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foreveryoungadult's review against another edition
Graded By: Mandy C.
Cover Story: Popular on Instagram
BFF Charm: Big Sister
Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Talky Talk: Spiritual Suspense
Bonus Factor: Religious Mystery
Relationship Status: Kindred Spirits
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Popular on Instagram
BFF Charm: Big Sister
Swoonworthy Scale: 6
Talky Talk: Spiritual Suspense
Bonus Factor: Religious Mystery
Relationship Status: Kindred Spirits
Read the full book report here.
diamondxgirl's review against another edition
4.0
Grief is a lens to look at life through.
The final 5 minutes of this book is just full of #allthefeels and now I'm just sobbing. SOBBING.
Signs of You is a little nugget of a contemporary with a bit of magic/paranormalism mixed in. It's one of those books that you'll likely consume in one sitting, not just because of it's dainty size but because the journey of Noah, Riley, Kate, and Jay is equally as mysterious as it is mesmerizing.
Everyone has experienced grief at some point in their life. For Noah, Riley, Kate, and Jay, grief is one of the things that connects them. They're a tight-knit support group of friends who are suddenly experiencing a very surreal thing: they can see their deceased love ones around town. These aren't zombies and they're not even really ghosts. What they do know is this phenomenon is connected to an old Totem they were warned against.
Each of the characters and their surrounding supports were likeable and charming in their own ways. There's very little ego in this book, just pure caring and support for each other, which is a refreshing thing to see in a contemporary novel. The story arc is not perpetuated by some awful thing that happens between characters but by a new sensation that they're all learning about together. In that sense, Signs of You is a mystery novel.
Overall, Signs of You is worth your read (or listen, because the audiobook is also fantastic) because it's something new and different that crosses genres and has wide appeal. Just be prepared for a few tears at the end!
The final 5 minutes of this book is just full of #allthefeels and now I'm just sobbing. SOBBING.
Signs of You is a little nugget of a contemporary with a bit of magic/paranormalism mixed in. It's one of those books that you'll likely consume in one sitting, not just because of it's dainty size but because the journey of Noah, Riley, Kate, and Jay is equally as mysterious as it is mesmerizing.
Everyone has experienced grief at some point in their life. For Noah, Riley, Kate, and Jay, grief is one of the things that connects them. They're a tight-knit support group of friends who are suddenly experiencing a very surreal thing: they can see their deceased love ones around town. These aren't zombies and they're not even really ghosts. What they do know is this phenomenon is connected to an old Totem they were warned against.
Each of the characters and their surrounding supports were likeable and charming in their own ways. There's very little ego in this book, just pure caring and support for each other, which is a refreshing thing to see in a contemporary novel. The story arc is not perpetuated by some awful thing that happens between characters but by a new sensation that they're all learning about together. In that sense, Signs of You is a mystery novel.
Overall, Signs of You is worth your read (or listen, because the audiobook is also fantastic) because it's something new and different that crosses genres and has wide appeal. Just be prepared for a few tears at the end!
geneva's review against another edition
4.0
i may need to sit on my rating for a little bit, but i can say this book is very, very good
the thing is, i wasn't wowed by the writing (it was flowery and a little excessive, especially when writing in "teen lingo"), the characters, or the plot
i really enjoyed the historical twist in this book, do not get me wrong, but the explanation to the visions did not necessarily surprise me
however, this is a book that makes you think
i've been reading YA contemporary books since i was 10/11, maybe even younger
i've seen it all
but this book has a certain depth that sets it apart from other books of similar topics dealing with teenagers dealing with grief
again, it makes you think
the concept of human decisions and morality is very unique in this book and i enjoyed learning about this theological approach
but the thing that makes me hesitant to give this book a full 5 stars is that i felt disconnected to the characters
the book is very short, so i understand that it is difficult to have a full character-arc for each one
i felt like i didn't know that much about jay, kate, and noah
again, this book is very short so i couldn't know their height, likes, dislikes, blood type, GPA, etc etc
i can say that for the short amount of time we have with the characters, you do learn a lot about them
my favourite part was riley's characterization
there is one part that irks me a little but it may just be me being bitter
but i just want one book where the girls ends up with her best friend
why do this never happen in YA
and why does every sixteen year old girl find her soulmate (another topic, i know)
i know, i know – YA books need more girls that are just friends with boys
but there was something so off-putting to me about how jay was portrayed
i really enjoyed this book and i thought it portrayed loss profoundly, and had represented the beauty of life after death
the thing is, i wasn't wowed by the writing (it was flowery and a little excessive, especially when writing in "teen lingo"), the characters, or the plot
i really enjoyed the historical twist in this book, do not get me wrong, but the explanation to the visions did not necessarily surprise me
however, this is a book that makes you think
i've been reading YA contemporary books since i was 10/11, maybe even younger
i've seen it all
but this book has a certain depth that sets it apart from other books of similar topics dealing with teenagers dealing with grief
again, it makes you think
the concept of human decisions and morality is very unique in this book and i enjoyed learning about this theological approach
but the thing that makes me hesitant to give this book a full 5 stars is that i felt disconnected to the characters
the book is very short, so i understand that it is difficult to have a full character-arc for each one
i felt like i didn't know that much about jay, kate, and noah
again, this book is very short so i couldn't know their height, likes, dislikes, blood type, GPA, etc etc
i can say that for the short amount of time we have with the characters, you do learn a lot about them
my favourite part was riley's characterization
Spoiler
i really found that one scene where she moves on from her mother very profound and beautifulthere is one part that irks me a little but it may just be me being bitter
Spoiler
i found that towards the end, jay becomes antagonized so the reader begins to prefer noahbut i just want one book where the girls ends up with her best friend
why do this never happen in YA
and why does every sixteen year old girl find her soulmate (another topic, i know)
i know, i know – YA books need more girls that are just friends with boys
but there was something so off-putting to me about how jay was portrayed
i really enjoyed this book and i thought it portrayed loss profoundly, and had represented the beauty of life after death
helpfulvillager's review against another edition
2.0
I originally was gonna give this one star but i can't bring myself to do it. I admire the amount of research that went into this thing. I definitely had my issues w/ this book. It's not good. But it's not...the worst.
hope_'s review against another edition
5.0
Such a great book! Sweet and heartbreaking with thrilling plot twist and an interesting plot and concept.
Amazing characters that show a realistic show of grief after the death of a loved one. Over all a 5/5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Amazing characters that show a realistic show of grief after the death of a loved one. Over all a 5/5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
baancs's review against another edition
2.0
When you find friends who know it, who’ve been through it, who really, really get the ache that moves in and lives in your bones, it gets a little easier.
This one had a really interesting premise. The beginning was really nice, but it ultimately disappointed in the end. It tried really hard to be something but I just couldn’t appreciate it, and everything felt so rushed, even the ending.
clarino9108's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 Stars
I read this book in a total of 1.5 days, and it was such a simple, beautiful masterpiece.
Though I know Emily France took a great deal of creative liberty with the artifacts of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, I thought it was immensely interesting to learn about the true philosophies that I had not heard of before.
I have a personal family connection to Saint Ignatius of Loyola, so that is another reason I took interest in his theories in particular.
Going into this book, the thing I was most curious about was the portrayal of the religions that I figured would be mentioned (since the book deals with theological themes, ideas, and artifacts). I, as a Catholic, was glad to see my religion and other religions represented very respectfully. So if you are concerned about that going into this book, I promise there is no reason to be.
I read this book in a total of 1.5 days, and it was such a simple, beautiful masterpiece.
Though I know Emily France took a great deal of creative liberty with the artifacts of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, I thought it was immensely interesting to learn about the true philosophies that I had not heard of before.
I have a personal family connection to Saint Ignatius of Loyola, so that is another reason I took interest in his theories in particular.
Going into this book, the thing I was most curious about was the portrayal of the religions that I figured would be mentioned (since the book deals with theological themes, ideas, and artifacts). I, as a Catholic, was glad to see my religion and other religions represented very respectfully. So if you are concerned about that going into this book, I promise there is no reason to be.
hope_'s review against another edition
5.0
Such a great book! Sweet and heartbreaking with thrilling plot twist and an interesting plot and concept.
Amazing characters that show a realistic show of grief after the death of a loved one. Over all a 5/5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Amazing characters that show a realistic show of grief after the death of a loved one. Over all a 5/5 stars. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
endlessreader's review against another edition
2.0
It's so disheartening to realize that it's been a long while since I've read an honest to goodness GREAT YA book (a YA book rated higher than 3 stars). It was in March. A whole four months ago. It's not for lack of trying, either. Unfortunately for me (and I guess just for me because the ratings for this book on GR are through the roof), Signs of You was no exception.
Signs of You had so much potential to be great. I tend to like books that deal with loss, so I had assumed that I would like this one. And, for the most part, I did like the parts that focused on coping with the lost of a loved one. That was the one aspect of Signs of You that I thought was mostly well done. It's everything else that lost me.
The whole St. Ignacious thing bored me to freaking tears. It was so, so underwhelming. In fact, the whole paranormal aspect of this book was underwhelming. It just never clicked for me. And seeing as how that's a big bulk of Signs of You, that means that the book as a whole never clicked for me. I was also bored by all of the main characters and disliked Riley for most of the book considering she spent most of her time worried about romance when real shit was going down. These characters just weren't engaging. The only characters I was interested in were Riley's dad and that out of college librarian with the Peter Pan collared shirt (who didn't have a name because she was barely in the book, but managed to be more interesting than everything and everyone else). Yeah, not good. I also didn't buy the whole romance thing that happened in the end considering that the MC spent most of her time infatuated with a whole other person.
Overall, I found Signs of You to be completely underwhelming. I was never engaged with the story and thought it dragged way too much (which is surprising given how short it is). And so my quest to read a YA novel that's not just okay/mediocre this summer continues.
Signs of You had so much potential to be great. I tend to like books that deal with loss, so I had assumed that I would like this one. And, for the most part, I did like the parts that focused on coping with the lost of a loved one. That was the one aspect of Signs of You that I thought was mostly well done. It's everything else that lost me.
The whole St. Ignacious thing bored me to freaking tears. It was so, so underwhelming. In fact, the whole paranormal aspect of this book was underwhelming. It just never clicked for me. And seeing as how that's a big bulk of Signs of You, that means that the book as a whole never clicked for me. I was also bored by all of the main characters and disliked Riley for most of the book considering she spent most of her time worried about romance when real shit was going down. These characters just weren't engaging. The only characters I was interested in were Riley's dad and that out of college librarian with the Peter Pan collared shirt (who didn't have a name because she was barely in the book, but managed to be more interesting than everything and everyone else). Yeah, not good. I also didn't buy the whole romance thing that happened in the end considering that the MC spent most of her time infatuated with a whole other person.
Overall, I found Signs of You to be completely underwhelming. I was never engaged with the story and thought it dragged way too much (which is surprising given how short it is). And so my quest to read a YA novel that's not just okay/mediocre this summer continues.