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luo_bo's review against another edition
4.0
Objectively, this should be a 3-star book, in writing, plot, character development. But something about this book made me feel, and for that, 4 stars.
zaheerah's review against another edition
3.0
*I received a copy via the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.*
Almost a year after a car accident that derailed Cara’s life, her mother enrols her into Hope Hall, for her final year. Miles away from anyone who knows her, on a secluded boarding school in the Alps, Cara intends to keep her past a secret. But the one thing she didn’t account for were the students of Hope Hall.
When I think random boarding school in the Alps, there’s a very stereotypical expectation I had constructed around this setting, but The Year After You utilises the setting very well which very much complimented the story. The way everything is trapped in this one mountain made the story more intense.
Cara, our main lead, was brilliantly frustrating. I personally didn’t like her, but when we got to the end, I did feel for her. Her pain and confusion as she blames herself for the death of her friend, while trying to keep her new friends at an arm’s length, was honestly heart-breaking.
The side characters were extremely brilliant. Without them, I don’t think I would have enjoyed this book very much. Ren is everything you want in a friend; caring, supportive and patient. Hector is a hero with a chip on his shoulder and story of his own. He’s rather mysterious with an extremely interesting backstory. Fred, I have to admit, took a while to understand. He immediately sees Cara as a threat to his friendship group and I didn’t particularly enjoy seeing him gang up on her. Everyone in this school reminds me of my own secondary school days, we’re all on edge and even stuff that seems irrelevant now, really crumbled your world back then, so I get the fear of losing everything that you’ve known.
Overall, The Year After You is a moving debut about a girl sent to boarding school after her best friend in a car accident. Personally, this book wasn’t for me. It starts off rather slow, but towards the end, it really packs a punch.
Almost a year after a car accident that derailed Cara’s life, her mother enrols her into Hope Hall, for her final year. Miles away from anyone who knows her, on a secluded boarding school in the Alps, Cara intends to keep her past a secret. But the one thing she didn’t account for were the students of Hope Hall.
When I think random boarding school in the Alps, there’s a very stereotypical expectation I had constructed around this setting, but The Year After You utilises the setting very well which very much complimented the story. The way everything is trapped in this one mountain made the story more intense.
Cara, our main lead, was brilliantly frustrating. I personally didn’t like her, but when we got to the end, I did feel for her. Her pain and confusion as she blames herself for the death of her friend, while trying to keep her new friends at an arm’s length, was honestly heart-breaking.
The side characters were extremely brilliant. Without them, I don’t think I would have enjoyed this book very much. Ren is everything you want in a friend; caring, supportive and patient. Hector is a hero with a chip on his shoulder and story of his own. He’s rather mysterious with an extremely interesting backstory. Fred, I have to admit, took a while to understand. He immediately sees Cara as a threat to his friendship group and I didn’t particularly enjoy seeing him gang up on her. Everyone in this school reminds me of my own secondary school days, we’re all on edge and even stuff that seems irrelevant now, really crumbled your world back then, so I get the fear of losing everything that you’ve known.
Overall, The Year After You is a moving debut about a girl sent to boarding school after her best friend in a car accident. Personally, this book wasn’t for me. It starts off rather slow, but towards the end, it really packs a punch.
lynseyye's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
playlistbyluna's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
4 ⭐
"Time gives you distance, that's all. It helps you to forget, but I am never going to forget what happened"
This is a beautiful and moving story about grief and healing. Nina De Pass's writing is stunning, and the characters are incredibly well-developed. I found myself completely drawn into Cara's world and her journey of self-discovery.
"I want you to know something: it's much easier to hate yourself than it is to forgive yourself"
I had no idea how to start my year and I was kind of overwhelmed by the holidays but then my friend recommended me "The Year After You". It's a really moving story about grief and healing, told from the perspective of the main character Cara.
The book does a great job of showing how grief can affect people in different ways, and how important it is to talk about it.
I also loved the way the book is written. It's really well-paced and the characters are all so....They feel like real people, going through real things. I found myself really invested in what happened to them.
"Though I've tried, I can't pretend, That I don't sit around and think about you. Look how I just lost a friend. I'm burying your things inside my bedroom"
While I was reading this book I was listening to my usual sad girl playlist and the song "This is what the drugs are for" and it just fit the mood of the book so perfectly. I know most people think of the song as being about relationships, but I think it applies to the book's themes as well.
"I'm still waitin' by the phone. You painted my life indigo, A kind of blue I hate to know, Where everything turns kinda cold"
"Time gives you distance, that's all. It helps you to forget, but I am never going to forget what happened"
This is a beautiful and moving story about grief and healing. Nina De Pass's writing is stunning, and the characters are incredibly well-developed. I found myself completely drawn into Cara's world and her journey of self-discovery.
"I want you to know something: it's much easier to hate yourself than it is to forgive yourself"
I had no idea how to start my year and I was kind of overwhelmed by the holidays but then my friend recommended me "The Year After You". It's a really moving story about grief and healing, told from the perspective of the main character Cara.
The book does a great job of showing how grief can affect people in different ways, and how important it is to talk about it.
I also loved the way the book is written. It's really well-paced and the characters are all so....They feel like real people, going through real things. I found myself really invested in what happened to them.
"Though I've tried, I can't pretend, That I don't sit around and think about you. Look how I just lost a friend. I'm burying your things inside my bedroom"
While I was reading this book I was listening to my usual sad girl playlist and the song "This is what the drugs are for" and it just fit the mood of the book so perfectly. I know most people think of the song as being about relationships, but I think it applies to the book's themes as well.
"I'm still waitin' by the phone. You painted my life indigo, A kind of blue I hate to know, Where everything turns kinda cold"
henriet07's review against another edition
5.0
Wat was dit een goed boek. Het verhaal heeft zo'n sterke opbouw van emoties, vriendschappen en mentale groei, met natuurlijk de bijbehorende ups and downs. Naarmate ik steeds dichter bij het einde kwam was het verhaal al zo goed opgebouwd dat je echt met de personages meeleefde en wilde weten wat er ging gebeuren.
Wel keek ik er tegen op om het boek uit te lezen, omdat ik het idee had dat het me met een gevoel van 'wat-moet-ik-nu' achter zou laten. Maar dit einde, het was prachtig en perfect, het verhaal voelt nu afgesloten voor mij.
Dit verhaal verdient naar mijn mening absoluut de 5 sterren. De schrijfstijl was goed en de opbouw in combinatie met de gekozen thema's was gewoon geweldig. Zeker een aanrader als je van zulke boeken houdt!
Wel keek ik er tegen op om het boek uit te lezen, omdat ik het idee had dat het me met een gevoel van 'wat-moet-ik-nu' achter zou laten. Maar dit einde, het was prachtig en perfect, het verhaal voelt nu afgesloten voor mij.
Dit verhaal verdient naar mijn mening absoluut de 5 sterren. De schrijfstijl was goed en de opbouw in combinatie met de gekozen thema's was gewoon geweldig. Zeker een aanrader als je van zulke boeken houdt!
wafflewombat's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
modernbooklore's review against another edition
3.0
“I can’t pretend to be someone I’m not anymore. Not when I can barely hold on to the person I really am.”
—
This book had been on my TBR and wishlist for quite a while so I went into this read with very high expectations.
I wanted to cry with these characters & grow hopeful with them.
However, this read unfortunately ended up falling flat for me.
I typically don’t like when a character dies and we only get the aftermath with not many flashbacks. I find this makes me feel removed from the tragedy.
I also felt very removed & uninvested in the characters as a whole. I would have loved to learn more about Ren & Fred and even Hector’s past with his family.
Most of the bonds felt superficial and when certain plotlines did get serious, they didn’t get delved into as I would have hoped.
I appreciated the short chapters but they also ended up contributing to the feeling that things kept getting rushed / brushed over without adequate resolution.
I did like how Cara’s survivor’s guilt was represented and the look we got into her thought process. Her nonlinear journey towards healing & moving on felt like it was treated with the respect it deserved
Overall, I think this book had potential but it didn’t do it for me!
however, if you like:
—
This book had been on my TBR and wishlist for quite a while so I went into this read with very high expectations.
I wanted to cry with these characters & grow hopeful with them.
However, this read unfortunately ended up falling flat for me.
I typically don’t like when a character dies and we only get the aftermath with not many flashbacks. I find this makes me feel removed from the tragedy.
I also felt very removed & uninvested in the characters as a whole. I would have loved to learn more about Ren & Fred and even Hector’s past with his family.
Most of the bonds felt superficial and when certain plotlines did get serious, they didn’t get delved into as I would have hoped.
I appreciated the short chapters but they also ended up contributing to the feeling that things kept getting rushed / brushed over without adequate resolution.
I did like how Cara’s survivor’s guilt was represented and the look we got into her thought process. Her nonlinear journey towards healing & moving on felt like it was treated with the respect it deserved
Overall, I think this book had potential but it didn’t do it for me!
however, if you like:
emmsbooknook's review against another edition
3.0
tää oli hyvä. toi kerronta syyllisyydestä ja surusta oli hyvää ja se miten Cara ei meinannu päästä siitä yli. rakastin Hectorii koska rakastan kauniita kirjojen poikia. täs just hyvin kaverisuhteet kehitty sillee oikeeseen tahtiin eikä liian nopee tai oudosti eikä ne ilkeet tytötkää vaa muttunu yhes sekas paremmaks. Cara pääs yli G:n kuoleman muistoista ja tajus ettei se ollu sen vika ja tää kerronta oli hyvää. ihanan lyhyet luvut ja aika nopee lukee. täs oli ehkä kyl joitai sellasii vähä turhempii kohtauksii mut broo ja Ren oli ihana ja hyväsydäminen. ja rakastan myös tälläsii vähä sekoi hahmoi ketkä vaa ragee oikeesti ja legit varmaa lempi kohtaus se "Fuck you, Hector." ja ku Cara alko huutaa sille, koska tykkään vaa tän tyylisest
jaded_jenny's review against another edition
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0