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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Kind of reminds me of History Is All You Left Me. A little all over the place but not bad
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
Honestly, I have very mixed feelings about this book, but I think I'd like it so much better with a reread because of some things that were talked about near the end-- I think the book will make more sense with that knowledge. So I loved the book for the ending but didn't really enjoy it up until then.
Eric was a horrible main character throughout the book. Hypocritical, self-sabotaging, sometimes even cruel towards others. I could not feel sorry for him-- I felt more sorry for the people he was around. Mainly Haru. I loved Haru-- he was sweet and wanted the best for Eric and he didn't deserve the treatment Eric gave him.
The choppy sentences and sheer number of grammar mistakes was a little ridiculous.
I did love learning about the Japanese Star Festival, though. For this and for Haru, I was originally planning on giving the book 3⭐. I'm so glad the end of the book made it all worth it and increased my rating. I loved You've Reached Sam, and I would have been disappointed if I disliked this one too much.
Eric was a horrible main character throughout the book. Hypocritical, self-sabotaging, sometimes even cruel towards others. I could not feel sorry for him-- I felt more sorry for the people he was around. Mainly Haru. I loved Haru-- he was sweet and wanted the best for Eric and he didn't deserve the treatment Eric gave him.
The choppy sentences and sheer number of grammar mistakes was a little ridiculous.
I did love learning about the Japanese Star Festival, though. For this and for Haru, I was originally planning on giving the book 3⭐. I'm so glad the end of the book made it all worth it and increased my rating. I loved You've Reached Sam, and I would have been disappointed if I disliked this one too much.
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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
Sad, emotional and heartbreaking, When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao tells a story about a boy who creates imaginary scenarios in his head to cope with grief.
Summary: 19-year-old Eric Ly has lost his best friend eleven months ago. To cope with grief, he bends reality and comes up with imaginary scenarios to live in a suspended state of denial. One day, he suddenly sees Haru, a boy he once spent a day in Tokyo with, but he wonders if he is truly real.
Tropes/Genres:
• asian (vietnamese)
• lgbtq (gay)
• talks about grief
• mental health
• contemporary fiction
Review: This book made me cry so hard at the end. I did NOT see that coming. Everything just made sense, bringing in a whole new perspective to the entire book, after that grand revelation, which was done so seamlessly, by the way. It's really amazing.
Eric is an unreliable narrator. It's obvious from the beginning when he starts seeing things that obviously don't exist. And I like how the author explored this. It's just so intentional and makes so much sense. While Eric is unsure whether what he sees is real or not, the same applies to the readers because this entire book is written in his POV.
Narration aside, I think Eric is also a very strong main character. He struggles to cope with the passing of his best friend, and everyone just seems to be moving on. Things are changing around him. While he exhibits vulnerability and faces adversity, he shows readers how he overcomes them.
The writing is very subtle and mysterious. I don't really know how to describe it, but there is an air of mystery and uncertainty in the writing, and that's not everyone's style. The atmosphere of the story was just hazy, and it was clearly done intentionally. The plot was simple yet complex. I just love how everything pieces together differently as the story goes on, yet everything still makes sense... maybe even more so. It really puts things into perspective. One small detail changes everything.
In conclusion, I recommend this book to readers who like realistic sad stories about coping with grief. This story certainly isn't for everyone, especially given how mysterious the writing style is. It's different from others but still a great book with a great story that just clicks together when everything is tied up at the end.
Summary: 19-year-old Eric Ly has lost his best friend eleven months ago. To cope with grief, he bends reality and comes up with imaginary scenarios to live in a suspended state of denial. One day, he suddenly sees Haru, a boy he once spent a day in Tokyo with, but he wonders if he is truly real.
Tropes/Genres:
• asian (vietnamese)
• lgbtq (gay)
• talks about grief
• mental health
• contemporary fiction
Review: This book made me cry so hard at the end. I did NOT see that coming. Everything just made sense, bringing in a whole new perspective to the entire book, after that grand revelation, which was done so seamlessly, by the way. It's really amazing.
Eric is an unreliable narrator. It's obvious from the beginning when he starts seeing things that obviously don't exist. And I like how the author explored this. It's just so intentional and makes so much sense. While Eric is unsure whether what he sees is real or not, the same applies to the readers because this entire book is written in his POV.
Narration aside, I think Eric is also a very strong main character. He struggles to cope with the passing of his best friend, and everyone just seems to be moving on. Things are changing around him. While he exhibits vulnerability and faces adversity, he shows readers how he overcomes them.
The writing is very subtle and mysterious. I don't really know how to describe it, but there is an air of mystery and uncertainty in the writing, and that's not everyone's style. The atmosphere of the story was just hazy, and it was clearly done intentionally. The plot was simple yet complex. I just love how everything pieces together differently as the story goes on, yet everything still makes sense... maybe even more so. It really puts things into perspective. One small detail changes everything.
In conclusion, I recommend this book to readers who like realistic sad stories about coping with grief. This story certainly isn't for everyone, especially given how mysterious the writing style is. It's different from others but still a great book with a great story that just clicks together when everything is tied up at the end.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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:
No
This was such a sweet book dealing with grief.
I expected for this book to make me cry a lot more than I did. I don't think I fully connected to most of the characters, although I did like Eric and Jasmine's sibling relationship (not sure if I'm spelling their names right cuz I listened to the audiobook, haha).
Some of the love interests felt a bit bland and interchangeable to me.Daniel and Haru felt like they had similar personalities in being "nice guys who Eric likes" and Christian and the rich blond guy (can't remember his name) were both "toxic guys who Eric likes (for some reason)." Actually, at one point I even thought Christian was Haru cuz I zoned out for a bit and missed his intro. They had a conversation for a few minutes before I realized, so even the nice and the toxic love interests kinda blended together at times.
I also had some questions about the Haru appearances. Were they visions? Hallucinations? Imaginings? Eric probably should have gone to a bereavement therapist, tbh. Even if he was mostly aware of Haru not being real, he was still having some intense delusions that didn't always feel like healthy ways of dealing with his grief. But I'm choosing to view Haru's appearances to be more of a narrative device than anything we should be taking seriously.
Anyways, I didn't mean for this review to be so negative, especially since I did enjoy this story a lot. It was unique and funny at times and the twist at the end did have me tearing up. If you want a quick, queer YA read, I think this is a good one to pick up.
Some of the love interests felt a bit bland and interchangeable to me.
I also had some questions about the Haru appearances. Were they visions? Hallucinations? Imaginings? Eric probably should have gone to a bereavement therapist, tbh. Even if he was mostly aware of Haru not being real, he was still having some intense delusions that didn't always feel like healthy ways of dealing with his grief. But I'm choosing to view Haru's appearances to be more of a narrative device than anything we should be taking seriously.
Anyways, I didn't mean for this review to be so negative, especially since I did enjoy this story a lot. It was unique and funny at times and the twist at the end did have me tearing up. If you want a quick, queer YA read, I think this is a good one to pick up.
arc review - thank you bookbreak / first ink
Need to collect my thoughts a bit more but I’m honestly really torn on how to rate this.
the premise of this is 10/10 and I loved the direction of the story at the start (even with the heartbreak)
the middle of the book was absolutely not what I was expecting?? it was almost messy narrative wise and I couldn't understand how we got to certain actions/decisions
"You've reached Sam' felt like so much more of a 'complete' story, and this left me with so many questions and the characters just didn't feel as whole??
I will say that I appreciate the exploration of grief - it looks different for everyone and you really get the sense of that in this story (and the messiness in the middle is also part of this I guess). I just wish the rest of the narrative and characters felt as fleshed out as the author's first book - I really struggled to connect with this one. I think if there was more depth and connection to the characters I’d understand motives/decisions more
overall, loved the premise and there were some truly STUNNING moments in this book, but overall it just wasn't a satisfying read for me
Need to collect my thoughts a bit more but I’m honestly really torn on how to rate this.
the premise of this is 10/10 and I loved the direction of the story at the start (even with the heartbreak)
the middle of the book was absolutely not what I was expecting?? it was almost messy narrative wise and I couldn't understand how we got to certain actions/decisions
"You've reached Sam' felt like so much more of a 'complete' story, and this left me with so many questions and the characters just didn't feel as whole??
I will say that I appreciate the exploration of grief - it looks different for everyone and you really get the sense of that in this story (and the messiness in the middle is also part of this I guess). I just wish the rest of the narrative and characters felt as fleshed out as the author's first book - I really struggled to connect with this one. I think if there was more depth and connection to the characters I’d understand motives/decisions more
overall, loved the premise and there were some truly STUNNING moments in this book, but overall it just wasn't a satisfying read for me
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
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:
N/A
Love this book so much. Heartbreaking and absolutely beautiful. A must read
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
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
inspiring
sad
fast-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