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izzys_internet_bookshelf's review
3.0
3/5
I thought this book was cute. It had it’s moments but sadly I felt like there wasn’t enough of them
I thought this book was cute. It had it’s moments but sadly I felt like there wasn’t enough of them
maycie_reads's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The main character in this book is completely unlikeable. She blows up on her friends and families so easily and actually quite often it’s frustrating.
jojothefool's review
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I wanted to love this so much. Claire the main character isn’t very likable in my opinion. The plot of course surrounds the pandemic and so she’s understandably upset and anxious about this new reality but she goes about it all in the strangest ways. Just the way she blows up at her parents and her friends so quickly. Idk. She’s a teenager with this shared trauma but also sorry I dont feel that bad for you cuz your family is wealthy and accepting. They live in Brooklyn and have savings for literally everything. My least favorite part is when she freaks out that her girlfriend is getting food delivery?????? I can’t like it’s kind of hilarious how dumb that fight was. since it’s from Claire’s POV, the way she thinks about her girlfriend and her dad is just so disrespectful and kinda mean just cuz they’re trying to take care of themselves and also stay positive? And then she starts this situationship with the girl across the street and there were a lot of different ways they could’ve pulled the twist here but I hated the one they did pull??? Like Sadie just Wasn’t That Into Her is very???? Strange. Of course the story we’re getting is told from her POV and therefore exaggerated for the Drama and the posts she’s writing (which she kinda hates writing? But keep doing it??? Girl what) but to make everyone including herself to think it’s something more idk man. And she had a girlfriend this whole time. I just didn’t agree with a single choice this bitch made.
Derrick Berry
Derrick Berry
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Infidelity and Death
ellesandiego's review
2.0
Okay i did not have high hopes for this book whatsoever. But to my surprise i enjoyed it. It had an overall good plot and good execution but the fact that it took place DURING covid-19 and it uses the slang and phrases everyone used during covid is unsettling.
First few pages i got extremely bored and could not pay attention, but after a bit it got somewhat better and I managed to finish the book. 3/5 plot, 2/5 execution. The idea if falling in love with someone who lives across from you during a pandemic is a great story idea, but I really wish it did not take place during present time.
Throughout the entire book Clarissa was an absolute annoying asshole. Not gonna sugar coat it or anything, she was awful. She is unaware of all that is going on around her and is ungrateful for her amazing parents. She is not cautious and only cares about her writings and girlfriend. While yes are two very important things, she completely ignored everything else. She did not care that thousands of people were dying around her and her character worsened throughout the entire book. I don’t know if this was intentional or if this is genuinely the authors idea of character development.
The book ended with a redemption arc sort of. Clarissa apologizes and lives happily ever after with vanessa. firstly, Vanessa can do so much better than Clarissa, secondly what happened with Sadie? she was completely thrown out of the picture despite the deep connection she had with Clarissa. And thirdly why was clarissa forgiven for everything she did? She gave a half assed apology and was forgiven for everything.
Great plot, bad execution.
First few pages i got extremely bored and could not pay attention, but after a bit it got somewhat better and I managed to finish the book. 3/5 plot, 2/5 execution. The idea if falling in love with someone who lives across from you during a pandemic is a great story idea, but I really wish it did not take place during present time.
Throughout the entire book Clarissa was an absolute annoying asshole. Not gonna sugar coat it or anything, she was awful. She is unaware of all that is going on around her and is ungrateful for her amazing parents. She is not cautious and only cares about her writings and girlfriend. While yes are two very important things, she completely ignored everything else. She did not care that thousands of people were dying around her and her character worsened throughout the entire book. I don’t know if this was intentional or if this is genuinely the authors idea of character development.
The book ended with a redemption arc sort of. Clarissa apologizes and lives happily ever after with vanessa. firstly, Vanessa can do so much better than Clarissa, secondly what happened with Sadie? she was completely thrown out of the picture despite the deep connection she had with Clarissa. And thirdly why was clarissa forgiven for everything she did? She gave a half assed apology and was forgiven for everything.
Great plot, bad execution.
alongreader's review
4.0
Ok, I admit it. The ending of this surprised me! It wasn't going where I thought it was at all.
The pandemic has had a huge effect on everything, everywhere. No one can possibly argue with that. And there are as many ways of reacting to it as there are people caught up in it. This book shows a few of them, and beautifully, it treats them all as equally valid. Although people don't understand each other's coping mechanisms, they allow each other to have them. There's even a certain amount of (gasp) talking things out!
It seemed to me that Claire had an anxiety disorder, but maybe I'm just reading into that since a lot of MCs do now. Maybe she was just overwhelmed by the pandemic, as so many are and continue to be. Vanessa felt a bit overwhelming, but she seemed to work really well with Claire, so that worked out nicely. Claire's parents obviously meant well, even though it didn't always come across, and they came through in the end.
There's one day when Claire wakes up and everything is just *wrong* and I felt that was so relatable! In my house we call that 'not right in our skin' and it just seems to happen every so often. It was great to see that we're not the only ones!
I really enjoyed this, even though it was tough in places. It's a fantastic record of this really strange time and hopefully, in a few years when this is all forgotten, this will be a great way to explain it!
The pandemic has had a huge effect on everything, everywhere. No one can possibly argue with that. And there are as many ways of reacting to it as there are people caught up in it. This book shows a few of them, and beautifully, it treats them all as equally valid. Although people don't understand each other's coping mechanisms, they allow each other to have them. There's even a certain amount of (gasp) talking things out!
It seemed to me that Claire had an anxiety disorder, but maybe I'm just reading into that since a lot of MCs do now. Maybe she was just overwhelmed by the pandemic, as so many are and continue to be. Vanessa felt a bit overwhelming, but she seemed to work really well with Claire, so that worked out nicely. Claire's parents obviously meant well, even though it didn't always come across, and they came through in the end.
There's one day when Claire wakes up and everything is just *wrong* and I felt that was so relatable! In my house we call that 'not right in our skin' and it just seems to happen every so often. It was great to see that we're not the only ones!
I really enjoyed this, even though it was tough in places. It's a fantastic record of this really strange time and hopefully, in a few years when this is all forgotten, this will be a great way to explain it!
regaliaofchaos's review
Thinking about how COVID-19 has impacted people younger than myself just makes me upset. Especially high-schoolers, even though high school wasn't a good time in my life I do mourn for those that weren't able to even have a chance at a good time there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
lawbooks600's review
2.0
3.5/10, I can describe this book in just three words: This. Was. Horrible. I had so many problems with this and I'm surprised that I even got through it all without giving this a DNF however in the end I was very much underwhelmed by this since it was one of my least favourite books I've read last year if not all time so where do I begin with this. It begins when Claire is at school when suddenly a pandemic now known as COVID-19 hits New York and she is forced to isolate and I already have a problem with this because it hits way too close to home, if this were published in like the year 2040 when COVID-19 is a mere historical footnote it would've been fine but it was published in 2021 during the pandemic and I didn't want to relive the experiences of lockdown and isolation again in this book since it was so fresh in my mind when I read it when it was still on. After this, she lives with her family and I didn't like the way they talked since it felt too bubbly and bright and maybe even crossing the line into toxic positivity but I don't know. Claire struggles to talk with the new girl next to her called Sadie because she's socially awkward and then suddenly she writes a romance story about her without her knowing it on the equivalent of Wattpad known as Babble, how creepy of her to do that, she was already unlikable since she was rude but this takes the cake.
The story goes well at first but then it all falls apart when the people don't like Claire's story anymore and demand she reveal her face she eventually does but the story she wrote is about the main characters Sadie and Clarissa who develop an attraction which sounds familiar by the way wasn't even that well written since it all felt artificial and superficial since I didn't care for any of the characters and in the end Claire was forgiven too easily for her actions and that's about it, how disgraceful and if you like romance stories avoid this and read Where the Road Leads Us by Robin Reul.
The story goes well at first but then it all falls apart when the people don't like Claire's story anymore and demand she reveal her face she eventually does but the story she wrote is about the main characters Sadie and Clarissa who develop an attraction which sounds familiar by the way wasn't even that well written since it all felt artificial and superficial since I didn't care for any of the characters and in the end Claire was forgiven too easily for her actions and that's about it, how disgraceful and if you like romance stories avoid this and read Where the Road Leads Us by Robin Reul.
piratebear's review
3.0
Claire fumbled the bag with two women, one of whom was her own girlfriend. I don’t know if Claire should feel grateful that Vanessa took her back, or sad that Vanessa is willing to give Claire a second chance.
narzibenoucdel's review against another edition
emotional
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? Yes
2.5
This book is not that well-written, but Claire’s mess is very entertaining. A super quick and fairly fun read that lacks any true substance; it grapples with serious subjects and themes, but ultimately gets completely bodied by mediocre writing. Not the worst way to spend a few hours, but don’t expect anything noteworthy or innovative from this story.