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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
UGH IDK WHY THIS WASNT ON MY SHELF WHEN I READ THIS BACK IN 2016/2017 TIMES! It came back to mind when I decided I wanted to read it and then saw it wasnt even on my bookshelf here for some reason.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
slow-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
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Wrecked me. In some beautiful ways. I’m June, Greta and Toby all the same. Touches on escapism and loneliness and exploration. It really challenges what love is. And what it should look like. Love will make you do stupid dumb creative things.
This book was well-written, and it had some serious and engaging themes.
It started strong and the author has serious writing skills.
A lot of the themes felt unfinished to me, though. Maybe there wasn't as much follow-through as there should have been. It felt, while the author did end the themes, like they trailed off more than ended.
Specifically, June's emotional turmoil did seem realistic to me - confusion over feelings, relationships with siblings during the teenage years, assumption of being excluded, and dealing with grief. Greta seemed like a hidden cache of emotionally lost teenager. (I could read a book about what was going on in Greta's head.)
In the end, though, it seemed like we went from more detail about all of this, to a more summarized ending. We don't really see a realistic end to some of these issues. The end moves pretty quick, compared to the pacing of the rest of the book.
This might be intentional, but it didn't feel as developed to me.
It was a good read, and I plan on following this author's work in the future. She's a strong writer.
It started strong and the author has serious writing skills.
A lot of the themes felt unfinished to me, though. Maybe there wasn't as much follow-through as there should have been. It felt, while the author did end the themes, like they trailed off more than ended.
Specifically, June's emotional turmoil did seem realistic to me - confusion over feelings, relationships with siblings during the teenage years, assumption of being excluded, and dealing with grief. Greta seemed like a hidden cache of emotionally lost teenager. (I could read a book about what was going on in Greta's head.)
In the end, though, it seemed like we went from more detail about all of this, to a more summarized ending. We don't really see a realistic end to some of these issues. The end moves pretty quick, compared to the pacing of the rest of the book.
This might be intentional, but it didn't feel as developed to me.
It was a good read, and I plan on following this author's work in the future. She's a strong writer.
emotional
reflective
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
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What annoyed me about this book? Let me count the ways. Way too much drama. I am not a big fan of YA novels to begin with--wasn't even when I was a YA myself. There's always way too much drama. There are exceptions, of course--A Wrinkle in Time, A Separate Peace, The Secret Garden, The Velvet Room--even the Harry Potter novels. These are some of the great books. But most are just too much drama. I'm putting the rest of the review in as a spoiler so I can point out some specific things that annoyed me. SpoilerGot REALLY tired of the narrator's self-pity--didn't abate all the way to the end. Got really tired of her sister, Greta's self-pity. The overly-obvious parallel to the girls' mother and her brother got old pretty fast too. Most likeable character in the book was Toby. Didn't really buy the idea that it would have been possible to hide the fact that two men were living in the apartment for nine years. They never cleared up the big mystery about how Toby didn't give Finn AIDS. I got a whiff of an idea that Finn gave it to Toby, but no explanation ever forthcoming. "Back then no one knew about it" was as good as it got, and that was not enough for me. Didn't really buy the idea that four different people would deface a painting worth more than a half-million dollars. Totally did not buy the idea that the restorer would leave the mother's addition--the claim that the mother was "that good" doesn't hold up because there was a very famous photograph, on the cover of Newsweek, no less, which showed the un-defaced painting. Totally did not get what Finn was going for with the title, and hence totally did not get the title of the novel. The idea that he was trying to make the point that the two girls were wolves--predatory and destructive--conflicts entirely with his supposed love of them and desire to make them happy. Mixed messages.. Would not be inclined to try another by this author.
Reread for a book group. Have to say I agree with everything I said the first time. Plus the idea that a grown man in his 30s would pursue a friendship with a 14-year-old is still just really creepy.
Reread for a book group. Have to say I agree with everything I said the first time. Plus the idea that a grown man in his 30s would pursue a friendship with a 14-year-old is still just really creepy.
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes