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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
emotional
sad
medium-paced
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
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
To me, I liked the storyline with the sister, but I never formed an emotional attachment to Haru and Daniel. This caused me to not really feel the heartache I was hoping for after reading "You've Reached Sam". Nonetheless, I liked how this book showed what grief and loneliness can do to people, how it can make people allow others to walk over them just to feel a little bit less alone. I also liked the incorporation of his Vietnamese background and the struggles his parents and him face (along with him and Jasmine feeling responsible for them). So I liked the details and the context, just wasn't really sold on the main storyline with Haru.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
Oh man, I wanted to love this book. I have to admit, I judged it by it's cover. And what a beautiful cover! (Apparently it's based on the US jacket but I haven't seen the US version to compare.)
We follow Eric Ly as he first visits Japan and meets a mysterious stranger (Haru) who spends a beautiful day with him. Then we jump forward in time and Eric's life is crumbling around him. And then Haru shows up again, except nobody can see him but Eric. (This is not Eric's first hallucination and won't be his last.)
I have mixed feelings about this book. Although I largely enjoyed the story itself, Eric surrounded himself with bad people. Even Haru forced him to do things he didn't want, and let's not even talk about Simon and Alex's blatant theivery, or Christian and the other guy (who was so forgettable I can't even remember his name and I've only finished the book 10 minutes ago).
I spent half the book wanting to grip Eric by the neck and shake some sense into him. And in the end, I skim-read the final 60 pages just to finish it. The plot reveal at the end didn't even add to my enjoyment. I guess, by that point, I had already checked out.
Well written but sadly forgettable, I'm afraid.
We follow Eric Ly as he first visits Japan and meets a mysterious stranger (Haru) who spends a beautiful day with him. Then we jump forward in time and Eric's life is crumbling around him. And then Haru shows up again, except nobody can see him but Eric. (This is not Eric's first hallucination and won't be his last.)
I have mixed feelings about this book. Although I largely enjoyed the story itself, Eric surrounded himself with bad people. Even Haru forced him to do things he didn't want, and let's not even talk about Simon and Alex's blatant theivery, or Christian and the other guy (who was so forgettable I can't even remember his name and I've only finished the book 10 minutes ago).
I spent half the book wanting to grip Eric by the neck and shake some sense into him. And in the end, I skim-read the final 60 pages just to finish it. The plot reveal at the end didn't even add to my enjoyment. I guess, by that point, I had already checked out.
Well written but sadly forgettable, I'm afraid.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Okay so I started this after finishing You've Reached Sam by the same author. Despite the similar themes, this story is so different from Thao's debut. Not a bad different just different. I spent most of it confused. Despite the confusion, I was so intrigued and hoping to get an answer to what was happening that I kept reading but the ending just left me even more confused. Is Haru real or not?
The stuff with Eric's sister was really sweet and made me tear up but the overall theme of Haru just confused me hence the lower rating. Still a good read but don't go into it expecting straight answers like I did. It's very much so up to your interpretation.
The stuff with Eric's sister was really sweet and made me tear up but the overall theme of Haru just confused me hence the lower rating. Still a good read but don't go into it expecting straight answers like I did. It's very much so up to your interpretation.
This book was such a beautiful story that addressed such complex emotions in a way that made you feel every single one of them alongside the main character. It was a raw, unfiltered story on the uniqueness of grief and loss and the ways in which people cope with the loss effects of losing a loved one.
Eric was such a beautiful character. He truly had bottled up so much grief from losing people who loved and didn’t know how to live his life after they had left him. He chose to make up scenarios in his had to cope with this loss and to reduce the emotional impact these losses had on him. He really was just a young boy who was scared to face a world without those he loved. It was such a sad story, but I felt such an important one to realise that human emotions, particularly grief, are not linear and are so individualised to each person that we should not judge or critique the way someone choose to handle their grief. Grief has so much power over Eric, and once he realises that he must live not only for himself, but for the people he lost, he is able to be who he really wants to be. I felt so much emotion for Eric and it made realise how lucky I am as a person to not have had to go through what he did. He experienced unimaginable loss and wanted to live in a reality where he didn’t.
This was a really easy read as well. The way the author writes with such emotion and vulnerability really makes you want to keep reading and to experience these emotions for yourself. I flew through this book because of this and it didn’t lessen the emotional impact at all. It hit me really hard and made me look at my own life and the way I handle my own emotions, which I’m sure is what the author wanted us to do.
There were parts where it got a bit monotonous and somewhat boring, but I think they were important to the story as well to show how grief and loss isn’t just sadness. These parts also emphasised his loneliness and isolation from his parents and friends.
Overall, this story was just so beautiful and emotional, and whilst it hits you right in the feels, it is so worth reading to understand the non-linear nature of grief.
Eric was such a beautiful character. He truly had bottled up so much grief from losing people who loved and didn’t know how to live his life after they had left him. He chose to make up scenarios in his had to cope with this loss and to reduce the emotional impact these losses had on him. He really was just a young boy who was scared to face a world without those he loved. It was such a sad story, but I felt such an important one to realise that human emotions, particularly grief, are not linear and are so individualised to each person that we should not judge or critique the way someone choose to handle their grief. Grief has so much power over Eric, and once he realises that he must live not only for himself, but for the people he lost, he is able to be who he really wants to be. I felt so much emotion for Eric and it made realise how lucky I am as a person to not have had to go through what he did. He experienced unimaginable loss and wanted to live in a reality where he didn’t.
This was a really easy read as well. The way the author writes with such emotion and vulnerability really makes you want to keep reading and to experience these emotions for yourself. I flew through this book because of this and it didn’t lessen the emotional impact at all. It hit me really hard and made me look at my own life and the way I handle my own emotions, which I’m sure is what the author wanted us to do.
There were parts where it got a bit monotonous and somewhat boring, but I think they were important to the story as well to show how grief and loss isn’t just sadness. These parts also emphasised his loneliness and isolation from his parents and friends.
Overall, this story was just so beautiful and emotional, and whilst it hits you right in the feels, it is so worth reading to understand the non-linear nature of grief.
dark
emotional
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
it was so hard getting through the last 50 pages because tears just kept coming out of my eyes
fast-paced