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adelle_bookworm's review against another edition
4.0
Chtěla jsem dát tři, ale sám Henry si zaslouží jednu hvězdičku, takže nakonec 4*. Líbilo se mi to, ale po půlce už mě to nebavilo tak jako na začátku. Plot-twist jsem prokoukla a dlouho nechápala, proč a co, a konec... no, nevím. Ale jak říkám, Henry je naprosto dokonalá postava.
sailor_moon239's review
emotional
hopeful
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
artsydina's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
sampauwels's review against another edition
medium-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
1.5
Very manic pixie dreamgirl.
thewriterrose's review against another edition
2.0
This book falls under the category of what I consider bad representation of mental health in YA novels. The sad part is, men like Henry actually exist and they’re painful creatures. If you like reading about men who love being doormats for women who are on the cusp of needing interventions, then you’ll love this book.
The major thing that also stopped this book from getting a higher rating was the cliches. If I read one more YA book where the parents are dead or (in this case) cringey and unrealistically witty, I’ll scream.
The major thing that also stopped this book from getting a higher rating was the cliches. If I read one more YA book where the parents are dead or (in this case) cringey and unrealistically witty, I’ll scream.
hannah_boni's review against another edition
2.0
Book was exactly what I expected it to be- cheesy boy meets girl. Designed for ya so cannot be too critical. Easy read.
ellegjoka's review against another edition
2.0
i would have loved this book at 16 but rn at this time the characters were just annoying and ugh its a no from me x
annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition
4.0
Ik hou niet van contemporary teenage romance. Ik erger me vanaf het begin dood aan een gebrek aan communicatie, aan het feit dat er met elke bladzijde meer hersencellen lijken af te sterven bij de hoofdpersonen en aan de grote hoeveelheden drama gewoon omdat drama blijkbaar interessant is om over te lezen. Ik had dit boek dan ook heel lang laten staan, er af en toe zijdelings naar gekeken, het regelmatig eens opgepakt en terug gezet en het nooit gekocht.
Tot een week geleden. De kaft van het boek was beschadigd. Ik had een boekenbon van 7,50 in mijn handen gedrukt gekregen. En het boek bleef me roepen en lonken. Het ergste wat me kon overkomen, was dat ik 2,50 had uitgegeven aan een boek waarvan ik had kunnen weten dat ik het niks vond.
Maar dat gebeurde niet. Ik heb 2,50 uitgegeven aan het boek dat me bewees dat niet elke contemporary teenage romance hetzelfde is en dat er heus wel bestaan die ik wel interessant en leuk vind.
Dit is er zo een. De hoofdpersonen zijn tieners, ja. Ze denken als tieners, praten als tieners en doen als tieners. Maar ze deden dit zo natuurlijk en echt, dat ik me er geen moment aan ergerde. Dit was realistisch, dit was tastbaar, dit waren mensen die wisten dat ze er soms een potje van maakten, dat ze fouten maakten, dat ze soms dom waren. Dit waren rauwe verhalen die erom smeekten om verteld en gelezen te worden.
Het verhaal is niet bovenmatig ingewikkeld, maar het zit wel goed in elkaar. Het klopt. De oorzaken en gevolgen kloppen, de emotionele reacties kloppen, de schrijfstijl klopt. Het voelt alsof dit boek gewoon heel goed gelukt is en vanaf nu heb ik nog een boek dat ik kan noemen als mensen naar mijn favoriete contemporary YA's vragen.
Waarom dan toch geen 5 sterren? Omdat ik niet gehuild heb en ik dat eigenlijk wel had moeten en willen doen.
Tot een week geleden. De kaft van het boek was beschadigd. Ik had een boekenbon van 7,50 in mijn handen gedrukt gekregen. En het boek bleef me roepen en lonken. Het ergste wat me kon overkomen, was dat ik 2,50 had uitgegeven aan een boek waarvan ik had kunnen weten dat ik het niks vond.
Maar dat gebeurde niet. Ik heb 2,50 uitgegeven aan het boek dat me bewees dat niet elke contemporary teenage romance hetzelfde is en dat er heus wel bestaan die ik wel interessant en leuk vind.
Dit is er zo een. De hoofdpersonen zijn tieners, ja. Ze denken als tieners, praten als tieners en doen als tieners. Maar ze deden dit zo natuurlijk en echt, dat ik me er geen moment aan ergerde. Dit was realistisch, dit was tastbaar, dit waren mensen die wisten dat ze er soms een potje van maakten, dat ze fouten maakten, dat ze soms dom waren. Dit waren rauwe verhalen die erom smeekten om verteld en gelezen te worden.
Het verhaal is niet bovenmatig ingewikkeld, maar het zit wel goed in elkaar. Het klopt. De oorzaken en gevolgen kloppen, de emotionele reacties kloppen, de schrijfstijl klopt. Het voelt alsof dit boek gewoon heel goed gelukt is en vanaf nu heb ik nog een boek dat ik kan noemen als mensen naar mijn favoriete contemporary YA's vragen.
Waarom dan toch geen 5 sterren? Omdat ik niet gehuild heb en ik dat eigenlijk wel had moeten en willen doen.
slsj_'s review against another edition
2.0
I liked the over-arching theme of this book: That sometimes grief is almost impossible to overcome and you can't force anyone to love you. But there was a lot that didn't work for me with aspects of a few things that did.
This a story about Henry who is in high school and never had the true high school experience---meaning he has never fallen in love or had a crush. Until Grace Town comes along with her unkept man clothes and a cane and turns his world upside down.
What didn't work:
The tone of the story. In this story there were a bunch of pop culture references (that I failed to get which made it less enjoyable for me) and phrases like FML and YOLO. Do kids still use these today? I don't know, I'm not that old, but I don't. I use the occasional TBH or OMW, but there was an onslaught of text-speak. Which I don't think would have bothered me as much if it wasn't coupled with the always present aspect of having an respect for words and the written thing (which got over-shadowed some by the annoying romance).
The whole thing was manic-pixie dream girl-esque and even though the characters were great at pointing this out along with all their other flaws, it still bothered me. Did Grace Town have to be this girl who carries around poetry and goes to abandoned fish ponds and talks about oblivion being a reward for being human? Couldn't she had just been a girl surrounded by grief and loneliness and as they worked together Henry falls in love with her? Instead she was put on this pedestal for giving his life meaning and it thoroughly destroyed him throughout this book.
"You're... You're special."
Grace sighed. "I'm a beautiful and unique snowflake? I complete you?"
Well you made yourself that way Grace Town! With all your secrets and your metaphors and poetry, no wonder this dude thinks you held the sun.
That was another thing. I know it gave this book depth (although it was rather annoying) I don't think there was a need to have Grace treat Henry so poorly. Going through something is totally fine, but destroying the heart of another human being over and over and blaming it on your grief is not necessary and its not okay.
"I pulled her on top of me so she was sitting on my hips and she leaned down and kissed me the way she did, the way that made me sure she was in love with me even though I knew that she wasn't and probably never would be. I opened my eyes and watched her, like I did sometimes, to make sure the kiss was real. Grace drew away from me with her eyes still closed, the smallest of smiles playing on her lips. And it took until then for me to realize that she wasn't kissing me, not ever, not really, at least not in her head...She looked momentarily confused. like she'd genuinely forgotten for a split second that she wasn't kissing Dom."
There were a lot of cliches in this book: bad family thanksgivings, two hippie parents who treat their children like friends, the classic make the only black character also gay, that one super hot girl who gets all the gossip- but theres a twist, she's actually nice.
Although most of the book really didn't do it for me there were a few bright sparks.
The characters were great. I loved Lola and Muz (who was a bit overplayed but still good) and his sister Suds. None of them were really overshadowed, and their roles in this book were phenomenal. It was a good play on characters and their relationship with one another.
I also liked the ending and how it wasn't the fantasy ending that are sometimes in contemporary novels. It ends in a way the proves the point that this book was trying to make in the beginning.
And the theme was something I appreciated, I just wished it was executed a bit better.
This a story about Henry who is in high school and never had the true high school experience---meaning he has never fallen in love or had a crush. Until Grace Town comes along with her unkept man clothes and a cane and turns his world upside down.
What didn't work:
The tone of the story. In this story there were a bunch of pop culture references (that I failed to get which made it less enjoyable for me) and phrases like FML and YOLO. Do kids still use these today? I don't know, I'm not that old, but I don't. I use the occasional TBH or OMW, but there was an onslaught of text-speak. Which I don't think would have bothered me as much if it wasn't coupled with the always present aspect of having an respect for words and the written thing (which got over-shadowed some by the annoying romance).
The whole thing was manic-pixie dream girl-esque and even though the characters were great at pointing this out along with all their other flaws, it still bothered me. Did Grace Town have to be this girl who carries around poetry and goes to abandoned fish ponds and talks about oblivion being a reward for being human? Couldn't she had just been a girl surrounded by grief and loneliness and as they worked together Henry falls in love with her? Instead she was put on this pedestal for giving his life meaning and it thoroughly destroyed him throughout this book.
"You're... You're special."
Grace sighed. "I'm a beautiful and unique snowflake? I complete you?"
Well you made yourself that way Grace Town! With all your secrets and your metaphors and poetry, no wonder this dude thinks you held the sun.
That was another thing. I know it gave this book depth (although it was rather annoying) I don't think there was a need to have Grace treat Henry so poorly. Going through something is totally fine, but destroying the heart of another human being over and over and blaming it on your grief is not necessary and its not okay.
"I pulled her on top of me so she was sitting on my hips and she leaned down and kissed me the way she did, the way that made me sure she was in love with me even though I knew that she wasn't and probably never would be. I opened my eyes and watched her, like I did sometimes, to make sure the kiss was real. Grace drew away from me with her eyes still closed, the smallest of smiles playing on her lips. And it took until then for me to realize that she wasn't kissing me, not ever, not really, at least not in her head...She looked momentarily confused. like she'd genuinely forgotten for a split second that she wasn't kissing Dom."
There were a lot of cliches in this book: bad family thanksgivings, two hippie parents who treat their children like friends, the classic make the only black character also gay, that one super hot girl who gets all the gossip- but theres a twist, she's actually nice.
Although most of the book really didn't do it for me there were a few bright sparks.
The characters were great. I loved Lola and Muz (who was a bit overplayed but still good) and his sister Suds. None of them were really overshadowed, and their roles in this book were phenomenal. It was a good play on characters and their relationship with one another.
I also liked the ending and how it wasn't the fantasy ending that are sometimes in contemporary novels. It ends in a way the proves the point that this book was trying to make in the beginning.
And the theme was something I appreciated, I just wished it was executed a bit better.
yara_adorablebooks's review against another edition
5.0
OMG, dit boek!!!!! ALL the feels. Lees de recensie hier: http://adorablebooks.nl/sterrenstof-krystal-sutherland/