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3.28 AVERAGE
3.28 AVERAGE
Well, this book has been talked about back and forth, so I saw it in my library and I was like, Wow! The cover is absolutely beautiful, so I need to read it." As I read it my, Wow was stopped in its tracks and I though, What?!
The book was utterly confusing and I had to reread a few pages over just to comprehend what was going on or because I thought I forgot to read something, but I didn't, that's just the way it was written. That's not how a book should be. Then there's Olive. Chloe's sister, Ruby tells the narrator, Chloe, about the town of Olive, which underwater and now has become the reservoir they all love to swim in, even though its illegal. She tells her about how the people wouldn't leave even though it was being submerged and so I think, There's mer-people in this book, with gills and everything! The book doesn't even tell you what the people are or anything.
Well, one night a party with Chloe, Ruby and her friends goes wrong. Ruby starts telling everyone about how Chloe can swim across the reservoir, swim down to Olive, bring back a souvenir, and go back in one night. Ruby talks her up and ultimately, Chloe starts to swim. Then Chloe comes across a boat, the only thing aboard is a dead girl from Chloe's school.
Chloe goes away for some unknown reason and stays with her father. Two years later, you don't know what happened in those two years except little things, Ruby comes back for Chloe and demands that Chloe come home. The only real thing I loved about this book is Chloe and Ruby's relationship. The sisterly-love they share is something I ate up. Their mother is a huge drunk and, by the way they describe, is also a hippie and Ruby dismissed her from their life.
Another weird thing was how Ruby acted, she was bossy and disruptive, yet everyone loved her. Though it was hinted, but not exactly stated, I think Ruby was magical, something was wrong with her. She made people do her bidding, anything she said went. Ruby ran the town, which seemed surprisingly small, but they lived in New York.
So now, I hope you understand why I did not like this book. I wanted to finish it, even though it took me a while. I even fell asleep a couple of times, while reading it. This book was like under baked cookies, not yet done where its enjoyable, but its edible enough to eat. So read this book if you enjoy eating under baked cookies
The book was utterly confusing and I had to reread a few pages over just to comprehend what was going on or because I thought I forgot to read something, but I didn't, that's just the way it was written. That's not how a book should be. Then there's Olive. Chloe's sister, Ruby tells the narrator, Chloe, about the town of Olive, which underwater and now has become the reservoir they all love to swim in, even though its illegal. She tells her about how the people wouldn't leave even though it was being submerged and so I think, There's mer-people in this book, with gills and everything! The book doesn't even tell you what the people are or anything.
Well, one night a party with Chloe, Ruby and her friends goes wrong. Ruby starts telling everyone about how Chloe can swim across the reservoir, swim down to Olive, bring back a souvenir, and go back in one night. Ruby talks her up and ultimately, Chloe starts to swim. Then Chloe comes across a boat, the only thing aboard is a dead girl from Chloe's school.
Chloe goes away for some unknown reason and stays with her father. Two years later, you don't know what happened in those two years except little things, Ruby comes back for Chloe and demands that Chloe come home. The only real thing I loved about this book is Chloe and Ruby's relationship. The sisterly-love they share is something I ate up. Their mother is a huge drunk and, by the way they describe, is also a hippie and Ruby dismissed her from their life.
Another weird thing was how Ruby acted, she was bossy and disruptive, yet everyone loved her. Though it was hinted, but not exactly stated, I think Ruby was magical, something was wrong with her. She made people do her bidding, anything she said went. Ruby ran the town, which seemed surprisingly small, but they lived in New York.
So now, I hope you understand why I did not like this book. I wanted to finish it, even though it took me a while. I even fell asleep a couple of times, while reading it. This book was like under baked cookies, not yet done where its enjoyable, but its edible enough to eat. So read this book if you enjoy eating under baked cookies
GPDL finally got an e-book of this, so I could finish it in Korea.
I was initially lured in by the attractive cover and the interview on Gayle Forman's blog. Gayle Forman and her books are awesome, but she sure recommends some stinky, clunky books on her blog.
Imaginary Girls, however, was not one of them. I found this book subtle and beautiful and chilling. It was narrated by a teenage girl named Chloe, but centers on Chloe's sister, Ruby, who is 5 years older. Ruby is larger than life, magnetic, charismatic, and everyone in their town basically does whatever she wants. I had a friend like this in high school, who I'm not friends with anymore because of her manipulative ways.
When one of Chloe's classmates turns up dead in a rowboat in the town reservoir, Chloe is sent to live with her father in another town. But Ruby soon brings her back, and Chloe finds that things in her town have changed, slightly, in frightening ways, and Ruby must be responsible.
I really loved the subtley creepy touches on this book. Anything about the town of Olive, buried beneath the reservoir, the way she described London, the under-construction house they were living in. I love how the magical-realism aspects are allowed to exist without explaining them away, yet they're realistic enough that you can figure them out on your own.
This book was much better than some of the YA I've read lately, and I would recommend it to teens and adults alike.
I was initially lured in by the attractive cover and the interview on Gayle Forman's blog. Gayle Forman and her books are awesome, but she sure recommends some stinky, clunky books on her blog.
Imaginary Girls, however, was not one of them. I found this book subtle and beautiful and chilling. It was narrated by a teenage girl named Chloe, but centers on Chloe's sister, Ruby, who is 5 years older. Ruby is larger than life, magnetic, charismatic, and everyone in their town basically does whatever she wants. I had a friend like this in high school, who I'm not friends with anymore because of her manipulative ways.
When one of Chloe's classmates turns up dead in a rowboat in the town reservoir, Chloe is sent to live with her father in another town. But Ruby soon brings her back, and Chloe finds that things in her town have changed, slightly, in frightening ways, and Ruby must be responsible.
I really loved the subtley creepy touches on this book. Anything about the town of Olive, buried beneath the reservoir, the way she described London, the under-construction house they were living in. I love how the magical-realism aspects are allowed to exist without explaining them away, yet they're realistic enough that you can figure them out on your own.
This book was much better than some of the YA I've read lately, and I would recommend it to teens and adults alike.
Exquisitely written paranormal mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat and added up to a satisfying story. The characters though, might have left something to be desired. Full review forthcoming on www.slatebreakers.com
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Meh. Interesting idea but I don't think itwas executed at all well - what everyone else seems to think are wonderful layers just seem to me to be cop outs and poor writing.
The Good: Lyrical prose. Fascinating sister relationship. Kept me reading because it was so weird and mysterious that I needed to know what was going on, how this had happened, etc., even though the little sister Chloe's blind adoration of her manipulative big sister was so annoying.
The Bad: Chloe never evolves. She blindly adores her big sister, whom I suspect is an evil witch, 'til the end. That's not a spoiler, because they never tell you exactly how all the weird stuff is possible, that's just my guess. Either big sister's a witch, or little sister is batshit crazy and none of the weird stuff happened at all.
Conclusion: I don't need endings that are all neat and tidy, but when I spend 346 pages with a story, I want SOME kind of ending, some explanation, some wrap-up that makes the whole experience worthwhile. This book had nothing. The main character Chloe didn't change or grow. The mysteries presented were not solved. It was just a f*#%ed up sister relationship that remains f*#%ed up until the last line. So unsatisfying. The basic rule of story is that the protagonist must go through a change! Otherwise, you don't have a story! That was this book. I'm so disappointed.
The Bad: Chloe never evolves. She blindly adores her big sister, whom I suspect is an evil witch, 'til the end. That's not a spoiler, because they never tell you exactly how all the weird stuff is possible, that's just my guess. Either big sister's a witch, or little sister is batshit crazy and none of the weird stuff happened at all.
Conclusion: I don't need endings that are all neat and tidy, but when I spend 346 pages with a story, I want SOME kind of ending, some explanation, some wrap-up that makes the whole experience worthwhile. This book had nothing. The main character Chloe didn't change or grow. The mysteries presented were not solved. It was just a f*#%ed up sister relationship that remains f*#%ed up until the last line. So unsatisfying. The basic rule of story is that the protagonist must go through a change! Otherwise, you don't have a story! That was this book. I'm so disappointed.
Haunting prose and a narrator of questionable reliability make "Imaginary Girls" an incredible and disturbing novel that you won't want to read alone at night and will be dying to talk about with someone else who's read it.
This story ended up being much stranger than I expected. The paranormal aspects absolutely kept me turning pages, trying to figure out what had happened and why. If there had been an redeeming characters, I would have liked it much more, but I still thought it was worth the read as-is.
Imaginary Girls RATING: 4.5 stars.
This book is beautiful. And it's ugly, sometimes, even. And it's definitely weird.
I was in a reading slump. I didn't feel like reading anything at all and that is a very scary feeling for a book lover as all book lovers know. I started reading Imaginary Girls in this mindset, and at first I wasn't interested. Not much really.
But then the pace of the book picked up and I wanted to know more and more and I just had to read. And I also had to stop because I wanted this book to last, if that makes sense.
Ruby and Chloe are sisters. They might as well be orphans because they have different fathers and their mother loves her bottles more than she loves them. But it's all right, because Ruby takes care of Chloe. Ruby can get anything she wants, from anyone.
And so Ruby raises Chloe and tells her stories about the town that was there before their town but was destroyed by water when New York City decided to make a reservoir. And that the townsfolk didn't leave and now live in the underwater city.
One day an accident happens. Chloe is swimming and she finds a dead girl. She is sent to live with her father but after two years, Ruby wants her back. And Ruby always gets what she wants.
Imaginary Girls was... well, I can't even say. I really liked it because it is just so... strange (but good strange). There's a main character who isn't the main character, there is love that is more obsession than love but in the end it is love and the emotions portrayed in this novel turn everything around and make us doubt our assumptions about the characters.
I can't even describe this book properly. It has that ethereal quality of otherness that so many paranormal books try to achieve but can't. It is truly compelling and beautiful, not because of the writing being poetic or anything. It's just the story, the overall subtleness of the plot and of the characters that make it so. And Chloe's unique and flawed perspective is what makes this book so magical.
Imaginary Girls is the story of two sisters that had a hard time growing up. It's about love so strong it ends up destroying instead of nurturing. The characters were spellbinding and interesting. The story was haunting and the paranormal elements were subtle and so well placed you never really know if there is something supernatural.
The plot is well constructed and keeps you guessing. But what really makes this book shine are the characters. They seem so real and at the same time so... other, so different. I must say I didn't much care for Chloe's "love interest", though.
Overall, a great read. It is a mysterious book that will keep you reading just to find out what is real and what is not. Recommended.
This book is beautiful. And it's ugly, sometimes, even. And it's definitely weird.
I was in a reading slump. I didn't feel like reading anything at all and that is a very scary feeling for a book lover as all book lovers know. I started reading Imaginary Girls in this mindset, and at first I wasn't interested. Not much really.
But then the pace of the book picked up and I wanted to know more and more and I just had to read. And I also had to stop because I wanted this book to last, if that makes sense.
Ruby and Chloe are sisters. They might as well be orphans because they have different fathers and their mother loves her bottles more than she loves them. But it's all right, because Ruby takes care of Chloe. Ruby can get anything she wants, from anyone.
And so Ruby raises Chloe and tells her stories about the town that was there before their town but was destroyed by water when New York City decided to make a reservoir. And that the townsfolk didn't leave and now live in the underwater city.
One day an accident happens. Chloe is swimming and she finds a dead girl. She is sent to live with her father but after two years, Ruby wants her back. And Ruby always gets what she wants.
Imaginary Girls was... well, I can't even say. I really liked it because it is just so... strange (but good strange). There's a main character who isn't the main character, there is love that is more obsession than love but in the end it is love and the emotions portrayed in this novel turn everything around and make us doubt our assumptions about the characters.
I can't even describe this book properly. It has that ethereal quality of otherness that so many paranormal books try to achieve but can't. It is truly compelling and beautiful, not because of the writing being poetic or anything. It's just the story, the overall subtleness of the plot and of the characters that make it so. And Chloe's unique and flawed perspective is what makes this book so magical.
Imaginary Girls is the story of two sisters that had a hard time growing up. It's about love so strong it ends up destroying instead of nurturing. The characters were spellbinding and interesting. The story was haunting and the paranormal elements were subtle and so well placed you never really know if there is something supernatural.
The plot is well constructed and keeps you guessing. But what really makes this book shine are the characters. They seem so real and at the same time so... other, so different. I must say I didn't much care for Chloe's "love interest", though.
Overall, a great read. It is a mysterious book that will keep you reading just to find out what is real and what is not. Recommended.