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4.34 AVERAGE
4.34 AVERAGE
Errr...well buckle up...
I'm about to write an extremely middle-of-the-road review for an extremely high 4.75 average rating book. The reasons are plentiful. And I feel it deserves some justification...because I have yet to see even a 4 star rating.
First off, let me just mention: romance status-or things I'd wish I had known but you know I don't read reviews prior to books...
Not a romance, it's a love story. I'm not even talking about you Nicholas Sparks, fuck off. Like have you read [b:The Heart's Invisible Furies|33253215|The Heart's Invisible Furies|John Boyne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1490803456l/33253215._SY75_.jpg|51438471]. More like that. In a way. And I have to be EXTREMELY honest here, had I known this, I wouldn't have likely read this. Not only is it not something I'm in the mood for, I didn't particularly like it as someone who loves (not romantically) a person with a degenerative neurological disorder. This could work, at times I guess, but not for me
I will hand it to the author that the style was awfully fresh. It's another one of those weird third person POV told in the present tense though... so it was often too fresh, often too laden with commas, and many times, quotation errors. I noticed some typos and missing words. I'm not sensitive to it, but I fear that here, there were times this all grated. And then there's details. I pick up a hockey romance not really giving a darn about hockey, I'll grant you, but this is not the first time that Minnesota hockey references are woefully out of date. 25 years ago, we had the North Stars. They moved to Dallas. I literally did not care, but Google is your friend authors. (Getting the distance between the Twin Cities & Duluth spot on, but North Stars? It pulled me out of the story every time and I'm assuming most hockey fans might be feeling that)
The book is told almost entirely from Mike's point of view. By Mike's own admission he's not a nice guy-he's a grump. Something was off for me from the get go, because you guys, as loving and eager the rookie Liam was, he was an absolute unabashed twit. And with Mike being a grump + cruel, it became an incredibly toxic dynamic for me to read.
It was a toxic dynamic that I inhaled,sure, because part of me was waiting for something to crumble, to break, to obliterate those walls and maybe make Liam look like a self-respecting independent guy...and I just didn't see the expected growth from the characters. Toward the end, I did admire Liam's steadfast dedication to his 'housemate' whateverthefuck. This just did not work for me as a love story, as funny, engaging, quick, and unique as it was. Partially issues with the writing but mostly issues with the central story, it was just not for me.
*Kicks rocks on the outside of the circle and looks around self-consciously*
I'm about to write an extremely middle-of-the-road review for an extremely high 4.75 average rating book. The reasons are plentiful. And I feel it deserves some justification...because I have yet to see even a 4 star rating.
First off, let me just mention: romance status-or things I'd wish I had known but you know I don't read reviews prior to books...
I will hand it to the author that the style was awfully fresh. It's another one of those weird third person POV told in the present tense though... so it was often too fresh, often too laden with commas, and many times, quotation errors. I noticed some typos and missing words. I'm not sensitive to it, but I fear that here, there were times this all grated. And then there's details. I pick up a hockey romance not really giving a darn about hockey, I'll grant you, but this is not the first time that Minnesota hockey references are woefully out of date. 25 years ago, we had the North Stars. They moved to Dallas. I literally did not care, but Google is your friend authors. (Getting the distance between the Twin Cities & Duluth spot on, but North Stars? It pulled me out of the story every time and I'm assuming most hockey fans might be feeling that)
The book is told almost entirely from Mike's point of view. By Mike's own admission he's not a nice guy-he's a grump. Something was off for me from the get go, because you guys, as loving and eager the rookie Liam was, he was an absolute unabashed twit. And with Mike being a grump + cruel, it became an incredibly toxic dynamic for me to read.
It was a toxic dynamic that I inhaled,sure, because part of me was waiting for something to crumble, to break, to obliterate those walls and maybe make Liam look like a self-respecting independent guy...and I just didn't see the expected growth from the characters. Toward the end, I did admire Liam's steadfast dedication to his 'housemate' whateverthefuck. This just did not work for me as a love story, as funny, engaging, quick, and unique as it was. Partially issues with the writing but mostly issues with the central story, it was just not for me.
*Kicks rocks on the outside of the circle and looks around self-consciously*
Stupid bittersweet “non-traditional ending” book giving me a big giant lump in the throat and making me fucking SAD. If you’re looking for a book where the protagonists get together and start letting their guard down, becoming happy and letting their true selves come out... this isn’t the book for you. One of the heroes doesn’t even say he loves the other guy out loud. He’s grumpy and he stays grumpy (for good reason).
But it’s real, and it’s raw, and it’s very, very well done.
No cheating... just 15 years of real life.
But it’s real, and it’s raw, and it’s very, very well done.
No cheating... just 15 years of real life.
CW: major character death
Holy wow this is good. Like so so so good. I have seen it rec’d a bit on twitter and on here and assorted other places so I got it from the library and
Holy wow this is good. Like so so so good. I have seen it rec’d a bit on twitter and on here and assorted other places so I got it from the library and
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love this one so much. The writing, the relationship, the Minnesota rep (!!!!), the COVER. Taylor you really nailed it with this one and I'm so happy you got this published, you really truly deserve it. It made me feel A Lot in all the good (and painful) ways.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Sexual content, Medical content, Medical trauma
Moderate: Violence, Grief
hmm................ok. i wasn't gonna write a review but i guess we're doing it. plot spoilers so watch out, but also what i hope is an informative mini-essay about the key issues raised by the book.
--
i watch a lot of sport. i enjoy watching sport a lot. this enjoyment was somewhat hindered a couple years ago after i listened to an episode of malcolm gladwell's 'revisionist history' podcast (season 3, episode 2: 'burden of proof'). my old mate malcolm dove straight in, pulling no punches, openly criticising the lasting impact college and pro football has on young men in north america. citing more than one famous example, the podcast discussed extreme cases of CTE in young sportsman.
of course, i knew logically that concussions = bad, and therefore multiple concussions = super bad. i hadn't, however, heard of the widespread epidemic of CTE - a degenerative brain disease diagnosed to people with repeated head traumas. this disease leads to any number of different brain-related damage; severe behavioural problems, depression and anxiety, and dementia, to name a few. CTE was first discovered as a disease in boxers that had sustained multiple head injuries, however is now a recognised risk in any high-contact sports as well as in the military. this recognition remains low-key, though.
i read up on CTE after listening to gladwell's podcast. i couldn't believe it was something i hadn't heard of previously, and i know malcolm has a mild tendency to over-exaggerate his stories when he's pushing an agenda. he tackles it from the perspective of needing a certain amount of proof
in order to establish danger - and he cites the case of CTE being one that people ask for too much proof, endangering young sportspeople in the meantime. everything i found on it, however, seemed to point to him being correct: CTE is an epidemic that is being swept under the rug in favour of colleges needing to assemble the strongest and most aggressive teams, needing to impress NCAA agents, secure funding from major leagues and stakeholders, etc etc.
(get back to talking about the book, ell):
i thought this book was going to be cute. the red white and royal blue of edmonton oilers fanfic. i'll skim over the first 50%, which was basically hockey player m/m softcore porn with little plot (not a problem, honest), but this book was not at all what it said on the tin. instead, it was an indictment of the repercussions of high-risk contact sport. not a scathing indictment, as such, but definitely a commentary on the worst that can happen in pro sport (epitomised in the final few pages, which to me felt more like the author speaking than her boyish character). the book still loves sport, and balances the bad with the good.
i guess that's where the key debate lies. the degenerative health risks of high-contact sport are immense and bulky positions suffer the most. malcolm gladwell calls for an end to the NFL as the only way to save young players from CTE. he's probably right on paper, but a multi-billion dollar industry won't flop on the back of a minority of players suffering excessive head trauma. not when they know the risks. WHICH IS THE POINT I AM NOW GETTING TO, THANKS FOR BEARING WITH ME.
college players don't become NCAA level players overnight. these are kids that have trained in their sport since they were in primary school. players in some of the more full-on sports have been suffering head injuries at high school level. you can kit up a kid as much as you like for protection, but the most powerful way they can be protected is to be aware of the risks of sustained head injuries from the get go. siphon off some of that $14 billion USD you've got going there to invest in widespread education facilities that outline the risks explicitly for young players. let it be okay for players to retire earlier than their contract stipulates if they are at a higher risk of CTE.
i love spectator sport. truly i do, and i think the author of this book does too. the characters in the book love hockey. they've invested their lives in hockey and paid the highest price. it's not okay, but it's their choice. they love their sport.
its a romance book, sure. there's plenty of sex and plenty of angst and plenty of cute. what this book is doing is using the romance as the vessel to exhibit the devastation produced by degenerative brain trauma in contact sport. i quite enjoyed it conceptually and removed from the nuances of the actual storyline.
here is a link to gladwell's podcast to learn a bit more: http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/22-burden-of-proof
and here's a link to a lecture he gave at UPenn condemning sports culture's failure to address CTE in a productive way (its roughly an hour...strap in): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWaPXzTDEDw
-
ok i'm done now. i have a 4000 word article on australian cinema due that i should be writing but i chose to read this instead lol
--
i watch a lot of sport. i enjoy watching sport a lot. this enjoyment was somewhat hindered a couple years ago after i listened to an episode of malcolm gladwell's 'revisionist history' podcast (season 3, episode 2: 'burden of proof'). my old mate malcolm dove straight in, pulling no punches, openly criticising the lasting impact college and pro football has on young men in north america. citing more than one famous example, the podcast discussed extreme cases of CTE in young sportsman.
of course, i knew logically that concussions = bad, and therefore multiple concussions = super bad. i hadn't, however, heard of the widespread epidemic of CTE - a degenerative brain disease diagnosed to people with repeated head traumas. this disease leads to any number of different brain-related damage; severe behavioural problems, depression and anxiety, and dementia, to name a few. CTE was first discovered as a disease in boxers that had sustained multiple head injuries, however is now a recognised risk in any high-contact sports as well as in the military. this recognition remains low-key, though.
i read up on CTE after listening to gladwell's podcast. i couldn't believe it was something i hadn't heard of previously, and i know malcolm has a mild tendency to over-exaggerate his stories when he's pushing an agenda. he tackles it from the perspective of needing a certain amount of proof
in order to establish danger - and he cites the case of CTE being one that people ask for too much proof, endangering young sportspeople in the meantime. everything i found on it, however, seemed to point to him being correct: CTE is an epidemic that is being swept under the rug in favour of colleges needing to assemble the strongest and most aggressive teams, needing to impress NCAA agents, secure funding from major leagues and stakeholders, etc etc.
(get back to talking about the book, ell):
i thought this book was going to be cute. the red white and royal blue of edmonton oilers fanfic. i'll skim over the first 50%, which was basically hockey player m/m softcore porn with little plot (not a problem, honest), but this book was not at all what it said on the tin. instead, it was an indictment of the repercussions of high-risk contact sport. not a scathing indictment, as such, but definitely a commentary on the worst that can happen in pro sport (epitomised in the final few pages, which to me felt more like the author speaking than her boyish character). the book still loves sport, and balances the bad with the good.
i guess that's where the key debate lies. the degenerative health risks of high-contact sport are immense and bulky positions suffer the most. malcolm gladwell calls for an end to the NFL as the only way to save young players from CTE. he's probably right on paper, but a multi-billion dollar industry won't flop on the back of a minority of players suffering excessive head trauma. not when they know the risks. WHICH IS THE POINT I AM NOW GETTING TO, THANKS FOR BEARING WITH ME.
college players don't become NCAA level players overnight. these are kids that have trained in their sport since they were in primary school. players in some of the more full-on sports have been suffering head injuries at high school level. you can kit up a kid as much as you like for protection, but the most powerful way they can be protected is to be aware of the risks of sustained head injuries from the get go. siphon off some of that $14 billion USD you've got going there to invest in widespread education facilities that outline the risks explicitly for young players. let it be okay for players to retire earlier than their contract stipulates if they are at a higher risk of CTE.
i love spectator sport. truly i do, and i think the author of this book does too. the characters in the book love hockey. they've invested their lives in hockey and paid the highest price. it's not okay, but it's their choice. they love their sport.
its a romance book, sure. there's plenty of sex and plenty of angst and plenty of cute. what this book is doing is using the romance as the vessel to exhibit the devastation produced by degenerative brain trauma in contact sport. i quite enjoyed it conceptually and removed from the nuances of the actual storyline.
here is a link to gladwell's podcast to learn a bit more: http://revisionisthistory.com/episodes/22-burden-of-proof
and here's a link to a lecture he gave at UPenn condemning sports culture's failure to address CTE in a productive way (its roughly an hour...strap in): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EWaPXzTDEDw
-
ok i'm done now. i have a 4000 word article on australian cinema due that i should be writing but i chose to read this instead lol