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3.04 AVERAGE
3.04 AVERAGE
I liked this book, but then I am drawn to weird books that do not make much sense, and this one is no exception.
It starts at once. David Case rescues his brother, who get annoyed. His brother tells him (well thinks it) what he wanted to do, of course out of the 1 year olds mouth nonsense comes out. Through out the book we can hear the baby's clever thoughts, and he is sure wondering why no one gets him.
David is dead sure that Fate is out after him, and he has a lot of gloomy thoughts. So he changes his name to Justin, starts wearing new clothes, and thinks that Fate can't find him any more. He also gets a dog, a greyhound, and the dog is of course not real. But he sees him. He gets a new friend, who also plays with the dog. I guess crazy attracts crazy. And then there is the older girl who wants to photograph him, and he falls in love. I think that was all teh crazy stuff.
Or was it? No, this book has a second POV, Fate with short sentences tells us that he actually is after David.
Why did I then like this book? I didn't think I would but suddenly I was drawn in to it and could not stop. David was so crazy, I guess it made me think of that Gyllenhaal movie with the rabbit. But David, or Justin really believed fate wanted him dead. And soon he saw dangers in everything, and that is not a way to live. His love affair with the girl was doomed, and it was rather painful to read who much he wanted her, when one could see her indifference. Even if she did care for him as a friend. Luckily he did meet Peter, who was great, and his little sister. That family was a pillar in Justin's life, even if they did talk about the dog. Like saying that Boy needed Justin to survive and exist...yes cos he was made up, duh. But then again Justin needed that dog, I think it made him stay sane.
There was the crazy, the weird thoughts, fate showing up and scaring me, first love, friendship and a wonder how this all would end. A great YA book in the end, with some amazing writing in it.
What can I say, I am a sucker for the weird,
Blodeuedd's Cover Thoughts: Pretty, but pretty girl, but yes looks YA.
Reason for reading: library
Final thoughts: I enjoyed this strange tale, about a boy who lost is footing in the world.
It starts at once. David Case rescues his brother, who get annoyed. His brother tells him (well thinks it) what he wanted to do, of course out of the 1 year olds mouth nonsense comes out. Through out the book we can hear the baby's clever thoughts, and he is sure wondering why no one gets him.
David is dead sure that Fate is out after him, and he has a lot of gloomy thoughts. So he changes his name to Justin, starts wearing new clothes, and thinks that Fate can't find him any more. He also gets a dog, a greyhound, and the dog is of course not real. But he sees him. He gets a new friend, who also plays with the dog. I guess crazy attracts crazy. And then there is the older girl who wants to photograph him, and he falls in love. I think that was all teh crazy stuff.
Or was it? No, this book has a second POV, Fate with short sentences tells us that he actually is after David.
Why did I then like this book? I didn't think I would but suddenly I was drawn in to it and could not stop. David was so crazy, I guess it made me think of that Gyllenhaal movie with the rabbit. But David, or Justin really believed fate wanted him dead. And soon he saw dangers in everything, and that is not a way to live. His love affair with the girl was doomed, and it was rather painful to read who much he wanted her, when one could see her indifference. Even if she did care for him as a friend. Luckily he did meet Peter, who was great, and his little sister. That family was a pillar in Justin's life, even if they did talk about the dog. Like saying that Boy needed Justin to survive and exist...yes cos he was made up, duh. But then again Justin needed that dog, I think it made him stay sane.
There was the crazy, the weird thoughts, fate showing up and scaring me, first love, friendship and a wonder how this all would end. A great YA book in the end, with some amazing writing in it.
What can I say, I am a sucker for the weird,
Blodeuedd's Cover Thoughts: Pretty, but pretty girl, but yes looks YA.
Reason for reading: library
Final thoughts: I enjoyed this strange tale, about a boy who lost is footing in the world.
I'm not sure what to make of this book. It was compelling enough to make me keep reading but the characters didn't develop, David/Justin's relationship with his parents was odd and unrealistic - what parent lets their kid drop out of school and live with a stranger? Charlie's 'speech' and behavior was odd and under-developed and under-used and the whole thing as a criticism on mental health was just poor.
pretty sure i read this book years when i was like 15. only just remembering it now lol.
Having just finished [book: Someday This Pain Will be Useful to You] I don't know why I picked up another story about a depressed young man. Too much depressed young man stuff for one week! Anyway, I think this book will strike your average reader as kind of weird because the titular Justin Case (get it?) has an imaginary dog and Fate talks to him and it's neither fun nor whimsical. It's actually mostly philosophical and troubling.
Maybe Rosoff wrote this book as a kind of meditation on the meaning of life for people who question if it even exists (meaning, that is). Maybe the point of this book is that you must learn to deal with uncertainty to be happy. It's deep stuff with minimal action.
I think I would've loved this book at 16 or 17, during my own philosophically dark days. It's definitely better with the greyhound cover.
Maybe Rosoff wrote this book as a kind of meditation on the meaning of life for people who question if it even exists (meaning, that is). Maybe the point of this book is that you must learn to deal with uncertainty to be happy. It's deep stuff with minimal action.
I think I would've loved this book at 16 or 17, during my own philosophically dark days. It's definitely better with the greyhound cover.
great idea, bad execution. In about the middle, the whole book took the strangest turn and just never got back on track.
i really enjoyed Rosoff's other books (how i live now, and what i was), so I want to read everything she's written. and once i read just in case i will have done just that. i'm half-way through it and so far i think it's her most creative of the three. the tone is very different (in a good way) from her other books...
having just finished this book, i can state with some authority that it was a great read. it was whimsical, yet serious. it did a great job of tackling some pretty huge issues...the nature of fate, of luck, of first love. the characters were interesting. and it was a quick read, which is what i'm into these days--a quality plot that keeps me hooked and can be read in under a week.
having just finished this book, i can state with some authority that it was a great read. it was whimsical, yet serious. it did a great job of tackling some pretty huge issues...the nature of fate, of luck, of first love. the characters were interesting. and it was a quick read, which is what i'm into these days--a quality plot that keeps me hooked and can be read in under a week.
I loved this book as a teenager, and I think that says it all. I've come back to it as a 22 year old and while I still like the book, I didn't enjoy it as much as I remember.
I can't remember why I liked this book in the first place. I think I liked it because it was so different and now I view it was weird and slightly disjointed.
I doubt I'll reread this again as an adult and I may have to give the book away. A shame really!
I can't remember why I liked this book in the first place. I think I liked it because it was so different and now I view it was weird and slightly disjointed.
I doubt I'll reread this again as an adult and I may have to give the book away. A shame really!
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't even know where to start. It was strange to say the least. I'm still not entirely sure what the plot was. At first I thought it was ment to be a depication of schizophrenia and I was intrigued, however the author specifically stated that he didn't have schizophrenia? I'm still confused about what I read but it was certainly original.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
YES. This is what actual YA literature looks like. This is what actually goes through the mind of an actual person who is actually grappling with life and adolescence and shit