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whitreadslit's review
3.0
*I received this book for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you so much to NetGalley and Simon Schuster for this ARC!*
This was a sweet story about loss, love, and finding out who you truly are. I enjoyed getting to know these characters and going on this journey with them. Jenn Bennett’s books tend to have characters with interests and occupations that are outside of the norm for YA novels, and this book was no exception.
Jane is the daughter of a chauffeur for a big-wig music producer (very reminiscent of the movie Sabrina), and is now working as the personal assistant for the producer’s daughter. She suffers from a head injury that she sustained two summer’s before when she fell off of a dam and nearly drowned, which caused her to have to re-learn how to speak. It was endearing to see her grow throughout the course of the novel and attempt to overcome her disability. She struggles with feelings of self-worth, as well as guilt.
Fen works at his aunt’s vinyl shop and lives in her barn after being kicked out of is family home by his overbearing father. He is constantly at odds with his older brother Eddie, who just so happens to be dating Jane, and seems to be able to ‘do no wrong’. Fen struggles with anger issues, as well as feeling things a bit too deeply, which gets him into trouble.
Seeing these two characters grow close and begin to lean upon each other was sweet, but there was also something about their story that felt somewhat disconnected to me. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I just never felt like I could truly root for them throughout the book. It made it a little bit hard for me to really feel engrossed in the story, which is why I had to rate it lower than I would have otherwise.
Some other things that I did enjoy about the book were the setting, which I thought was beautiful and vivid. I could completely picture this lakeside town and the giant music festival that they throw there. I also liked how involved the parents were in the kids lives, whether for better or worse. That aspect of the story felt very realistic and raw.
All in all, this was a cute story. Just because it wasn’t completely for me doesn’t mean that it won’t be for you! Also, there is a cute dog, and that is always something to be excited about
This was a sweet story about loss, love, and finding out who you truly are. I enjoyed getting to know these characters and going on this journey with them. Jenn Bennett’s books tend to have characters with interests and occupations that are outside of the norm for YA novels, and this book was no exception.
Jane is the daughter of a chauffeur for a big-wig music producer (very reminiscent of the movie Sabrina), and is now working as the personal assistant for the producer’s daughter. She suffers from a head injury that she sustained two summer’s before when she fell off of a dam and nearly drowned, which caused her to have to re-learn how to speak. It was endearing to see her grow throughout the course of the novel and attempt to overcome her disability. She struggles with feelings of self-worth, as well as guilt.
Fen works at his aunt’s vinyl shop and lives in her barn after being kicked out of is family home by his overbearing father. He is constantly at odds with his older brother Eddie, who just so happens to be dating Jane, and seems to be able to ‘do no wrong’. Fen struggles with anger issues, as well as feeling things a bit too deeply, which gets him into trouble.
Seeing these two characters grow close and begin to lean upon each other was sweet, but there was also something about their story that felt somewhat disconnected to me. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I just never felt like I could truly root for them throughout the book. It made it a little bit hard for me to really feel engrossed in the story, which is why I had to rate it lower than I would have otherwise.
Some other things that I did enjoy about the book were the setting, which I thought was beautiful and vivid. I could completely picture this lakeside town and the giant music festival that they throw there. I also liked how involved the parents were in the kids lives, whether for better or worse. That aspect of the story felt very realistic and raw.
All in all, this was a cute story. Just because it wasn’t completely for me doesn’t mean that it won’t be for you! Also, there is a cute dog, and that is always something to be excited about
nikkitaylor19's review
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
whoisnyah's review
DNF @pg. 36
Just no. I'm not too fond of the characters and the writing already. The writing feels like it's trying too hard and the characters are awful. It is very predictable and the love triangle is blaring obvious. I am very disappointed in this.
Just no. I'm not too fond of the characters and the writing already. The writing feels like it's trying too hard and the characters are awful. It is very predictable and the love triangle is blaring obvious. I am very disappointed in this.
luna_rondo's review
1.0
In retrospect, had I realized that the autho was Jenn Bennett I wouldn't have realized it as all the book I've read previously from Bennett have been pretty bad for me.
Horrible characters, bad romance, really not interested in reading anymore from this author.
Horrible characters, bad romance, really not interested in reading anymore from this author.
akacya's review
3.5
2023 reads: 387/350
every summer, jane and her father go to the sierras with their boss, a rock producer. the town they go to has a major music festival put on by the sarafians. jane has always had a crush on eddie sarafian, though his brother fen isn’t sure why, given that eddie caused the accident that led to jane’s aphasia years ago. this summer, eddie isn’t in town, but jane and fen get pretty close.
every summer, jane and her father go to the sierras with their boss, a rock producer. the town they go to has a major music festival put on by the sarafians. jane has always had a crush on eddie sarafian, though his brother fen isn’t sure why, given that eddie caused the accident that led to jane’s aphasia years ago. this summer, eddie isn’t in town, but jane and fen get pretty close.
jane presents with a mild form of aphasia which manifests itself as jane experiencing anomia (word retrieval difficulty) and difficulty following long stretches of dialogue. i think this representation is important because it shows that just because it’s been years since the onset of aphasia and progress has been made, difficulties can still persist. however, it’s important for me to reiterate that jane exhibited a mild form of aphasia and people with aphasia you might meet will often present with more difficulty. just as jane’s business card read, make sure you speak clearly and slowly and give the other person extra time.
as for the book itself, it was a bit dull at times. it was good enough for me to keep reading, but didn’t really blow me away or anything. i did like jane’s personal growth, though!
teri_dost's review against another edition
2.0
Nikdy jsem si nemyslela, že bych knížce od Jenn Bennettové dala tak nízké hodnocení... ale stalo se - a nebýt toho, jak autorka zvládla napsat hrdinku trpící afázií, dala bych téhle knížce hvězdičku jen jednu.
Mezi problémy patří třeba premisa díla, která mi jde proti srsti (podvádění je prostě špatné a je úplně jedno, jaký je ten druhý kluk - pokud s někým nechcete být, tak se máte s dotyčným prostě rozejít), strašně rychlý konec, který je na mě až moc sluníčkový, a spousta nevyřešených věcí... jediné, co to jakžtakž zachraňuje je čtivost, kterou Jenn Bennettová prostě umí na jedničku.
Knížky od Jenn stojí za to... jen tahle ne.
Mezi problémy patří třeba premisa díla, která mi jde proti srsti (podvádění je prostě špatné a je úplně jedno, jaký je ten druhý kluk - pokud s někým nechcete být, tak se máte s dotyčným prostě rozejít), strašně rychlý konec, který je na mě až moc sluníčkový, a spousta nevyřešených věcí... jediné, co to jakžtakž zachraňuje je čtivost, kterou Jenn Bennettová prostě umí na jedničku.
Knížky od Jenn stojí za to... jen tahle ne.