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3.36 AVERAGE
3.36 AVERAGE
Bradd, you motherfucker, you made me like you.
Weird in the best way, frustrating ending but also, I respect it. Loved and hated the characters as intended. Hats off, bravo, very yes.
Weird in the best way, frustrating ending but also, I respect it. Loved and hated the characters as intended. Hats off, bravo, very yes.
Let me be VERY clear when I say.. there is NOTHING young adult (YA) about this damn book lmao. I defly think they should take that categorization away IMMEDIATELY and keep it as new adult (NA). I’m surprised it got this far being in that categorization when they talk about sex, dicks, and blowjobs on damn near every page.
I just don’t think I was the intended audience for this. Did I laugh out loud sometimes? Yeah. I did. And that’s the only thing that had me finishing it, besides the audiobook. The authors note gave me some good context not to take this seriously but it’s not what I expected AT ALL. I genuinely would only tell people to read this so they can laugh and ask themselves “Wtf am i reading” the entire book. Other than that? Absolutely not. You’re either gonna absolutely love this or absolutely hate it.
I’m kinda sad because the concept of the time loop and how it works with the octopus is actually really dope. I wish this author would take the same concept and write a more .. serious book lol. I really think her ideas would EAT DOWN with the whole time loop octopus vibes.
Like I said, I just don’t think I was the target audience and I can defly see why some people thoroughly enjoy this. But, it just wasn’t for me.
I just don’t think I was the intended audience for this. Did I laugh out loud sometimes? Yeah. I did. And that’s the only thing that had me finishing it, besides the audiobook. The authors note gave me some good context not to take this seriously but it’s not what I expected AT ALL. I genuinely would only tell people to read this so they can laugh and ask themselves “Wtf am i reading” the entire book. Other than that? Absolutely not. You’re either gonna absolutely love this or absolutely hate it.
I’m kinda sad because the concept of the time loop and how it works with the octopus is actually really dope. I wish this author would take the same concept and write a more .. serious book lol. I really think her ideas would EAT DOWN with the whole time loop octopus vibes.
Like I said, I just don’t think I was the target audience and I can defly see why some people thoroughly enjoy this. But, it just wasn’t for me.
I do not know what I just read, but I liked it. That's it. This is a book that is hard to describe but also impossible to put down.
Thank you Entangled Teen for the gifted ARC.
Thank you Entangled Teen for the gifted ARC.
Meet the new, updated version of a black R-rated teen comedy for the Euphoria generation, all set in the most strangest time loop I’ve fever-dreamt my way through.
So, our snarky and delightful Emma has one mission on her senior trip to a tropical island: get rid of her v-card before heading off to college. Only eating the best ceviche of her life turns out to be the biggest MISTAKE of her life because immortal octopus can leave you standing still in time once consumed. (Sybil is fine, her tentacle grows back, we were all horrified, here’s your warning that an animal was slightly maimed but is miraculously fine two minutes later.) It’s Friday, the day she failed to lose her virginity in the MOST spectacular (and ridiculous and kind of gross, and no, I will not elaborate) fashion over and over and over again. But now she can get it..right? Or she can watch her roomie steal her candy, question all her relationships and be stuck shucking oysters forever next to her bestie Louis and the horniest, most unique male character I’ve seen written in ages.
I have absolutely no idea how to rate this book properly…it felt like a fever dream. Do I think it has audience? Yes. Do I think I’m that audience? No. It’s a little too young (I mean, this is EntangledTeen and I graduated high school over a decade ago), a little too gross (just like, SO many bodily fluids— I’ve never seen a book with more vomit in my life), and a little too absurd/surreal. And if you can’t handle the occasional murder (don’t worry, it doesn’t stick), drug use, and downright gratuitous mentions of self-pleasure (sorry, couldn’t resist), this is probably not for you either. Teenage boys are gross. In fact, the age group for this feels quite narrow— old high school, but I’m not sure how many years beyond college you’d be completely engaged. And yet the combination of innocence and vulgarity, wild impulsive actions mixed with sudden adult realizations felt so true to a senior high school experience I hesitate to say anything should be changed. Not all books are meant to be universally loved, but I think this will be fiercely loved by those who click with it.
And that is because is parts were so well done. I often find time loops dull and repetitive: I read this in one day (okay, mostly because I just couldn’t look away— what NOW?), this NEVER came close to falling into that particular trap. It did do that thing where I’m not totally sure I got the ending; the curtain is never completely lifted, but it wouldn’t have been for our characters so, I guess I can’t complain as much as my curious little mind would like to. You will be shocked, you’ll never know what’s coming, you will question what this book is about. But…I think maybe I get it? Maybe it’s about the meaning of life. Maybe it’s about le petit mort. Maybe it’s about appreciating life and the time you have. Maybe it’s about how most teenage guys think with the wrong head most of the time. There’s carefully hidden and crafted symbolism that I think was slipped in there that was no mistake…regenerating limbs, placentas, a mommy feeding her kittens…zoom out and there’s more about creation being its own neverending time loop— if you want there to be. Then again, it could all be this author’s version of an elaborate senior prank. Who knows ANYTHING after reading this?
The voices of the teenagers themselves were possibly the best part: while the semi-stream of consciousness (not in an unreadable, unedited way, just in an ANYTHING GOES, wow these kids have NO filter kind of way) led to a wild reading experienc; I felt like I was IN the mind of these kids. One minute they were petty and self-indulgent and ridiculously out-of-touch, the next horrendously vulgar, and the next revealing a deep truth or having one of those you-can’t-unthink-it realizations that forever changes you just a bit and chips away one more tiny bit of your childhood. Don’t think for moment this means the writing was simplistic—these are teenage voices crafted by a GOOD writer. I will say was rather bothered by the teacher’s POV, I continually wished his voice been written significantly differently from the teenagers’ voices, but I don’t doubt the intentionality. Yes, his actions bothered me. But this island pulled him out of time and by the time we were reading his POV he’d been living without repercussions and playing chaperone for thousands of days: would he regress? Very. Possibly.
Universal complaint I think everyone can agree with: Sybil the octopus is darling and amazing and precious and not featured nearly enough. More Sybil, pretty please with absolutely no ceviche ingredients on top.
3.5 stars rounded up for originality, readability, making me laugh, and somehow keeping me from looking me away despite copious amounts of bodily fluids. And honestly, I really did feel like I was a senior the summer after high school for just a few minutes again here and there, and that’s pretty priceless— time loop indeed.
Side note: So, never eating octopus again, just in case but…house fave calamari is ALWAYS squid, right??
Thanks so much to EntangledTeen for my ARC, but all opinions are my own, and given how long this review was— no one has the kind of time to suggest I say all of this.
So, our snarky and delightful Emma has one mission on her senior trip to a tropical island: get rid of her v-card before heading off to college. Only eating the best ceviche of her life turns out to be the biggest MISTAKE of her life because immortal octopus can leave you standing still in time once consumed. (Sybil is fine, her tentacle grows back, we were all horrified, here’s your warning that an animal was slightly maimed but is miraculously fine two minutes later.) It’s Friday, the day she failed to lose her virginity in the MOST spectacular (and ridiculous and kind of gross, and no, I will not elaborate) fashion over and over and over again. But now she can get it..right? Or she can watch her roomie steal her candy, question all her relationships and be stuck shucking oysters forever next to her bestie Louis and the horniest, most unique male character I’ve seen written in ages.
I have absolutely no idea how to rate this book properly…it felt like a fever dream. Do I think it has audience? Yes. Do I think I’m that audience? No. It’s a little too young (I mean, this is EntangledTeen and I graduated high school over a decade ago), a little too gross (just like, SO many bodily fluids— I’ve never seen a book with more vomit in my life), and a little too absurd/surreal. And if you can’t handle the occasional murder (don’t worry, it doesn’t stick), drug use, and downright gratuitous mentions of self-pleasure (sorry, couldn’t resist), this is probably not for you either. Teenage boys are gross. In fact, the age group for this feels quite narrow— old high school, but I’m not sure how many years beyond college you’d be completely engaged. And yet the combination of innocence and vulgarity, wild impulsive actions mixed with sudden adult realizations felt so true to a senior high school experience I hesitate to say anything should be changed. Not all books are meant to be universally loved, but I think this will be fiercely loved by those who click with it.
And that is because is parts were so well done. I often find time loops dull and repetitive: I read this in one day (okay, mostly because I just couldn’t look away— what NOW?), this NEVER came close to falling into that particular trap. It did do that thing where I’m not totally sure I got the ending; the curtain is never completely lifted, but it wouldn’t have been for our characters so, I guess I can’t complain as much as my curious little mind would like to. You will be shocked, you’ll never know what’s coming, you will question what this book is about. But…I think maybe I get it? Maybe it’s about the meaning of life. Maybe it’s about le petit mort. Maybe it’s about appreciating life and the time you have. Maybe it’s about how most teenage guys think with the wrong head most of the time. There’s carefully hidden and crafted symbolism that I think was slipped in there that was no mistake…regenerating limbs, placentas, a mommy feeding her kittens…zoom out and there’s more about creation being its own neverending time loop— if you want there to be. Then again, it could all be this author’s version of an elaborate senior prank. Who knows ANYTHING after reading this?
The voices of the teenagers themselves were possibly the best part: while the semi-stream of consciousness (not in an unreadable, unedited way, just in an ANYTHING GOES, wow these kids have NO filter kind of way) led to a wild reading experienc; I felt like I was IN the mind of these kids. One minute they were petty and self-indulgent and ridiculously out-of-touch, the next horrendously vulgar, and the next revealing a deep truth or having one of those you-can’t-unthink-it realizations that forever changes you just a bit and chips away one more tiny bit of your childhood. Don’t think for moment this means the writing was simplistic—these are teenage voices crafted by a GOOD writer. I will say was rather bothered by the teacher’s POV, I continually wished his voice been written significantly differently from the teenagers’ voices, but I don’t doubt the intentionality. Yes, his actions bothered me. But this island pulled him out of time and by the time we were reading his POV he’d been living without repercussions and playing chaperone for thousands of days: would he regress? Very. Possibly.
Universal complaint I think everyone can agree with: Sybil the octopus is darling and amazing and precious and not featured nearly enough. More Sybil, pretty please with absolutely no ceviche ingredients on top.
3.5 stars rounded up for originality, readability, making me laugh, and somehow keeping me from looking me away despite copious amounts of bodily fluids. And honestly, I really did feel like I was a senior the summer after high school for just a few minutes again here and there, and that’s pretty priceless— time loop indeed.
Side note: So, never eating octopus again, just in case but…house fave calamari is ALWAYS squid, right??
Thanks so much to EntangledTeen for my ARC, but all opinions are my own, and given how long this review was— no one has the kind of time to suggest I say all of this.
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A masterpiece. "What the fuck is happening" in absolutely the best way. The satire characters are perfectly done, the authentic characters are flawed and real and perfect. The stakes are so high and there are no stakes at all. The most entertaining kind of mindfuck.
The trigger warnings are no joke.
All the dogs live.
The trigger warnings are no joke.
All the dogs live.
adventurous
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
dark
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, Murder, Toxic friendship