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nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
5.0
This review and a giveaway of the book can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
I have a confession to make: I didn’t think I was going to like this book. In fact, when I received it in the mail and re-read the blurb, I thought to myself, “Why did I accept this book for review? What was I thinking? This is not my kind of book at all!” You see, I’m not usually a fan of the type of book that glorifies teenage partying and general bad behavior, and when I re-read the blurb, I was pretty sure that was what I was in for. I was wrong … sort of. Okay, fine, in some ways I was kind of right, but somehow Rachel Cohn made me like this book anyway.
What Fed My Addiction:
Vic.
The main reason Kill All Happies ended up appealing to me is that the MC, even under relatively crazy circumstances, is surprisingly smart and level-headed. Oh, don’t get me wrong, she’s a teenager, and she makes some very “teenage logic” type decisions (now that I have teenagers of my own I know this logic oh-so-well). The fact that she’s throwing an entire party basically because she’s hoping to have sex with her best friend’s hot brother is not my favorite of motivations—but that’s not all there is to Vic. She cares about things—her friends, her community, what Happies restaurant symbolizes to them all. And she’s actually trying to be pretty intelligent about the party itself—she doesn’t judge anyone for acting crazy, but she repeatedly takes care of things to make sure nothing goes too far (well, she tries, at least). She needs this party as an outlet because her life as she knows it is ending (not because of happies, but because she and her friends are leaving), and she’s not 100% sure where it’s headed next. At the same time, we get a clear picture that Vic is more than capable—she’s just a bit lost. This makes her relatable (at least to me).
Happies restaurant.
The Happies restaurant element is actually what drew me in in the first place (that's why I first accepted the book for review---something about the concept drew me in). I loved the idea of this old diner (and even older amusement park) with a weird cult following. The parts of the book that involved the Happies fans were all sorts of amusing, and I could vividly imagine the old, broken down theme park. (Wouldn't it be incredibly fun to visit something like that?)
The romance.
I was fairly certain that the romance in this book was going to be a low-point for me, considering the fact that we knew from the start that Vic was just out for a booty call with her best friend’s older brother. He seems relatively sleazy, at that—not sure what he had going for him besides the fact that he’s hot. But Cohn turns things around on us and keeps us guessing, and I ended up loving how everything ended in the romance department.
What Left Me Hungry for More:
Underdeveloped secondary characters.
Honestly, this book is about Vic, and everyone else is sort of a backdrop. Even Vic’s best friends feel a teensy bit like cardboard cutouts because we just don’t get to know them enough to truly care about them or their relationship with Vic. Because this book focuses a lot on the crazy events of the party night and on Vic’s experiences, there just isn’t time to do a lot of intense character development with the secondary characters. I still enjoyed many of them, but I would have liked a bit more. Then there was the “villain” of the book, Thrope, who pretty much came off as a cartoon character. We never get any true insight into why the heck Thrope is so insane, so we kind of just have to accept her at face value.
Not reading this for realism.
There were lots of points where I was rolling my eyes at the craziness, especially with interactions at the beginning and end of the book between Vic and Thrope. This book is a fun read, not a particularly grounded or realistic one.
And, yep, it does glorify teen bad behavior at some points.
Not gonna lie, I didn’t love everything that went on at Vic’s party, but I recognize that I’m not the target audience, and I felt like it was balanced a lot by Vic herself, who did seem to have a good head on her shoulders (except for her crush). My biggest issue is that there was casual drug use (even by Vic), which always really bugs me. I have personal issues with teen drug use being portrayed as “no big deal” based on events that happened to people close to me in my past, so I’m never a fan of this in books.
I think “fun read” sums this book up pretty darn nicely. You certainly can’t go into this book expecting to take it too seriously—but if you’re like me, you’ll be surprised by how much Vic will grow on you, and you’ll kind of be rooting for that Happies party to go down in history for its awesomeness (and for its level of catastrophic failure). I give this book 3.5/5 Stars (which has easily been rounded to 4).
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
I have a confession to make: I didn’t think I was going to like this book. In fact, when I received it in the mail and re-read the blurb, I thought to myself, “Why did I accept this book for review? What was I thinking? This is not my kind of book at all!” You see, I’m not usually a fan of the type of book that glorifies teenage partying and general bad behavior, and when I re-read the blurb, I was pretty sure that was what I was in for. I was wrong … sort of. Okay, fine, in some ways I was kind of right, but somehow Rachel Cohn made me like this book anyway.
What Fed My Addiction:
Vic.
The main reason Kill All Happies ended up appealing to me is that the MC, even under relatively crazy circumstances, is surprisingly smart and level-headed. Oh, don’t get me wrong, she’s a teenager, and she makes some very “teenage logic” type decisions (now that I have teenagers of my own I know this logic oh-so-well). The fact that she’s throwing an entire party basically because she’s hoping to have sex with her best friend’s hot brother is not my favorite of motivations—but that’s not all there is to Vic. She cares about things—her friends, her community, what Happies restaurant symbolizes to them all. And she’s actually trying to be pretty intelligent about the party itself—she doesn’t judge anyone for acting crazy, but she repeatedly takes care of things to make sure nothing goes too far (well, she tries, at least). She needs this party as an outlet because her life as she knows it is ending (not because of happies, but because she and her friends are leaving), and she’s not 100% sure where it’s headed next. At the same time, we get a clear picture that Vic is more than capable—she’s just a bit lost. This makes her relatable (at least to me).
Happies restaurant.
The Happies restaurant element is actually what drew me in in the first place (that's why I first accepted the book for review---something about the concept drew me in). I loved the idea of this old diner (and even older amusement park) with a weird cult following. The parts of the book that involved the Happies fans were all sorts of amusing, and I could vividly imagine the old, broken down theme park. (Wouldn't it be incredibly fun to visit something like that?)
The romance.
I was fairly certain that the romance in this book was going to be a low-point for me, considering the fact that we knew from the start that Vic was just out for a booty call with her best friend’s older brother. He seems relatively sleazy, at that—not sure what he had going for him besides the fact that he’s hot. But Cohn turns things around on us and keeps us guessing, and I ended up loving how everything ended in the romance department.
What Left Me Hungry for More:
Underdeveloped secondary characters.
Honestly, this book is about Vic, and everyone else is sort of a backdrop. Even Vic’s best friends feel a teensy bit like cardboard cutouts because we just don’t get to know them enough to truly care about them or their relationship with Vic. Because this book focuses a lot on the crazy events of the party night and on Vic’s experiences, there just isn’t time to do a lot of intense character development with the secondary characters. I still enjoyed many of them, but I would have liked a bit more. Then there was the “villain” of the book, Thrope, who pretty much came off as a cartoon character. We never get any true insight into why the heck Thrope is so insane, so we kind of just have to accept her at face value.
Not reading this for realism.
There were lots of points where I was rolling my eyes at the craziness, especially with interactions at the beginning and end of the book between Vic and Thrope. This book is a fun read, not a particularly grounded or realistic one.
And, yep, it does glorify teen bad behavior at some points.
Not gonna lie, I didn’t love everything that went on at Vic’s party, but I recognize that I’m not the target audience, and I felt like it was balanced a lot by Vic herself, who did seem to have a good head on her shoulders (except for her crush). My biggest issue is that there was casual drug use (even by Vic), which always really bugs me. I have personal issues with teen drug use being portrayed as “no big deal” based on events that happened to people close to me in my past, so I’m never a fan of this in books.
I think “fun read” sums this book up pretty darn nicely. You certainly can’t go into this book expecting to take it too seriously—but if you’re like me, you’ll be surprised by how much Vic will grow on you, and you’ll kind of be rooting for that Happies party to go down in history for its awesomeness (and for its level of catastrophic failure). I give this book 3.5/5 Stars (which has easily been rounded to 4).
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
emilyh922's review against another edition
5.0
THIS BOOK SLAYED MY LIFE OMG WHEN SHE SLAYED JAKE ABOUT BEING A MAN I ALMOST CRIED YESS VIC WORK
kaylareadsbooks's review against another edition
4.0
This book takes place over the course of I would say a week. It starts at Victoria’s high school graduation and follows her and her friends, known as the Cuddle Huddle, until the night of their last senior bash. Victoria is a bit controlling and just wants to go down in history as throwing the best bash at her small town’s one and only hang out, Happies before it gets changed over into a corporate strip mall.
4 out of 5 stars
Fun characters
Hispanic and Korean reps
Lots of Senior year care-free shenanigans
YA Contemporary
4 out of 5 stars
Fun characters
Hispanic and Korean reps
Lots of Senior year care-free shenanigans
YA Contemporary
mckinlay's review against another edition
2.0
this book woulda made a great 90's teen movie. but as a book, it kinda fell flat for me. i feel like there's a lot in here that could be offensive to people, like how they call each other sluts? it doesn't really bother me, but it could bother others. and i don't know, i feel like i didn't really get to know any of the characters. it was a quick read, and i didn't hate it, but i probably wouldn't recommend it either.
emilyhamer's review against another edition
5.0
THIS BOOK SLAYED MY LIFE OMG WHEN SHE SLAYED JAKE ABOUT BEING A MAN I ALMOST CRIED YESS VIC WORK
briellejune's review against another edition
3.0
I honestly tried to get through this book, it started out okay but then it got a little annoying and the writing style just wasn't for me. So this is the first I've ever dnf-ed. (did not finish)
oldgum202's review against another edition
3.0
just a meh. it was actually kind of atmospheric, though, because it's quite easy to imagine everything- from the happies restaurant, the party, the sweltering climate. the thing is, though, it's got a bundle of high school stereotypes
bericson13's review against another edition
1.0
oh, I really didn't like this. it never seemed to really have a purpose at all. it was dry and seemed so frivolous and almost irrelevant. hmm.
kyt's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0