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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
Could not put this down. Compelling story that won't release you until you know how it ends. The only disconnect I felt is the weird mix of tragedy and humor, especially as the book headed towards the final climax. The humor intensified, but I was too impatient for it at that point because I was wrapped up in the resolution of the boy's survival. Good book for 7th grade and up.
This book was amazing!
It doesn't really look too much like my type of book, and the only reason I read it was because I read Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan and I loved that too.
But wow, it is so much more than a romance for teens.
I love the way Holly Goldberg Sloan writes. She doesn't just give you the main character's viewpoint, or even just 2 main characters' viewpoints.
She gives you everyone's viewpoint.
It had so many lessons in it. It covered people with learning disabilities, maniacs, nurses, competitive people, old people, young people, everyone.
She writes mostly about emotions, feelings of the characters and it is so real.
It was a happy book, and that was nice and easy to read.
I would definitely recommend this book.
It doesn't really look too much like my type of book, and the only reason I read it was because I read Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan and I loved that too.
But wow, it is so much more than a romance for teens.
I love the way Holly Goldberg Sloan writes. She doesn't just give you the main character's viewpoint, or even just 2 main characters' viewpoints.
She gives you everyone's viewpoint.
It had so many lessons in it. It covered people with learning disabilities, maniacs, nurses, competitive people, old people, young people, everyone.
She writes mostly about emotions, feelings of the characters and it is so real.
It was a happy book, and that was nice and easy to read.
I would definitely recommend this book.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5/5
I really loved how this book was written. All description, barely any dialogue. It's rare that a book is written in that way, which really made it unique. The story was interesting, which was also a plus. I really only liked Sam and Riddle and I would have loved to see more of their home life rather than read the separation and the love story. I'm not a huge YA reader anymore and it's always a treat to find one that I actually enjoyed. A good read, very easy to read in all actuality, and one that I could pick up again if I felt like rereading.
I really loved how this book was written. All description, barely any dialogue. It's rare that a book is written in that way, which really made it unique. The story was interesting, which was also a plus. I really only liked Sam and Riddle and I would have loved to see more of their home life rather than read the separation and the love story. I'm not a huge YA reader anymore and it's always a treat to find one that I actually enjoyed. A good read, very easy to read in all actuality, and one that I could pick up again if I felt like rereading.
I really loved this book's unembellished prose and lovely emotional connections. I liked the omniscient narration and the vulnerability of all the characters. The small details that the author added really made the characters come to life for me.
I want to give this book a 3.5 stars actually because while the first book was fantastic (definitely a 4 star) but the second book seemed as if the author merely wanted to ride on the success of the first book so she pushed out a second book. The characters in the second suddenly felt stilted, the plot was a little cliché and dry, overall, it was a meh book.
Honestly, I really enjoyed the first book. I found the characters to be well-developed and alive. There were just so much personality going on with Sam, Riddle and Emily. Even Emily’s family were very much involved with the development of the story. Plus the plot had so much intrigue and suspense especially with Sam and Riddle’s father. Clearly he was crazy and it was interesting to read what was going on in his mind and how his mind worked in planning the next move. The only thing that remained the same in the second book was his craziness and how interesting it was to read about it. That was probably the one thing of the few things that was intriguing about the second book. How he plotted to escape prison and whatnot. Despite his craziness, he was actually highly intelligent which, I suppose, made him all the more dangerous. Therefore, even though he was clearly the bad guy in this series, he was actually one of my favorite characters.
The interaction between Emily and Sam went from intense and captivating in the first book to stale and somewhat boring in the second. How they found each other and the obstacles in their path made their relationship incredibly fascinating but when faced with pettiness and simple girl problems, it just didn’t hold much interest to me.
Destiny, the new character in the second novel, was just bad news written all over. I’m really not sure what the intrigue was with her that drew both Bobby and Sam in so much especially Sam because he was clearly in love with Emily yet felt drawn to some petite, slutty girl? It was just too strange for me to comprehend. And while Emily’s reaction to her was a little extreme, I could understand why – that girl had some good radar.
Overall, fantastic first book and mediocre second book. I highly recommend the first and if you’re still interested in the aftermath then you can check out the second.
To read more: http://holedupinabook.blogspot.com/2016/02/ill-be-there-series-by-holly-goldberg.html
Honestly, I really enjoyed the first book. I found the characters to be well-developed and alive. There were just so much personality going on with Sam, Riddle and Emily. Even Emily’s family were very much involved with the development of the story. Plus the plot had so much intrigue and suspense especially with Sam and Riddle’s father. Clearly he was crazy and it was interesting to read what was going on in his mind and how his mind worked in planning the next move. The only thing that remained the same in the second book was his craziness and how interesting it was to read about it. That was probably the one thing of the few things that was intriguing about the second book. How he plotted to escape prison and whatnot. Despite his craziness, he was actually highly intelligent which, I suppose, made him all the more dangerous. Therefore, even though he was clearly the bad guy in this series, he was actually one of my favorite characters.
The interaction between Emily and Sam went from intense and captivating in the first book to stale and somewhat boring in the second. How they found each other and the obstacles in their path made their relationship incredibly fascinating but when faced with pettiness and simple girl problems, it just didn’t hold much interest to me.
Destiny, the new character in the second novel, was just bad news written all over. I’m really not sure what the intrigue was with her that drew both Bobby and Sam in so much especially Sam because he was clearly in love with Emily yet felt drawn to some petite, slutty girl? It was just too strange for me to comprehend. And while Emily’s reaction to her was a little extreme, I could understand why – that girl had some good radar.
Overall, fantastic first book and mediocre second book. I highly recommend the first and if you’re still interested in the aftermath then you can check out the second.
To read more: http://holedupinabook.blogspot.com/2016/02/ill-be-there-series-by-holly-goldberg.html
Sam and his younger brother, Riddle, have been raised by their mentally ill father (I would guess paranoid schizophrenic?) and have finally settled into a new town. But they know better than to get comfortable, because they could move again at a moment's notice. And then Sam meets Emily at church and they feel an instant connection. But if you've never learned how to trust anyone, how can you be in a relationship?
This is a book that's incredibly hard to describe. The writing is beautiful and I loved Sam, Emily and especially Riddle. But I also felt a little removed from the story, which is probably because there were so many subplots (the whole thing with Bobby Ellis, for example) and so many third-person narratives.
Still, it's a very good book and I'm glad I read it.
This is a book that's incredibly hard to describe. The writing is beautiful and I loved Sam, Emily and especially Riddle. But I also felt a little removed from the story, which is probably because there were so many subplots (the whole thing with Bobby Ellis, for example) and so many third-person narratives.
Still, it's a very good book and I'm glad I read it.
Well told story that slips between narrators fluidly, though mostly sticks with Emily, Sam, Riddle, and Bobby. It was interesting to see the world through the eyes of Sam, someone who has lived in a way that is very unconventional way after his mentally ill and criminal father abducts him and his brother 10 years before the novel began.
Emily isn't remarkable in any way, though I guess that's intended. Bobby is super creepy, and I don't know how he's gotten away with his stalkerish and self involved ways all this time. When things went wrong with him, I couldn't care less. One thing that is great is that he's never really set up as a legitimate choice for a potential boyfriend or one point in a love triangle. He isn't good enough for Emily...or anyone for that matter...and it was nice that once Emily became interested in Sam, he stuck with it, even when she realized that he'd kept so much from her.
I've read a lot of reviews in which people said that they cried, but I didn't even with the harrowing situations that befell Sam and Riddle. Emily's depression was believable, but since I could tell what was going on with the boys, I was only worried about them, not crying over their situation.
Loved the twists, especially those that brought the reader into the minds of random characters, like Mrs. Dairy and the coin collection shop guy, and of course, it's easy to love Tim and Debbie Bell, who are normal, caring people, the first adults in a long time to give any attention to the boys. Love also the contrast between the Bells and Bobby's creepy parents.
Emily isn't remarkable in any way, though I guess that's intended. Bobby is super creepy, and I don't know how he's gotten away with his stalkerish and self involved ways all this time. When things went wrong with him, I couldn't care less. One thing that is great is that he's never really set up as a legitimate choice for a potential boyfriend or one point in a love triangle. He isn't good enough for Emily...or anyone for that matter...and it was nice that once Emily became interested in Sam, he stuck with it, even when she realized that he'd kept so much from her.
I've read a lot of reviews in which people said that they cried, but I didn't even with the harrowing situations that befell Sam and Riddle. Emily's depression was believable, but since I could tell what was going on with the boys, I was only worried about them, not crying over their situation.
Loved the twists, especially those that brought the reader into the minds of random characters, like Mrs. Dairy and the coin collection shop guy, and of course, it's easy to love Tim and Debbie Bell, who are normal, caring people, the first adults in a long time to give any attention to the boys. Love also the contrast between the Bells and Bobby's creepy parents.
Este libro me ha decepcionado bastante. Primero, porque la historia de amor resulta insípida, como mucho. En general, todas las historias contenidas en el libro resultan creepy en principio, por no decir directamente preocupantes. Es cierto que el inicio y la historia de la vida de los dos chicos no están mal, pero no dejan de ser carne de película de sobremesa. Eso sí, el niño, que parece autista al principio, pero que no lo es, resulta muy interesante. Pero todo esto requiere que me extienda más sobre ello. Baste decir que ya desde el comienzo, el primer encuentro entre trama y sinopsis es... discordante, por no decir completamente contradictorio. Creo que es una de las veces en que la sinopsis parece mucho más interesante, por los posibles desarrollos que se te ocurren, que lo que es la trama. La sinopsis es una escena de todo el libro. La que da esperanza de encontrarte ante una buena historia, básicamente.
Sigue leyendo
Sigue leyendo
Interesting story about interconnectedness. Some of the off shoot vignettes were really neat. Overall story and main characters didn't grab me much tho.