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eudisummer's review against another edition
2.0
First the book was very slow starting off but it had a good plot so I stuck with it, the book had so much promise and I was really getting into it with the second half of the book and then it ended. It wasn’t a satisfying ending at all. I was shocked that the book had just ended, it felt like the book still had another 100 pages to go. Not much of a romance book in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong I didn’t hate the book it was pretty good and had a great plot, but I’ll probably never read it again. I was going to give it a 3.5⭐️ but the ending ruined it so I’d give it a 2.5⭐️
rihcochet's review against another edition
4.0
boring at times but overall a fun read loved the characters they were fleshed out in such a realistic way <3
bella613's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, and Rape
kerameia's review against another edition
3.0
I would like to leave some thoughts about this book from the perspective of one who picked it up as a suggested read-alike for Rainbow Rowell's "Fan Girl" (one of my favourite books).
In sum, I liked the idea behind the story, and Sam's character. I had issues, as a reader, with Penny's character, their relationship, and the side-plot of Penny's creative writing project.
I thought Sam's personality, his mannerisms, his whole look, etc. was fleshed-out to give the reader a good sense of him (because of the cover art, I thought Sam was Eurasian to some even though it clearly says in the book that Sam is of German-no-Asian descent!).
I couldn't get into Penny's character, partly because I found her motivations and mannerisms confusing and partly because her personality seemed so contrary -- contrary as in unfriendly, hostile. I understand the image of the character for which the author was striving, but I don't think it translated smoothly into the written story; sometimes her witticisms and Penny-istic way of speaking seemed more for show than authentic spouts of bottled up creativity and intelligence. She is a very negative person, period. I understand the motivations for some of her reactions, but she consistently has a dry, cutting perspective on life and the world around her. I couldn't believe the turnaround attitude she has towards Jude, Mallory, and her mom. To compare, Cather from "Fan Girl" is a little stand-offish with some eccentricities, but not outright prickly.
I wanted to, but couldn't, buy into the authenticity of Sam and Penny's relationship. Not because of the medium; I think that a relationship communicated through text is a hilarious, workable, awesome rom-com concept. I just didn't get a sense of the development of their relationship, of the substance that was supposedly there behind the texts and occasional calls. I know that they shared serious personal stuff, that Sam found certain Penny-isms adorable and visa versa, so I guess it boils down to written chemistry...something was missing to make me believe that Sam really fell for her (from when they first start texting to when he actually yearns for her physical presence). Also, the way it ends? "..." describes my reaction.
The other big thing with which I didn't get on board was the side-story of Penny's writing project (and generally speaking, her gift with words as a budding author). Granted, I dove into this story as an absolute fan of "Fan Girl", so maybe I shouldn't have expected the protagonist to be as passionate about writing as Cather is. However, in some parts it feels like Penny's writing is supposed to fuel the story (ex. it is the driving force behind her developing friendship with Andy). I think the references to Penny's writing lack personal connection to serve as story fuel. Was this -- the project, the class, writing in general -- a passion, or just something she does because she's good at it (I think at some point the author does tell us something about Penny's gift for writing, but I as a reader want more!)? Why does she really care about the Anima in her story so much, beyond it's neat idea (and possibly a metaphor for her life experience to this point)? Going back, I realize that we do catch more glimpses of Penny's writing experience (setting up the story, reasoning out her characters' motivations, feverish attempts at writing in the early morning) but it doesn't feel like a strong part of Penny's experience. Again, I could be comparing her lack of personal investment with Cather's very personal investment in fanfiction writing.
Two things I really love (besides descriptions of Sam's hair and tattoos :P ) are Andy's character, and some instances of the author's writing style. One of my favourite scenes is probably when Penny meets up with Andy to go jogging/walking, and their greeting is as follows:
"Jesus, you look like someone we'd send to repopulate a new galaxy." She yawned. "What is this outfit?" Andy stretched his arms above his head. "There's an optimal set of clothes for every activity," he said. "this is my running ensemble."" (pg. 262).
An example of the kinda quirky, young adult persona writing style that got me laughing is, "Then she Wikipedia'd it since that's the first order of business when you don't know what the hell you're doing" (p. 168)
I'd recommend it, but I admit that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.
In sum, I liked the idea behind the story, and Sam's character. I had issues, as a reader, with Penny's character, their relationship, and the side-plot of Penny's creative writing project.
I thought Sam's personality, his mannerisms, his whole look, etc. was fleshed-out to give the reader a good sense of him (because of the cover art, I thought Sam was Eurasian to some even though it clearly says in the book that Sam is of German-no-Asian descent!).
I couldn't get into Penny's character, partly because I found her motivations and mannerisms confusing and partly because her personality seemed so contrary -- contrary as in unfriendly, hostile. I understand the image of the character for which the author was striving, but I don't think it translated smoothly into the written story; sometimes her witticisms and Penny-istic way of speaking seemed more for show than authentic spouts of bottled up creativity and intelligence. She is a very negative person, period. I understand the motivations for some of her reactions, but she consistently has a dry, cutting perspective on life and the world around her. I couldn't believe the turnaround attitude she has towards Jude, Mallory, and her mom. To compare, Cather from "Fan Girl" is a little stand-offish with some eccentricities, but not outright prickly.
I wanted to, but couldn't, buy into the authenticity of Sam and Penny's relationship. Not because of the medium; I think that a relationship communicated through text is a hilarious, workable, awesome rom-com concept. I just didn't get a sense of the development of their relationship, of the substance that was supposedly there behind the texts and occasional calls. I know that they shared serious personal stuff, that Sam found certain Penny-isms adorable and visa versa, so I guess it boils down to written chemistry...something was missing to make me believe that Sam really fell for her (from when they first start texting to when he actually yearns for her physical presence). Also, the way it ends? "..." describes my reaction.
The other big thing with which I didn't get on board was the side-story of Penny's writing project (and generally speaking, her gift with words as a budding author). Granted, I dove into this story as an absolute fan of "Fan Girl", so maybe I shouldn't have expected the protagonist to be as passionate about writing as Cather is. However, in some parts it feels like Penny's writing is supposed to fuel the story (ex. it is the driving force behind her developing friendship with Andy). I think the references to Penny's writing lack personal connection to serve as story fuel. Was this -- the project, the class, writing in general -- a passion, or just something she does because she's good at it (I think at some point the author does tell us something about Penny's gift for writing, but I as a reader want more!)? Why does she really care about the Anima in her story so much, beyond it's neat idea (and possibly a metaphor for her life experience to this point)? Going back, I realize that we do catch more glimpses of Penny's writing experience (setting up the story, reasoning out her characters' motivations, feverish attempts at writing in the early morning) but it doesn't feel like a strong part of Penny's experience. Again, I could be comparing her lack of personal investment with Cather's very personal investment in fanfiction writing.
Two things I really love (besides descriptions of Sam's hair and tattoos :P ) are Andy's character, and some instances of the author's writing style. One of my favourite scenes is probably when Penny meets up with Andy to go jogging/walking, and their greeting is as follows:
"Jesus, you look like someone we'd send to repopulate a new galaxy." She yawned. "What is this outfit?" Andy stretched his arms above his head. "There's an optimal set of clothes for every activity," he said. "this is my running ensemble."" (pg. 262).
An example of the kinda quirky, young adult persona writing style that got me laughing is, "Then she Wikipedia'd it since that's the first order of business when you don't know what the hell you're doing" (p. 168)
I'd recommend it, but I admit that I didn't like it as much as I thought I would.
emldavis001's review against another edition
3.0
(3.5) This book was cute. I wasn't as interested as I hoped I would be, but I still enjoyed it none the less.
beepuke's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Strong voice. Tight and snappy writing. Kids with incredible self awareness and healthy boundaries.
ciuli's review against another edition
2.0
2/5
TW: cheating, talk of abortion, rape, mentions of alcoholism
I'm giving this book two stars just because 1) it had potential 2) Jude is the real MVP and she's the only character that made sense in this book.
Confusing, that's the word I'd use to explain this book. The characters are confusing, the plot is messy (can that be considered a plot at all?). Penny is a half-korean girl with a troubled relationship with her mother. When she moves to college, through her roommate Jude she meets Sam, who is kind of Jude's uncle but he's really not. After an incident, the two start texting each other, jokingly calling the other their 'emergency contact' and start building a friendship through texts.
I think this book had lots of potential but it was just downright messy. I couldnt really emphasize with the characters, we get glimpse of their lives apart from each other, but these parts are just left there and don't influence the main story at all? What was the point of focusing on Sam's documentary, if it was just going to be dismissed in the end? Same thing for Penny's creative writing classes. I thought they were going to serve a purpose, either for the plot or the character development, but they were just useless.
Also, I don't really get Penny's relationship with her mother. I get that Penny is too much in her head and preoccupies herself more than she should, but the way her mother flips that in the end is just psychologically abusive? You can't expect me to suddenly feel pity for her mother because her daughter is distant from her, when three chapters earlier you told that said daughter once smashed her head on the ground when she was 6 and she had to go to her neighbors to ask for help instead of home. When said mother left her kid at home alone at night to go on dates. Sam's meeting with his mother at least made much more sense, at least it was in line with what had been said up till that point.
I really think that this book had potential, but it got totally lost in this whole mess.
TW: cheating, talk of abortion, rape, mentions of alcoholism
I'm giving this book two stars just because 1) it had potential 2) Jude is the real MVP and she's the only character that made sense in this book.
Confusing, that's the word I'd use to explain this book. The characters are confusing, the plot is messy (can that be considered a plot at all?). Penny is a half-korean girl with a troubled relationship with her mother. When she moves to college, through her roommate Jude she meets Sam, who is kind of Jude's uncle but he's really not. After an incident, the two start texting each other, jokingly calling the other their 'emergency contact' and start building a friendship through texts.
I think this book had lots of potential but it was just downright messy. I couldnt really emphasize with the characters, we get glimpse of their lives apart from each other, but these parts are just left there and don't influence the main story at all? What was the point of focusing on Sam's documentary, if it was just going to be dismissed in the end? Same thing for Penny's creative writing classes. I thought they were going to serve a purpose, either for the plot or the character development, but they were just useless.
Also, I don't really get Penny's relationship with her mother. I get that Penny is too much in her head and preoccupies herself more than she should, but the way her mother flips that in the end is just psychologically abusive? You can't expect me to suddenly feel pity for her mother because her daughter is distant from her, when three chapters earlier you told that said daughter once smashed her head on the ground when she was 6 and she had to go to her neighbors to ask for help instead of home. When said mother left her kid at home alone at night to go on dates. Sam's meeting with his mother at least made much more sense, at least it was in line with what had been said up till that point.
I really think that this book had potential, but it got totally lost in this whole mess.