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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
- Easy read (3 hours)
- After the main character starts dating Evan, the story becomes mediocre and rushed. It's unfortunate when YA novels must force a romance rather than focusing on growth.
- I love the writing style and how it reflected the content of the book, it's an impressive adaptation by the author. The author managed to make a rare illness relatable to the masses, and I adored the main character.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Mass/school shootings
it was super good and even though it took awhile for the development it came quick which i thought the timings for the development and the ending could have been a bit different though
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Mass/school shootings
the sweet, semi-unproblematic teenage romance was what I expected going into this book. the depth of the underlying issues blew me away and provided so much more to the story. couldn’t put it down!!
This was a pretty solid debut book, in my opinion. I loved Brenda, the psychologist. I saw a lot of myself in Morgan, and some of the conversations they had in the book helped me personally, and I plan on holding on to a lot of those quotes.
The book handles a lot of heavy subjects without being overwhelming or contrived. Some authors will add tragic events for shock value or manipulate the reader into feeling miserable, but these events tied together and felt interwoven. Each problem that Morgan has to overcome is a stepping stone to her full recovery.
Oddly enough though, the character that fell the most flat to me was Morgan. Like I mentioned, I saw a lot of myself in her, but I just didn't get enough out of her. It was like I was simply reading about her feelings instead of actually FEELING them. I wish we could have gotten deeper into her mind and emotions. I feel as if the reader only get the very surface of her anxiety and internal struggle.
Solid book though, all in all.
The book handles a lot of heavy subjects without being overwhelming or contrived. Some authors will add tragic events for shock value or manipulate the reader into feeling miserable, but these events tied together and felt interwoven. Each problem that Morgan has to overcome is a stepping stone to her full recovery.
Oddly enough though, the character that fell the most flat to me was Morgan. Like I mentioned, I saw a lot of myself in her, but I just didn't get enough out of her. It was like I was simply reading about her feelings instead of actually FEELING them. I wish we could have gotten deeper into her mind and emotions. I feel as if the reader only get the very surface of her anxiety and internal struggle.
Solid book though, all in all.
I was really liking this book when I started.
I was eh on it by the time I finished.
My major complaint was just... Like, Evan and the therapist both took a really, like... blamey kind of approach to Morgan's agoraphobia.
I mean, I can get it from Evan- he's not a mental health professional, he's gonna lash out and say things that hurt. My issue was that by the end of the book, there wasn't really a proper, like... "Wow, I actually handled this really poorly and added undue stress onto you, sorry about that" from him.
And the therapist.
She and Evan basically both accused Morgan of being selfish. Of being self-obsessed and not bothering to care about how the shooting affected other people besides her.
Look. Morgan does not read as a selfish protagonist. She reads as someone who is in the grips of a very deep trauma and is having trouble breaking out of it. I don't recall a single moment during this book when Morgan denied somebody else's feelings or experiences- she never claimed to be the most affected, she never claimed that nobody else had a right to be traumatized- she never claimed exclusive rights to the trauma of the shooting.
But that was how Evan and the therapist (whose name escapes me, sorry) treated her. Their form of "help" was "look at how selfish you're being because you've withdrawn from the people around you, look at how selfish you're being by not hanging out with your new next door neighbor".
In what world, under what theory is that an appropriate form of therapy?? I mean, I hate to break it to you, but sometimes people who are traumatized develop anxiety and withdraw from the people around them! And even more shocking, they're not doing it because they're selfish- they're doing it because they have unresolved anxiety issues that need to be treated, not shamed!
I didn't like the book's tone in that respect. I didn't like the fact that the attitude that two characters who were (narrative-wise) the catalysts for Morgan developing as a character took such a blaming attitude towards her trauma. Real-life wise, that's not how you help someone, that's how you make them feel worse.
I was eh on it by the time I finished.
My major complaint was just... Like, Evan and the therapist both took a really, like... blamey kind of approach to Morgan's agoraphobia.
I mean, I can get it from Evan- he's not a mental health professional, he's gonna lash out and say things that hurt. My issue was that by the end of the book, there wasn't really a proper, like... "Wow, I actually handled this really poorly and added undue stress onto you, sorry about that" from him.
And the therapist.
She and Evan basically both accused Morgan of being selfish. Of being self-obsessed and not bothering to care about how the shooting affected other people besides her.
Look. Morgan does not read as a selfish protagonist. She reads as someone who is in the grips of a very deep trauma and is having trouble breaking out of it. I don't recall a single moment during this book when Morgan denied somebody else's feelings or experiences- she never claimed to be the most affected, she never claimed that nobody else had a right to be traumatized- she never claimed exclusive rights to the trauma of the shooting.
But that was how Evan and the therapist (whose name escapes me, sorry) treated her. Their form of "help" was "look at how selfish you're being because you've withdrawn from the people around you, look at how selfish you're being by not hanging out with your new next door neighbor".
In what world, under what theory is that an appropriate form of therapy?? I mean, I hate to break it to you, but sometimes people who are traumatized develop anxiety and withdraw from the people around them! And even more shocking, they're not doing it because they're selfish- they're doing it because they have unresolved anxiety issues that need to be treated, not shamed!
I didn't like the book's tone in that respect. I didn't like the fact that the attitude that two characters who were (narrative-wise) the catalysts for Morgan developing as a character took such a blaming attitude towards her trauma. Real-life wise, that's not how you help someone, that's how you make them feel worse.
This book is the only book I have encountered so far that I have read over and over again from front to back. If I could give it more than 5 stars I would. The character was written so well and you could tell that it was thought out. Her progression through the book was not fast paced and well timed with what she was experiencing. Even at the end, it showed how everything takes time and how a “problem” might never be completely “fixed”. I recommend this to anyone and everyone.
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
I’ve always had a kinda thing for vampires. And this author created possibly one of my favorite vampire characters ever in a book. So I totally fell for this story that spans three centuries, two continents and weaves together the magical, mystical, supernatural, into a gut-wrenching paranormal mystery and romance that will have you on the edge of your seat until the end.
But when it comes to the ending, it did not leave me happy. For me, this was the sort of passionate throw the book across the room ending. Without getting into too many spoilers let's say it bothered me how certain characters were oblivious to what was happening and that the vampires who were shown to have such a degree of humanity and capacity to love and sacrifice and didn’t get the chance to see that more fully fulfilled.
Am I being soft on the vampires and hard on the humans in this book? Possibly, but there are also a few other strings left untied in the end. We never get the answers to some of the questions that have had us hanging on for so long. Do I wish I never read the book? Absolutely not, but I wish perhaps there were a way to read this book being less attached to the ending I thought I would get. More clues along the way. And for me, just a bit more resolution.
But when it comes to the ending, it did not leave me happy. For me, this was the sort of passionate throw the book across the room ending. Without getting into too many spoilers let's say it bothered me how certain characters were oblivious to what was happening and that the vampires who were shown to have such a degree of humanity and capacity to love and sacrifice and didn’t get the chance to see that more fully fulfilled.
Am I being soft on the vampires and hard on the humans in this book? Possibly, but there are also a few other strings left untied in the end. We never get the answers to some of the questions that have had us hanging on for so long. Do I wish I never read the book? Absolutely not, but I wish perhaps there were a way to read this book being less attached to the ending I thought I would get. More clues along the way. And for me, just a bit more resolution.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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