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clovetra's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
well i will say this defo was out my comfort zone (only i will get this joke because storygraph recommended me this as “out of my comfort zone)
i didn’t realise that jagged little pill had been made into a book, and tbh i love me some morrissette so i was like “🤷 why not”
i haven’t seen the musical, and honestly ive never fully listened to the album (sue me) so this opinion is solely about the book
i will say this book HEAVVIVILLYYY leans into the YA genre. at sometimes it was a bit of a yawn but tbh because i went in with literally zero expectations i didn’t find it as egregious as i have with many other books
the characters felt a bit one dimensional at times, and incredibly daft at other times. yes you can shit on me and say “oh they’re teens” ok i was a teen and i wasn’t as stupid as frankie was for 95% of this book
sorry frankie was quite grating she pissed me tf off!!!!!!!!!!
i know this is to be expected when the book is literally based on morissette’s album but i loved all the little references to her & the album! all the little lyrics were cute
i mean i feel like i don’t have much to say? this was not a very “deep” book. very surface level, and sometimes that’s ok!
themes & tropes are a bit overdone but tbh the book didn’t go in claiming it was the most inventive literature to grace the planet so yet again i’m not mad. that’s probably because i had fun reading this because it was so….. easy? light?
my ass has a kidney infection rn so i didn’t want to have to read something super high brow. and this did the job!
i feel like if i read this at any other point in my life i would rate this lower but honestly it did its job! i’m pleased!
i will say though i would never read this again. maybe see the musical, sure. defo listen to the original album. but reread this? i’ll pass xxx
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Racism, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, Infidelity, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit and Homophobia
spindleweed's review
3.0
It’s a fine story I wasn’t the biggest fan of the book.
I didn’t really get into it until about half way through the book. I thought it would be a bit edgier considering the source material. It’s a bit dark and depressing but overall a positive message in the end.
I didn’t really get into it until about half way through the book. I thought it would be a bit edgier considering the source material. It’s a bit dark and depressing but overall a positive message in the end.
brylkayyy's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape and Drug abuse
Minor: Sexual assault and Drug use
rileyh64's review
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
purrfectpages's review
2.0
While vaguely aware the music of Alanis Morissette had inspired a Broadway musical, I admittedly went in, somewhat blind to its novel adaptation. In my defense, anything based off the genius that was Morissette’s ground breaking album would peak the curiosity of a lot of people from my generation. When Jagged Little Pill came out I was a high school senior, scorned (by tame, teenage standards) by my first “love”. Needless to say, JLP’s cocktail of anger and angst spoke to me, along with many other teenage girls of the time.
Fast forward more years than I care to admit and this book crosses my path. I requested it from @netgalley without hesitation, curious to see how they would breathe new life into the powerful words of the album (that still holds up, mind you) all these years later. Color me disappointed however, when I came to find reading this book did, in fact, leave me feeling like it had rained on my wedding day. Ironic, don’t ya think?
In this EXTREMELY, loosely based adaptation, we follow a group of teenagers, ultimately seeing how each is effected after the fallout from a recent high school party. There’s the siblings, Frankie and Nick, one who is loved, “as long as he’s perfect”, the other adopted and torn emotionally between her best friend and the new boy in town. Then there’s Bella, the victim of a sexual assault gone viral, among others. Oh, did I fail to mention this book doesn’t even take place in the nineties? In fact, with the exception of the poetry our main characters “created”, poached right from the likes of Morissette and Ballard’s song book, you would NEVER know this book was based on anything Alanis related, period.
Even if, and it’s a big IF I could put my frustration aside for failing to see the lack of Alanis’s inspiration, this book reads like typical young adult fare, and not one that’s fleshed out all that well either. Looking back, I wouldn’t call JLP a concept album, so it’s a fairly odd choice to try to write an entire production upon. I might be in the minority here, but the thoughts in this review are all my own and ones, I thought, you outta know.
Fast forward more years than I care to admit and this book crosses my path. I requested it from @netgalley without hesitation, curious to see how they would breathe new life into the powerful words of the album (that still holds up, mind you) all these years later. Color me disappointed however, when I came to find reading this book did, in fact, leave me feeling like it had rained on my wedding day. Ironic, don’t ya think?
In this EXTREMELY, loosely based adaptation, we follow a group of teenagers, ultimately seeing how each is effected after the fallout from a recent high school party. There’s the siblings, Frankie and Nick, one who is loved, “as long as he’s perfect”, the other adopted and torn emotionally between her best friend and the new boy in town. Then there’s Bella, the victim of a sexual assault gone viral, among others. Oh, did I fail to mention this book doesn’t even take place in the nineties? In fact, with the exception of the poetry our main characters “created”, poached right from the likes of Morissette and Ballard’s song book, you would NEVER know this book was based on anything Alanis related, period.
Even if, and it’s a big IF I could put my frustration aside for failing to see the lack of Alanis’s inspiration, this book reads like typical young adult fare, and not one that’s fleshed out all that well either. Looking back, I wouldn’t call JLP a concept album, so it’s a fairly odd choice to try to write an entire production upon. I might be in the minority here, but the thoughts in this review are all my own and ones, I thought, you outta know.
hannahlrapaglia's review
3.0
I LOVE the musical Jagged Little Pill, but this novel adaptation just slightly misses the mark for me. I read this in a day, marathon-style, and now I’m gifting it to my 18 year old sister because I think she’ll probably enjoy it more than I did!
thisdadreads's review
2.0
Thanks to ABRAMS kids/Amulet books for the review copy in exchange for my honest review.
Based on the Broadway Musical of the same name which is based of Alanis Morissette's classic album, Jagged Little PIll: The Novel stands on its own in the YA space, telling an honest story of how we're all broken and trying to navigate the world the best we can.
Central to the story is a family made up of a mom with a secret drug problem, an adopted daughter with identity issues, the "perfect" son holding everyone together, and an absent father who's basically given up. The story revolves around one night where a particularly shocking and disturbing event takes place at a high school party which brings to light a number of issues the town and families who live in it must deal with head on.
While this book is packed with issues ranging from sexual assault to drug abuse, cheating, identity, race, and illness, it handles them all carefully and the high school aged protagonists handle them with honesty, curiosity and grace.
The writing is well done and will keep your attention, especially giving each chapter a perspective from one of the characters. However, there are often moments when it's very obvious that the adult authors are trying their best to write in teenage voices. The best YA authors know how to keep language and word choice authentic and Jagged Little Pill is a mixed bag in this area.
I have not seen the stage version of Jagged Little Pill but am very familiar with Morissette's catalog, whose lyrics and themes are present here, sometimes more obviously than others. After reading this book I actually went to listen to numerous tracks of the cast recording and to Alanis' album, I just couldn't resist!
Jagged Little Pill is a good book for an older teenager/young adult reader and I'd recommend Gen Z parents to buy them for their teenage kids to spread the Morissette love.
Based on the Broadway Musical of the same name which is based of Alanis Morissette's classic album, Jagged Little PIll: The Novel stands on its own in the YA space, telling an honest story of how we're all broken and trying to navigate the world the best we can.
Central to the story is a family made up of a mom with a secret drug problem, an adopted daughter with identity issues, the "perfect" son holding everyone together, and an absent father who's basically given up. The story revolves around one night where a particularly shocking and disturbing event takes place at a high school party which brings to light a number of issues the town and families who live in it must deal with head on.
While this book is packed with issues ranging from sexual assault to drug abuse, cheating, identity, race, and illness, it handles them all carefully and the high school aged protagonists handle them with honesty, curiosity and grace.
The writing is well done and will keep your attention, especially giving each chapter a perspective from one of the characters. However, there are often moments when it's very obvious that the adult authors are trying their best to write in teenage voices. The best YA authors know how to keep language and word choice authentic and Jagged Little Pill is a mixed bag in this area.
I have not seen the stage version of Jagged Little Pill but am very familiar with Morissette's catalog, whose lyrics and themes are present here, sometimes more obviously than others. After reading this book I actually went to listen to numerous tracks of the cast recording and to Alanis' album, I just couldn't resist!
Jagged Little Pill is a good book for an older teenager/young adult reader and I'd recommend Gen Z parents to buy them for their teenage kids to spread the Morissette love.
sparkleboymatty's review
emotional
tense
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
4.0
ande13's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-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
4.0
I bought and read this book after seeing the stage production. I think the author did an amazing job capturing the unique voices of each of the characters, but I’m disappointed we didn’t get to see any fist hand accounts from MJ or Steve. I totally understand the why if that, but it was still disappointing considering how big of a part their storyline is in both the stage production and the novel. Either way, amazing job to all involved in this novelization - one of the few I’ve read that is true to its source material while staying relevant to the written style.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, and Rape