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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
This is a tough one for me to rate: I loved the writing, but I ended up disliking nearly every single character.
Lee is an interesting 18 year-old living in Memphis, just about to start the next phase of her life. She's a successful sound engineer, has a popular podcast with her boyfriend, and has her future safe in hand. When her parents announce their separation, her boyfriend breaks up with her, and she loses her job within the span of a few days, Lee is left reeling.
In her search for something to hold onto, she discovers an old book of poems by her mother, and an unused passport that belongs to her father, and begins to piece together her parents' love story, in the hopes that it will teach her something about her own. She decides, along with her childhood friend Max and new crush Risa, to use that quest as material for a new podcast.
And I loved that as Lee is sorting through all of this, we learn just how messy her life really was, underneath the surface. Isn't that the case for all of us? Lee is smart, but she makes stupid choices. She cares about her friends and family, but she acts selfishly. It was so interesting and honest to read a young adult book about a teen who is acting, well, like a teen. So many YA novels these days seem to be filled with teenage philosophers; young adults who are basically 45 year-olds, spouting wisdom and showing an enviable self-awareness while speaking entirely in witty quips and soundbites.
So to have Lee, her friend Max, her ex-boyfriend Vincent, and her love interest Risa, all hesitate and doubt and judge and do impulsive things felt refreshingly real. As Lee discovers more about her parents' lives and history, she learns hard truths about what it means to grow up. And that even though to love someone is to take a risk, it's worth it. Your heart might feel like it's breaking, but it's an indestructible object.
Those are the things that I loved. I loved the authenticity of that feeling of being about to make your mark on the world, but messing up while doing that. I loved the eternal message of being unafraid to take that leap, take that risk, take that shot, because being true to yourself and living your life fully is never a mistake.
What I really didn't like, is the stereotype of the "messy, greedy bisexual." A few characters bring it up in fun, and a large theme of the book is purposefully that Lee is learning who she is, but a big part of that seemed to be that her being bi was the driving force of her bad decisions. Each time that was mentioned, it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Another problem I had was with all of the adults in Lee's life: her parents and her parents' friends were so flawed that by the time I reached the end of the book I was viewing them all as playground brats. There's a difference between showing characters as human, and showing them as selfish people who can barely seem to navigate their own lives. I know none of us has it totally together, but goodness, these people are in their forties, and they're acting like lost children. They have children. One of the key messages of the book is that you never stop growing and learning, but these adults seemed to have reached the age that they are and not learned a single thing.
It's an unflinchingly honest book, and at the beginning, I loved that. And we do see Lee's arc - she's been on a deeply personal journey throughout the story, and we see the impact that it's had and the lessons she's learned. That relentless insistence of highlighting all the characters' flaws and mistakes and messiness became tiring, though, and by the end, I was left exhausted with all of them.
Lee is an interesting 18 year-old living in Memphis, just about to start the next phase of her life. She's a successful sound engineer, has a popular podcast with her boyfriend, and has her future safe in hand. When her parents announce their separation, her boyfriend breaks up with her, and she loses her job within the span of a few days, Lee is left reeling.
In her search for something to hold onto, she discovers an old book of poems by her mother, and an unused passport that belongs to her father, and begins to piece together her parents' love story, in the hopes that it will teach her something about her own. She decides, along with her childhood friend Max and new crush Risa, to use that quest as material for a new podcast.
And I loved that as Lee is sorting through all of this, we learn just how messy her life really was, underneath the surface. Isn't that the case for all of us? Lee is smart, but she makes stupid choices. She cares about her friends and family, but she acts selfishly. It was so interesting and honest to read a young adult book about a teen who is acting, well, like a teen. So many YA novels these days seem to be filled with teenage philosophers; young adults who are basically 45 year-olds, spouting wisdom and showing an enviable self-awareness while speaking entirely in witty quips and soundbites.
So to have Lee, her friend Max, her ex-boyfriend Vincent, and her love interest Risa, all hesitate and doubt and judge and do impulsive things felt refreshingly real. As Lee discovers more about her parents' lives and history, she learns hard truths about what it means to grow up. And that even though to love someone is to take a risk, it's worth it. Your heart might feel like it's breaking, but it's an indestructible object.
Those are the things that I loved. I loved the authenticity of that feeling of being about to make your mark on the world, but messing up while doing that. I loved the eternal message of being unafraid to take that leap, take that risk, take that shot, because being true to yourself and living your life fully is never a mistake.
What I really didn't like, is the stereotype of the "messy, greedy bisexual." A few characters bring it up in fun, and a large theme of the book is purposefully that Lee is learning who she is, but a big part of that seemed to be that her being bi was the driving force of her bad decisions. Each time that was mentioned, it left a bad taste in my mouth.
Another problem I had was with all of the adults in Lee's life: her parents and her parents' friends were so flawed that by the time I reached the end of the book I was viewing them all as playground brats. There's a difference between showing characters as human, and showing them as selfish people who can barely seem to navigate their own lives. I know none of us has it totally together, but goodness, these people are in their forties, and they're acting like lost children. They have children. One of the key messages of the book is that you never stop growing and learning, but these adults seemed to have reached the age that they are and not learned a single thing.
It's an unflinchingly honest book, and at the beginning, I loved that. And we do see Lee's arc - she's been on a deeply personal journey throughout the story, and we see the impact that it's had and the lessons she's learned. That relentless insistence of highlighting all the characters' flaws and mistakes and messiness became tiring, though, and by the end, I was left exhausted with all of them.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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:
No
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
emotional
reflective
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
inspiring
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
reflective
this was a compelling read. the characters are diverse and extremely flawed, very genuine and human. the flaws are on-page and not just "implied." the only reason this doesn't get a solid 4 stars is because i expected more from the podcast. the summary made it seem like they had more to discuss than what they actually only discussed in the book. i also wish the conflict wasn't as simple as it was. still pretty interesting, but i found it severely lacking at the same time.
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
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
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes