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togidemi's review against another edition
5.0
Not gonna lie, was gonna leave this at four stars because as lovely as this book was, my suspension of disbelief truly strained at the thought of them falling so deeply in love after spending... maybe thirteen hours at most together. Like I get that that ridiculous idea IS the premise of the whole book, but come on, y'know? But the ending. Ow.
Love the additional perspectives of side characters, how background characters made themselves memorable and reminded me that everyone's kind of the main character in their own story. Really fleshes out this novel's message of fate and love. Love how short the chapters are so I could delude myself into thinking "oh, one more chapter won't hurt - look, it's only three pages long!" and then finding an hour has passed.
And I couldn't help it, I adored Daniel and Natasha. I love how distinct and dorky Daniel's voice is especially, and how solid his character is; I'm MUCH closer to Tasha's (initial?) beliefs than his, but he felt more... real. I don't know. I've met a lot of people who believe what Natasha believes (which includes me oopssss) but they tend not to be as straightforward and, dare I say, cliche about it. Many people think love is just hormones and mutual benefit, but they don't usually go all the way with the Cold Woman Thinks Love Doesn't Exist (Despite Loving Her Friends and Family) trope. "I don't believe in love, love isn't real, nyeh nyeh".
It's just cute, and this book did have neat things to say about other things like race and culture and following your dreams that didn't feel cookie cutter and preachy. It made me believe in interconnection and fate and everything, if only for five or so hours.
Love the additional perspectives of side characters, how background characters made themselves memorable and reminded me that everyone's kind of the main character in their own story. Really fleshes out this novel's message of fate and love. Love how short the chapters are so I could delude myself into thinking "oh, one more chapter won't hurt - look, it's only three pages long!" and then finding an hour has passed.
And I couldn't help it, I adored Daniel and Natasha. I love how distinct and dorky Daniel's voice is especially, and how solid his character is; I'm MUCH closer to Tasha's (initial?) beliefs than his, but he felt more... real. I don't know. I've met a lot of people who believe what Natasha believes (which includes me oopssss) but they tend not to be as straightforward and, dare I say, cliche about it. Many people think love is just hormones and mutual benefit, but they don't usually go all the way with the Cold Woman Thinks Love Doesn't Exist (Despite Loving Her Friends and Family) trope. "I don't believe in love, love isn't real, nyeh nyeh".
It's just cute, and this book did have neat things to say about other things like race and culture and following your dreams that didn't feel cookie cutter and preachy. It made me believe in interconnection and fate and everything, if only for five or so hours.
reynastillo's review against another edition
5.0
This book left me in tears. The way the characters connected created a beautiful story. I love the idea of exploring the perspectives of side characters you wouldn't normally give a second thought to. The ending was so bittersweet and tied everything together. I liked how it didn't end perfectly. Even though the insta-love was a bit unbelievable, the way the characters were written more than made up for it. Any book that causes me to express so much emotion is worth 5 stars.
kenturbo's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mrsmobarak's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
lynalyna06's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
asummaryofsorts's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
4.25
kimveach's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
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
5.0
I loved this book. I expected a sweet romance, but it was much more than that. I haven't seen the movie, but I'm not sure this could be made into a decent film since so much of the book is the character's thoughts and explanations for the people in their lives.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Deportation, and Dysphoria
Minor: Sexual content and Death of parent
trapwomanistcyborgwitch's review against another edition
4.0
More like 4.5. Very beautiful story about immigration and love. I loved all the science and history stuff that Yoon mixed in the story as well. I see why it was a finalist in the National Book Awards. I will check out the rest of her work.