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adventuresinfictionland's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Runaway train is a throwback to my childhood--while I was a little too young and skipped over the grunge scene until later in life, the nostalgic feel of the speech pattern, the angst, and the time before cell phones and internet was like hella dope ;-) -- while also touching on some pretty serious topics like teenage drug & alcohol abuse, depression, trauma, loss & grief, thoughts of/attempts/and successful (not of MC) unaliving.
Runaway Train introduces us to Nico, Nicole, a 16 y/o heading for her rock bottom after losing her older sister to a brain aneurism that she is convinced will take her young as well. Nico uses drugs & alcohol to cope with the pain, and after discovering some unnerving news about her parents, a crash is closer than ever. Though she self-medicates to numb the hurt, she has one thing that keeps her from losing it all, the 90s grunge music scene that seems to be made just for her. Spiraling beyond out-of-control Nico takes off on a life-changing journey of crashing, burning, and self-discovery to find the one bright light in her life--Kurt Cobain.
The way that Lee Matthew Goldberg captures the crash & burn of Nico, the angst, the grief, and what it is like to be a teenage girl that doesn't fit the social norms of what a teenage girl should be was nothing short of perfection.
***I got most triggers covered in the review but may have missed some. As this does deal with sensitive topics, readers with specific triggers should be cautious before making the choice to read this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Child death, Addiction, Drug use, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Homophobia, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Drug abuse, Death, and Abortion
sarahbythebook's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
3.5
After the death of her perfect sister, Nico is spiraling. Afraid of her own death and afraid of dealing with grief, Nico throws herself into music and boozing with her friends. Convinced of her imminent demise, she creates a bucket list and runs away from home, encouraged by her aunt and less than stable friends. Runaway Train is the story of that bucket list and Nico's reflections and realizations along the way.
I'm a bit torn on how to feel about this book. On the one hand, I relate a lot to what the main character is going through. On the other hand, I want to shake her for how she responds to the situations she finds herself in. Runaway Train is a story about grief and grappling with the way it changes who we are, to ourselves and to the ones who love us. Grief is isolating in ways that Nico doesn't understand. Grief consumes us whole, but she can't see past her own grief to understand that her parents are suffering too.
I think the premise of tying her story to music and to the untimely end of Kurt Cobain is really interesting, but between the various typographical errors and way the teens are portrayed (the constant use of filler words during the character's inner monologues, "lurrrv" [also in internal monologue], etc.), I didn't enjoy this book as much as I could have. I probably will not be continuing this story, but I am grateful to the author and publisher for an e-copy for review.
I'm a bit torn on how to feel about this book. On the one hand, I relate a lot to what the main character is going through. On the other hand, I want to shake her for how she responds to the situations she finds herself in. Runaway Train is a story about grief and grappling with the way it changes who we are, to ourselves and to the ones who love us. Grief is isolating in ways that Nico doesn't understand. Grief consumes us whole, but she can't see past her own grief to understand that her parents are suffering too.
I think the premise of tying her story to music and to the untimely end of Kurt Cobain is really interesting, but between the various typographical errors and way the teens are portrayed (the constant use of filler words during the character's inner monologues, "lurrrv" [also in internal monologue], etc.), I didn't enjoy this book as much as I could have. I probably will not be continuing this story, but I am grateful to the author and publisher for an e-copy for review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Vomit, Cursing, Child death, Addiction, Car accident, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug use, and Grief
Minor: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Abortion, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts
hellalibrary's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Buckle up because I have some things to say about this book.
It’s the 90s and 16-year-old Nico has just found out that her older sister Kristen has died. Her parents marriage is falling apart so she grabs her mixtape, hops in her car, and road trips it from LA to Seattle to meet her idol Kurt Cobain.
Seems innocent enough, fun even!
Voiceover: It was not, in fact, fun.
First - let’s talk about the fatphobia ALL over this book. I want to shoutout @bookishbluebird and @yanitzawrites for educating us (ME) about this topic.
Nico’s sister was tall, blonde, skinny, and beautiful, ofc, and Nico is short, brunette and talked about her “muffin top” constantly. She would grab her belly in a self deprecating manner whenever a guy told her she was cute or hot or whatever. It was literally on every other page.
Oh, guess who the author is. He’s a white man. Of course! All teenage girls want to be made to feel self conscious about their looks when they read a book that’s geared towards them! Of course you can only be beautiful if you’re tall and blonde and skinny!
Let’s also talk about the overuse of drugs and gratuitous sex scenes, shall we?
Remember, 16 year old girl, written by a white man. MAN.
⚠️CW: Sexual Assault⚠️
There is one particular scene that made me extremely fucking uncomfortable.
Nico is camping, she meets a group of teens, they all drink and do drugs, and Nico wants to hook up with one of the guys. Nico wants to hook up with every guy actually. Literally all Nico wants to do is have sex.
In this scene, we hear her thoughts, she’s obviously super out of it, she’s floating in the sky and the next second, oh where’d my top go, etc. Oh, but he asks her, “is this ok?” and she says “yes.”
Is this really what we’re fucking calling consent now?
Am I fucking losing it? I’m genuinely curious about what ppl think bc to me that is not consent and to have that written in a YA book is very fucking dangerous, but other reviews say it was. I’m. Baffled.
I do NOT in good conscious recommend this book.
I do not even know what I’m supposed to do with this book I’m so angry. 🚮
White man. 16 year old girl.
Thank you to @wisewolfbooks for the copy.
It’s the 90s and 16-year-old Nico has just found out that her older sister Kristen has died. Her parents marriage is falling apart so she grabs her mixtape, hops in her car, and road trips it from LA to Seattle to meet her idol Kurt Cobain.
Seems innocent enough, fun even!
Voiceover: It was not, in fact, fun.
First - let’s talk about the fatphobia ALL over this book. I want to shoutout @bookishbluebird and @yanitzawrites for educating us (ME) about this topic.
Nico’s sister was tall, blonde, skinny, and beautiful, ofc, and Nico is short, brunette and talked about her “muffin top” constantly. She would grab her belly in a self deprecating manner whenever a guy told her she was cute or hot or whatever. It was literally on every other page.
Oh, guess who the author is. He’s a white man. Of course! All teenage girls want to be made to feel self conscious about their looks when they read a book that’s geared towards them! Of course you can only be beautiful if you’re tall and blonde and skinny!
Let’s also talk about the overuse of drugs and gratuitous sex scenes, shall we?
Remember, 16 year old girl, written by a white man. MAN.
⚠️CW: Sexual Assault⚠️
There is one particular scene that made me extremely fucking uncomfortable.
Nico is camping, she meets a group of teens, they all drink and do drugs, and Nico wants to hook up with one of the guys. Nico wants to hook up with every guy actually. Literally all Nico wants to do is have sex.
In this scene, we hear her thoughts, she’s obviously super out of it, she’s floating in the sky and the next second, oh where’d my top go, etc. Oh, but he asks her, “is this ok?” and she says “yes.”
Is this really what we’re fucking calling consent now?
Am I fucking losing it? I’m genuinely curious about what ppl think bc to me that is not consent and to have that written in a YA book is very fucking dangerous, but other reviews say it was. I’m. Baffled.
I do NOT in good conscious recommend this book.
I do not even know what I’m supposed to do with this book I’m so angry. 🚮
White man. 16 year old girl.
Thank you to @wisewolfbooks for the copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
booksalabrooke's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Abortion, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
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