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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
slow-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
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Whew did Bennet get on my nerrrrrves. This story was saved for me in the end though when she finally got therapy , which I was mentally begging her to do the entire book lol.
A fun read that was quickly digestible, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who needs more depth to stories about heavy topics like grief. There were some aspects I struggled to suspend my disbelief for (her age, being able to afford so many leisure activities in NYC on a temp's budget, etc). But I do not regret reading it.
A fun read that was quickly digestible, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who needs more depth to stories about heavy topics like grief. There were some aspects I struggled to suspend my disbelief for (her age, being able to afford so many leisure activities in NYC on a temp's budget, etc). But I do not regret reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief
Moderate: Death
Minor: Toxic relationship, Car accident, Toxic friendship
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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
i wish i could say "you were good, i was waiting for you to be great" about this book but i can't, because i don't think i could in good conscious call it good. i did, however, spend the majority of this book waiting for it to be ... at least good. not sure if i would call it good though since passion project frustrated me to no end.
i love a story that has a strong grief storyline, and i liked henry as a love interest (although i do think he could've been developed more + i definitely think he deserved better), and i loved the concept of this book (reminded me of promise me sunshine, which i really loved). that's about all i enjoyed, i fear.
in a way, i feel about bennet the same way i feel about a character from a certain musical — i wanted more accountability and growth by the end of the story and was just left frustrated and wishing i had gotten my time back. i want a story about a messy character who takes accountability for their fuckups without having their actions be excused just because of their mental health.
don't get me wrong — i liked that bennet was messy & that she made mistakes. i loved that her grief made her angry and self-destructive. i just needed more from her. i was really hopeful bennet would have more character growth and development, or that bennet would at least be kinder and more compassionate by the end of the novel.
like my friend kate said in her review, "there was a way to make bennet uncaring without making her actively cruel. or at the very least, let her regret her cruelty for the pain she caused others, and not for the pain her behavior brought upon herself. but london sperry didn't write that grief story. she wrote a grief story with a messy and mean girl who is careless with the feelings of others until she faces the consequences of her carelessness, and then she miraculously wins everyone back."
the way bennet treated quite literally everyone around her was appalling. bennet is miserable because she's grieving and lost (understandable) but she's also determined to make everyone else around her miserable too (not understandable). she's given opportunity after opportunity to fix things with the people she loves, to show up for them the way they have for her, and she leaves them hanging until they snap. the way that bennet acted like she was the only one who was grieving this catastrophic loss + that no one else could possibly know what she was going through or could be going through their own problems just made me ... really dislike bennet. obviously grief & healing is not linear and life isn't a "who has it the hardest" contest. but it really felt like bennet was on some level, keeping score. and quite frankly,.
it really just made me wonder: why did all of her friends stay? (cue why stay from next to normal) why did they keep trying? and i'm not saying that you shouldn't have empathy and compassion for people, especially for your friends who are going through hard times, but ... maybe if we had gotten more flashbacks of bennet & her relationships before everything happened i would have an easier time rooting for her/understanding why her friends stayed/anything at all. sonya tells benett at one point that she's funny and caring and she feels everything deeply but we don't see any of that. i saw a miserable girl who was cruel and determined to make everyone else around her miserable simply because she was miserable. which i think also just gets at one of my biggest issues with this book: i needed more things to be shown to me, not just told in passing — especially something as big as ... bennet's personality & relationship with her friends and loved ones before she lost someone she loved.
bennet realizes she's gone too far multiple times throughout the book, and while she's cognizant of her fuck ups, she doesn't make an effort to fix it until ... near the end. and well, it felt like the only reason bennet ended up mending things with andy, with sonya, with henry, even, was because the author needed to wrap things up — not because it felt natural for bennet to do so.
i also just ... do not think bennet and henry should've been together, at least not where we leave them at the end of the book. because it's clear that bennet still has a lot to learn / process / heal. i genuinely thought this had the potential to be a 4-star read, until the halfway mark. and then it just went steadily downhill from there. honestly just... incredibly disappointing, i fear.
i love a story that has a strong grief storyline, and i liked henry as a love interest (although i do think he could've been developed more + i definitely think he deserved better), and i loved the concept of this book (reminded me of promise me sunshine, which i really loved). that's about all i enjoyed, i fear.
in a way, i feel about bennet the same way i feel about a character from a certain musical — i wanted more accountability and growth by the end of the story and was just left frustrated and wishing i had gotten my time back. i want a story about a messy character who takes accountability for their fuckups without having their actions be excused just because of their mental health.
don't get me wrong — i liked that bennet was messy & that she made mistakes. i loved that her grief made her angry and self-destructive. i just needed more from her. i was really hopeful bennet would have more character growth and development, or that bennet would at least be kinder and more compassionate by the end of the novel.
like my friend kate said in her review, "there was a way to make bennet uncaring without making her actively cruel. or at the very least, let her regret her cruelty for the pain she caused others, and not for the pain her behavior brought upon herself. but london sperry didn't write that grief story. she wrote a grief story with a messy and mean girl who is careless with the feelings of others until she faces the consequences of her carelessness, and then she miraculously wins everyone back."
the way bennet treated quite literally everyone around her was appalling. bennet is miserable because she's grieving and lost (understandable) but she's also determined to make everyone else around her miserable too (not understandable). she's given opportunity after opportunity to fix things with the people she loves, to show up for them the way they have for her, and she leaves them hanging until they snap. the way that bennet acted like she was the only one who was grieving this catastrophic loss + that no one else could possibly know what she was going through or could be going through their own problems just made me ... really dislike bennet. obviously grief & healing is not linear and life isn't a "who has it the hardest" contest. but it really felt like bennet was on some level, keeping score. and quite frankly,
Spoiler
andy is a much better person than i am because if bennet said what she said to andy to me ... i don't know if i would keep trying to offer olive branch after olive branchit really just made me wonder: why did all of her friends stay? (cue why stay from next to normal) why did they keep trying? and i'm not saying that you shouldn't have empathy and compassion for people, especially for your friends who are going through hard times, but ... maybe if we had gotten more flashbacks of bennet & her relationships before everything happened i would have an easier time rooting for her/understanding why her friends stayed/anything at all. sonya tells benett at one point that she's funny and caring and she feels everything deeply but we don't see any of that. i saw a miserable girl who was cruel and determined to make everyone else around her miserable simply because she was miserable. which i think also just gets at one of my biggest issues with this book: i needed more things to be shown to me, not just told in passing — especially something as big as ... bennet's personality & relationship with her friends and loved ones before she lost someone she loved.
bennet realizes she's gone too far multiple times throughout the book, and while she's cognizant of her fuck ups, she doesn't make an effort to fix it until ... near the end. and well, it felt like the only reason bennet ended up mending things with andy, with sonya, with henry, even, was because the author needed to wrap things up — not because it felt natural for bennet to do so.
i also just ... do not think bennet and henry should've been together, at least not where we leave them at the end of the book. because it's clear that bennet still has a lot to learn / process / heal. i genuinely thought this had the potential to be a 4-star read, until the halfway mark. and then it just went steadily downhill from there. honestly just... incredibly disappointing, i fear.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes