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kay_slayerofbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this!
4.8 stars
My favorite stories in order from BEST:
A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong - Jennifer E Smith ***
Brand New Attraction - Cassandra Clare **
Head, Scales, Tongue, Tale - Leigh Bardugo*
Love is the Last Resort - John Skovron
In Ninety Minutes, Turn North - Stephanie Perkins
Inertia - Veronica Roth
4.8 stars
My favorite stories in order from BEST:
A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong - Jennifer E Smith ***
Brand New Attraction - Cassandra Clare **
Head, Scales, Tongue, Tale - Leigh Bardugo*
Love is the Last Resort - John Skovron
In Ninety Minutes, Turn North - Stephanie Perkins
Inertia - Veronica Roth
jseargeant's review against another edition
Originally published at Novel Escapism
Feeling like some summer love? Summer Days and Summer Nights is a book of twelve short stories written by some bestselling YA authors and edited by Stephanie Perkins. Each of the stories has their own flavor and tone but with a high level of imagination. I particularly enjoyed “The End of Love” by Nina LaCour, “A Thousand Ways This Could Go All Wrong” by Jennifer E. Smith and “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” by Lev Grossman. So grab your sunscreen and hit the beach with this fun compilation of summer stories.
Feeling like some summer love? Summer Days and Summer Nights is a book of twelve short stories written by some bestselling YA authors and edited by Stephanie Perkins. Each of the stories has their own flavor and tone but with a high level of imagination. I particularly enjoyed “The End of Love” by Nina LaCour, “A Thousand Ways This Could Go All Wrong” by Jennifer E. Smith and “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” by Lev Grossman. So grab your sunscreen and hit the beach with this fun compilation of summer stories.
brandypainter's review against another edition
3.0
Originally posted here at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.
I throughly enjoyed My True Love Gave to Me, I have a thing for romance and holidays. When I found out that there was going to be a summer collection to accompany it, I was so excited. I was grateful to have an ARC as it was easy to pick up and put down in the busy week I was moving. I didn't enjoy Summer Days & Summer Nights as much as the holiday story collection. I expected it to be lighter and fluffier. (Look at the cover! Doesn't that cover scream fun, light, happy. The cover vibe does not match vibe of many of the stories.)
"Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail" by Leigh Bardugo*
This is a lovely romantic tale where the real world meets the fantastical. It is a marvelous way to start the book. If the entire book had continued like this story, I would have enjoyed it far more. This is a story about the disconnect between summer and the school year. It's about late afternoon ice cream cones, sticky bike rides, lazy days beside a lake, and the mystery of a summer boy. This story made me want to try more of Bardugo's writing. (I wasn't a huge fan of her first novel, but may give her newer stuff a go.)
"The End of Love" by Nina Lacour
My initial reaction to this story was that it's not as strong as the one that comes before it and it was sort of boring. Having read the rest of the book, I still find it sort of boring but it actually stands out as one of the stories I liked more, which I wasn't expecting. The main character is taking a summer school class she doesn't need just to get out of the house as her parents divide up everything for their divorce. She reconnects with a group she knew as a freshman and an old crush she has rekindles. I liked how the friendship element in this story a lot. It was a stand out in that respect from the rest of the book.
"Last Stand at the Cinegore" by Libba Bray*
Kevin is working the last night the Cinegore, a horror film venue, will be open. He's working with his best friend and long time crush both of who will be moving on to college at the end of the summer and leaving him behind. Things take a turn for the macabre when the horror on the screen doesn't stay there and Kevin must be a hero in more than just his own mind. I LOVED this story. The characters were great and it was incredibly funny.
"Sick Pleasure" by Francesca Lia Block
This story is where things began to fall apart for me. First I was incredibly annoyed by the narrator's use of first initials for everyone and not actual names. I think this is meant to give it a sense of realism (protecting the innocent and all that). Heck, it's possible it IS a real story in the life of the author. What I know is that the characters didn't do much for me and I found it to be incredibly bleak. I really don't know what this story is even doing here. Some of the other stories have darker elements sure, but this isn't dark so much as lifeless.
"In Ninety Minutes, Turn North" by Stephanie Perkins
This is actually a sequel to the story Perkins included in the holiday collection. (Note: I REALLY liked that story.) Coming of the depression of the previous story and into this one, my mood was definitely not in a good place to be confronted with the problem facing Marigold. I was just annoyed. I was annoyed through the whole thing even when it ended well. Story placement is so important in a collection like this. The funk the Block story left me in tainted my entire reading of this.
"Souvenires" by Tim Federle
This chronicles the last day in a relationship between the protagonist and his summer boyfriend. It is their break-up day story-a day the agreed upon to say good bye as the summer ended. I enjoyed the realistic outlook of this story that didn't diminish the power of the feelings of the boys as they were happening. The inevitability of summer romance is that most end. Fedele manage to convey both the power of those summer feelings with this reality and stuck the ending perfectly.
"Inertia' by Veronica Roth
So, Much. Angst. That is going to be perfect for some. (Probably not the people reading this book, because a person looking for angst is not going to pick up this book with that cover.) I wasn't reading this for angst thought and this was the fourth story in a row stock full of it. My annoyance level at this point was skyrocketing. This takes place in an alternate reality where as you are dying you can have a connection through brain waves (or something) with people of your choosing while you are in the process of being operated on but the doctors don't think you'll make it. Yeah. While the ending is happy, my annoyance for most of the story didn't let me enjoy it. I was promised sunshine and brightness!!!! Where did it go????
"Love is the Last Resort" by Jon Skovron*
This is cute. This is exactly what I had in mind. It is a comedy in the same style as Oscar Wilde's plays: lively banter, people getting schooled, plots and schemes abound. It was so much fun. There is a huge disconnect between the form of the narrative and the modern setting, but I was willing to overlook that flaw because I finally had fun and sunshine and laughs.
"Good Luck and Farewell" by Brandy Colbert*
I admit there's a fair amount of angst in this too, but it was balanced by a hot guy and a truly fun summer night romantic connection. I love the way Colbert describes and portrays Chicago in this and how her prose made me feel the heat and sadness the main character was feeling. Overall this story was just a better balance of angst and hope than that long line of depressing stories earlier in the collection. And I just love how Colbert writes anyway.
"Brand New Attraction" by Cassandra Clare
This story is bizarre and kind of lame. Like Bray's story, it deals with the supernatural in the real world, but it takes itself waaaaay to seriously. Bray made her combination of the scary horror and darker forces work with her humor. Clare's story doesn't have any humor so the mix of the supernatural, romance, and horror doesn't work at all. As a result I was more bored than anything. That combined with the awkwardness of Clare's prose made this almost painful to read.
"A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong" by Jennifer E. Smith*
This was a warm breath of summer air. It was cute yet serious in some places. I think Smith did a really fantastic job of portraying a character on the spectrum and making them a swoony romantic lead.
"The Map of Perfect Tiny Things"* by Lev Grossman
And we're back with the angst. And death. And tears. The premise is the same as Groundhog Day but minus all the fun.
*My Favorites
It's been a while since I've seen a cover so spectacularly fail at communicating what a book actually contains. Know if you are picking this up for a fun light beach read, you may want to rethink and save it for a rainy dreary day where your stuck inside. That way your mood when you finish most of the stories will match your surroundings.
I received an ARC from the publisher, St. Martin's Griffin, via Edelweiss. Summer Days & Summer Nights is on sale May 17th.
I throughly enjoyed My True Love Gave to Me, I have a thing for romance and holidays. When I found out that there was going to be a summer collection to accompany it, I was so excited. I was grateful to have an ARC as it was easy to pick up and put down in the busy week I was moving. I didn't enjoy Summer Days & Summer Nights as much as the holiday story collection. I expected it to be lighter and fluffier. (Look at the cover! Doesn't that cover scream fun, light, happy. The cover vibe does not match vibe of many of the stories.)
"Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail" by Leigh Bardugo*
This is a lovely romantic tale where the real world meets the fantastical. It is a marvelous way to start the book. If the entire book had continued like this story, I would have enjoyed it far more. This is a story about the disconnect between summer and the school year. It's about late afternoon ice cream cones, sticky bike rides, lazy days beside a lake, and the mystery of a summer boy. This story made me want to try more of Bardugo's writing. (I wasn't a huge fan of her first novel, but may give her newer stuff a go.)
"The End of Love" by Nina Lacour
My initial reaction to this story was that it's not as strong as the one that comes before it and it was sort of boring. Having read the rest of the book, I still find it sort of boring but it actually stands out as one of the stories I liked more, which I wasn't expecting. The main character is taking a summer school class she doesn't need just to get out of the house as her parents divide up everything for their divorce. She reconnects with a group she knew as a freshman and an old crush she has rekindles. I liked how the friendship element in this story a lot. It was a stand out in that respect from the rest of the book.
"Last Stand at the Cinegore" by Libba Bray*
Kevin is working the last night the Cinegore, a horror film venue, will be open. He's working with his best friend and long time crush both of who will be moving on to college at the end of the summer and leaving him behind. Things take a turn for the macabre when the horror on the screen doesn't stay there and Kevin must be a hero in more than just his own mind. I LOVED this story. The characters were great and it was incredibly funny.
"Sick Pleasure" by Francesca Lia Block
This story is where things began to fall apart for me. First I was incredibly annoyed by the narrator's use of first initials for everyone and not actual names. I think this is meant to give it a sense of realism (protecting the innocent and all that). Heck, it's possible it IS a real story in the life of the author. What I know is that the characters didn't do much for me and I found it to be incredibly bleak. I really don't know what this story is even doing here. Some of the other stories have darker elements sure, but this isn't dark so much as lifeless.
"In Ninety Minutes, Turn North" by Stephanie Perkins
This is actually a sequel to the story Perkins included in the holiday collection. (Note: I REALLY liked that story.) Coming of the depression of the previous story and into this one, my mood was definitely not in a good place to be confronted with the problem facing Marigold. I was just annoyed. I was annoyed through the whole thing even when it ended well. Story placement is so important in a collection like this. The funk the Block story left me in tainted my entire reading of this.
"Souvenires" by Tim Federle
This chronicles the last day in a relationship between the protagonist and his summer boyfriend. It is their break-up day story-a day the agreed upon to say good bye as the summer ended. I enjoyed the realistic outlook of this story that didn't diminish the power of the feelings of the boys as they were happening. The inevitability of summer romance is that most end. Fedele manage to convey both the power of those summer feelings with this reality and stuck the ending perfectly.
"Inertia' by Veronica Roth
So, Much. Angst. That is going to be perfect for some. (Probably not the people reading this book, because a person looking for angst is not going to pick up this book with that cover.) I wasn't reading this for angst thought and this was the fourth story in a row stock full of it. My annoyance level at this point was skyrocketing. This takes place in an alternate reality where as you are dying you can have a connection through brain waves (or something) with people of your choosing while you are in the process of being operated on but the doctors don't think you'll make it. Yeah. While the ending is happy, my annoyance for most of the story didn't let me enjoy it. I was promised sunshine and brightness!!!! Where did it go????
"Love is the Last Resort" by Jon Skovron*
This is cute. This is exactly what I had in mind. It is a comedy in the same style as Oscar Wilde's plays: lively banter, people getting schooled, plots and schemes abound. It was so much fun. There is a huge disconnect between the form of the narrative and the modern setting, but I was willing to overlook that flaw because I finally had fun and sunshine and laughs.
"Good Luck and Farewell" by Brandy Colbert*
I admit there's a fair amount of angst in this too, but it was balanced by a hot guy and a truly fun summer night romantic connection. I love the way Colbert describes and portrays Chicago in this and how her prose made me feel the heat and sadness the main character was feeling. Overall this story was just a better balance of angst and hope than that long line of depressing stories earlier in the collection. And I just love how Colbert writes anyway.
"Brand New Attraction" by Cassandra Clare
This story is bizarre and kind of lame. Like Bray's story, it deals with the supernatural in the real world, but it takes itself waaaaay to seriously. Bray made her combination of the scary horror and darker forces work with her humor. Clare's story doesn't have any humor so the mix of the supernatural, romance, and horror doesn't work at all. As a result I was more bored than anything. That combined with the awkwardness of Clare's prose made this almost painful to read.
"A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong" by Jennifer E. Smith*
This was a warm breath of summer air. It was cute yet serious in some places. I think Smith did a really fantastic job of portraying a character on the spectrum and making them a swoony romantic lead.
"The Map of Perfect Tiny Things"* by Lev Grossman
And we're back with the angst. And death. And tears. The premise is the same as Groundhog Day but minus all the fun.
*My Favorites
It's been a while since I've seen a cover so spectacularly fail at communicating what a book actually contains. Know if you are picking this up for a fun light beach read, you may want to rethink and save it for a rainy dreary day where your stuck inside. That way your mood when you finish most of the stories will match your surroundings.
I received an ARC from the publisher, St. Martin's Griffin, via Edelweiss. Summer Days & Summer Nights is on sale May 17th.
anita_van_sunshinee23's review against another edition
3.0
Amo este libro de relatos (al igual que Un regalo de mi gran amor), porque al estar escrito por distintos autores te encuentras con todo tipo de historias, y con ello, romances muy distintos también. Algunos relatos fueron mejores que otros para mí, por supuesto, pero en general un libro muy entretenido y con amor por todos lados, algo que tenía ganas de leer. Definitivamente leer el libro en verano mejoró mucho la experiencia, me sentía re en ambiente y fue todo muy bonito jsjs.
Igual que con su otro libro, aquí encontramos de todo. Autores muy distintos equivale a estilos muy distintos, por lo cual puedo casi asegurarles que habrá por ahí alguna historia que les guste y que puedan disfrutar, siempre y cuando vayan con la idea de que todos son relatos de amor, por lo cual están llenos de romance por todos lados.
La mala noticia es que en este libo se encuentra la que creo que es mi historia menos favoritas de los dos tomos publicados por ahora, que es Placer Malsano de Francesca Lia Block. No sé ni siquiera decirles cuál es el problema, porque toda mi experiencia al leer esta historia fue demasiado rara, y en general toda la trama es muy extraña. Simplemente no entendí nunca el punto de la historia. Lo bueno fue que después vendría una historia ambientada en un ambiente ya conocido. La historia de Stephanie Perkins es una continuación a la que se nos presenta en Un regalo de mi gran amor, y es muy linda, al igual que la primera parte. En esta ocasión no es de mis favoritas, pero eso solamente porque aquí me encontré historias que me sorprendieron mucho y con las que quedé encantada.
Me quedo esperando que algún día salgan más de estos libros con las estaciones que faltan jaja, porque de verdad que los disfruto muchísimo, y representan una oportunidad de conocer distintos estilos e ideas de autores que tal ve no hemos leído antes. Por ejemplo, si te interesa leer alguna novela de uno de estos autores, puedes leer su relato y darte una idea de su estilo y cosas así. Aunque igual y te llevas algunas sorpresas para bien o para mal, pero siempre sirven de prueba.
Puntuación de cada historia:
Cabeza, escamas, lengua, cola, de Leigh Bardugo (3/5)
El final del amor, de Nina Lacour (2/5)
Última sesión en el cinegore, de Libba Bray (2/5)
Placer malsano, de Francesca Lia Block (1/5)
Dentro de noventa minutos, gire al norte, de Stephanie Perkins (4/5)
Souvenirs, de Tim Federle (3/5)
Inercia, de Veronica Roth (5/5)
El amor es el último refugio, de Jon Skovron (5/5)
Adiós y buena suerte, de Brandy Colbert (4/5)
Una atracción recién estrenada, de Cassandra Clare (3/5)
Mil formas de estropear lo nuestro, de Jennifer E. Smith (4/5)
Un mapa de pequeñas cosas perfectas, de Lev Grossman (3/5)
Igual que con su otro libro, aquí encontramos de todo. Autores muy distintos equivale a estilos muy distintos, por lo cual puedo casi asegurarles que habrá por ahí alguna historia que les guste y que puedan disfrutar, siempre y cuando vayan con la idea de que todos son relatos de amor, por lo cual están llenos de romance por todos lados.
La mala noticia es que en este libo se encuentra la que creo que es mi historia menos favoritas de los dos tomos publicados por ahora, que es Placer Malsano de Francesca Lia Block. No sé ni siquiera decirles cuál es el problema, porque toda mi experiencia al leer esta historia fue demasiado rara, y en general toda la trama es muy extraña. Simplemente no entendí nunca el punto de la historia. Lo bueno fue que después vendría una historia ambientada en un ambiente ya conocido. La historia de Stephanie Perkins es una continuación a la que se nos presenta en Un regalo de mi gran amor, y es muy linda, al igual que la primera parte. En esta ocasión no es de mis favoritas, pero eso solamente porque aquí me encontré historias que me sorprendieron mucho y con las que quedé encantada.
Me quedo esperando que algún día salgan más de estos libros con las estaciones que faltan jaja, porque de verdad que los disfruto muchísimo, y representan una oportunidad de conocer distintos estilos e ideas de autores que tal ve no hemos leído antes. Por ejemplo, si te interesa leer alguna novela de uno de estos autores, puedes leer su relato y darte una idea de su estilo y cosas así. Aunque igual y te llevas algunas sorpresas para bien o para mal, pero siempre sirven de prueba.
Puntuación de cada historia:
Cabeza, escamas, lengua, cola, de Leigh Bardugo (3/5)
El final del amor, de Nina Lacour (2/5)
Última sesión en el cinegore, de Libba Bray (2/5)
Placer malsano, de Francesca Lia Block (1/5)
Dentro de noventa minutos, gire al norte, de Stephanie Perkins (4/5)
Souvenirs, de Tim Federle (3/5)
Inercia, de Veronica Roth (5/5)
El amor es el último refugio, de Jon Skovron (5/5)
Adiós y buena suerte, de Brandy Colbert (4/5)
Una atracción recién estrenada, de Cassandra Clare (3/5)
Mil formas de estropear lo nuestro, de Jennifer E. Smith (4/5)
Un mapa de pequeñas cosas perfectas, de Lev Grossman (3/5)
nady_breadin's review against another edition
5.0
Ok tbh I only read one short story in this book and that was Stephanie Perkins' story and it was 5/5 stars so I give this book 5/5 stars.
bookworm097's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, 3/5 stars. There were some stories I liked, and some I didn't, so I'm just going to go through each one. I only paid $10 for this, but I wouldn't have paid the full $20 retail price. I'm not a big fan of short stories, there's just not enough time to develop a plot and characters. So most of the time I just don't care what happens and end up not likely the story because it moves too quickly.
Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail by Leigh Bardugo ~ 3.5
I enjoyed the writing. I enjoyed the basic storyline. But all in all, it just felt flat to me. It was quite predictable. I might have liked it had it been longer and there was more backstory.
End of Love by Nina LaCour ~ 1
I did not like this at all. It was quite short. Instalove was the entire plot. I hate instalove. That is all.
Last Stand at the Cinegore by Libba Bray ~ 3.5
This was a horror/paranormal story. Two things I'm not the biggest fan of. I enjoyed the writing and the romance part of it. I thought it was clever. It wasn't my favorite story, but I liked it well enough. I felt like I connected with the characters pretty well in the short time.
Sick Pleasure by Francesca Lia Block ~ 2
This was an interesting story. I thought it was clever how the author didn't name any characters, just gave them all letters, presumably the first letter of their name. However, at the same time, that means I had trouble connected to characters without real names. Again, this was pretty much instalove. Not so much love at first sight, but it went from never talking to dating almost instantly. I was not a fan of the ending of this either.
In Ninety Minutes, Turn North by Stephanie Perkins ~ 3
This was a continuation of Stephanie's story in My True Love Gave to Me. I feel like this is cheating. A short story is just that, no continuation needed. Her story in My True Love was one of my favorites, however I didn't like this one as much. It wasn't bad, but I feel like it was a cop-out and I would have liked to have seen something new.
Souvenirs by Tim Federle ~ 2
I wasn't too big a fan of this story. It was a break-up story. It was pretty much just sad. Coming in on the last day of a relationship, in fact, it's their predetermined break-up day. Who even does that? What's the point of a relationship if you're going to set a break-up day????
As we can see, I didn't really like the first half of this book. However, I did enjoy the second half much more.
Inertia by Veronica Roth ~ 4.5
I really enjoyed this one. This was truly a love story. It had some futuristic aspects to it, which we all know Veronica for, however it wasn't too unbelievable. I loved being able to walk through the memories of a beautiful friendship. I'd like to be able to do that with some of my fond memories with my dear friends, to be able to find out what they thinking at those moments.
Love is the Last Resort by Jon Skovron ~ 4
I did quite enjoy this story. It reminded me of the Disney Channel show, Suite Life of Zack and Cody, which has always been a favorite of mine. I thought it was cute, how all of the characters worked together. How there were several couples that had loved each other for years and just needed a push. However, I did not like that two of the characters were in love after meeting the day before. That just doesn't happen. I did quite like how it was narrated though.
Good Luck and Farewell by Brandy Colbert ~ 3
Again, instalove. Our main character meets a boy, and doesn't like him. She's kissing him maybe 3 hours later, having hated him for 2 of those 3 hours. What? Besides that, the writing was nice, and the main character's backstory was quite nice. I'm very pleased with how much backstory we got in such numbered pages.
Brand New Attraction by Cassandra Clare ~ 4
I do love me some Cassie Clare. However, I'm wondering if all she can do is demons. I did quite enjoy this story, though I was hoping for a little something different from Cassie. But if you do something well, might as well stick with it, right? I thought that the love story was a bit instalove-y, but I was very happy with both of the characters' relationships with others. I thought they were quite flushed out and nicely handled.
A Thousand Ways this Could All Go Wrong by Jennifer E. Smith ~ 5
I think this one was my favorite. Jennifer E. Smith is one of my recent favorite contemporary authors, she's right up there with Morgan Matson and Rainbow Rowell. I have never not loved anything she's written. I thought this story took a really beautiful take on people with autism and Asperger's. It portrayed them in a good light. This story was cute and sweet.
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things by Lev Grossman ~ 5
This story was incredibly beautiful. There was basically no backstory on anything, but it was written in such a way that I didn't miss it. The two characters bonded over a shared phenomenon and made the best of it. They found beauty in ordinary, everyday things. We all need to open our eyes more to see the beauty around us.
Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail by Leigh Bardugo ~ 3.5
I enjoyed the writing. I enjoyed the basic storyline. But all in all, it just felt flat to me. It was quite predictable. I might have liked it had it been longer and there was more backstory.
End of Love by Nina LaCour ~ 1
I did not like this at all. It was quite short. Instalove was the entire plot. I hate instalove. That is all.
Last Stand at the Cinegore by Libba Bray ~ 3.5
This was a horror/paranormal story. Two things I'm not the biggest fan of. I enjoyed the writing and the romance part of it. I thought it was clever. It wasn't my favorite story, but I liked it well enough. I felt like I connected with the characters pretty well in the short time.
Sick Pleasure by Francesca Lia Block ~ 2
This was an interesting story. I thought it was clever how the author didn't name any characters, just gave them all letters, presumably the first letter of their name. However, at the same time, that means I had trouble connected to characters without real names. Again, this was pretty much instalove. Not so much love at first sight, but it went from never talking to dating almost instantly. I was not a fan of the ending of this either.
In Ninety Minutes, Turn North by Stephanie Perkins ~ 3
This was a continuation of Stephanie's story in My True Love Gave to Me. I feel like this is cheating. A short story is just that, no continuation needed. Her story in My True Love was one of my favorites, however I didn't like this one as much. It wasn't bad, but I feel like it was a cop-out and I would have liked to have seen something new.
Souvenirs by Tim Federle ~ 2
I wasn't too big a fan of this story. It was a break-up story. It was pretty much just sad. Coming in on the last day of a relationship, in fact, it's their predetermined break-up day. Who even does that? What's the point of a relationship if you're going to set a break-up day????
As we can see, I didn't really like the first half of this book. However, I did enjoy the second half much more.
Inertia by Veronica Roth ~ 4.5
I really enjoyed this one. This was truly a love story. It had some futuristic aspects to it, which we all know Veronica for, however it wasn't too unbelievable. I loved being able to walk through the memories of a beautiful friendship. I'd like to be able to do that with some of my fond memories with my dear friends, to be able to find out what they thinking at those moments.
Love is the Last Resort by Jon Skovron ~ 4
I did quite enjoy this story. It reminded me of the Disney Channel show, Suite Life of Zack and Cody, which has always been a favorite of mine. I thought it was cute, how all of the characters worked together. How there were several couples that had loved each other for years and just needed a push. However, I did not like that two of the characters were in love after meeting the day before. That just doesn't happen. I did quite like how it was narrated though.
Good Luck and Farewell by Brandy Colbert ~ 3
Again, instalove. Our main character meets a boy, and doesn't like him. She's kissing him maybe 3 hours later, having hated him for 2 of those 3 hours. What? Besides that, the writing was nice, and the main character's backstory was quite nice. I'm very pleased with how much backstory we got in such numbered pages.
Brand New Attraction by Cassandra Clare ~ 4
I do love me some Cassie Clare. However, I'm wondering if all she can do is demons. I did quite enjoy this story, though I was hoping for a little something different from Cassie. But if you do something well, might as well stick with it, right? I thought that the love story was a bit instalove-y, but I was very happy with both of the characters' relationships with others. I thought they were quite flushed out and nicely handled.
A Thousand Ways this Could All Go Wrong by Jennifer E. Smith ~ 5
I think this one was my favorite. Jennifer E. Smith is one of my recent favorite contemporary authors, she's right up there with Morgan Matson and Rainbow Rowell. I have never not loved anything she's written. I thought this story took a really beautiful take on people with autism and Asperger's. It portrayed them in a good light. This story was cute and sweet.
The Map of Tiny Perfect Things by Lev Grossman ~ 5
This story was incredibly beautiful. There was basically no backstory on anything, but it was written in such a way that I didn't miss it. The two characters bonded over a shared phenomenon and made the best of it. They found beauty in ordinary, everyday things. We all need to open our eyes more to see the beauty around us.
sarahcvo's review against another edition
3.0
My favorite stories were the ones by Tim Federle, Lev Grossman, and Jennifer E. Smith.
bookishbubs's review against another edition
3.0
Overall, this was relatively enjoyable. It was my first short story collection and difficult to read all in one go, but I had to power through the second half because it was due at the library. For future collections, I'll probably try to find them cheap at second-hand stores so I can take my time reading them. And here are the rest of my thoughts on each story since I fell behind with my updates:
"In Ninety Minutes Turn North"--I loved this one! Definitely served as redemption for Stephanie Perkins after I read Anna and the French Kiss last fall. The resolution felt a little rushed and not really whole (if that makes sense), but overall I definitely enjoyed this one, very cute. 4/5
"Souvenirs"--I didn't enjoy this one so much. The MC was really whiney, and just the concept in general put me off. 2.5/5
"Inertia"--Loved it! I kind of felt like Roth was trying to redeem herself with her fans after Allegiant, but still, I enjoyed the premise and the relationship featured in this story. It definitely pulled at my heartstrings a little. 5/5
"Love is the Last Resort"--I was a little afraid of the voice when I started this one, but it actually turned out really well! The match-making of this story is a little juvenile for my taste, but I really enjoyed the writing and want to find more from this author! 3/5
"Good Luck and Farewell"--I'm a little undecided about this one. Seeing as how the focus of this collection is the love story, this one was lacking. The romantic relationship featured was very insta-love and lacking any true basis-they mostly just bonded over being in the same kind of situation. But the familial love in this story was great and the overall plot was very enjoyable. Definitely sad at times, but an enjoyable read nonetheless. 3.5/5
"Brand New Attraction"--Definitely an interesting premise, with magic in the real world that is somewhat hidden, but the writing wasn't that great, and the love story wasn't very well developed. 2.5/5
"A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong"--Loved it! I felt like we were supposed to be surprised at the reveal, but it was made very obvious when Griffin came to pick up Annie from camp. Still I enjoyed the slow development into the relationship, though the resolution was somewhat quick. 4/5
"The Map of Tiny Perfect Things"--Definitely an interesting premise, and there was a specific point when I realized what was going on, before the reveal. I felt the love story was a little forced/developed out of convenience, and I didn't really feel any connection to the characters. Still, I enjoyed some parts of it and look forward to reading more by this author.
"In Ninety Minutes Turn North"--I loved this one! Definitely served as redemption for Stephanie Perkins after I read Anna and the French Kiss last fall. The resolution felt a little rushed and not really whole (if that makes sense), but overall I definitely enjoyed this one, very cute. 4/5
"Souvenirs"--I didn't enjoy this one so much. The MC was really whiney, and just the concept in general put me off. 2.5/5
"Inertia"--Loved it! I kind of felt like Roth was trying to redeem herself with her fans after Allegiant, but still, I enjoyed the premise and the relationship featured in this story. It definitely pulled at my heartstrings a little. 5/5
"Love is the Last Resort"--I was a little afraid of the voice when I started this one, but it actually turned out really well! The match-making of this story is a little juvenile for my taste, but I really enjoyed the writing and want to find more from this author! 3/5
"Good Luck and Farewell"--I'm a little undecided about this one. Seeing as how the focus of this collection is the love story, this one was lacking. The romantic relationship featured was very insta-love and lacking any true basis-they mostly just bonded over being in the same kind of situation. But the familial love in this story was great and the overall plot was very enjoyable. Definitely sad at times, but an enjoyable read nonetheless. 3.5/5
"Brand New Attraction"--Definitely an interesting premise, with magic in the real world that is somewhat hidden, but the writing wasn't that great, and the love story wasn't very well developed. 2.5/5
"A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong"--Loved it! I felt like we were supposed to be surprised at the reveal, but it was made very obvious when Griffin came to pick up Annie from camp. Still I enjoyed the slow development into the relationship, though the resolution was somewhat quick. 4/5
"The Map of Tiny Perfect Things"--Definitely an interesting premise, and there was a specific point when I realized what was going on, before the reveal. I felt the love story was a little forced/developed out of convenience, and I didn't really feel any connection to the characters. Still, I enjoyed some parts of it and look forward to reading more by this author.