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kdurham2's review against another edition
3.0
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
Aubrey returns home to bury a friend that maybe wasn't the best of friend in the end and there is a reason why this friendship didn't make it to adulthood, but the reader is left in the dark for a bit to wonder what happened to these two friends.
Switching between present time and past stories, this book takes the reader on the journey of two friends and maybe isn't the most positive of friendships! Without completely ruining the core of the book, I loved how the reader finds out what really happened to make this friendship unravel and it made my thoughts change about both Aubrey and her "ex" best friend Rachel - it is kind of fun when your opinions change on characters.
Aubrey returns home to bury a friend that maybe wasn't the best of friend in the end and there is a reason why this friendship didn't make it to adulthood, but the reader is left in the dark for a bit to wonder what happened to these two friends.
Switching between present time and past stories, this book takes the reader on the journey of two friends and maybe isn't the most positive of friendships! Without completely ruining the core of the book, I loved how the reader finds out what really happened to make this friendship unravel and it made my thoughts change about both Aubrey and her "ex" best friend Rachel - it is kind of fun when your opinions change on characters.
bookishblond's review against another edition
3.0
Certain parts of this book were difficult to read. I usually scoff when I see the phrase "trigger warning," but in this case, I am going to warn you that this book contains some particularly harrowing descriptions of rape and rape culture.
chelsmay27's review against another edition
2.0
I never write reviews for books because I'm usually not moved or opinionated enough, but what the eff was up with that ending? I don't understand why she chose to end with the stop listings that didn't go with the book? Are we to assume that Aubrey didn't get to hear the voicemail because of the overhead speaker? Idk.
nikman34's review against another edition
3.0
It took me a little bit to get into Aubrey as a character. But, about halfway through the book, I couldn't put it down. The story line progressed well, but sometimes the writing seemed off to me. Overall a decent book, though.
readers_block's review against another edition
1.0
Last Train to Babylon was one of the worst books I've read in a while. I usually reserve one star reviews for books that I can't bear to finish, but this one I actually did make it through, and I regret it.
The main character is so appallingly unlikeable that it's hard to get through it. For the first half of the book I sincerely hoped that whatever it was that Rachel had done was traumatic enough to warrant this unabashed hatred. So much hatred that Aubrey can't even muster a shred of sadness when her former best friend commits suicide. Aubrey was not remotely sympathetic. She lives off her father's money while her boyfriend pays the rent. She calls her mother by her first name. Oh, and her mother's biggest crime is not being completely in tune with her daughter. She comes off as spoiled beyond belief. There is no depth to this character. She's a two dimensional cutout of pure anger. No other emotions exist in her, to the point of it being completely unrealistic.
I almost stopped reading about 50 times and I wish that I had.
I understand that the author is trying to make a point about rape culture and how it can affect someones life, but I truly found this book unbearable.
The main character is so appallingly unlikeable that it's hard to get through it. For the first half of the book I sincerely hoped that whatever it was that Rachel had done was traumatic enough to warrant this unabashed hatred. So much hatred that Aubrey can't even muster a shred of sadness when her former best friend commits suicide. Aubrey was not remotely sympathetic. She lives off her father's money while her boyfriend pays the rent. She calls her mother by her first name. Oh, and her mother's biggest crime is not being completely in tune with her daughter. She comes off as spoiled beyond belief. There is no depth to this character. She's a two dimensional cutout of pure anger. No other emotions exist in her, to the point of it being completely unrealistic.
I almost stopped reading about 50 times and I wish that I had.
I understand that the author is trying to make a point about rape culture and how it can affect someones life, but I truly found this book unbearable.
pogonotomy's review against another edition
2.0
tried to like this book, but the main character was such a whiny bitch!
lazygal's review against another edition
2.0
Close to a DNF... very close. Unlikeable character? Supposed mystery about Why Rachel Did It? Too much alcohol-fueled bad decision making? Yep all all three counts. And I sincerely hope that the editors/author review the name of the town: SeaPORT is not a town on Long Island, SeaFORD is.
ARC provided by publisher.
ARC provided by publisher.
thepaperreels's review against another edition
4.0
You can also read my review and ENTER THE GIVEAWAY HERE.
My mouth is literally hanging open when I finished this novel and I don't even know what to feel. For real. I was angry, sad.. I wanna cry, and I want to hug someone too. I just don't know!! But one thing is for sure, I was surprised. This book snuck up on me and totally squeezed my heart. It gripped me from the very first chapter and I never thought I'd like Aubrey so much. If you read this, you'll be surprised.
You see, Aubrey is a b*tch. I'm sorry, but she is. According to her,she's incapable of having feelings, which I thought was true until her story started to unravel. We found out that Rachel, Aubreys ex-bestfriend, has committed suicide. Now as Rachel's ex-bestfriend, her mother is obligating her to go.. even if she really don't want to. At first, I was a little confused. I mean, if you don't want to go then don't. But Aubrey still went home, not for Rachel, but for herself.
Aubrey must be one of the most cold hearted protagonist I've ever encountered. But god, my heart breaks for her too. I adore her actually for being so strong and for..surviving her tormentors in her life. I was shocked on how indifferent she feel when she found her Rachel died. And she's so mean! She drinks a lot and yes, she's also having suicidal thoughts, Rachel just beat her to it.
This is also one of the best beautifully written book I've read that deals with dark themes. Charlee Fam's words slays. It literally cuts through you and her words just makes you.. feel. It doesn't even matter what kind of feeling is that, whether its anger or happiness, as long as the protagonist is feeling it and Charlee Fam is describing it, you'll definitely feel it. Charlee Fam is a brilliant author! I can't believe this is her debut novel, it makes me excited for her upcoming books.
Last Train to Babylon is a very gritty and heartbreaking novel. Its about a woman's journey to realizing that your past may not be the most beautiful one out there, but it doesn't have to hold you back. Past mistakes are made to help us shape who we are right now and yes, whether we want it or not, we are gonna lose some people along the way. Especially if those people are the ones holding you back and reminds you of that past. They're not helping, so just let them go.
Its beautiful and sad. Heartbreaking and moving. Last Train to Babylon is a wonderful debut novel!
My mouth is literally hanging open when I finished this novel and I don't even know what to feel. For real. I was angry, sad.. I wanna cry, and I want to hug someone too. I just don't know!! But one thing is for sure, I was surprised. This book snuck up on me and totally squeezed my heart. It gripped me from the very first chapter and I never thought I'd like Aubrey so much. If you read this, you'll be surprised.
You see, Aubrey is a b*tch. I'm sorry, but she is. According to her,she's incapable of having feelings, which I thought was true until her story started to unravel. We found out that Rachel, Aubreys ex-bestfriend, has committed suicide. Now as Rachel's ex-bestfriend, her mother is obligating her to go.. even if she really don't want to. At first, I was a little confused. I mean, if you don't want to go then don't. But Aubrey still went home, not for Rachel, but for herself.
Aubrey must be one of the most cold hearted protagonist I've ever encountered. But god, my heart breaks for her too. I adore her actually for being so strong and for..surviving her tormentors in her life. I was shocked on how indifferent she feel when she found her Rachel died. And she's so mean! She drinks a lot and yes, she's also having suicidal thoughts, Rachel just beat her to it.
This is also one of the best beautifully written book I've read that deals with dark themes. Charlee Fam's words slays. It literally cuts through you and her words just makes you.. feel. It doesn't even matter what kind of feeling is that, whether its anger or happiness, as long as the protagonist is feeling it and Charlee Fam is describing it, you'll definitely feel it. Charlee Fam is a brilliant author! I can't believe this is her debut novel, it makes me excited for her upcoming books.
Last Train to Babylon is a very gritty and heartbreaking novel. Its about a woman's journey to realizing that your past may not be the most beautiful one out there, but it doesn't have to hold you back. Past mistakes are made to help us shape who we are right now and yes, whether we want it or not, we are gonna lose some people along the way. Especially if those people are the ones holding you back and reminds you of that past. They're not helping, so just let them go.
Its beautiful and sad. Heartbreaking and moving. Last Train to Babylon is a wonderful debut novel!
lexreadabook's review against another edition
2.0
Being from Long Island, I wanted to like this book. In many ways, Aubrey is true her LI roots, but I found her character to be very self-entitled and overly obnoxious. She was too whiny and woe is me. The book had potential, I enjoyed the writing style because I felt like I was in her head, the whole time. It was evident that she was dependent on alcohol, Xanax, and cigarettes. It was put-downable for me. I read it on the train, and there were times the story would pull me in and other times I was uninterested.
The ending wasn't too much of a twist for me.It felt kind of thrown together because throughout the book Aubrey makes it clear how much she disposes Rachel and then still meets up with Rachel two weeks before her death, and then was too guilty to check her voice mail. But I think the reader should've been able to see what Rachel said. I think it would've been interesting to see Rachel's perspective to get a more well rounded sense of things. I know I'm rambling, but there was so many parts to this book that just felt predictable and uninteresting
The ending wasn't too much of a twist for me.It felt kind of thrown together because throughout the book Aubrey makes it clear how much she disposes Rachel and then still meets up with Rachel two weeks before her death, and then was too guilty to check her voice mail. But I think the reader should've been able to see what Rachel said. I think it would've been interesting to see Rachel's perspective to get a more well rounded sense of things. I know I'm rambling, but there was so many parts to this book that just felt predictable and uninteresting