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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautiful writing, an complicated weaving back and forth in time, and it goes a lot of places I thought it wouldn't. It definitely goes to a lot of tough topics, and I agree with Maria that it's for a mature reader.
Compelling, realistic fiction, older young adult and new adult.
I liked the format of the book, told by moving through different, significant moments in time that related directly to the narrator's story. This device works very well to connect how the narrator, Scarlett, is struggling to understand time as a concept of physics (the lens that she views the world through) and as she struggles to come to terms with events of the past year of her life. One of the quotes near the middle of the book helps explain her view: "[Einstein's theory about time] lets me imagine time like a flip book. We flip back to the past, which is still happening. It's not gone, it's just not being witnessed. All of these nows happen at once."
Youngdahl's story started out in a way that made me expect some kind of predictability to follow, but she kept throwing in twists that I didn't expect. The story kept layering and growing, filling out into a complex narrative. Even though the characters in the book are experiencing things that are not relatable to me personally, I found myself caught up in Scarlett's dilemmas and emotions, able to relate to her challenges in my own way--this is one of the many gifts of this book.
The final gift of this amazing book is the lovely layer of forgiveness that Scarlett finds to give herself after all the mistakes and near misses of the past year. I love this quote, late in the book: "I know Curie was right: Life is not easy and with each error we make, each accident that sends us spinning, we must redirect ourselves. It's in the redirection that we confirm what we are gifted for, and what we truly love."
I liked the format of the book, told by moving through different, significant moments in time that related directly to the narrator's story. This device works very well to connect how the narrator, Scarlett, is struggling to understand time as a concept of physics (the lens that she views the world through) and as she struggles to come to terms with events of the past year of her life. One of the quotes near the middle of the book helps explain her view: "[Einstein's theory about time] lets me imagine time like a flip book. We flip back to the past, which is still happening. It's not gone, it's just not being witnessed. All of these nows happen at once."
Youngdahl's story started out in a way that made me expect some kind of predictability to follow, but she kept throwing in twists that I didn't expect. The story kept layering and growing, filling out into a complex narrative. Even though the characters in the book are experiencing things that are not relatable to me personally, I found myself caught up in Scarlett's dilemmas and emotions, able to relate to her challenges in my own way--this is one of the many gifts of this book.
The final gift of this amazing book is the lovely layer of forgiveness that Scarlett finds to give herself after all the mistakes and near misses of the past year. I love this quote, late in the book: "I know Curie was right: Life is not easy and with each error we make, each accident that sends us spinning, we must redirect ourselves. It's in the redirection that we confirm what we are gifted for, and what we truly love."
3.5 stars, rounded up. I finally understood the hype in the last third of this YA novel. My 13 yo old loved the drama of the doomed love story, though more squeamish readers should know that drug use and addiction play a significant role in the story. As does some very-slightly-racy sex.
This is probably the best contemporary YA/coming of age book I’ve read this year. I’m glad I didn’t read 6 million reviews to figure out the subject matter before I dove in. It’s not a love story in the typical sense. It’s not boy + girl = true love. It’s girl + boy + and making plans and breaking them and re-making them and loss and life and hellos and goodbyes. And mistakes and regrets and forward movement.
Much more modern than the 80s book cover suggests. Like Sadie, minus the true crime and unnecessary male-centering, so better.
I loved this far more than I expected to, even though a major central component of the plot pissed me off endlessly.
This book was a wild ride from start to finish. From the very first page, it gave me Looking for Alaska vibes and I just knew it was going to break my heart.
Warning: Review may contain mild spoilers for As Many Nows as I Can Get by Shana Youngdahl.
Read the rest of my review here on my blog: https://hiraethvellichor.weebly.com/blog/as-many-nows-as-i-can-get
Warning: Review may contain mild spoilers for As Many Nows as I Can Get by Shana Youngdahl.
Read the rest of my review here on my blog: https://hiraethvellichor.weebly.com/blog/as-many-nows-as-i-can-get