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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
Meh. Unfortunately, I think this one really suffered in audiobook format. Whoever the narrator is, well, I hope they have a day job. It sounded whiny and robotic. And don't get me started on her British accent for Toby. I could have done better. Half of the time he had one and half the time he didn't. I feel like I may have appreciated this book more had I read it :( but I definitely did not enjoy it enough to give it a second chance.
This book deals with some big issues-a quirky teenage main character dealing with loneliness and puberty to boot, throw in some family issues (her parents are always gone during tax season...oh, and her perfect sister, who...wait for it...isn't as perfect as she seems...), death of the only one who understood, and some big social/political issues of the time (her uncle dies of AIDS and there is a lot of hatred towards the gay community and the disease itself). It's a lot. And I wanted to like it, I really did. But I honestly felt like the book bit off more than it could chew. The writing just wasn't up to snuff. I did not empathize with June. Her and her sister Greta came off as brats most of the time. Even though I was supposed to feel sorry for them having just lost their beloved uncle to a horrible disease, it just didn't come. Because the book was from June's point of view, everything seemed simple and immature. Sometimes that can help a book (Room, for example) but I thought it detracted from the complexities of a lot of the issues the book was trying to address. There was the added problem that I don't think I really understand the AIDS epidemic and the fear people had-so every time characters talk about "the gays", "the AIDS", etc with such fear and disdain it kind of makes me hate them. June's mom refused to let her brother's partner at HIS FUNERAL because she hated him/blamed him for the disease. It just seems so petty and a little sick to me.
I also think I missed the deeper meanings. The wolves, the painting, the additions the girls and their mother put on the painting, June's romantic love for her uncle (seriously...did not understand this one at all...)-all of these just seemed like odd fillers to me (oh and I forgot about Toby getting a 14 year old drunk...WTF?!?). The AIDS epidemic and the feelings about the gay community at the time would actually be interesting to read about/to try to understand. Unfortunately, I don't think this book does a very good job of actually portraying this.
This book deals with some big issues-a quirky teenage main character dealing with loneliness and puberty to boot, throw in some family issues (her parents are always gone during tax season...oh, and her perfect sister, who...wait for it...isn't as perfect as she seems...), death of the only one who understood, and some big social/political issues of the time (her uncle dies of AIDS and there is a lot of hatred towards the gay community and the disease itself). It's a lot. And I wanted to like it, I really did. But I honestly felt like the book bit off more than it could chew. The writing just wasn't up to snuff. I did not empathize with June. Her and her sister Greta came off as brats most of the time. Even though I was supposed to feel sorry for them having just lost their beloved uncle to a horrible disease, it just didn't come. Because the book was from June's point of view, everything seemed simple and immature. Sometimes that can help a book (Room, for example) but I thought it detracted from the complexities of a lot of the issues the book was trying to address. There was the added problem that I don't think I really understand the AIDS epidemic and the fear people had-so every time characters talk about "the gays", "the AIDS", etc with such fear and disdain it kind of makes me hate them. June's mom refused to let her brother's partner at HIS FUNERAL because she hated him/blamed him for the disease. It just seems so petty and a little sick to me.
I also think I missed the deeper meanings. The wolves, the painting, the additions the girls and their mother put on the painting, June's romantic love for her uncle (seriously...did not understand this one at all...)-all of these just seemed like odd fillers to me (oh and I forgot about Toby getting a 14 year old drunk...WTF?!?). The AIDS epidemic and the feelings about the gay community at the time would actually be interesting to read about/to try to understand. Unfortunately, I don't think this book does a very good job of actually portraying this.
4.5 rounded up. An achingly beautiful coming-of-age story set against a background of AIDS. Really lovely, haunting story telling.
This is a practically perfect book. A coming of age story that doesn't feel like a coming of age story. A book about the love of a girl and her uncle, but also more about the love of two sisters, the love of a brother and a sister, and love born from unlikely an friendship. It's about grief and recovery. It's about AIDS in the 80's without feeling like a kitschy 80's memory. There's so much to this story and you just really have to read it, to experience it. It's beautifully written and so well thought out. It doesn't feel like a "debut novel". I have an uncle who died of AIDS in the very early 90's. Reading this made me think of him and the stigma placed on him. There was so much misinformation because, as the characters say in the book, they just didn't *know*. Even today, people don't understand it and place blame and labels that don't belong there. Reading this brought so many memories to my mind. It makes you think. I loved it.
This is one of the best books I've read this year. It is 1987 and fourteen year old, June Elbus, loses her favorite uncle to AIDS. She works through her grief, comes of age, learns that adults are fallible, and also that she is not as good as she thought at hiding her feelings. The author captured the time period very well in detailing the fear and ignorance that surrounding the AIDS crisis of the time. Ms. Brunt developed the characters in a way in which they are believable and easily envisioned and although they are complex, their stories are not complicated. An added dimension to the novel was the underlying story of the portrait of the sisters and its use among the characters. The turmoil that emerges between June and her older sister, Greta, is a natural phenomenon between siblings and one that I can easily relate to. I did not find this novel predictable and enjoyed it very much. It's been a long time since I've read a book that brought tears to my eyes like this one did. Truly a beautiful, heartfelt story.
This book was recommended to me, and I'm so glad it was. If you're looking for a book with great characters - this is it. They're all so real, so complex, and you never really know what they're going to do next. June is fourteen when her uncle/best friend Finn dies. She's having a hard time getting over it when a somewhat familiar man starts showing up in her life. June has to figure out who the man is, and how she can sneak him into her life. Things start to come unwound in some aspects of her life, while she feels more complete and is finding herself in others. The book is emotional without being overly sentimental, but most of all, I focused on the characters themselves. I wanted them in my life; I didn't want the book to end because I wanted to see what else would happen, even after the story was told.
June Elbus is a narrator that has carved a small, raw dent in my heart with her sharp, clear, insightful, and heartbreaking voice. For readers that enjoy stories about family relationships, this is especially poignant and powerful, all the more so for the seemingly simple and succinct language and how easy it is to devour.
Phenomenal. I am still sad/happy/relieved about the ending, so I may write more later but I am still processing.
June! Greta! Finn! Toby!
Every character is perfect. The story is perfect. The portrait and how it is used as a plot item is perfect. The ending is perfect.
Definitely one of the best books I've read EVER.
June! Greta! Finn! Toby!
Every character is perfect. The story is perfect. The portrait and how it is used as a plot item is perfect. The ending is perfect.
Definitely one of the best books I've read EVER.
Amazing! I read it a year ago and I'm still obsessed!
Seriously outstanding book, one of the best I've read this year. Fantastic characters, incredibly written, beautiful story. Interesting that it was published as an adult title - I feel that it could easily have been YA, but I'm sure grateful for that beautiful cover. Despite it's non-YA status the full review is up at Slatebreakers, http://slatebreakers.com/2012/08/13/review-when-you-were-mine-by-rebecca-serle/
Deep and very sad, and a good trip down the '80s' child's memory lane.