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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
I’ll admit, the sole reason why I picked up Even in Paradise was the fact that the synopsis said there was a family tragedy that was kept hidden. Secrets as a plot point just appeal to me in such a way it’s nearly impossible me to avoid reading the book once it’s mentioned :P
The characters were very endearing. Charlotte, or Charlie, as she is affectionately dubbed by the Buchanan’s was a great character. I loved that she was an artist, and focused on that at school. She had an interesting group of friends, and sadly we didn’t get to see too much of them but throughout the story you really came to know that Charlie valued her friends above all else. Even when she was making mistakes, she always came back to them. I liked Julia as well, I thought she was interesting but I had a major issue with her character. I am really, really tired of the beautiful-charming-but-has-a lot-of-emotional-issues rich girl who is so abundant in books right now. It’s a very predictable character, and I knew within 20 seconds of Julia being introduced that it was the same road that was being travelled in this story. That aside, Julia was interesting and I loved Charlie and Julie’s friendship a lot. Charlie was Julia’s rock, and Julia her’s and I loved reading their mutual story. The Buchanan’s were amazing. They were just so loving and warm to Charlie, I instantly fell in love with them and I could see why Charlie did too.
The story itself was predictable, especially the tragedy that the family kept hidden. When it was finally revealed, I was disappointed although I knew it was coming. I guess I held out a smidgen of hope that it would have been something different. Even though the story was predictable and I basically knew how it was going to play out, I couldn’t put it down. Reading about Charlie and Julia and the rest of the Buchanan’s was almost addictive. I couldn’t get enough of the family and the friendship and the romance.
I did enjoy Even in Paradise very much but it felt a lot like a book I had recently read albeit with quite a bit less darkness to the story. With the rich family, the estate, the family secrets, the girl from an outside world looking in it just didn’t feel like something new that I was reading. That aside, the writing was beautiful, and it was an emotional and heart tugging read. I was definitely not dry-eyed when I finished the book.
The ending was sad because I was looking for a happy ending that didn’t really happen but it was a nice ending and I enjoyed how it wrapped up, and the final lines. I enjoyed Chelsey Philpot’s debut novel, despite the issues I had with it and I will definitely be checking out what she has upcoming!
The characters were very endearing. Charlotte, or Charlie, as she is affectionately dubbed by the Buchanan’s was a great character. I loved that she was an artist, and focused on that at school. She had an interesting group of friends, and sadly we didn’t get to see too much of them but throughout the story you really came to know that Charlie valued her friends above all else. Even when she was making mistakes, she always came back to them. I liked Julia as well, I thought she was interesting but I had a major issue with her character. I am really, really tired of the beautiful-charming-but-has-a lot-of-emotional-issues rich girl who is so abundant in books right now. It’s a very predictable character, and I knew within 20 seconds of Julia being introduced that it was the same road that was being travelled in this story. That aside, Julia was interesting and I loved Charlie and Julie’s friendship a lot. Charlie was Julia’s rock, and Julia her’s and I loved reading their mutual story. The Buchanan’s were amazing. They were just so loving and warm to Charlie, I instantly fell in love with them and I could see why Charlie did too.
The story itself was predictable, especially the tragedy that the family kept hidden. When it was finally revealed, I was disappointed although I knew it was coming. I guess I held out a smidgen of hope that it would have been something different. Even though the story was predictable and I basically knew how it was going to play out, I couldn’t put it down. Reading about Charlie and Julia and the rest of the Buchanan’s was almost addictive. I couldn’t get enough of the family and the friendship and the romance.
I did enjoy Even in Paradise very much but it felt a lot like a book I had recently read albeit with quite a bit less darkness to the story. With the rich family, the estate, the family secrets, the girl from an outside world looking in it just didn’t feel like something new that I was reading. That aside, the writing was beautiful, and it was an emotional and heart tugging read. I was definitely not dry-eyed when I finished the book.
The ending was sad because I was looking for a happy ending that didn’t really happen but it was a nice ending and I enjoyed how it wrapped up, and the final lines. I enjoyed Chelsey Philpot’s debut novel, despite the issues I had with it and I will definitely be checking out what she has upcoming!
You can find a more organized and spoiler free review here @ My Little Corner For Books
Hmm... Hm, Hm, hm, hm hm... I have so many mixed feelings about this one, I'm still trying to sort it out. Pretty much everything (characters, plot) I like one second but the next I was scrunching my nose at... So, I don't really, truly know how I feel about this one just yet. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all.
I won't do a summary cuz you can read it up there and I don't know what to leave out and what to say.
You know, I could hardly figure out the characters! A 360 page book is not really enough to give us a sense of who all these characters really are and just when I thought I knew somebody, turns out they are quite the opposite... It occurred especially with Mrs. Buchanans. Well, not just her but pretty much all of them.At first they seemed so nice and all but as time went on, it just felt like they were using Charlie. "You HAVE to do this for Julia!" "If you were her friend, you'd do this for her." "Do it for us, Charlie." Blah, blah, blah. And Charlie, of course, goes along with it all. But they're really so selfish and they can't see it... Oops is so cute, though, and I felt so bad for her! She's way too young! So, I don't actually know if I really like any of the characters. Julia and Charlie both sometimes annoyed me and sometimes I just stared at the book cuz one of them was sometimes being really stupid but... *shrugs* Sebastian's okay, I guess. Reminds me of TMI, though.
The plot. Half way through, I was kind of confused, like, is there even a plot for this one? Well, we kind of got back on track but then, the whole thing spun a 180 degree with just a few pages to spare... I won't say this wasn't at all predictable, because you kind of guess it and think it's looming over head but since it doesn't happen for so long, you just sort of dismiss it but then it does strike and it catches you off guard because that was not how it was suppose to happen!! I still don't know if I like the ending or not... This is confusing.
I really like the atmosphere of the book! It has this magical-ish, mysterious-ish, paradise-ish aura surrounding it and I really like it! Nothing feels... real but so real at the very same time! The writing was also quite beautiful!
So, I'm just smack down in the middle with this book and am quite indifferent. Their were many things I liked but things that I didn't like and I can't make myself give it a higher or lower rating. I liked it more than a 2 but I didn't like it enough to give it a 4.
Edit: So, turns out, I actually did like the ending! Yay! I also like the writing.
So, I guess I'll give it a 3.5.
I do recommend it, though! It's a good book! Plus, apparently it's a lot like the Great Gatsby...? I haven't read it yet, though this book did spoil me... -_- Well, if you liked that, give this one a try.
Hmm... Hm, Hm, hm, hm hm... I have so many mixed feelings about this one, I'm still trying to sort it out. Pretty much everything (characters, plot) I like one second but the next I was scrunching my nose at... So, I don't really, truly know how I feel about this one just yet. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it all.
I won't do a summary cuz you can read it up there and I don't know what to leave out and what to say.
You know, I could hardly figure out the characters! A 360 page book is not really enough to give us a sense of who all these characters really are and just when I thought I knew somebody, turns out they are quite the opposite... It occurred especially with Mrs. Buchanans. Well, not just her but pretty much all of them.
The plot. Half way through, I was kind of confused, like, is there even a plot for this one? Well, we kind of got back on track but then, the whole thing spun a 180 degree with just a few pages to spare... I won't say this wasn't at all predictable, because you kind of guess it and think it's looming over head but since it doesn't happen for so long, you just sort of dismiss it but then it does strike and it catches you off guard because that was not how it was suppose to happen!! I still don't know if I like the ending or not... This is confusing.
I really like the atmosphere of the book! It has this magical-ish, mysterious-ish, paradise-ish aura surrounding it and I really like it! Nothing feels... real but so real at the very same time! The writing was also quite beautiful!
So, I'm just smack down in the middle with this book and am quite indifferent. Their were many things I liked but things that I didn't like and I can't make myself give it a higher or lower rating. I liked it more than a 2 but I didn't like it enough to give it a 4.
Edit: So, turns out, I actually did like the ending! Yay! I also like the writing.
So, I guess I'll give it a 3.5.
I do recommend it, though! It's a good book! Plus, apparently it's a lot like the Great Gatsby...? I haven't read it yet, though this book did spoil me... -_- Well, if you liked that, give this one a try.
I'm completely head over heels in love with this book. From start to finish the friendship between Charlie and Julia was genuine and the ending was perfect
This book is about a very stereotypical group of people and it was sort of predictable because of that, but it was still very entertaining. The ending was very sad, but I'm glad Chelsey Philpot included the epilogue because it helped the story end on a happier note.
Finally got around to reading this one, and I loved it! Beautiful, absorbing, wonderful characters--just great. I especially love that it centers around a really powerful yet complicated female friendship.
Beautiful, moving, and heart-breakingly emotional, Even in Paradise is a story that I wasn't expecting to think of so much.
The writing is incredibly beautiful and raw, and the characters fleshed out. If you liked We Were Liars, you'll love this one too.
The only problem I had with it was that I felt slightly disconnected from the story at some points, and that I felt Julia's character stray too closely to the lines of being a manic pixie dream girl.
The writing is incredibly beautiful and raw, and the characters fleshed out. If you liked We Were Liars, you'll love this one too.
The only problem I had with it was that I felt slightly disconnected from the story at some points, and that I felt Julia's character stray too closely to the lines of being a manic pixie dream girl.
Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot is raw with how life actually is and is expected to be. There were so many allusions and gosh darn it (!) I fell in love with it. The cover betrays the inside of the book in the fact that the cover makes it seem like any other contemporary, fun, summer read out there. But it's not. This novel, which is a phenomenal novel especially for a debut, reminded me of so many other books I had read but as I sit here now, I realize that it's completely unique in every way. I liked the allusion to Great Gatsby and how it got brought back up throughout the entire book. I didn't realize completely until a certain moment about halfway through the book, that Even in Paradise is a sort of contemporary Gatsby. Though the ending is different, in a way it isn't, and I'll get back to that later in the review.
Charlotte, aka Charlie, is a girl that I could have easily related to at the beginning of the book. She was quiet and studious and just trying to get her way through the scholarship at the prestigious boarding school in New England, St. Anne's. The first chapter quickly brings her into Julia Buchanan's life, and from there it just begins to spiral out of Charlie's control. There were so many events and mysteries in Julia's life that entrapped me under her spell that I didn't quite see how she was changing Charlie, but she was. Charlie became more wanting to explore but she also became more cautious. I was a little weary once we got introduced to all the Buchanan clan, especially of Sebastian,but quickly got over that after Charlie goes to Arcadia. Arcadia is like THE place for all events, and almost is about where Charlie gets all of her memories for the memory box.
Julia is a force to be reckoned with and she definitely shows that throughout the book. After I learned that Julia was the one driving the car when her sister and her sister's boyfriend got killed, I suddenly understood everything that Julia was doing. All the crazy things that she does is a way to grieve, because Gus did those things too. Julia was a beautiful crazy, and that's not even the right way to describe her. Julia just is, and she is amazing at it. I don't think anyone could ever perfectly describe Julia, but with all that she went through that's okay. I guess the only word that could tickle at who her character was is this: real. Her character was real. Not the clichéd rich girl that I thought she was going to be. Julia Buchanan was real.
Sebastian, Sebastian, Sebastian. I knew there was a reason why I didn't want to love him when we first got introduced to him, and it was because he had a girlfriend. I eventually fell in love with him, don't get me wrong, but I don't like that he wanted to kiss Charlie while he had a girlfriend. It doesn't matter how horrible of a person she was, no one deserves that. And then when Charlie and Sebastian start dating, I constantly was thinking, "Is he trying to kiss other girls?" But that made his character all the more real to me. He wasn't perfect and he didn't have just ONE flaw. He had many, and I was okay with that. He tried over and over again to make sure he was worthy of Charlie, and I loved that. I was almost sad at the end when him and Charlie didn't end up together, but I was also happy because of that. This wasn't a perfect book with a perfect ending. It was real.
I liked the Buchanan parents, but I didn't like one thing. They laid almost all the responsibility on Charlie to control Julia, and that just rubbed me the wrong way. That was about the only thing I had to complain about the parents. I loved them in every way otherwise. Actually, I loved all the characters in this book. It was hard not to. All I can say about this book is that it was realistic in a way that not many authors are quick to portray. Congrats Chelsey Philpot on your debut novel, and for making it real.
Charlotte, aka Charlie, is a girl that I could have easily related to at the beginning of the book. She was quiet and studious and just trying to get her way through the scholarship at the prestigious boarding school in New England, St. Anne's. The first chapter quickly brings her into Julia Buchanan's life, and from there it just begins to spiral out of Charlie's control. There were so many events and mysteries in Julia's life that entrapped me under her spell that I didn't quite see how she was changing Charlie, but she was. Charlie became more wanting to explore but she also became more cautious. I was a little weary once we got introduced to all the Buchanan clan, especially of Sebastian,
Julia is a force to be reckoned with and she definitely shows that throughout the book.
Sebastian, Sebastian, Sebastian. I knew there was a reason why I didn't want to love him when we first got introduced to him, and it was because he had a girlfriend. I eventually fell in love with him, don't get me wrong, but I don't like that he wanted to kiss Charlie while he had a girlfriend. It doesn't matter how horrible of a person she was, no one deserves that.
I liked the Buchanan parents, but I didn't like one thing. They laid almost all the responsibility on Charlie to control Julia, and that just rubbed me the wrong way. That was about the only thing I had to complain about the parents. I loved them in every way otherwise. Actually, I loved all the characters in this book. It was hard not to. All I can say about this book is that it was realistic in a way that not many authors are quick to portray. Congrats Chelsey Philpot on your debut novel, and for making it real.
Actual rating: 3.5
This is a book that's hard to pin down rating wise for me. For the most part, I enjoyed it. But there were a few things that I just can't overlook.
Positives: I would say I enjoyed 75-80% of the book. This book covers a little over a year's worth of time (if I remember correctly) and that easily could have been overwhelming but I think that Chelsey handled it well. I genuinely enjoyed her writing style and Charlotte's voice. The characters felt fleshed out, maybe a little too overdone, but it was easy to overlook those aspects in that grand scheme of things.
Negatives: For some reason the book felt so dense to me. I did really enjoyed the voice and style but it just felt like it took such a long time to get through. I also felt like the plot didn't really take hold until 65-70% through the book and at that point, I just wanted to finish it since I felt like I'd been reading it forever.
My two biggest issues with the book were the "secret" and the death toward the end. Both felt contrived. The secret felt like it was there more for shock value, even though it didn't shock me, and the the death just didn't feel right at all. Not necessarily that it happened, but the way that it happened - it almost felt like an afterthought.
This is a book that's hard to pin down rating wise for me. For the most part, I enjoyed it. But there were a few things that I just can't overlook.
Positives: I would say I enjoyed 75-80% of the book. This book covers a little over a year's worth of time (if I remember correctly) and that easily could have been overwhelming but I think that Chelsey handled it well. I genuinely enjoyed her writing style and Charlotte's voice. The characters felt fleshed out, maybe a little too overdone, but it was easy to overlook those aspects in that grand scheme of things.
Negatives: For some reason the book felt so dense to me. I did really enjoyed the voice and style but it just felt like it took such a long time to get through. I also felt like the plot didn't really take hold until 65-70% through the book and at that point, I just wanted to finish it since I felt like I'd been reading it forever.
My two biggest issues with the book were the "secret" and the death toward the end. Both felt contrived. The secret felt like it was there more for shock value, even though it didn't shock me, and the the death just didn't feel right at all. Not necessarily that it happened, but the way that it happened - it almost felt like an afterthought.
I really, really wish I loved this book. But unfortunately, what I wanted and expected wasn't what I got.
As others have said, this book is pretty reminiscent of the Great Gatsby, in the way that there is the mysterious, rich person (in this case, family) who welcomes a stranger into his fold. Julia, an enigma, draws Charlie into her tragedy-ridden family, and they soon develop a close friendship. Julia is plagued with depression from her sister's death and seeks Charlie for comfort.
I get that this book wanted to be deep and exploitative and heavy...but I just didn't see it. I didn't feel my heart ache until the last couple pages. I wasn't engrossed with Julia, who to me felt too similar to John Green's Alaska: a broken girl who is a tad bit crazy, with an allure and thirst for living on the edge. I liked the Buchanans, but I didn't fall in love with them as the book tried so hard for me to do. That, really, is the selling point of this novel: you are Charlie. You are falling in love with the Buchanans. You are sharing their joy and heartbreak. And that is also the reason why I didn't enjoy this book; I wasn't invested enough with that family.
While this book isn't a cardboard cut-out of the typicsl YA contemporary, it does have some of the standard features of it. I've probably read, like, two YA contemps where the MC has a sparking and substantial personality, and unfortunately, Charlie wasn't one of them. I could have replaced her with one of Morgan Matson's characters or Sarah Dessen's and it wouldn't have made a damn difference. Then there's the spunky best friend who teaches the MC to come out of her shell and live life, who's also broken in some way. The boy-next-doorish guy who the MC has a (boring) relationship with.
I gotta admit, though,the reveal that Julia was the one who crashed the car and caused her sister and her sister's boy friend's death was surprising.
Even in Paradise is a nice coming-of-age story with great writing, but ultimately didn't grow on me. Which is sad, because I was really looking forward to enjoying this book.
As others have said, this book is pretty reminiscent of the Great Gatsby, in the way that there is the mysterious, rich person (in this case, family) who welcomes a stranger into his fold. Julia, an enigma, draws Charlie into her tragedy-ridden family, and they soon develop a close friendship. Julia is plagued with depression from her sister's death and seeks Charlie for comfort.
I get that this book wanted to be deep and exploitative and heavy...but I just didn't see it. I didn't feel my heart ache until the last couple pages. I wasn't engrossed with Julia, who to me felt too similar to John Green's Alaska: a broken girl who is a tad bit crazy, with an allure and thirst for living on the edge. I liked the Buchanans, but I didn't fall in love with them as the book tried so hard for me to do. That, really, is the selling point of this novel: you are Charlie. You are falling in love with the Buchanans. You are sharing their joy and heartbreak. And that is also the reason why I didn't enjoy this book; I wasn't invested enough with that family.
While this book isn't a cardboard cut-out of the typicsl YA contemporary, it does have some of the standard features of it. I've probably read, like, two YA contemps where the MC has a sparking and substantial personality, and unfortunately, Charlie wasn't one of them. I could have replaced her with one of Morgan Matson's characters or Sarah Dessen's and it wouldn't have made a damn difference. Then there's the spunky best friend who teaches the MC to come out of her shell and live life, who's also broken in some way. The boy-next-doorish guy who the MC has a (boring) relationship with.
I gotta admit, though,
Even in Paradise is a nice coming-of-age story with great writing, but ultimately didn't grow on me. Which is sad, because I was really looking forward to enjoying this book.