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audreykayy's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.75
I loved this book. I cried through a good 42% of it, so if you’re looking for something lighthearted and funny, this probably isn’t your pick at the moment.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Death, Mental illness, and Terminal illness
Minor: Racism
brycerocksmysocks's review
4.0
convinced she copied and pasted jenny han's book and just changed a few words
when ur teacher tells u to put it in ur own words:
- it's not junior mint but he got her a stuffed polar bear in a carnival
- it's not "the summer i turned pretty" but "one day you were just different to me"
- it's not conrad and jeremiah but she has to choose between two brothers
- it's not susannah but she tells her mother she wishes she was her mother instead
- when the mom makes jokes about how she's sick and dying because "at some point it's okay to laugh about it"
guys i have more. mandela effect is convincing me that this line "most days i wasn't sure whom i loved more: mel or her sons. i was a little bit in love with each of them was in tsitp. i could write a comparison essay on these two books (it be short. cuz theres no comparison)
when ur teacher tells u to put it in ur own words:
- it's not junior mint but he got her a stuffed polar bear in a carnival
- it's not "the summer i turned pretty" but "one day you were just different to me"
- it's not conrad and jeremiah but she has to choose between two brothers
- it's not susannah but she tells her mother she wishes she was her mother instead
- when the mom makes jokes about how she's sick and dying because "at some point it's okay to laugh about it"
guys i have more. mandela effect is convincing me that this line "most days i wasn't sure whom i loved more: mel or her sons. i was a little bit in love with each of them was in tsitp. i could write a comparison essay on these two books (it be short. cuz theres no comparison)
_reedmylife_'s review
4.0
Damn, the marketing on Some Other Now was spot on! This book is truly a YA version of This Is Us and it broke me. Not only does it have one of my favorite tropes, found family, this book was truly beautiful and heartbreaking to read.
Sarah Everett is able to immediately capture your attention and allow you to grieve with this family as they have to guide themselves through a terrible medical diagnosis, death, love, friendship, mental illness, and learning how to rebuild after their world collapses. If you have been missing that feeling that This is Us gave you in every episode, this book will fill that hole in your heart. Just make sure you have some tissues nearby.
Sarah Everett is able to immediately capture your attention and allow you to grieve with this family as they have to guide themselves through a terrible medical diagnosis, death, love, friendship, mental illness, and learning how to rebuild after their world collapses. If you have been missing that feeling that This is Us gave you in every episode, this book will fill that hole in your heart. Just make sure you have some tissues nearby.
oh_heycc's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
cocopurplebooks's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed this. Usually when I listen to an audiobook, I tend to space out at times especially if the narrator is boring. Luckily, the narrator of this book was really engaging. I found this story really similar to The Summer I've Turned Pretty. Well not the exact story but the characters. A girl torn between two brothers. Said girl grew up with them since the brothers mother was her surrogate mother. Other than that, this was much enjoyable than those book series.
I found myself more engaged with the mental health, and serious aspects of the book rather than the love triangle. I liked Luke at first but I can't get over the way he treated Jessi at the party. I understand he was hurting but the way he talked to Jessi was really disgusting and I didn't think his apology was that sincere. The love triangle wasn't written well. Throughout the then and now chapters, all we see of Jessi is how crazy she is of Luke. There were no hints that she had/maybe had feelings for Rowan. I suspected that Rowan had feelings for her but I don't believe Jessi returned his feelings. I just felt like the love triangle was just there for the sake of drama which I didn't really like.
This book is really sad. The deaths of Rowan and Mel were so sad. I know Mel was going to die since she was sick but it was still heartbreaking when it happened. Many scenes in this book were tear jerkers and I was honestly sad after finishing it. Jessi was a very likable protagonist. Sometimes she can be a bit frustrating but it's understandable. I would've rated this a bit higher if some scenes in the novel didn't drag and if there was a bit more buildup between Rowan/Jessi. I wished we got to see more of their friendship. Sometimes it felt like Jessi was all about Mel and Luke. But then again Rowan was acting distant towards her. Overall, this was a equally heartbreaking and enjoyable book.
I found myself more engaged with the mental health, and serious aspects of the book rather than the love triangle. I liked Luke at first but I can't get over the way he treated Jessi at the party. I understand he was hurting but the way he talked to Jessi was really disgusting and I didn't think his apology was that sincere. The love triangle wasn't written well. Throughout the then and now chapters, all we see of Jessi is how crazy she is of Luke. There were no hints that she had/maybe had feelings for Rowan. I suspected that Rowan had feelings for her but I don't believe Jessi returned his feelings. I just felt like the love triangle was just there for the sake of drama which I didn't really like.
This book is really sad. The deaths of Rowan and Mel were so sad. I know Mel was going to die since she was sick but it was still heartbreaking when it happened. Many scenes in this book were tear jerkers and I was honestly sad after finishing it. Jessi was a very likable protagonist. Sometimes she can be a bit frustrating but it's understandable. I would've rated this a bit higher if some scenes in the novel didn't drag and if there was a bit more buildup between Rowan/Jessi. I wished we got to see more of their friendship. Sometimes it felt like Jessi was all about Mel and Luke. But then again Rowan was acting distant towards her. Overall, this was a equally heartbreaking and enjoyable book.
salihacukur's review
5.0
Oh well, I did not expect this book to make me this emotional! I loved how the past and the present came together in the story. I'm so glad I picked this up
zbrarian's review
5.0
This story broke me. So so good. Told from two perspectives, past and present, Jessi has to find out where she belongs, which family is truly hers without losing herself while availing herself of the guilt over the death of her best friend and the impending death of her “surrogate” mother Mel. And also trying to rebuild a relationship with her Mother who has suffered a decades long battle with post partum depression. I didn’t want it to end. I cried, I laughed, I got angry. A highly recommended novel for HS
eslismyjam's review
4.0
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free ARC of this book. I requested this book based entirely on the this sentence, "For fans of Far From the Tree, Emergency Contact, and Nina LaCour." It didn't disappoint. If enjoyed any of those novels you will probably like this. Added bonus- (or not depending on your persuasion) it made me cry at the end.
Everett handles quite a lot of tough material very deftly. It could have gotten very muddy very fast as Jessi is dealing with a mom with severe depression, and her surrogate mother, Mel, being "sick" (I assume cancer, but it was never really clarified).
The format of the book successfully keeps the reader engaged but alternating between the present and past and slowly spooling out the details to keep you reading. I won't spoil, but within the first 25% there is a reveal that throws off what you were expecting to happen.
I was expecting a more standard, coming of age, young adult novel, but this actually developed into something of a romance after its initial setup. The conflict between the two characters being grief over their shared loss and impending losses. It is one of those books that you don't find out the big reveal until the very, very end. I often like books that keep you guessing.
One thing that didn't' really work for me though was the representation. Jessi is mixed race, as are the boys, Luke and Rowan, but it felt more like a throwaway attempt at representation than anything real and substantial. I guess it is good that authors are now writing more diverse characters, but I don't feel that it informed much in the book. It was a few sentences at the start of the book and then never really addressed again. It would have been easy to rewrite the book and make all the characters white and not really change the story in any way. Which I guess is both good and bad in terms of representation. There was a small subplot dealing with the prejudice and racsim Jessi's mom and dad faced as a mixed-race couple from the mom's family, but it felt a bit unnecessary.
On the whole, I enjoyed this a lot. I liked both Jessi and Luke and I thought they had a nice character arc.
Everett handles quite a lot of tough material very deftly. It could have gotten very muddy very fast as Jessi is dealing with a mom with severe depression, and her surrogate mother, Mel, being "sick" (I assume cancer, but it was never really clarified).
The format of the book successfully keeps the reader engaged but alternating between the present and past and slowly spooling out the details to keep you reading. I won't spoil, but within the first 25% there is a reveal that throws off what you were expecting to happen.
I was expecting a more standard, coming of age, young adult novel, but this actually developed into something of a romance after its initial setup. The conflict between the two characters being grief over their shared loss and impending losses. It is one of those books that you don't find out the big reveal until the very, very end. I often like books that keep you guessing.
One thing that didn't' really work for me though was the representation. Jessi is mixed race, as are the boys, Luke and Rowan, but it felt more like a throwaway attempt at representation than anything real and substantial. I guess it is good that authors are now writing more diverse characters, but I don't feel that it informed much in the book. It was a few sentences at the start of the book and then never really addressed again. It would have been easy to rewrite the book and make all the characters white and not really change the story in any way. Which I guess is both good and bad in terms of representation. There was a small subplot dealing with the prejudice and racsim Jessi's mom and dad faced as a mixed-race couple from the mom's family, but it felt a bit unnecessary.
On the whole, I enjoyed this a lot. I liked both Jessi and Luke and I thought they had a nice character arc.