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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
This was just tedious and pointless.
I thought the first section at Harvard was fine - readable, some stuff happened, I thought it was going somewhere. But then she leaves Harvard for the summer and everything after that was dull. She's obsessed with this man who is boring and tedious. Maybe if I'd read this in my late teens/early twenties I would have related, but in my 40s I just find it depressing and boring to read about. She never does anything unless someone else asks her to do it - she doesn't seem to have any personality in that she has no interests or desires to do anything herself, except obsess over the man. She doesn't find anything joyful, ever.
At first this felt similar in vibes to My Year of Rest and Relaxation which I found compelling and readable without being sure why. But that book has an impactful ending which makes you think about everything you've read differently. And the main character was more interesting. In this book I just found Selin boring and tedious.
1.5 stars rather than 1 because I think the author can write reasonably well, she's just writing about something totally boring. And maybe that's the point, but I really don't want to spend a whole book getting to such a boring point.
I thought the first section at Harvard was fine - readable, some stuff happened, I thought it was going somewhere. But then she leaves Harvard for the summer and everything after that was dull. She's obsessed with this man who is boring and tedious. Maybe if I'd read this in my late teens/early twenties I would have related, but in my 40s I just find it depressing and boring to read about. She never does anything unless someone else asks her to do it - she doesn't seem to have any personality in that she has no interests or desires to do anything herself, except obsess over the man. She doesn't find anything joyful, ever.
At first this felt similar in vibes to My Year of Rest and Relaxation which I found compelling and readable without being sure why. But that book has an impactful ending which makes you think about everything you've read differently. And the main character was more interesting. In this book I just found Selin boring and tedious.
1.5 stars rather than 1 because I think the author can write reasonably well, she's just writing about something totally boring. And maybe that's the point, but I really don't want to spend a whole book getting to such a boring point.
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I deeply disliked this until the final 70 pages, when the guy she's talked herself into a crush on stops being a thing. Then the book got awesome! But god, how disappointing that it took so long. I love books about nothing and everything, this one should've checked every box for me. But the protagonist is so completely incurious, her crush so not compelling, and literally nothing about her makes me believe she's 18 except for how she finds the time to either stay up all night or sleep all day. And the writing is not good enough to make any of that pleasing. Urgh! Rage! Why’d I waste my time!
Possibly the strangest book I’ve ever read. Cleverly written - maybe too clever for me! An unusual descriptive insight into every day life.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
selin! just after graduation was the perfect time to read this, i think. it’s so alive in its mundanity. i often looked forward to hanging out with selin for a bit after work
emotional
funny
like why does she know what happened to me….
Quotes:
I wasn’t particularly interested in high school math acquisition, but nobody ever said we were put on this earth for our own entertainment.
My love for you is the person writing your letters.
They try to hammer the atom back to Fruit Loops, life back to paradise, and love back to nonexistent simplicity…It isn’t possible, and they shouldn’t pretend.
Everything he said seemed to reach me directly…seemed to bear some bad omen.
How could he want to see somebody fall? Was that why he agreed to see me?
I registered that information with an inward sigh; so you weren’t supposed to carry around alcohol swabs.
It turned out Nora’s tendency to run to her grandparents house was well-known. It was because of the cake.
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t eat you. You’re my favorite sheep.”
What had men ever done, to deserve so much beauty and grace?
Quotes:
I wasn’t particularly interested in high school math acquisition, but nobody ever said we were put on this earth for our own entertainment.
My love for you is the person writing your letters.
They try to hammer the atom back to Fruit Loops, life back to paradise, and love back to nonexistent simplicity…It isn’t possible, and they shouldn’t pretend.
Everything he said seemed to reach me directly…seemed to bear some bad omen.
How could he want to see somebody fall? Was that why he agreed to see me?
I registered that information with an inward sigh; so you weren’t supposed to carry around alcohol swabs.
It turned out Nora’s tendency to run to her grandparents house was well-known. It was because of the cake.
“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t eat you. You’re my favorite sheep.”
What had men ever done, to deserve so much beauty and grace?