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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
OMG guys, why did no one tell me just how STINKING CUTE this YA love story is?? This was SO much more than a sappy idealistic romance between two angsty teens! I related to these characters so much and my heart was breaking for both of them and their own unique hurts!
Darcy lives alone with her hoarder mother trying to hide the shame of her home life and pretend everything is okay. Her mother's mental health is extremely fragile and I felt so bad for Darcy having to struggle with such adult pressures and concerns - something no seventeen year old should have to deal with. To preserve her own mental health, Darcy escapes into her books, finding solace in the characters who have become familiar friends (Anne Shirley being one, which I adored!).
Darcy works at a bookstore to help earn extra money and there meets Asher, an older teen whose flying dreams got derailed after a terrible car accident. He suffers from chronic pain and migraines as a result of the accident and can no longer fly airplanes (his one true love). Together the two bond over an old copy of Peter Pan (and guys!! GUYS!! The way the author used the story to weave into Darcy and Asher's story was chef's kiss the best thing ever!).
This was full of REAL, flawed and utterly relatable characters who I absolutely loved. Even the secondary characters were great. Darcy's bestie Marisol was so supportive and worked hard to help Darcy get out of her shell (encouraging her to go to parties and stealing her books so she couldn't hide in a corner reading lol - I'm totally guilty of doing that!).
HIGHLY recommend this one! Especially for fans of other bookstore YA love stories like Words in deep blue, Recommended for you, Amelia unabridged or Last chance books. Abby Jimenez's Life's too short is another great book that sensitively deals with having a family member who is a hoarder, and one I highly recommend if you want to understand more what that life is like.
This was excellent on audio as well, narrated by the very talented Brittany Pressley. I am legit going to need this on my shelves ASAP and NO it's not hoarding when it's books!! If you haven't gotten to this one (like I hadn't) bump it to the top of your TBR!
Darcy lives alone with her hoarder mother trying to hide the shame of her home life and pretend everything is okay. Her mother's mental health is extremely fragile and I felt so bad for Darcy having to struggle with such adult pressures and concerns - something no seventeen year old should have to deal with. To preserve her own mental health, Darcy escapes into her books, finding solace in the characters who have become familiar friends (Anne Shirley being one, which I adored!).
Darcy works at a bookstore to help earn extra money and there meets Asher, an older teen whose flying dreams got derailed after a terrible car accident. He suffers from chronic pain and migraines as a result of the accident and can no longer fly airplanes (his one true love). Together the two bond over an old copy of Peter Pan (and guys!! GUYS!! The way the author used the story to weave into Darcy and Asher's story was chef's kiss the best thing ever!).
This was full of REAL, flawed and utterly relatable characters who I absolutely loved. Even the secondary characters were great. Darcy's bestie Marisol was so supportive and worked hard to help Darcy get out of her shell (encouraging her to go to parties and stealing her books so she couldn't hide in a corner reading lol - I'm totally guilty of doing that!).
HIGHLY recommend this one! Especially for fans of other bookstore YA love stories like Words in deep blue, Recommended for you, Amelia unabridged or Last chance books. Abby Jimenez's Life's too short is another great book that sensitively deals with having a family member who is a hoarder, and one I highly recommend if you want to understand more what that life is like.
This was excellent on audio as well, narrated by the very talented Brittany Pressley. I am legit going to need this on my shelves ASAP and NO it's not hoarding when it's books!! If you haven't gotten to this one (like I hadn't) bump it to the top of your TBR!
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not sure what I was expecting but this was too boring. I sped it up to 3x just to get it over with.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I wanted to like The Library of Lost Things. I really did. I pushed my way through it in the hope of finding a book that surprised me in the end, but I never found what I was looking for.
The book is centered around Darcy, an almost 18 year old senior in high school who works at a bookstore to help support her and her mother due to her mother's hoarding and obsessive shopping. Darcy meets Asher and becomes infatuated with him. I love a good romance with secrets, but that's simply not what I was given.
**Spoilers Below**
It felt hard to root for Darcy and Asher when Asher spent the first 3/4ths (or more) of the book in a relationship with another girl, London. There's a brief scene at the beginning of the book that is meant to vilify the girl, but in reality it's just a drunk teenage girl who says something she shouldn't have. The rest of the book, the reader barely gets to see London. When she's seen, it's because Darcy is watching Asher and London from afar and noting how nice Asher is to London. Sometimes they seem to be arguing, but you never really find out why. (Asher says they just weren't meant to be together. eyeroll) In fact, there's times when Darcy points out how nice and patient London can be, also noting how she's surprised that London can be nice and patient. (Why? There's no reason to assume London isn't nice and patient.)
Darcy is painted as a character who is smart and loves books, and therefore she is different. Instead of feeling genuine, it felt like pandering to readers. At one point, Darcy points out that books are meant to be held and eReaders are lesser. (I rolled my eyes at this as well. I was reading the book on a Kindle, and it felt like I was being chastised by the character.)
Redeeming qualities: Marisol. The book would have been much better if it had been about Darcy's friend Marisol and the unexpected romance she ended up having at the end of the book. I was way more invested in her as a character than I ever was in Darcy.
I did enjoy Asher. He could have easily been a main character as well. I wish the author had dug more into his story with his accident and his relationship with his father following the accident.
This book had so much potential, but it felt like the bulk of the story was fluff and not real character development. So many storylines were introduced that did not have a satisfying ending.
I wanted to like The Library of Lost Things. I really did. I pushed my way through it in the hope of finding a book that surprised me in the end, but I never found what I was looking for.
The book is centered around Darcy, an almost 18 year old senior in high school who works at a bookstore to help support her and her mother due to her mother's hoarding and obsessive shopping. Darcy meets Asher and becomes infatuated with him. I love a good romance with secrets, but that's simply not what I was given.
**Spoilers Below**
It felt hard to root for Darcy and Asher when Asher spent the first 3/4ths (or more) of the book in a relationship with another girl, London. There's a brief scene at the beginning of the book that is meant to vilify the girl, but in reality it's just a drunk teenage girl who says something she shouldn't have. The rest of the book, the reader barely gets to see London. When she's seen, it's because Darcy is watching Asher and London from afar and noting how nice Asher is to London. Sometimes they seem to be arguing, but you never really find out why. (Asher says they just weren't meant to be together. eyeroll) In fact, there's times when Darcy points out how nice and patient London can be, also noting how she's surprised that London can be nice and patient. (Why? There's no reason to assume London isn't nice and patient.)
Darcy is painted as a character who is smart and loves books, and therefore she is different. Instead of feeling genuine, it felt like pandering to readers. At one point, Darcy points out that books are meant to be held and eReaders are lesser. (I rolled my eyes at this as well. I was reading the book on a Kindle, and it felt like I was being chastised by the character.)
Redeeming qualities: Marisol. The book would have been much better if it had been about Darcy's friend Marisol and the unexpected romance she ended up having at the end of the book. I was way more invested in her as a character than I ever was in Darcy.
I did enjoy Asher. He could have easily been a main character as well. I wish the author had dug more into his story with his accident and his relationship with his father following the accident.
This book had so much potential, but it felt like the bulk of the story was fluff and not real character development. So many storylines were introduced that did not have a satisfying ending.
I’m not sure what I was expecting from this YA novel, but it definitely surprised me.
The book follows Darcy, who’s mom is a strung out hoarder, single mother. Darcy is about to turn 18 and is counting down the days because she doesn’t want CPS to be able to come in and take her from her mom due to the condition of their apartment home. On top of that, her apartment building has a new landlord that is working on renovating the exterior and will soon be doing the interior - which makes her nervous about a possible eviction. The only people who know is her grandma and her best friend, and it’s taking a really big toll on her and who she’s becoming. Darcy is big on literature and books - can even recite a ton of books from memory (something I think my fellow bookstagrammers might love).
She dealt with everything in her life through the books and novels she read, memorized, and even quoted. She loses herself in the stories, and because of that, she starts to lose sight of who she was/is. BUT, Asher was the absolute sweetest, and even swoon worthy. Asher is a year older and graduated high school the year before. He was in a really bad car accident a couple months prior and is no longer able to attend the Naval Academy in Annapolis - so his life was crashing down around him.
This YA book definitely surprised me, but I absolutely adored it. I’m not even going to lie, but this book frustrated me for a good chunk because how her mom was, and how she seemed to enabled her mom and her hoarding. However, both she and her mom grow so much and the character development was extraordinary. Literally read this in one sitting because I didn't want to put it down.
The book follows Darcy, who’s mom is a strung out hoarder, single mother. Darcy is about to turn 18 and is counting down the days because she doesn’t want CPS to be able to come in and take her from her mom due to the condition of their apartment home. On top of that, her apartment building has a new landlord that is working on renovating the exterior and will soon be doing the interior - which makes her nervous about a possible eviction. The only people who know is her grandma and her best friend, and it’s taking a really big toll on her and who she’s becoming. Darcy is big on literature and books - can even recite a ton of books from memory (something I think my fellow bookstagrammers might love).
She dealt with everything in her life through the books and novels she read, memorized, and even quoted. She loses herself in the stories, and because of that, she starts to lose sight of who she was/is. BUT, Asher was the absolute sweetest, and even swoon worthy. Asher is a year older and graduated high school the year before. He was in a really bad car accident a couple months prior and is no longer able to attend the Naval Academy in Annapolis - so his life was crashing down around him.
This YA book definitely surprised me, but I absolutely adored it. I’m not even going to lie, but this book frustrated me for a good chunk because how her mom was, and how she seemed to enabled her mom and her hoarding. However, both she and her mom grow so much and the character development was extraordinary. Literally read this in one sitting because I didn't want to put it down.
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
What. A. Disappointment. Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised considering I've mostly had bad experiences with books where the main character likes reading. Similarly, as all those other disappointments, the main character in this, Darcy, is the good kind of reader, the correct kind of reader. Because reading has rules and to be a real book person you need to follow them, or else Darcy will gasp in horror and judge you for it. If you don't know what this means, you're not allowed to use an e-reader or speed read things. Real readers appreciate the weight of books in their hands, because the story is only valid through the medium of paper. I think it's safe to say that Darcy is extremely pretentious.
The pretentiousness works well with Darcy's general vibe, seeing as she's a shy genius whom everybody loves and admires. The only thing she has going against her is her height, which is more than what's average, and she mentions like twice to show her very human side. Darcy is also quirky, and has a best friend whose purpose in life is to style Darcy into perfection, because Darcy doesn't know how to make herself look her best, but best friend Marisol has her back. And so does other female character, who puts Darcy in various wigs, compliments her and loves her so much because Darcy is lovely and deserves the world. Darcy is actually so perfect that her own mother seeing as Darcy started reading classic literature and poetry at age 3. Actually, Darcy is unlike any other person other characters have ever met, she's so unique! Please, tell me you've caught up on the fact that I don't like the main character? (Just mentioning it, to make sure.)
Not only is Darcy a ray of sunshine, but the pacing of this book is completely wack. It's terrible, I don't even feel like I finished the story because the pacing messed up the reading experience so much. The resolution of the story, I think, comes very late, and feels completely undeserved. Furthermore, the writing itself, especially the final 50 or so pages, just shows that the book wants so bad to be deep, introspective and meaningful. And don't get me wrong, it deals with some serious issues, but they're handled so badly. Things, at the end, don't feel resolved at all and when Darcy then thinks back and reflects on her (and the story's) development it's so disconnected to what the reader has actually been shown. There are a lot of loose threads and no reward whatsoever. Other than the fact that the book was over, that is, because now I can, hopefully, move on to better reads.
Also, Darcy's love interest, which is just trash behaviour.
Still, it's not highly problematic, the way my 1 star reads have been, so it's still a 2 star read. I don't recommend it though.
The pretentiousness works well with Darcy's general vibe, seeing as she's a shy genius whom everybody loves and admires. The only thing she has going against her is her height, which is more than what's average, and she mentions like twice to show her very human side. Darcy is also quirky, and has a best friend whose purpose in life is to style Darcy into perfection, because Darcy doesn't know how to make herself look her best, but best friend Marisol has her back. And so does other female character, who puts Darcy in various wigs, compliments her and loves her so much because Darcy is lovely and deserves the world. Darcy is actually so perfect that her own mother
Spoiler
developed a a hoarding disorder when she realised that she will never be deserving enough to be Darcy's mother,Not only is Darcy a ray of sunshine, but the pacing of this book is completely wack. It's terrible, I don't even feel like I finished the story because the pacing messed up the reading experience so much. The resolution of the story, I think, comes very late, and feels completely undeserved. Furthermore, the writing itself, especially the final 50 or so pages, just shows that the book wants so bad to be deep, introspective and meaningful. And don't get me wrong, it deals with some serious issues, but they're handled so badly. Things, at the end, don't feel resolved at all and when Darcy then thinks back and reflects on her (and the story's) development it's so disconnected to what the reader has actually been shown. There are a lot of loose threads and no reward whatsoever. Other than the fact that the book was over, that is, because now I can, hopefully, move on to better reads.
Also, Darcy's love interest
Spoiler
has a girlfriend for a majority of the book even when he's clearly showing an interest in Darcy and approaching her romanticallyStill, it's not highly problematic, the way my 1 star reads have been, so it's still a 2 star read. I don't recommend it though.
This was probably a little too cheesy for me. It was very nice and lighthearted with the only dramas seeming trivial.