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eiie's review against another edition
5.0
Loved it! A fun fast read (I finished it in two sittings), that I definitely recommend.
First, I need to say how exciting it is to see a demisexual teen in a novel figuring out how she relates socially and romantically with her peers. Where was lit like this when I was a teen? Life would have made so much more sense! Particularly spot on were the sections where the main character discusses how she loves reading kissing books and watching Korean drama but has never actually wanted to kiss a guy . . . but she's wanted to want to. SPOT ON! This quandary is totally accurate to my teen experience as a demisexual who didn't yet have a name for what I felt.
Second, this is an epistolary novel, it is told entirely in text messages. But not text messages like "R u there:)?" no, no, these are erudite, well punctuated messages sent between two quirky teens in a gifted/talented program. It's eminently readable while still being "teen enough" that it never broke my suspension of disbelief that this was a couple of teens.
While there is nothing about the characters or premise that specifically reminds me of Gilmore Girls -- and I would in no way say the main character is a Rory Gilmore -- I would say that I could see these teens being among the super smart classmates/friends of Rory's, shooting back and forth oddball factoids, and having running jokes while engaging in deep, quirky, anxiety and occasional soul baring.
First, I need to say how exciting it is to see a demisexual teen in a novel figuring out how she relates socially and romantically with her peers. Where was lit like this when I was a teen? Life would have made so much more sense! Particularly spot on were the sections where the main character discusses how she loves reading kissing books and watching Korean drama but has never actually wanted to kiss a guy . . . but she's wanted to want to. SPOT ON! This quandary is totally accurate to my teen experience as a demisexual who didn't yet have a name for what I felt.
Second, this is an epistolary novel, it is told entirely in text messages. But not text messages like "R u there:)?" no, no, these are erudite, well punctuated messages sent between two quirky teens in a gifted/talented program. It's eminently readable while still being "teen enough" that it never broke my suspension of disbelief that this was a couple of teens.
While there is nothing about the characters or premise that specifically reminds me of Gilmore Girls -- and I would in no way say the main character is a Rory Gilmore -- I would say that I could see these teens being among the super smart classmates/friends of Rory's, shooting back and forth oddball factoids, and having running jokes while engaging in deep, quirky, anxiety and occasional soul baring.
mirrorchaser's review against another edition
2.0
This book was not good. The first issue is probably my fault. I didn't realize it was an alternative style (entirely written via text messages) so I suppose I can't dock too many points for not liking that aspect of it. Otherwise though... the plot is practically non-existent and the plot that is there just is not a good one. Two cousins have the exact same name and take the same classes in the same grade at the same school, one texts a girl named Haley from their classes asking about an assignment and thus an online/text friendship begins. After a while, it becomes apparent to Martin (the guy) that Haley thinks she is talking to his cousin, whom she doesn't mind, not him, who she apparently hates because her friends hate him.
All of that sounds pretty okay and realistic because... teenagers? But they seriously never talked in person at school even after having been friends and only one time does Haley try to talk to (who she thinks is) Martin and he totally ignores her which doesn't actually upset her at all? The whole thing is just wild and not really in a good way. The prose (or dialogue, since it is literally entirely dialogue) is very stilted and awkward to read. My copy was digital and it was also rarely clear who was actually speaking but that is possibly the fault of my copy just being crappy.
All in all I'm giving it two stars instead of one because I made it through the book.
All of that sounds pretty okay and realistic because... teenagers? But they seriously never talked in person at school even after having been friends and only one time does Haley try to talk to (who she thinks is) Martin and he totally ignores her which doesn't actually upset her at all? The whole thing is just wild and not really in a good way. The prose (or dialogue, since it is literally entirely dialogue) is very stilted and awkward to read. My copy was digital and it was also rarely clear who was actually speaking but that is possibly the fault of my copy just being crappy.
All in all I'm giving it two stars instead of one because I made it through the book.
gggina13's review against another edition
3.0
I liked this one. The text format made it super quick and also it felt pretty real that way. Subtle mental illness and sexuality conversations that flowed naturally also lent to the realness. But at the end of the day I just enjoyed this while it lasted and probably won’t think about it again.
hoboken's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful control of a 21st-century epistolary novel where the author can't fall back on description, inner musings, or an omniscient narrator. And lots of fun. I had to read it three times before I really caught on to everything, and then it was fun going through the texts and seeing exactly where the confusions and the enlightenments occurred. These are the sweetest kids--although occasionally mean and gossipy--are the stereotypes about Minnesotans actually accurate? It's certainly pretty to think so, and I hope there's more to come from Lana Wood Johnson.
moreepf's review against another edition
yo leyendo un libro de romance? lo sé, super raro pero bueno, un día me aparece un tiktok de un libro en alemán o un idioma raro, en el que contaba que la totalidad del libro estaba redactada como mensajes de texto, y así es como se un lugar en mi kindle.
la verdad que me hizo reír un montón, más que nada los datos randoms de Canadá.
Ame cuando tuvo la charla con Jack y II, Y QUE LE HAYA DICHO AL ABUELO MARTIN THE FIRST, que reina H.
fue todo demasiado tierno, me super gusto. lo recomiendo, simple, corto y rápido.
Francis
la verdad que me hizo reír un montón, más que nada los datos randoms de Canadá.
Ame cuando tuvo la charla con Jack y II, Y QUE LE HAYA DICHO AL ABUELO MARTIN THE FIRST, que reina H.
fue todo demasiado tierno, me super gusto. lo recomiendo, simple, corto y rápido.
Francis
joannaautumn's review against another edition
2.0
Tehnically this is one of my last reads of 2020. And I didn’t like it much.
I blame myself entirely for that because I rarely like books in purely texting format. You don’t bond with the characters the same with this limited POV. The book that came close is [b:Tweet Cute|45045129|Tweet Cute|Emma Lord|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558456354l/45045129._SY75_.jpg|66924806] but it was a mix of texting and regularly switching between the POV of the two main characters; I find this works better.
I liked the idea behind the book though, a love story that came out of a friendship. Texting/talking leads to love.
The rep is here; we have a demisexual and bisexual character– hurray for that! I don’t see a lot of demisexual characters in fiction, I am glad there is a rep here (and I always like reading about my fellow bisexual people/characters).
I liked Hailey, She is a “nerdy” introverted, demisexual girl with anxiety. As for Martin, he was a bit meh to me. He awfully fits that role of the popular-handsome-but-misunderstood type that is somewhat common for these novels??
Anyway, I liked the slow forming of a friendship that goes into romance, it was cute. But because of the limited perspective, we don’t get to see the interactions and it doesn’t make the reader care a lot about the characters.
But if you like this format, I am pretty sure you will like this novel. As for me, I hope Lana Wood Johnson writes a novel in regular POV so that I can love her characters more. All in all, not for me but a good book.
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Eh. What's up with me and not connecting to characters in YA contemporaries in the past few months? Review to come.
I blame myself entirely for that because I rarely like books in purely texting format. You don’t bond with the characters the same with this limited POV. The book that came close is [b:Tweet Cute|45045129|Tweet Cute|Emma Lord|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1558456354l/45045129._SY75_.jpg|66924806] but it was a mix of texting and regularly switching between the POV of the two main characters; I find this works better.
I liked the idea behind the book though, a love story that came out of a friendship. Texting/talking leads to love.
The rep is here; we have a demisexual and bisexual character– hurray for that! I don’t see a lot of demisexual characters in fiction, I am glad there is a rep here (and I always like reading about my fellow bisexual people/characters).
I liked Hailey, She is a “nerdy” introverted, demisexual girl with anxiety. As for Martin, he was a bit meh to me. He awfully fits that role of the popular-handsome-but-misunderstood type that is somewhat common for these novels??
Anyway, I liked the slow forming of a friendship that goes into romance, it was cute. But because of the limited perspective, we don’t get to see the interactions and it doesn’t make the reader care a lot about the characters.
But if you like this format, I am pretty sure you will like this novel. As for me, I hope Lana Wood Johnson writes a novel in regular POV so that I can love her characters more. All in all, not for me but a good book.
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Eh. What's up with me and not connecting to characters in YA contemporaries in the past few months? Review to come.
naleagdeco's review against another edition
4.0
I am very much not the audience of this book, so be aware of that; I am probably the age of their parents.
Randomly picked this up as I was grabbing random things from the library out of boredom; it reminds me of the movie "Before Sunrise" but set in some American high school and conducted entirely by iMessage / SMS.
Just like "Before Sunrise", I'm sure nobody actually converses the way these two do, but there is some underlying truth about how we perceive or desire connection and romance and exploring our selves that the book does focus on, and at least for me, someone who values shows about interpersonal relationships, I thought this book does a good job.
As someone who also enjoys the mechanics of interpersonal relationships, it was also interesting to me to get a data point of what someone claims the modern youth think about:
* They manage to maintain that kind of flirtatious antagonism while also being more considerate than the normative fiction I would have grown up with
* They dislike David Lynch as existential and pretentious. As a fan of David Lynch, I am glad he is still ruining the zeitgeist. But maybe this reveals something about who the author is and who the author is ultimately winding up writing this book for? I am not sure.
* Teen cruelty amongst friends still exists, but is done more softly as compared to the straight up trolling I remember. This seems like both a positive and a negative of recent social discourse, people have to work harder to commit and detect it.
Overall, while it is yet one more teen romance, I thought it executed it well within the projection/wish fulfillment that teen romance is. It is inherently a bit confusing because a lot of out-of-chat events are referred to after the fact, but with a little effort and mapping nothing stretches too far given the basic premise.
Randomly picked this up as I was grabbing random things from the library out of boredom; it reminds me of the movie "Before Sunrise" but set in some American high school and conducted entirely by iMessage / SMS.
Just like "Before Sunrise", I'm sure nobody actually converses the way these two do, but there is some underlying truth about how we perceive or desire connection and romance and exploring our selves that the book does focus on, and at least for me, someone who values shows about interpersonal relationships, I thought this book does a good job.
As someone who also enjoys the mechanics of interpersonal relationships, it was also interesting to me to get a data point of what someone claims the modern youth think about:
* They manage to maintain that kind of flirtatious antagonism while also being more considerate than the normative fiction I would have grown up with
* They dislike David Lynch as existential and pretentious. As a fan of David Lynch, I am glad he is still ruining the zeitgeist. But maybe this reveals something about who the author is and who the author is ultimately winding up writing this book for? I am not sure.
* Teen cruelty amongst friends still exists, but is done more softly as compared to the straight up trolling I remember. This seems like both a positive and a negative of recent social discourse, people have to work harder to commit and detect it.
Overall, while it is yet one more teen romance, I thought it executed it well within the projection/wish fulfillment that teen romance is. It is inherently a bit confusing because a lot of out-of-chat events are referred to after the fact, but with a little effort and mapping nothing stretches too far given the basic premise.
romantasylife's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this book. It's not a book I thought I would enjoy due to it's format. If anything, it's made me want to pick up more books like this! It did it so well. I loved Haley and Martin. They fit together. They're soul mates. For sure. I want more!
Read my full review here:
https://mybookishfantasy.com/2019/10/08/review-technically-you-started-it-by-lana-wood-johnson/
Read my full review here:
https://mybookishfantasy.com/2019/10/08/review-technically-you-started-it-by-lana-wood-johnson/