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hayleybeale's review
3.0
Three seniors spend their last night before graduation in a disused movie theater, reflecting on their friendship and their futures. Despite some significant flaws, this has an intriguing premise and appealing characters. See my full review here.
jobaji's review
I got 8 pages in and found more stupid sentences than I could list. It’s not worth it. Don’t pick this up.
missprint_'s review
2.0
Olivia, Bertucci and Codman have been a solid trio throughout high school. Best friends who never had much time for other people, the three are now facing the end of high school and the moment when their lives will diverge.
In a last attempt to keep their bonds strong, Bertucci plans one last escapade the night before graduation. The three will spend the night in the recently boarded up Circle Cinema.
The decrepit movie theater was site to many late night movies and bonding. It will also be their Olivia, Bertucci and Codman's last chance to talk honestly with each other about what comes next. And everything that threatened to pull them apart over the last year in Last Night at the Circle Cinema (2015) by Emily Franklin.
**Last Night at the Circle Cinema is the kind of book that is impossible to talk about without spoilers so if you don't like that sort of thing, avert your eyes.**
I must admit, I'm not a fan of this kind of novel. I dislike the recent trend where one character's suicide is meant to help their friends embrace life or make better choices or whatever. It's tacky and cheap. It's also what happens in Last Night at the Circle Cinema where, readers realize by the end, Bertucci killed himself weeks before the trio's supposed last stand at the abandoned theater.
Last Night at the Circle Cinema is great as a ghost story or a generally spooky read. The atmosphere of the theater is creepy and atmospheric. The idea that Olivia and Codman, as well as the readers, have been duped or might be seeing things ratchets up the creepiness even more.
But then we have the very problematic reasons behind that ghost story. Which definitely bring the story down in a big way.
The other problem here is that because the novel is so short, it's very hard to care about any of the characters. The trio's first person narrations feel flat and often sound alike despite efforts to imbue each with some degree of personality. Other conceits in the story--the boys using their last names, a poorly-executed love triangle to name too--further diminish the overall effect of the novel.
If you want an atmospheric story that is a little bit scary and can get past the problematic parts, you could do worse than Last Night at the Circle Cinema. Readers who like their characters with more introspection and layers, however, might be better served elsewhere.
Possible Pairings: Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark, I Was Here by Gayle Forman, The After Girls by Leah Konen, Falling Through Darkness by Carolyn MacCullough, Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta, All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, The Edge of Falling by Rebecca A. Serle, How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford, The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder
*An advance copy of this book was received from the publisher at BEA 2015 for review consideration*
In a last attempt to keep their bonds strong, Bertucci plans one last escapade the night before graduation. The three will spend the night in the recently boarded up Circle Cinema.
The decrepit movie theater was site to many late night movies and bonding. It will also be their Olivia, Bertucci and Codman's last chance to talk honestly with each other about what comes next. And everything that threatened to pull them apart over the last year in Last Night at the Circle Cinema (2015) by Emily Franklin.
**Last Night at the Circle Cinema is the kind of book that is impossible to talk about without spoilers so if you don't like that sort of thing, avert your eyes.**
Spoiler
Franklin packs a lot into this slim novel. With chapters that alternate viewpoints between the three main characters she also offers a well-rounded view of a events that manages to hint at an air of mystery. While attentive readers might guess the big "twist" early on, the revelation at the end does still bring pieces together in a satisfying way.I must admit, I'm not a fan of this kind of novel. I dislike the recent trend where one character's suicide is meant to help their friends embrace life or make better choices or whatever. It's tacky and cheap. It's also what happens in Last Night at the Circle Cinema where, readers realize by the end, Bertucci killed himself weeks before the trio's supposed last stand at the abandoned theater.
Last Night at the Circle Cinema is great as a ghost story or a generally spooky read. The atmosphere of the theater is creepy and atmospheric. The idea that Olivia and Codman, as well as the readers, have been duped or might be seeing things ratchets up the creepiness even more.
But then we have the very problematic reasons behind that ghost story. Which definitely bring the story down in a big way.
The other problem here is that because the novel is so short, it's very hard to care about any of the characters. The trio's first person narrations feel flat and often sound alike despite efforts to imbue each with some degree of personality. Other conceits in the story--the boys using their last names, a poorly-executed love triangle to name too--further diminish the overall effect of the novel.
If you want an atmospheric story that is a little bit scary and can get past the problematic parts, you could do worse than Last Night at the Circle Cinema. Readers who like their characters with more introspection and layers, however, might be better served elsewhere.
Possible Pairings: Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark, I Was Here by Gayle Forman, The After Girls by Leah Konen, Falling Through Darkness by Carolyn MacCullough, Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta, All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, The Edge of Falling by Rebecca A. Serle, How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford, The Museum of Intangible Things by Wendy Wunder
*An advance copy of this book was received from the publisher at BEA 2015 for review consideration*
knallen's review
5.0
I loved this book. I loved the mystery surrounding it. I loved the characters and I loved the setting. At first it felt a little disconnected to me, but as the story progressed things started coming together and it ended up so perfectly. I suspected the ending but not enough that I was bored. There were times I was genuinely a little afraid for the characters, but over all it's just a very cool exploration of a friendship and how relationships change as well as how we deal with major change in our lives. Thoroughly enjoyable and too short for my liking. I wasn't ready to see it end.
bookbitereviews's review
5.0
Absolutely beautiful! Last Night at the Circle Cinema was extremely well done, and I never saw the ending coming. I was so frustrated at first, because I couldn't understand why we just kept reminiscing about the past. I mean, they are seniors who are about to go their separate ways, but it was still a bit much. On the other hand, it was the only way to truly get to know the characters, because the entire book takes place in the span of 8 hours. Now, I know the reason for spending the night at the Circle Cinema and I almost wish I didn't. Truly beautiful.
pqlibrarian's review
3.0
This is the type of book I should love - creepy abandoned building, teen angst. I didn't love it...and I am not sure why. It felt like the telling was a bit tedious, switching among three voices continually. I wasn't really enthralled with the tangled friendship. I wasn't really shocked at the ending, just peeved that it wasn't revealed sooner.
neftzger's review
3.0
There were some things that I really loved about this book - it's a contemporary story filled with characters who are fun to read about because they're full of cleverness, snarky attitude, and creativity. However, amid the playfulness there's also an underlying darkness that naturally follows the rough teenage years as children transition into adulthood, and there's always the possibility that the ending won't be happy - which creates plot tension.
If you decide to read this book, I highly recommend that you don't stop and start it (I read it on airplane flights over the course of about 2 weeks). Because the plot doesn't develop in a linear fashion and the story jumps to different periods of time as well as from one character's point of view to another, it makes it difficult to keep things straight if you stop and start like I did. If you can read the entire book within a week I think the story will come together better in the mind of the reader.
If you decide to read this book, I highly recommend that you don't stop and start it (I read it on airplane flights over the course of about 2 weeks). Because the plot doesn't develop in a linear fashion and the story jumps to different periods of time as well as from one character's point of view to another, it makes it difficult to keep things straight if you stop and start like I did. If you can read the entire book within a week I think the story will come together better in the mind of the reader.
midnightbookgirl's review
4.0
Really good- moody, melancholy, but also sweet and witty. I loved the dynamic between the trio of Bertucci, Codman and Livvy, how wrapped up they were with each other.
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