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3.13 AVERAGE
3.13 AVERAGE
I went back and forth on how I felt on this one. The main character frustrated the hell out of me. However, I remembered back to a time when I was her age and how things were never black and white in terms of romantic relations. I think this is an important read for the YA group because the reactions from people because of her actions were very real. Also, I like that it demonstrated the sorts of things boys will try to do to girls and how the girls will receive the backlash and labeling. So, while I wasn't the biggest fan of the main character and her choices, I still appreciated the overall story and message. And, also, if her mother was my mother... there are no words for how I would react to her publishing my life!
While I do enjoy Katie's writing and while Molly was decently like-able, and while I did like the majority of the characters, the reaction of everyone to what Molly did was taken too far, and Molly knowingly did way too many things that were wrong and hurtful over and over again. I would not necessarily recommend this, but I did enjoy How to Love.
Awful
I am usually not a picky person when it comes to my romance books, but I have never hated a character in a book more than this girl. And I'm a game of thrones fan. So many ways this story could have gone and it would have been a good book because the writing style was great but the storyline fell flat.
I am usually not a picky person when it comes to my romance books, but I have never hated a character in a book more than this girl. And I'm a game of thrones fan. So many ways this story could have gone and it would have been a good book because the writing style was great but the storyline fell flat.
*KIND OF SPOILERY*
THINGS I LIKED:
-i'm a sucker for a brother love triangle and love triangles in general, so i knew i would like this book.
-thought that the entire idea was actually really creative. loved that all this drama came to light because her mom wrote a book about it. such a good idea.
-molly didn't actually bother me as much as i thought she would. reading the reviews, people ripped her apart but i didn't mind her.
-all the characters were realistic. it was easy to imagine what they were like in real life and how they said certain things.
-since it was organized by day, it went by pretty fast. some days were just a paragraph, some a sentence, and some pages long. it was easy to read and the short chapters kept me engaged. towards the end i couldn't stop reading.
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
-HATED the ending. HATED the "realization" that molly had at the end; it was kind of unnecessary. point of the book is the double standard, how molly was destroyed because of what she did and gabe got off easy. by having her "remember" a memory from a while ago and that's why she sticks up for herself, it felt to me like it erased the main the idea of the book. there shouldn't have had to been some whole thing she remembered that made her want to confront them in my opinion.
-thought all the bullying was kind of unrealistic. i get that it's all on a larger scale because of the best-selling book, but keying someones car crossed a line into unrealistic territory.
THINGS I LIKED:
-i'm a sucker for a brother love triangle and love triangles in general, so i knew i would like this book.
-thought that the entire idea was actually really creative. loved that all this drama came to light because her mom wrote a book about it. such a good idea.
-molly didn't actually bother me as much as i thought she would. reading the reviews, people ripped her apart but i didn't mind her.
-all the characters were realistic. it was easy to imagine what they were like in real life and how they said certain things.
-since it was organized by day, it went by pretty fast. some days were just a paragraph, some a sentence, and some pages long. it was easy to read and the short chapters kept me engaged. towards the end i couldn't stop reading.
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
-HATED the ending. HATED the "realization" that molly had at the end; it was kind of unnecessary. point of the book is the double standard, how molly was destroyed because of what she did and gabe got off easy. by having her "remember" a memory from a while ago and that's why she sticks up for herself, it felt to me like it erased the main the idea of the book. there shouldn't have had to been some whole thing she remembered that made her want to confront them in my opinion.
-thought all the bullying was kind of unrealistic. i get that it's all on a larger scale because of the best-selling book, but keying someones car crossed a line into unrealistic territory.
Compelling and addicting, I just wish it had been more empowering and less soap opera dramatic. The author had a real opportunity to set an example on how to own your mistakes and keep moving, how to stand up to bullies and general harassment, and she didn't take it.
It's been a fairly long time since I read a fluffy YA romantic contemporary. It's not my favourite genre but every once in a while (usually when I'm on holiday) I get the craving for some good old-fashioned fluff. This book however turned out to be a lot more interesting than your typical sweet romance.
The premise of 99 Days is that our main character Molly used to date a guy named Patrick until she cheated on him with his brother, Gabe. Now I don't like cheating stories which made Molly a little difficult to sympathise with, something which didn't get easier the more stupid her decisions became. Having been away from her hometown for a year, Molly must return for 99 days before she goes away to college and face the music. You see, Molly's affair was revealed when her mother wrote a best-selling book about it and as a result, everyone in the town hates her. The only person who is still nice to her is Gabe.
This is one of those books that is only fueled by poor decisions and characters behaving stupidly. Molly is the worst offender and she gets stuck in a love triangle between two brothers. I found Patrick deeply unlikable and could not understand Molly's attraction to him at all, especially when Gabe was so sweet and his 'offences' in their relationship so minor. I thought I was going to hate this book but the strong writing style pulled through and I actually quite enjoyed it.
If you can switch off your brain enough to not be bothered by the insanely poor decisions of the characters, then this is a surprisingly complex and interesting examination of the aftermath of cheating. I liked how it didn't shy away from showing what happens when teenagers make poor decisions and the exploration of Molly's relationship with her mother was also fairly interesting, albeit something which could have had more of a focus. Overall I really enjoyed it and I am interested in reading the sequel.
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
The premise of 99 Days is that our main character Molly used to date a guy named Patrick until she cheated on him with his brother, Gabe. Now I don't like cheating stories which made Molly a little difficult to sympathise with, something which didn't get easier the more stupid her decisions became. Having been away from her hometown for a year, Molly must return for 99 days before she goes away to college and face the music. You see, Molly's affair was revealed when her mother wrote a best-selling book about it and as a result, everyone in the town hates her. The only person who is still nice to her is Gabe.
This is one of those books that is only fueled by poor decisions and characters behaving stupidly. Molly is the worst offender and she gets stuck in a love triangle between two brothers. I found Patrick deeply unlikable and could not understand Molly's attraction to him at all, especially when Gabe was so sweet and his 'offences' in their relationship so minor. I thought I was going to hate this book but the strong writing style pulled through and I actually quite enjoyed it.
If you can switch off your brain enough to not be bothered by the insanely poor decisions of the characters, then this is a surprisingly complex and interesting examination of the aftermath of cheating. I liked how it didn't shy away from showing what happens when teenagers make poor decisions and the exploration of Molly's relationship with her mother was also fairly interesting, albeit something which could have had more of a focus. Overall I really enjoyed it and I am interested in reading the sequel.
Overall Rating: 3.5/5
I picked up this book because I really liked Katie Cotugno's How to Love. I was looking forward to her new book and she did not disappoint. I appreciate that although her main character makes some bad choices (like teens do!),readers are rooting for her to come out ok in the end. The story is a real look at how messy teen friendships and romance can be. I will recommend to readers who like relationship drama!
I positively devoured this book. I started it last night and finished it this morning, one of those must-know-what-happens-next kind of stories. I found it to be beautifully written - vividly-worded descriptions and realistic dialogue.
All of the characters were so well-crafted, and I loved how memories from the past were seamlessly interwoven throughout the story. I felt like I understood each one of the Donnellys, and the different ways they were impacted by the loss of their father.
But... Molly. COME ON, MOLLY. I really wanted to root for her. I certainly did at first. But that feeling became more of wanting to shake her. She would realize something, and I would internally shout "YES!" and then she would completely discard that realization in the next scene, and I would internally shout "NO!" The fact that she went through what she had in the past year but went on to make all of these mistakes AGAIN was so frustrating to me.
But, here's the thing... it's believable. Just because I didn't like her decisions didn't mean that it wasn't well-written and well-executed. I just wanted her to make different decisions so I could root for her more. (Ok, I wanted her to completely discard Patrick and his moodiness and be with Gabe in all of his wonderfulness.)
So, hopping in the car to go get the sequel now, because I don't want to wait the 2 days for Amazon to deliver it to me.
All of the characters were so well-crafted, and I loved how memories from the past were seamlessly interwoven throughout the story. I felt like I understood each one of the Donnellys, and the different ways they were impacted by the loss of their father.
But... Molly. COME ON, MOLLY. I really wanted to root for her. I certainly did at first. But that feeling became more of wanting to shake her. She would realize something, and I would internally shout "YES!" and then she would completely discard that realization in the next scene, and I would internally shout "NO!" The fact that she went through what she had in the past year but went on to make all of these mistakes AGAIN was so frustrating to me.
But, here's the thing... it's believable. Just because I didn't like her decisions didn't mean that it wasn't well-written and well-executed. I just wanted her to make different decisions so I could root for her more. (Ok, I wanted her to completely discard Patrick and his moodiness and be with Gabe in all of his wonderfulness.)
So, hopping in the car to go get the sequel now, because I don't want to wait the 2 days for Amazon to deliver it to me.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't actually think I was going to like this book all that much but I just couldn't stop listening to it. The story was really fun but I couldn't stand Molly. She kept bitching and complaining about how everyone hated her but she continued to make stupid decisions to make people hate her more. She was a very irritating character but it didn't take away from me enjoying the story.