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luxsona's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-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? Yes
4.0
Beautifully written. It sort of reminds me of the game, Omori, in that both novels tackle very similar themes about nostalgia and the past.
What I enjoyed most about this book:
What I enjoyed most about this book:
- The voice: This book is written in first person, and almost every single word reveals something about Marin's character.
- The pacing: Nina LaCour knows how to pace this book really well. There were moments where we see brief flits of emotion and description, but there were also incredibly tense moments that hooked me in throughout. I remembered standing up straighter throughout several moments.
- The characterization: This is a very character-centric book. The focus of this novel sits entirely within the characters and gets in their heads quite a fair bit, so life-like characters are vital. Fortunately, Marin, Mabel, and all of their friends and family feel incredibly life-like. You can understand what they go through throughout the entire novel.
Notes:
- (Spoilers for the ending of the novel!)
The one thing that confused me just slightly was the ending. It felt like the novel was trying to emphasize this idea of "moving forward", and accepting the past. However, the novel ends with Marin accepting the idea of returning to Mabel's family home. This plot-beat feels slightly off-kilter when compared to the rest of the novel and the theming that it was going for. This is just a minor nitpick, though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol
asteinke's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Death, and Chronic illness
starryknightace's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Personally wasn't my kind of story, but it was intriguing enough to want to finish the book. A coming of age about the loneliness of different kinds of loss. Really well written and can imagine this story resonating with a lot of readers, would recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Cancer, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Death, and Death of parent
dinipandareads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
I put off reading this for years because it gave such sad read vibes that I knew I had to be emotionally prepared for it. But seeing as January 2024 seems to have me in my sad read era, I finally picked it up and yep, we are not okay, Nina LaCour. 🥲 That is, this book was beautiful, sad, touching and healing and I'm so glad that I finally read it.
This was a short, well-paced and fast read. It's a character-driven story and it focuses on Marin's journey of acceptance and the beginning of her healing. Despite being incredibly heartbreaking, profoundly sad and achingly lonely, there is hope at the end of this book and it is much needed after the last 15% hits you with all the emotions. There's nothing particularly special about the writing but LaCour infuses this deep sense of quiet stillness and grief in her very simple words that set the atmosphere well. We're not distracted from the pain by pretty overly philosophical words, it simply is what it is.
The author steadily builds up our curiosity (and admittedly dread) as to what happened with Gramps and how Marin got to where she is today, separated and alone from everyone she loves. Although the incoming sadness is often alluded to in various flashbacks and as Marin unveils the tale to Mabel, we don't find out everything until the very end. While flashbacks aren't necessarily my favourite, in this, we don't go back years only months and I thought it was well done to illustrate the difference in Marin before and after. As an emotional reader, of course, I cried buckets of tears at the end and my heart hurt for her so badly. But I think anyone who has had to deal with grief, loss, and heartache in some form, will be able to relate to this story and our characters' emotions.
This was a short, well-paced and fast read. It's a character-driven story and it focuses on Marin's journey of acceptance and the beginning of her healing. Despite being incredibly heartbreaking, profoundly sad and achingly lonely, there is hope at the end of this book and it is much needed after the last 15% hits you with all the emotions. There's nothing particularly special about the writing but LaCour infuses this deep sense of quiet stillness and grief in her very simple words that set the atmosphere well. We're not distracted from the pain by pretty overly philosophical words, it simply is what it is.
The author steadily builds up our curiosity (and admittedly dread) as to what happened with Gramps and how Marin got to where she is today, separated and alone from everyone she loves. Although the incoming sadness is often alluded to in various flashbacks and as Marin unveils the tale to Mabel, we don't find out everything until the very end. While flashbacks aren't necessarily my favourite, in this, we don't go back years only months and I thought it was well done to illustrate the difference in Marin before and after. As an emotional reader, of course, I cried buckets of tears at the end and my heart hurt for her so badly. But I think anyone who has had to deal with grief, loss, and heartache in some form, will be able to relate to this story and our characters' emotions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Terminal illness, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Death and Death of parent
historyoftape's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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
3.75
Reading this was like wiping down a fogged-up window, more and more darkness and chaos being revealed outside, making the light and warmth of the inside all the more noticable. The more I learned about her grandfather the less I liked him, the more I learned about her the more I just wanted her to be able to heal. And that is what I really liked here- is being able to grow with the MC, and feel with her not just for her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Suicide, and Terminal illness
smleeth93's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness, Alcohol, Death, and Grief
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
3.5
A book about grief and the ways that we learn that the people we loved aren’t always who we thought they were. A tough read that was slow to start but ended beautifully.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Cancer, Death, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Alcohol, and Terminal illness
emminkirjakasa's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
I read a review that is 100% what i felt like with this book:
"In some ways you spend the entire length of the book, hoping but not sure what you’re hoping for. Whatever it is, you only finish with half of what you hoped for"
Not much else to add. Beautiful story about grief.
"In some ways you spend the entire length of the book, hoping but not sure what you’re hoping for. Whatever it is, you only finish with half of what you hoped for"
Not much else to add. Beautiful story about grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Mental illness, and Grief
Moderate: Terminal illness and Suicide
Minor: Sexual content
kalinczi's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Alcohol
decie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
3.75
i have no idea how to rate this. it's beautifully written but unrelentingly sad. even the happy parts are sad. I didn't enjoy it, but DAMN. wasn't in the mood to sob. if you are, this is your book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Cancer, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicide, Death, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol and Sexual content