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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-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:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This review contains spoilers.
Ultimately it just felt a bit too jumbled for me. I think the jumping around in time was done in a way that made the story feel disjointed and smudged together.
Top 4 gripes.
1) I greatly disliked Eric's 'nice guy-nitus' towards Daniel. I'm all for unlikeable and flawed characters but I don't think that was the intent behind this part cular attitude.
2) I think the way the writing kind of brushes over Nicks (and Christians) misuse and attempted SA-gifts and atte tion for sex type attitude towards Eric was WILD. I feel like there was a lot that could've been discussed there, especially considering our protagonist is only 19 and assumably from the writing never had a sexual relationship before.
3) Although I understand why, I hate that the conjoured Haru's one personality trait was 'need to spend time with Eric' Especially because we learn so much about him after that first meeting.
4) I wish the parents had been a bigger part of the book, like what are their names, what do they do for work, what cultural traditions do they carry? -especially pertaining to death, grief and poor mental health- How do they clash with America's customs and how does that affect their relationship to Eric who is an American in custom.
Under this 'issue' could've been a nice way to introduce more Kevin time especially relating to the parents.
This is a book I will reread next year and hope to unde stand more but I doubt I will keep it past that point.
Ultimately it just felt a bit too jumbled for me. I think the jumping around in time was done in a way that made the story feel disjointed and smudged together.
Top 4 gripes.
1) I greatly disliked Eric's 'nice guy-nitus' towards Daniel. I'm all for unlikeable and flawed characters but I don't think that was the intent behind this part cular attitude.
2) I think the way the writing kind of brushes over Nicks (and Christians) misuse and attempted SA-gifts and atte tion for sex type attitude towards Eric was WILD. I feel like there was a lot that could've been discussed there, especially considering our protagonist is only 19 and assumably from the writing never had a sexual relationship before.
3) Although I understand why, I hate that the conjoured Haru's one personality trait was 'need to spend time with Eric' Especially because we learn so much about him after that first meeting.
4) I wish the parents had been a bigger part of the book, like what are their names, what do they do for work, what cultural traditions do they carry? -especially pertaining to death, grief and poor mental health- How do they clash with America's customs and how does that affect their relationship to Eric who is an American in custom.
Under this 'issue' could've been a nice way to introduce more Kevin time especially relating to the parents.
This is a book I will reread next year and hope to unde stand more but I doubt I will keep it past that point.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Sexual harassment
3.75
oh!! so!! many!! thoughts!!
finished this the same day, i felt like i really needed to read this today
reminded me so much of makoto shinkai’s movies: would love to see it adapted in some way
messy but beautiful story on grief; perfectly captured the sibling love. i would have absolutely ran my tumblr blog with quotes from this novel.
happy birthday a, you would have loved this
oh!! so!! many!! thoughts!!
finished this the same day, i felt like i really needed to read this today
reminded me so much of makoto shinkai’s movies: would love to see it adapted in some way
messy but beautiful story on grief; perfectly captured the sibling love. i would have absolutely ran my tumblr blog with quotes from this novel.
happy birthday a, you would have loved this
~~Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Macmillan for the ARC!~~
1.5/5 stars rounded down.
I dunno if it's me or Thao, but this book just was not it.
I read You've Reached Sam back in 2021 and loved it; I even admitted in that review to crying so much that it tear-stained my glasses. I know typically author's sophomore authors are kinda similar to their debut, where the book follows some themes from its predecessor. Thao stated this directly in his acknowledgements, but some part of me wonders if he dreaded this, considering the themes of grief and loss in When Haru Was Here didn't feel as authentic as it did in his debut.
The characters felt so bland and boring. Eric floundered around for the first half before taking a nose dive after getting a job as a theater attendant. He meets these shitty coworkers who take him to rich people parties to climb the social ladder, but then he just ends up getting exploited by two different men, one of whom tried to SA him twice. That section of the book was so awful to read for me. It felt like Thao was trying to manipulate the reader into feeling bad for Eric by putting him in these situations.
What I'm about to reveal is the reason why I marked this whole review as spoilers, but I just have to talk about the ending because it's what bothered me the most.
Haru isn't dead. Eric was imagining a version of him he met in Japan, but then he ends up meeting the real Haru in the epilogue. That just annoyed me so much. I was trying to figure out what was up with Haru that I missed the actual plot twist, that Eric's sister Jasmine died shortly after Daniel. The twist smacked me right in the face, and I was so confused until I realized Eric was deluding to himself so the reader wouldn't catch on so easily. There were a couple hints in hindsight (i.e., she has a chronic illness, she somehow always knew to call or show up when Eric needed her to, the constant flashbacks to their childhood showing how much they loved each other, etc.), but this still was such a bad twist. Eric was already actively grieving Daniel's death over the course of the story, and when the surprise dead sister reveal did come, it felt so cheap and disengaged me from the story entirely. I dunno, I just feel like there could have been a better way this story could have been written.
The comparison between this book and Sam is going to be inevitable, but I will dig my heels into the ground and say Sam was done so much better. Julie grieving her boyfriend and getting to talk to him is so much more personable and heartbreaking than what Eric had with Haru. Not only was this Haru an illusion Eric made up, but fake Haru has no personality outside of wanting to be with Eric and that his family owns a paper store in Osaka. There's nothing to Eric and Haru's relationship outside of artificial attraction, a rather one-sided thing considering nothing that happened between them was ever real (And the fact they really do meet again makes me was to roll my eyes down into my skull).
Overall, When Haru Was Here didn't hit like Thao's debut for me. I wish Thao allowed himself to be more ambitious rather than do what was expected from the readers who loved You've Reached Sam. Maybe he will if he decides to write another book, but I dunno.
1.5/5 stars rounded down.
I dunno if it's me or Thao, but this book just was not it.
I read You've Reached Sam back in 2021 and loved it; I even admitted in that review to crying so much that it tear-stained my glasses. I know typically author's sophomore authors are kinda similar to their debut, where the book follows some themes from its predecessor. Thao stated this directly in his acknowledgements, but some part of me wonders if he dreaded this, considering the themes of grief and loss in When Haru Was Here didn't feel as authentic as it did in his debut.
The characters felt so bland and boring. Eric floundered around for the first half before taking a nose dive after getting a job as a theater attendant. He meets these shitty coworkers who take him to rich people parties to climb the social ladder, but then he just ends up getting exploited by two different men, one of whom tried to SA him twice. That section of the book was so awful to read for me. It felt like Thao was trying to manipulate the reader into feeling bad for Eric by putting him in these situations.
What I'm about to reveal is the reason why I marked this whole review as spoilers, but I just have to talk about the ending because it's what bothered me the most.
Haru isn't dead. Eric was imagining a version of him he met in Japan, but then he ends up meeting the real Haru in the epilogue. That just annoyed me so much. I was trying to figure out what was up with Haru that I missed the actual plot twist, that Eric's sister Jasmine died shortly after Daniel. The twist smacked me right in the face, and I was so confused until I realized Eric was deluding to himself so the reader wouldn't catch on so easily. There were a couple hints in hindsight (i.e., she has a chronic illness, she somehow always knew to call or show up when Eric needed her to, the constant flashbacks to their childhood showing how much they loved each other, etc.), but this still was such a bad twist. Eric was already actively grieving Daniel's death over the course of the story, and when the surprise dead sister reveal did come, it felt so cheap and disengaged me from the story entirely. I dunno, I just feel like there could have been a better way this story could have been written.
The comparison between this book and Sam is going to be inevitable, but I will dig my heels into the ground and say Sam was done so much better. Julie grieving her boyfriend and getting to talk to him is so much more personable and heartbreaking than what Eric had with Haru. Not only was this Haru an illusion Eric made up, but fake Haru has no personality outside of wanting to be with Eric and that his family owns a paper store in Osaka. There's nothing to Eric and Haru's relationship outside of artificial attraction, a rather one-sided thing considering nothing that happened between them was ever real (And the fact they really do meet again makes me was to roll my eyes down into my skull).
Overall, When Haru Was Here didn't hit like Thao's debut for me. I wish Thao allowed himself to be more ambitious rather than do what was expected from the readers who loved You've Reached Sam. Maybe he will if he decides to write another book, but I dunno.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief
Minor: Mental illness