenage girls with developed personalities, and LGBT subplots. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves Young Adult novels.
Thank you NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for a review.
I loved this book. It was refreshing to read a different YA story. Mattie wants to learn escapology, she turns to the daughter of Akiko Miyake, the renowned escape artist. Miyu who doesn't get out of her apartment isn't thrilled by this, but she finally agrees. Under Miyu's guidance Mattie learns the tricks of the trade. When a performance she sees one of school mates in the audience, Mattie panics.
Will everything fall apart?
Can Mattie become an escape artist?
Read to find out.
There were so many nail biting moments. The narration is fast paced, the characters are adorable. There was a time when Harry Houdini did entice, I need to read more about him
Will everything fall apart?
Can Mattie become an escape artist?
Read to find out.
There were so many nail biting moments. The narration is fast paced, the characters are adorable. There was a time when Harry Houdini did entice, I need to read more about him
4.5 Stars
This book is a blast! Where’s do I start? First, this book flew by. I started it and then out of nowhere, it was over! And I couldn’t believe it. There is a mix of different characters whom all play their own parts, that fit into the story. My two favorite characters are Miyu & Will. Miyu is witty and is a joy to read! Will is a caring and such a strong character.
For me, I haven’t read many books that have anything to do with escapology and mash it up with teen/young adult life. I also enjoy the theme of not judging people, keeping secrets for friendships and being yourself! The writing style is great, there are some flashbacks which I found neat and play a huge role in the plot. Overall, I feel that going in only knowing two things will make this a crazy joy ride, so first, the escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Second, it's filled with witty characters!
This book is a blast! Where’s do I start? First, this book flew by. I started it and then out of nowhere, it was over! And I couldn’t believe it. There is a mix of different characters whom all play their own parts, that fit into the story. My two favorite characters are Miyu & Will. Miyu is witty and is a joy to read! Will is a caring and such a strong character.
For me, I haven’t read many books that have anything to do with escapology and mash it up with teen/young adult life. I also enjoy the theme of not judging people, keeping secrets for friendships and being yourself! The writing style is great, there are some flashbacks which I found neat and play a huge role in the plot. Overall, I feel that going in only knowing two things will make this a crazy joy ride, so first, the escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Second, it's filled with witty characters!
When Mattie's best friend abandons her for camp one summer Mattie decides it's time to actually make her hidden obsession with escapology real. She sets out to find the daughter of one of the most famous escapologists in history and force her to mentor her in becoming a real escapologist herself.
Meeting Miyu doesn't go quite to plan, but Mattie does end up learning to pick an entire table full of various locks and starting her journey towards putting her life on the line in front of a live audience. She also ends up on a trajectory that puts her on a collision course with Will, one of the most popular kids at her school.
Will is a popular athelete, has a super sweet girlfriend, the most popular girl in school, who also happens to be truly a nice and good person. The only problem? He's gay. His life is a careful balance of lies and series of performances to keep his reputation, and his girlfriend, happy. Then he decides to ditch them for just one night and go somewhere he wants to go...
When Will and Mattie meet they'll both end up holding on to each others secrets.
A quirky and fun ride, definitely different from the run of the mill bildungsroman, though still in keeping with that genre's coming-of-age realizations and pitfalls. It has many moments of humor and is definitely less angst filled than most, even though it also discusses some serious topics. I'd recommend for fans of John Corey Whaley or John Green.
Meeting Miyu doesn't go quite to plan, but Mattie does end up learning to pick an entire table full of various locks and starting her journey towards putting her life on the line in front of a live audience. She also ends up on a trajectory that puts her on a collision course with Will, one of the most popular kids at her school.
Will is a popular athelete, has a super sweet girlfriend, the most popular girl in school, who also happens to be truly a nice and good person. The only problem? He's gay. His life is a careful balance of lies and series of performances to keep his reputation, and his girlfriend, happy. Then he decides to ditch them for just one night and go somewhere he wants to go...
When Will and Mattie meet they'll both end up holding on to each others secrets.
A quirky and fun ride, definitely different from the run of the mill bildungsroman, though still in keeping with that genre's coming-of-age realizations and pitfalls. It has many moments of humor and is definitely less angst filled than most, even though it also discusses some serious topics. I'd recommend for fans of John Corey Whaley or John Green.
I was genuinely curious about the escapology part but this never delivered (at least until I stopped, more than a third of the way in, and after the main character's first public show so...).
The MC is your run-of-the-mill cliché that people who think they know (millenial) teenagers usually write them, aka hateable and hateful, superior and rightful, judgmental "semi-invisible" who makes cliché bad decisions for no reason (like sleep with her older brother's best friend – I suspect the author wanted to make her more interesting tortured or something).
The guy who writes footnotes to this story uses outdated vocabulary (like "main squeeze" and "cat" and "cad") that I assumed is because he's a fan of the 50s? But really? While being incredibly sexist (but I guess if you're a wealthy white male jock who loves the 50s...) and just a plain awful person (especially to his incredibly sweet long-term girlfriend who is his unwitting beard – which is not confirmed by the time I stopped but seemed pretty obvious to not be spoilery). The author also makes him say "QUILTBAG" and "class warrior" and uses him to mansplain to readers about the word of growing up a girl...
Generally, everyone, with few exceptions (like the gf), is just a hateful ball of hate. And I couldn't bring myself to care about the interludes between chapters with the MC's idol's little anecdotes, nor for that matter for the whole escapology thing and why it was such a social danger that people learned that about her. Also for someone who is so passionate about learning that stuff, she complains a lot for reasons that make no sense.
I just could not keep reading this hateful cliché simplistic book, especially when I could definitely see where this was going, which is nowhere good. I might be wrong but I hated it too much to discover it.
The MC is your run-of-the-mill cliché that people who think they know (millenial) teenagers usually write them, aka hateable and hateful, superior and rightful, judgmental "semi-invisible" who makes cliché bad decisions for no reason (like sleep with her older brother's best friend – I suspect the author wanted to make her more interesting tortured or something).
The guy who writes footnotes to this story uses outdated vocabulary (like "main squeeze" and "cat" and "cad") that I assumed is because he's a fan of the 50s? But really? While being incredibly sexist (but I guess if you're a wealthy white male jock who loves the 50s...) and just a plain awful person (especially to his incredibly sweet long-term girlfriend who is his unwitting beard – which is not confirmed by the time I stopped but seemed pretty obvious to not be spoilery). The author also makes him say "QUILTBAG" and "class warrior" and uses him to mansplain to readers about the word of growing up a girl...
Generally, everyone, with few exceptions (like the gf), is just a hateful ball of hate. And I couldn't bring myself to care about the interludes between chapters with the MC's idol's little anecdotes, nor for that matter for the whole escapology thing and why it was such a social danger that people learned that about her. Also for someone who is so passionate about learning that stuff, she complains a lot for reasons that make no sense.
I just could not keep reading this hateful cliché simplistic book, especially when I could definitely see where this was going, which is nowhere good. I might be wrong but I hated it too much to discover it.
An amazing story about finding and living your truth, that I would recommend to anyone looking for a fun, feel-good read.
Full review to come.
Full review to come.
Genre: contemporary young adult
Pages: 320
Synopsis
Mattie tries to hide her passion with escapalogism from her family, friends and classmates. She has one best friend, Stella, who leaves for boarding school for the summer. Her anxiety for college applications and being completely alone for two months propells her into finding and starting her project. She's been watching videos of artists like Harry Houdini for a long time, and she goes to find Miyu, the reclusive daughter of another famous escape-artist. Her loft if full of equipment, but the training is challenging and sometimes dangerous. There's lots of locks to be picked and a submersion tank to dust off.
Mattie learns of her potential, of what she can do if she throws herself into her passion onstage, finding a community who cheer and heckle her. But then her worst fear comes true, someone she knows finds out. She imagines her new separated worlds crumbling. It helps when she realizes other teenagers are also trying to figure out themselves and carrying secrets.
My thoughts
I went into this book without expectation and it blew me away with its witty dialogue, truth on friendship and characters being passionate about their interest (which is possibly my favourite thing).
It was an entertaining read, Mattie and her friends were so well-written and I never could've imagined how real their characters or world would feel. It's a good plot, I especially liked how things in everyones life built up to each of Mattie's performances on stage. Which for the record was in true magician style with anxious assistants and a baffled crowd, where I wanted to clap for her myself in relief.
Miyu goes from being just an obvious mentor to becoming a whole human being as I learned more about her, she kind of transformed in front of my eyes in a way that facinated me. At the beginning I did not care about the small paragraphs about her mother's life, then as I realized what they were it gave the book some nice details along with giving another perspective, the story was no longer just about Mattie, but had become bigger.
I can't get past how painfully relatable Mattie's thoughts and attempts at friendships was. In books like this some big events happens that forces the introverted character to come out of her shell, but I really liked how in this book it was a choice. It was definitely started by smaller things happening, like Stella going away for the summer and trying to find out what she was passionate about before big decisions like college. But it was Mattie herself who chose to put herself out there, to go to Miyu and ask for training. The way it went down was actually inspiring, especially for someone who keeps her interests very to herself.
The official release date of this book is June 19th. I need more young adult books with the realness I've found in this book along with Maureen Johnsons "Truly Devious" and Becky Albertallis "Simon vs. the homo sapiens agenda". They're all very different books plot-wise, but to me they felt very similiar in style and how relatable they were written, in a genuine way I wish more ya had. Genuine characters that could've been actual teenagers, I hope it becomes even less of an exception in young adult books.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
*some more discussion and spoilers below this*
There's a couple of things that bothered me, and I don't know how to explain them without spoiling a few things. There's this string of events that drives the plot, mainly started by Mattie choosing to go to Miyu and get really into escapologism. And somehow it ends up with bringing them all together, which is fine, but one of the last performances leads everyone to end up with someone. Everything always works out in the rest of the book as well, in a way that took me out of it at points. Everything bad that happens I can think of, like Will being outed, turns into something that propell further actions. Also the friend group talk about being awkward people, yet everyone knows what to say in any situation, which creates a split in my perception of them.
That said, everything good in the book heavily outweighs this, and I would completely recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining young adult story about finding oneself. It seems like a perfect summer read as well.
Pages: 320
Synopsis
Mattie tries to hide her passion with escapalogism from her family, friends and classmates. She has one best friend, Stella, who leaves for boarding school for the summer. Her anxiety for college applications and being completely alone for two months propells her into finding and starting her project. She's been watching videos of artists like Harry Houdini for a long time, and she goes to find Miyu, the reclusive daughter of another famous escape-artist. Her loft if full of equipment, but the training is challenging and sometimes dangerous. There's lots of locks to be picked and a submersion tank to dust off.
Mattie learns of her potential, of what she can do if she throws herself into her passion onstage, finding a community who cheer and heckle her. But then her worst fear comes true, someone she knows finds out. She imagines her new separated worlds crumbling. It helps when she realizes other teenagers are also trying to figure out themselves and carrying secrets.
My thoughts
I went into this book without expectation and it blew me away with its witty dialogue, truth on friendship and characters being passionate about their interest (which is possibly my favourite thing).
It was an entertaining read, Mattie and her friends were so well-written and I never could've imagined how real their characters or world would feel. It's a good plot, I especially liked how things in everyones life built up to each of Mattie's performances on stage. Which for the record was in true magician style with anxious assistants and a baffled crowd, where I wanted to clap for her myself in relief.
Miyu goes from being just an obvious mentor to becoming a whole human being as I learned more about her, she kind of transformed in front of my eyes in a way that facinated me. At the beginning I did not care about the small paragraphs about her mother's life, then as I realized what they were it gave the book some nice details along with giving another perspective, the story was no longer just about Mattie, but had become bigger.
I can't get past how painfully relatable Mattie's thoughts and attempts at friendships was. In books like this some big events happens that forces the introverted character to come out of her shell, but I really liked how in this book it was a choice. It was definitely started by smaller things happening, like Stella going away for the summer and trying to find out what she was passionate about before big decisions like college. But it was Mattie herself who chose to put herself out there, to go to Miyu and ask for training. The way it went down was actually inspiring, especially for someone who keeps her interests very to herself.
The official release date of this book is June 19th. I need more young adult books with the realness I've found in this book along with Maureen Johnsons "Truly Devious" and Becky Albertallis "Simon vs. the homo sapiens agenda". They're all very different books plot-wise, but to me they felt very similiar in style and how relatable they were written, in a genuine way I wish more ya had. Genuine characters that could've been actual teenagers, I hope it becomes even less of an exception in young adult books.
I received a copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
*some more discussion and spoilers below this*
There's a couple of things that bothered me, and I don't know how to explain them without spoiling a few things. There's this string of events that drives the plot, mainly started by Mattie choosing to go to Miyu and get really into escapologism. And somehow it ends up with bringing them all together, which is fine, but one of the last performances leads everyone to end up with someone. Everything always works out in the rest of the book as well, in a way that took me out of it at points. Everything bad that happens I can think of, like Will being outed, turns into something that propell further actions. Also the friend group talk about being awkward people, yet everyone knows what to say in any situation, which creates a split in my perception of them.
That said, everything good in the book heavily outweighs this, and I would completely recommend it to anyone looking for an entertaining young adult story about finding oneself. It seems like a perfect summer read as well.