You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
it was good but it's little upsetting the lack of plot, i thought she was going after her mom, although i liked how light and silly the ending felt like, i cried a little reading this book because i have a sister and books like this are hard to read but overall recommend it
i wanted to keep reading but at some points the book became repetitive and pretty gross to read, especially the second time through.
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
I love Jandy Nelson. Her characters live in these crazy unique poetic situations that are both relatable and impossible. The main character carves poems into trees and her grandma paints the house full of green women. A perfect boy plays a thousand different instruments. Everything is so hyper real. What I love most is how Nelson approaches forgiveness and self-forgiveness. Her characters mess up in major ways because they’re hurt. But they heal and they learn and they forgive and they are forgiven. I adored this novel and will probably read it again. Very romantic, too.
★★★★ // a good contemporary piece on the dysfunctionalities of families; how we all have different ways to confront grief. mixes personal faith and religious belief in an interesting manner. also, it did a pretty good job to resolve the central conflict.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I had to reread this before rereading I'll Give You the Sun and I'm glad I did. Reading this immediately after Mockingjay, I found I could understand and appreciate both Lennie's and Katniss' grief more. Both girls go through bereavement, confusion with love life and finding themselves again after losing their entire world - their sister.
Jandy Nelson's writing is truly fantastic, capturing the teen experience so well, but I have to say her use of slang is very cringeworthy. It took me out of the story a bit, because I had to think back "where we really like that?" I found myself shamefully realising that yes, we probably were, so in that regard she did a good job, but it still annoyed me.
I love how her characters come to life so easily - I actually believed her author's note in that Lennie came to her asking for her story to be told. I feel like saying this could be an easy cop out for any writer, but Jandy Nelson writes in such a way I believe it entirely.
With all it's cringe and awkwardness (let's not think about the godawful love triangle), this is a really good YA coming of age story about loss, love and growing up.
Jandy Nelson's writing is truly fantastic, capturing the teen experience so well, but I have to say her use of slang is very cringeworthy. It took me out of the story a bit, because I had to think back "where we really like that?" I found myself shamefully realising that yes, we probably were, so in that regard she did a good job, but it still annoyed me.
I love how her characters come to life so easily - I actually believed her author's note in that Lennie came to her asking for her story to be told. I feel like saying this could be an easy cop out for any writer, but Jandy Nelson writes in such a way I believe it entirely.
With all it's cringe and awkwardness (let's not think about the godawful love triangle), this is a really good YA coming of age story about loss, love and growing up.
I have to tell you, I didn't have high hopes for this one. Despite the raving YA fanatics on this here website who claimed it the best thing since American Idol went on hiatus, I wasn't necessarily sold on the idea of a love triangle in which one point is your dead sister's boyfriend. Not a spoiler by the way, read the jacket cover. Anyway, I had misgivings, but I decided to trust the raving fanatics and give it a go.
I was pleasantly surprised.
First and foremost, Jandy Nelson is a phenomonal writer. Her turns of phrases - putting words together I have never seen but fit everything so exactly - were poetic, eerily beautiful, yet sparse, concise. I was never overpowered, but kept stopping to think - wait a minute, that was gorgeous.
And though the story wasn't gripping (wasn't even necessarily inventive), it was raw, and messy, and right. It stung, bitterly, at times, and sweetly, at others. I was enraptured.
Oh, and the main character's name is Lennon. As in John. Could I love this any more??
So why only four stars, you ask? OK, here comes the real spoiler, kiddos.
So where does that leave us? With me, wishing I could write like Jandy Nelson. Except for that end part. That part kinda sucked.
4 stars.
I was pleasantly surprised.
First and foremost, Jandy Nelson is a phenomonal writer. Her turns of phrases - putting words together I have never seen but fit everything so exactly - were poetic, eerily beautiful, yet sparse, concise. I was never overpowered, but kept stopping to think - wait a minute, that was gorgeous.
And though the story wasn't gripping (wasn't even necessarily inventive), it was raw, and messy, and right. It stung, bitterly, at times, and sweetly, at others. I was enraptured.
Oh, and the main character's name is Lennon. As in John. Could I love this any more??
So why only four stars, you ask? OK, here comes the real spoiler, kiddos.
Spoiler
While the story was messy, the ending was not - a happy ending tied up in a big red bow with a sloppy puppy kiss to boot. While it was interesting that she kept the mom out of the picture and didn't tell us who Grammy's crush was (yes, you got that right, I said grammy), Lennon seriously gets a big happily ever after with Joe? No way. And their reunion scene - it was so stick-my-finger-down-my-throat-sappy-sweet that I kept thinking, "Jandy, did you let someone else write this part?" Weeeeird. And not appreciated, at least not by me.So where does that leave us? With me, wishing I could write like Jandy Nelson. Except for that end part. That part kinda sucked.
4 stars.
I liked this but I left off the last 50 pages because I had the hardest time focusing on this book. I think I'm currently entering a reading slump. :/
No sé que estaba pensando cuando lo leí, supongo que lo escogí porque era corto y para pasar el rato.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes