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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
Perhaps I will come back to this. Just not in the mood for angsty, teenage pretension at moment.
Absolutely my kind of book and writing - loved it.
4.5
This book has its flaws, but I can't make myself rate this any lower. The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik is an intricate, thoughtful, beautiful story. Despite this falling firmly into the camp of YA that maybe....isn't really for YA, I can still see certain teens loving and identifying with Bowie enthusiast Noah Oakman's strange fascinations - four different obsessions, all connecting some way in his mind. Anyone who knows me knows that I look for connections everywhere. I don't believe in coincidences, I find meaning in odd moments, and I am nostalgic to a fault, tracing the lines of my life that have led me to where I am. Noah is the same, and seeing this kind of belief in a story like this made me weirdly emotional in a way I can't pinpoint.
This book, despite having a very slight scifi bent, is mostly about living on the precipice of adulthood: the fear of college decisions, understanding the meaning of your friendships, understanding yourself. It is beautifully written and deeply felt, with its dense, referential nature juxtaposed with the casual conversation of teenagehood. I loved this book.
This book has its flaws, but I can't make myself rate this any lower. The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik is an intricate, thoughtful, beautiful story. Despite this falling firmly into the camp of YA that maybe....isn't really for YA, I can still see certain teens loving and identifying with Bowie enthusiast Noah Oakman's strange fascinations - four different obsessions, all connecting some way in his mind. Anyone who knows me knows that I look for connections everywhere. I don't believe in coincidences, I find meaning in odd moments, and I am nostalgic to a fault, tracing the lines of my life that have led me to where I am. Noah is the same, and seeing this kind of belief in a story like this made me weirdly emotional in a way I can't pinpoint.
This book, despite having a very slight scifi bent
Spoiler
with Circuit's virtual reality machine and Noah's experiences being "under"
Uh somehow my review mysteriously disappeared like 2 weeks later?!?!?!?!!?
UG. SO ANNOYING.
The gist of it: this book was fantastic. My favorite of David's books for sure. Crazy unique concept that he executed just so well. Fleshed out characters who felt tangible. Amazing dialogue; you can just hear David's IRL voice behind his narrative one. The relationship between the two main male characters is whatever the polar opposite of homophobic is: a super straight kid and his super gay bff, and it just IS, and it's beautiful and hilarious and such a complex friendship on the page.
UG so mad that Goodreads somehow just KILLED my review of this book AND somehow removed it from my "READ" list. Seriously. WTF.
UG. SO ANNOYING.
The gist of it: this book was fantastic. My favorite of David's books for sure. Crazy unique concept that he executed just so well. Fleshed out characters who felt tangible. Amazing dialogue; you can just hear David's IRL voice behind his narrative one. The relationship between the two main male characters is whatever the polar opposite of homophobic is: a super straight kid and his super gay bff, and it just IS, and it's beautiful and hilarious and such a complex friendship on the page.
UG so mad that Goodreads somehow just KILLED my review of this book AND somehow removed it from my "READ" list. Seriously. WTF.
Carve out a whole day to read this book because you’re going to need to finish it in one sitting. I think David hypnotized me because all I could do for four hours was sit and read this book.
There were a lot of things I expected with this book and only half of those things came true. I was absolutely blown away by this book (unsurprisingly, since David is literally amazing). There were parts of the ending I could figure out, but I was actually still very surprised by the turn of events!
There are several YA writers that are just smart. You can tell that they are smart outside of their characters, but they make their characters so intellectual and intelligent it’s crazy. Jeff Zentner is another great example. David surprised me with just how smart these characters were. I had to slow down my own reading pace because I just couldn’t keep up with all of the amazing smart things that Noah thought, did, or said. I absolutely adore books that teach me something, and I feel like there is so much in my brain now because of Noah.
I loved all the characters in the book, but I may have liked the Strange Fascinations even more. Noah has encouraged me to investigate my own Fascinations and I have him to thank for that (and David . . . and Bowie).
The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik is a book that keeps you thinking late at night not only about every big picture in the world, but also the minor things that make your personal life fascinating.
There were a lot of things I expected with this book and only half of those things came true. I was absolutely blown away by this book (unsurprisingly, since David is literally amazing). There were parts of the ending I could figure out, but I was actually still very surprised by the turn of events!
There are several YA writers that are just smart. You can tell that they are smart outside of their characters, but they make their characters so intellectual and intelligent it’s crazy. Jeff Zentner is another great example. David surprised me with just how smart these characters were. I had to slow down my own reading pace because I just couldn’t keep up with all of the amazing smart things that Noah thought, did, or said. I absolutely adore books that teach me something, and I feel like there is so much in my brain now because of Noah.
I loved all the characters in the book, but I may have liked the Strange Fascinations even more. Noah has encouraged me to investigate my own Fascinations and I have him to thank for that (and David . . . and Bowie).
The Strange Fascinations of Noah Hypnotik is a book that keeps you thinking late at night not only about every big picture in the world, but also the minor things that make your personal life fascinating.
I try not to write negative reviews because its easier to say nothing, especially when I'm apparently in the minority here. But...sigh. Putting this one behind a spoiler warning, so you can scroll on past if you'd like.
Reading this book was like taking a quiet, moonlit walk in a familiar part of my hometown and stumbling across the hipster-haired, quirkier-than-thou, ungodly spawn of John Green and Wes Anderson (who has, quite obviously, been raised on a steady diet of "ironic" tv consumption, '80s pop culture references, and the soundtrack to Garden State) standing on the sidewalk in front of the local library, masturbating furiously to the thought of his own superior intellect while moaning out the names of his favorite philosophers and/or classic authors at random intervals.
I closed this book and my room immediately smelled like a heady blend of AXE body spray mixed with a half dozen IPAs and cheap weed.
Every time I turned a page, I swore I could hear a teenage boy drawling "Well, actually..."
I looked away for ten seconds and the hardcover was doing its damnedest to hop on a tandem bicycle with my old copy of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, determined to spend the rest of the summer riding cross-country to discover itself while learning a thing or two about opening its eyes to the kindness and beauty of strangers.
I have never wanted to fight a book so badly.
DNF at page 83, wherein our ever-so-interesting protagonist and co. are debating the merits of "bringing back 'duh'" and actual text includes "Sonic order, yo! Burrito or sammy?"
Spoiler
I can't do it. I physically can't. I literally sat this book down an hour ago after trying for the fifth time in two weeks to slog through a bit more of the narrative, and I lack the strength to pick it back up again. This book hits so many points of interest for me (coming of age story! sci-fi twist! BOWIE!!!) that, in theory, it should've been an easy five-star pick for me. But in practice? Ugh. NO.Reading this book was like taking a quiet, moonlit walk in a familiar part of my hometown and stumbling across the hipster-haired, quirkier-than-thou, ungodly spawn of John Green and Wes Anderson (who has, quite obviously, been raised on a steady diet of "ironic" tv consumption, '80s pop culture references, and the soundtrack to Garden State) standing on the sidewalk in front of the local library, masturbating furiously to the thought of his own superior intellect while moaning out the names of his favorite philosophers and/or classic authors at random intervals.
I closed this book and my room immediately smelled like a heady blend of AXE body spray mixed with a half dozen IPAs and cheap weed.
Every time I turned a page, I swore I could hear a teenage boy drawling "Well, actually..."
I looked away for ten seconds and the hardcover was doing its damnedest to hop on a tandem bicycle with my old copy of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, determined to spend the rest of the summer riding cross-country to discover itself while learning a thing or two about opening its eyes to the kindness and beauty of strangers.
I have never wanted to fight a book so badly.
DNF at page 83, wherein our ever-so-interesting protagonist and co. are debating the merits of "bringing back 'duh'" and actual text includes "Sonic order, yo! Burrito or sammy?"
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
Star Rating: 3.5 Stars
Well that was a bit.... Odd.
It was almost like a not as charming John Green novel with some slight sci-fi leanings.
Well that was a bit.... Odd.
It was almost like a not as charming John Green novel with some slight sci-fi leanings.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A