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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
The interesting concept was executed terribly. There was little to no character arc, which was kind of a problem since the whole premise was Tori trying to learn a lesson from what occurs in the book, and I was given no reason to care about what happened to her. In fact, I disliked her because she never saw herself as a bully nor really saw anything wrong with what happened or how selfish she is. Maybe I could have forgiven her if she had had any redeeming qualities, but they weren't there either. Everyone was blandly put together and the ending was cliche and the book didn't even live up to that cliche or build up to it in any way at all so that it could get away with it. It was honestly the most disappointing and awful book I've read up to this point this year.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This would be a great book for a discussion on cyber-bullying and taking responsibility for our actions. The "twist" at the end felt a little unfair to me, but there is plenty to talk about.
"Because I want you to think for a second- no, a full minute at least, I think he deserves that- I want you to think for a minute what it would be like to never hear your favorite song again. Ever. Never taste your Dad's garlic mashed potatoes again. Ever. Why? Well, because you're dead....Because that's what being dead means...It's the zenith of 'never.' Never again, never this, never that. You don't come back from never. You can't enjoy never. You just sit there, not existing, not listening to your favorite songs or eating your favorite foods. Never." Page 198
Anyways. Random appealed to me because the original cover has an iPhone cord looped into a noose and well, that's really eye catching. Also, it is super short and let's be honest, short books always appeal to me these days. Frankly though, I was mostly underwhelmed with Random.
Read the rest of my review here
This GIF sums up my feels though:
Read the rest of my review here
This GIF sums up my feels though:
I had mixed feelings about this book. I didn't like it because the main character is so... Stubborn. She is the problem and she won't admit it. I loved it halfway through when the plottwist came, but the end chapter kinda ruined it a bit. I liked it, but I won't read it again.
Everyone needs to read this book. I will honestly never get tired of books discussing the importance of being aware of the consequences of your actions. This is the second book I've read that covers this issue well and the first is an all time favorite. People need to write more books about this, and people need to read more books about this.
I enjoyed reading Random. It was very different and refreshing to hear from someone elses point of view, especially the bully's, but there were some flaws. I found Tori to not be the most impactful or remorseful bully. Tori didn't play the biggest part in causing Kevin's suicide, but she should still be at least remorseful about it. I also found the ending to be kind of bland and too neat. I wanted to cry or be super at peace with what happens, but I wasn't. I was ok with the ending, but it just could have been more. Overall I'm still very happy that I gave it a shot and I recommend others at least giving it a shot. I just wanted more.
"There's a whole big gulf between innocent and not guilty."
I think that quote sums up Tori's journey throughout this book. She believes she's innocent of what she's being accused of, which is driving a classmate to kill himself through posts on social media.
Listening to what she has to say is really interesting, because you see everything through her, the bully's, point of view. It takes a careful writer to be able to make you nearly understand, and I dare say sympathize at times, with the character who is essentially the bad guy.
One again, Tom Leveen delivers a book that is rich in characterization and heavy on teen issues people need to think about.
I think that quote sums up Tori's journey throughout this book. She believes she's innocent of what she's being accused of, which is driving a classmate to kill himself through posts on social media.
Listening to what she has to say is really interesting, because you see everything through her, the bully's, point of view. It takes a careful writer to be able to make you nearly understand, and I dare say sympathize at times, with the character who is essentially the bad guy.
One again, Tom Leveen delivers a book that is rich in characterization and heavy on teen issues people need to think about.