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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
Oh boy, that was one of the sweetest books I've ever read.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
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:
Complicated
it felt a little rushed at points and i didnt really like how barely any big events were written and we just found out about them later on but overall it was such a heart warming book and i loved ever minute of it.
Solid storytelling. Very real and, at times, so raw. Excellent reading
3.5 ish stars
Honestly, I wasn't expecting much going into this book. I picked it up in the first place because of the pretty cover and having nothing else to do. I had thought that it would be incredibly cliche, and in a way it was, but I really enjoyed getting to know they characters and watching them evolve and their drama entangle and unfold. I ended up reading this book in under a day, which was partially due to the fast pacing of this book, which covers 4 years of high school, start to finish, in about 400 pages. I truly enjoyed this book, and would recommend it for anyone looking for a quick read.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting much going into this book. I picked it up in the first place because of the pretty cover and having nothing else to do. I had thought that it would be incredibly cliche, and in a way it was, but I really enjoyed getting to know they characters and watching them evolve and their drama entangle and unfold. I ended up reading this book in under a day, which was partially due to the fast pacing of this book, which covers 4 years of high school, start to finish, in about 400 pages. I truly enjoyed this book, and would recommend it for anyone looking for a quick read.
Not too shabby.
But could of been a hell of a lot better.
I just found it went way too fast through those four years. The big things that can alter a persons life seemed so small in comparison to the miniscule things, which came off as the biggest problems ever. That just threw me off for half the book.
And seriously, I do not remember going through high school and thinking like they did. It almost made me dry-heave. It was ridiculous. Maybe I already knew what I liked and what I didn't, but reading about their high school experience made me cringe.
But could of been a hell of a lot better.
I just found it went way too fast through those four years. The big things that can alter a persons life seemed so small in comparison to the miniscule things, which came off as the biggest problems ever. That just threw me off for half the book.
And seriously, I do not remember going through high school and thinking like they did. It almost made me dry-heave. It was ridiculous. Maybe I already knew what I liked and what I didn't, but reading about their high school experience made me cringe.
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Every single person down there is ignoring your pain because they're too busy with their own. The beautiful ones. The popular ones. The guys that pick on you. Everyone. If you could hear what they were feeling. The loneliness. The confusion. It looks quiet down there. It's not. It's deafening.Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 3 - "Earshot"
I've been burning through audiobooks like they were...erm...actual books. So, I've taken serious advantage of the apps that my library uses for audiobooks, like Overdrive and Hoopla.
Except I've run out of titles I know on those apps, or at least ones that don't have holds on them. So, I dive into the unknown. Scary place, leading to lots of angry DNF reviews.
I glanced over the reviews on Goodreads before downloading this (Seriously, 10 downloads a month who can survive on that?), and it seemed this was a solid three star piece of fluff. Let's do it.
I enjoyed this a great deal. It's Judy Blume-ish, where nothing bad really happens to anyone, but also there's sex. And some cursing. It's a rather confused age range, really. But again, nothing bad really happens to these people. I was anticipating bad, but this book kept it on the fluffy side.
This is your quintessential high school experience novel. It starts out with the feel of The Breakfast Club, a mish mash of different cliques, and you experience the growth of each character throughout the four school years. They don't all stay together, which is actually what I had anticipated going in. I was very pleased to see that wasn't the case.
The characters are all loveable. My favorite was Mia, who is the Aly Sheedy of the piece. I was a bit perturbed when she decided to blend rather than stand out, but her personality still shone through, and she didn't lose herself. That's all I can ask.
The friendships and relationships here feel so very real. The two minute boyfriends/girlfriends, the toxic friends, the 21st century equivalent of the three-way call nightmare. If you remove the existence of cell phones, this story could take place in any decade, in any town.
What really and truly is the joy of this book, though, is seeing it as a reminder of what a small world high school truly was. (Or, if the reader is actually still in high school, realizing it). It's high school with a twist of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon. Little insignificant things happening in your life are affecting someone else near you in a major way.
As someone 15 years removed from high school, it makes me look back and think, "Hunh. Wonder what was happening while I was wrapped in my own little head."
It's the Buffy speech from Earshot. It's rather amazing.
I liked this concept quite a bit and I think it could be reassuring for teens going into high school (although they'd have to be ok with some older high school actions-this book follows 5 teens all the way through high school). I wish we could have had more than just glimpses into each of their lives, but I get it's a lot of characters and time to compress. Thanks for being a reliable author always, Carolyn Mackler.