Reviews

Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn

pilw's review against another edition

4.0

4.5: I almost cried.

dherzey's review against another edition

4.0

"No, we talked about matter -- most notably quarks, those tiniest possible components of everything. They come in six flavors, you know: up, down, top, bottom, charm and strange. I'll admit those talks helped me, and when I read about sea quarks, I understood why. They contain particles of matter and antimatter, and where the two touch, exists this constant stream of creation and annihilation. Scientists call this place "the sea".....

I am of the sea.
I am of instability.
I am of harsh, choppy waves roiling with all the up-ness, down-ness, top-ness, bottom-ness contained within my being.
I am of charm and strange.
Annihilation.
Creation.
Annihilation."

This book has both "charm" and "strange" but I think "dark, depressing and sad" could also describe the story better when you found out the truth.

So, what is Charm and Strange exactly? Believe me, when I began to read this book, I got no idea either. I just knew that there's this boy named Drew who changed his identity to Winston because of something tragic. There's also talk of wolves and lots of flashbacks on how it all began and what. It was quite muddy at first, with all the vagueness of Win's past and Drew's anger. There's "what" happened but no "why" it happened. Mostly, I just go with the flow yet mostly, I also wanted answers. I kept on reading, kept on trying to decipher Drew's actions, Win's desire to change. I still got no idea what's the story leading into, but I am intrigue. Drew's complexity had me in.

Then I started to know the "whys" and the story became much clearer to me but no less emotional. It was so, so sad. Depressing. Dark. Fucked-up. You can't help but feel for Drew. This book is no walk in the park. It was gritty and heartbreaking. I sympathize with Drew, this poor boy, and to Keith and Siobhan. Hell, my heart breaks for them.

Honestly, I didn't cry. I wasn't mind-fucked, either. I was a bit detached at the beginning so I wasn't wholly into it like I wish. But there's enough power in the story to still affect me greatly. And if you're like me, diving into this book without much idea what you're getting into, you might find a strange, little story about wolves. And yes, it is about wolves but go on, read a little further and watch this story spin into a sad, sad tale. A little psychological thriller brilliantly told.

nenich19's review

5.0

This was just... amazing. Wow.

missbookiverse's review against another edition

4.0

Cham and Strange ist ein düsteres Buch, das intensiv in den Abgrund blickt und wenn man nicht aufpasst, schubst es einen nach vorn. Also nichts für Zartbesaitete.

Was mich das ganze Buch über auf Trab gehalten hat, ist die große Rätselei um das, was mit Win vor sich geht. In ihm steckt ein Wolf. Aber wie ist das gemeint? Handelt es sich hier um paranormale Wesen? Ein Biest, das Win nicht kontrollieren kann? Oder ist es viel mehr metaphorisch gemeint und wenn ja, was soll der innere Wolf verdeutlichen?

Ich verrate hier absolut nichts, denn es macht den Reiz dieses Buches aus genau das selbst herauszufinden. Also ab marsch mit euch, ihr habt ein Familiengeheimnis zu lüften.

char_a_lot_te's review against another edition

2.5

2.5☆ 
ok so the wolf is a metaphor for childhood trauma, sure.
Andrew is an edgy teen boy with a really bad childhood and a lotta baggage. I guess it all made sense at the end but the book is still kinda incoherent and unclear and Andrew is annoying. I'd skip this one personally.

smolbean_reads's review

1.0

“I am both ever evolving and ever decaying.”

✮✮✮ 2.5 Stars

Odd reading experience with this one. It took me till about 30% the way through to get into it (I REALLY did my best to not DNF this one because i just KNEW something had to be happening), when I finished it I was all WOW 5 STARS!! Then I didn't have time to review it and in between time it's gone down to a 2.5 star as for me it's not a lingering/never-forget kind of book. It's not one that connected with me on a Katherine level. But don't get me wrong, it was a good read though and people really into mysterious and dark YA books will definitely really like it, so don't take my 2.5 rating literally!

With a past and present split of narration, our first impressions are that main character Win is a thoroughly messed up emo kid who gets a kick out of hurting people (pun intended). There's a lot of WTF? moments but if you stick with it, the book slowly unfolds and the mysteries start unraveling. As a lot of other reviewers have said, its tricky to review this book without giving too much away!

This is a very dark book and if you're not okay with uncomfortable subjects then you might want to give it a miss. However, it is written in such a clever way and you appreciate how well Stephanie Kuehn has dealt with the subject matter.

Definitely one for the WTF-did-i-just-read shelf!

sjknova's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

alizalondon's review against another edition

4.0

Really intense, engrossing, and tragic.

prowse's review against another edition

3.0

Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn is exactly that: charming and strange. This novel is definitely a page-turner that had me constantly questioning Andrew Winters' reality. The traumatic experiences revealed throughout the book are reminiscent of works by Laurie Halse Anderson such as Speak, Twisted, and Wintergirls - yet with its own unique spin.

pussinbooks's review against another edition

2.0

The big issue I have with this book is that the relationships between Win, Lex, and Jordan barely had time to develop, so they did not feel all that meaningful in the end. The kids at least do the right things in the end, even though the choice is frightening and difficult. Win is fascinating from a psychological standpoint, and tragic overall. His story doesn't offer much hope.