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cheesy_cheeseburger's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
shelleyb's review against another edition
3.0
I WISH I COULD GIVE HALF STARS! My real rating is 3.5. The book was good, I wasn’t upset by it. It was very predictable, but it isn’t the type of book that tries not to be. Hi go into it feeling the bad thing that will happen, knowing the impending doom that the end of the novel will bring.
The characters were also written very well. They are two 15 year olds and you felt that in Francis’ dialogue, both to himself and to others.
My main issue with this book is it just feels as if something was missing. Like it just needed that extra oomf, that extra tug at the heartstrings, that final blow to the emotions. I would recommend this book, but to me it’s nothing more than a quick summer read.
The characters were also written very well. They are two 15 year olds and you felt that in Francis’ dialogue, both to himself and to others.
My main issue with this book is it just feels as if something was missing. Like it just needed that extra oomf, that extra tug at the heartstrings, that final blow to the emotions. I would recommend this book, but to me it’s nothing more than a quick summer read.
bruacioly's review against another edition
3.0
This book was okay to read, but nothing special or particularly memorable. It is kind of like TFIOS in the sense that there are two main characters who have cancer and meet and fall in love. But ultimately it isn’t as funny or witty and the characters aren’t as engaging. I don’t want to be comparing things, but it’s impossible not to with such similar premises...
Good things:
Easy to read. The writing had a nice pace in my opinion, it was fit for a contemporary in the sense that is not too fast with lots of action, but it doesn’t drag on with descriptions either. There’s plenty of dialogue and inner character monologues which makes books easier for me to read. I also really enjoyed the writing style and thought it was very clever.
British things. I liked the little bits on British culture and words like “reckon” and things like that. It wasn’t filled with it, but it was a cool setting.
In Between Things:
The characters. I had mixed feelings about Francis and Amber. He is realistically written, which I appreciate, but extremely selfish and over dramatic about things. He expects too much of Amber, who is sick with a serious illness and he expects her to be there at his constant back and call or else she doesn’t love him. That really annoyed me. And Amber wasn’t very realistic at all. Ah, the curse of the manic pixie dream girl. She is the “cool girl” who doesn’t like cosmetics and is outgoing and honest and kind of rude and bla. I always hated that girl.
The emotions. There were moments where I thought I was feeling things for the characters, but those feelings were never fully explored. I just didn’t connect too deeply with any of the characters personally, despite connecting with their situation.
Overall
It was a book I don’t regret reading, but that I wouldn’t read it again or rave about it to anyone.
Good things:
Easy to read. The writing had a nice pace in my opinion, it was fit for a contemporary in the sense that is not too fast with lots of action, but it doesn’t drag on with descriptions either. There’s plenty of dialogue and inner character monologues which makes books easier for me to read. I also really enjoyed the writing style and thought it was very clever.
British things. I liked the little bits on British culture and words like “reckon” and things like that. It wasn’t filled with it, but it was a cool setting.
In Between Things:
The characters. I had mixed feelings about Francis and Amber. He is realistically written, which I appreciate, but extremely selfish and over dramatic about things. He expects too much of Amber, who is sick with a serious illness and he expects her to be there at his constant back and call or else she doesn’t love him. That really annoyed me. And Amber wasn’t very realistic at all. Ah, the curse of the manic pixie dream girl. She is the “cool girl” who doesn’t like cosmetics and is outgoing and honest and kind of rude and bla. I always hated that girl.
The emotions. There were moments where I thought I was feeling things for the characters, but those feelings were never fully explored. I just didn’t connect too deeply with any of the characters personally, despite connecting with their situation.
Overall
It was a book I don’t regret reading, but that I wouldn’t read it again or rave about it to anyone.
trisha70's review against another edition
2.0
It was meh... too similar to fault in our stars and not as successful in my option
aprilpoole's review against another edition
1.0
I will confess: I did not want to finish this book, but I felt compelled so I could write this review. I also hoped the book would eventually redeem itself, but I left disappointed.
This book, to me, seems like it wants to be The Fault In Our Stars, but it is missing the character likability, as well as the emotional resonance for me, so if you pick it up searching for that, you would do well to look elsewhere. I was not emotionally attached to the characters and I was fed-up with the main character early on in the story. My frustration stemmed from the all too common YA trope of the character who is just better than all of those around him, peers and parents be damned. Some examples of this trait:
"I knew all about boys like Paul.... Paul was surface all the way to the bone... It was a triumph of geography that Paul and [Kelly] never shared a pregnancy scare." (This is on the first page of his meeting these characters, and I kept hoping he would realize that they were people too but he never did. This type of flat dismissal of secondary characters is frustrating and made me highly dislike the protagonist.)
Some later frustration in his relationship life: " When she told me I was being a creep, it meant that she found my behavior adorable but was frightened to render herself vulnerable by acknowledging the attraction she felt. It was probably my ability to analyze such quirks that made me such an ideal boyfriend." (Here he grows increasingly frustrating as he renders his girlfriend into an object for him to analyze and himself such a great prize to be won. Maybe she says you're a creep because you are one? )
He goes on to say: "I myself was quite adept at hiding my true feelings and consequently people often overlooked just how burdened I felt." (This is not the inner dialogue of a teenage boy. I refuse to believe that this type of acute self analysis is fitting.)
He says later that he "feels too much" and therefore no one can understand him. This type of superiority to everyone is absurd and makes him supremely unlikable. He employs supreme double standards in his relationship, acting consistently hypocritically, and looks down on those who are only trying to help him.
In addition, Amber herself fails to be likable, and is written in a flat, stereotypical way. She is not a real person, but a fixation of the main character, so she fails to invite emotions from the reader.
Overall, I found this novel boundlessly frustrating and emblematic of many YA tropes, and traps that are easy to fall into when adults put their sensibilities into the mind of teenagers, as the author seems to do here.
This book, to me, seems like it wants to be The Fault In Our Stars, but it is missing the character likability, as well as the emotional resonance for me, so if you pick it up searching for that, you would do well to look elsewhere. I was not emotionally attached to the characters and I was fed-up with the main character early on in the story. My frustration stemmed from the all too common YA trope of the character who is just better than all of those around him, peers and parents be damned. Some examples of this trait:
"I knew all about boys like Paul.... Paul was surface all the way to the bone... It was a triumph of geography that Paul and [Kelly] never shared a pregnancy scare." (This is on the first page of his meeting these characters, and I kept hoping he would realize that they were people too but he never did. This type of flat dismissal of secondary characters is frustrating and made me highly dislike the protagonist.)
Some later frustration in his relationship life: " When she told me I was being a creep, it meant that she found my behavior adorable but was frightened to render herself vulnerable by acknowledging the attraction she felt. It was probably my ability to analyze such quirks that made me such an ideal boyfriend." (Here he grows increasingly frustrating as he renders his girlfriend into an object for him to analyze and himself such a great prize to be won. Maybe she says you're a creep because you are one? )
He goes on to say: "I myself was quite adept at hiding my true feelings and consequently people often overlooked just how burdened I felt." (This is not the inner dialogue of a teenage boy. I refuse to believe that this type of acute self analysis is fitting.)
He says later that he "feels too much" and therefore no one can understand him. This type of superiority to everyone is absurd and makes him supremely unlikable. He employs supreme double standards in his relationship, acting consistently hypocritically, and looks down on those who are only trying to help him.
In addition, Amber herself fails to be likable, and is written in a flat, stereotypical way. She is not a real person, but a fixation of the main character, so she fails to invite emotions from the reader.
Overall, I found this novel boundlessly frustrating and emblematic of many YA tropes, and traps that are easy to fall into when adults put their sensibilities into the mind of teenagers, as the author seems to do here.
paige394's review
2.0
If I'm being completely honest, I bought this book because of the opening scene between Francis's brother and his mother where she offers to pay him to get out of bed, and he accuses her of being a capitalist. However, I was pretty disappointed. I didn't have very high expectations (after all, another cancer love story), but I wanted to read something fluffy and romantic, but with some sad moments. In that respect, I got what I asked for. However, Francis seemed very whiny to me. I get it, he's sick, and that's awful, but the way he treated his mom, especially toward the end was downright cruel. He also refused to give Amber her space when she explicitly asked him to, which bothered me to no end. Putting those annoyances aside, I had a hard time really seeing the chemistry between Francis and Amber. It seemed like they went from being two patients in the same room to kissing in the blink of an eye with no real explanation. The whole thing would've been a lot better if there was more build up there.
What it really comes down to is that there just isn't anything special about this book. If you're looking for a light, fluffy book that doesn't require much thought, then this is the book for you. If you're looking for a more complicated plot and more developed characters, I would suggest that you keep looking.
What it really comes down to is that there just isn't anything special about this book. If you're looking for a light, fluffy book that doesn't require much thought, then this is the book for you. If you're looking for a more complicated plot and more developed characters, I would suggest that you keep looking.
alexis_hookedtobooks's review
3.0
This book was a bit frustrating for me to read because I loved the story, but I feel like it left a lot out, and the writing was choppy. The story is about a young teenage boy, Francis, who finds out he had leukemia. He is angry, and doesn't know how to deal with his cancer, until he meets a girl named Amber. He falls in love with her rough and tumble personality, and she becomes his solace because she has cancer too. But things become different when Francis starts to get better and Amber doesn't. One thing I liked about the book was it showed how cancer affects the families along with the patients. But I felt like the author could have developed the characters and the story more. I finished the book thinking there was a lot that could have been added and told about the characters background, as well as develop Francis and Amber's love story more. The author writes that Amber is Francis' one true love, yet I feel like it wasn't developed that way. Overall, I really enjoyed the story, so I gave it 3.5 stars.
starringsteph's review against another edition
3.0
Amber Sunrise is an absolutely brilliant, funny, and wonderful girl, but this book was, unfortunately, not up to par for me. This novel follows the stereotypical plot of a cancer ridden teen (aka a similar plot to what most people would know as The Fault in Our Stars). However, don't get me wrong I actually do love a good stereotypical YA novel! I just didn't find this novel to grab my interest as well as others do.
After reading so many novels, most readers have that same sense as to when you watch a scary movie and you just want to scream, "DON'T OPEN THE DOOR!", but with romance and life issues instead of bloody murderers delivering pizza. In a sense everything felt too predictable for me.
My favorite part of the novel is mainly the character development. Francis is definitely a brave soul, and after facing cancer it's clear he can handle a lot (like his dad!). It is strange however, that even in a first person narrative of Francis I feel like I almost understand Amber better. Amber is a great inspiration for people to have and she just always seems to have this spunk and eternal optimism to her. Francis's family is also such a great group of people. I found it so kind of them to be there for him so much, especially his mother who really worked so hard for him that her own life had to be put on pause until he got better.
One more thing I wish was expanded on more was the cancer itself. There was a lot of mentioning of days in bed, but it almost seemed to completely push away the pain of cancer to the side. It was strange to read this novel seeming as if cancer is just a lack of hair and going to the restroom at night to puke. Yes, this is just a YA novel so clearly all the details won't be found in the book, but it was just something I thought could be portrayed more accurately.
I could almost see this becoming a better movie than it is a book. The scenes that float in my mind seem to wish to see more detail of what's actually going on than just the words that are in the book. (this is just my opinion however.)
After reading so many novels, most readers have that same sense as to when you watch a scary movie and you just want to scream, "DON'T OPEN THE DOOR!", but with romance and life issues instead of bloody murderers delivering pizza. In a sense everything felt too predictable for me.
My favorite part of the novel is mainly the character development. Francis is definitely a brave soul, and after facing cancer it's clear he can handle a lot (like his dad!). It is strange however, that even in a first person narrative of Francis I feel like I almost understand Amber better. Amber is a great inspiration for people to have and she just always seems to have this spunk and eternal optimism to her. Francis's family is also such a great group of people. I found it so kind of them to be there for him so much, especially his mother who really worked so hard for him that her own life had to be put on pause until he got better.
One more thing I wish was expanded on more was the cancer itself. There was a lot of mentioning of days in bed, but it almost seemed to completely push away the pain of cancer to the side. It was strange to read this novel seeming as if cancer is just a lack of hair and going to the restroom at night to puke. Yes, this is just a YA novel so clearly all the details won't be found in the book, but it was just something I thought could be portrayed more accurately.
I could almost see this becoming a better movie than it is a book. The scenes that float in my mind seem to wish to see more detail of what's actually going on than just the words that are in the book. (this is just my opinion however.)
kazbrek's review
1.0
Have I ever hated a main character so much? This kid had his head so far up his own ass he was talking out of his asshole but the sound came out his mouth. Look - I'm all for smart kids. What I can't take is the 'better than thou' attitude that Francis had throughout the whole book. He called himself a sophisticate, an intellectual, which is annoying, but then Matthew Crow would give him an "impressive array of literature" and make him like Romantic poets and then go ahead and put down Kelly and Paul, making them caricatures of teenagers. He didn't even have any redeeming qualities either. He whined a lot. Like, actually whining.
And Amber - typical Manic Pixie Dream Girl.She dies at the end to change Francis's life. It's typical and annoying and unsurprising. Bad trope. She's a Cool Girl who Changes The Boy's Life and Gets Him Into Trouble and shit like that.
This book was trying too hard to be The Fault in Our Stars, too, but at the same time ... cancer really wasn't a huge part of the book? There was no explanation of treatment. It was very badly written. Oh, and it was romanticising a terminal illness as well. Yeah. Not good all around.
And Amber - typical Manic Pixie Dream Girl.
This book was trying too hard to be The Fault in Our Stars, too, but at the same time ... cancer really wasn't a huge part of the book? There was no explanation of treatment. It was very badly written. Oh, and it was romanticising a terminal illness as well. Yeah. Not good all around.