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3.03 AVERAGE
3.03 AVERAGE
Read more reviews at http://rainbowreviews.wix.com/readingfree
Luke and Daniel met when Luke was 6 - and then Daniel came to stay with them... for the rest of Luke's life.
(Warning: "explicit" language is used. Not for innocent ears... or eyes.)
You may like this book if you like the following sub-genres:
Books that don't tell you what's actually happening
Childhood
Mental Illness
Family
Murder
Mystery
Goodreads users gave this book a 3.24. I think it was more deserving of a 3.00.
Pros: If you need something that will keep you entertained, this will certainly do it. I'm pretty sure I said "what the fuck" more in the last two days than I have in the last year. This was basically the biggest mind-trip. Nothing made sense, and everything made sense. If you want a book that literally leaves everything to the imagination, this will let you do it. This couldn't have been a better movie - and maybe I might know what the hell was happening. It kind of felt like, Gone Girl, not knowing what was actually happening - and once you think you know, that theory is ripped out of possibility. (I asked "what the fuck a lot in that movie, too.)
Now, reading this from the perspective of Daniel, instead of Luke, is definitely interesting... and I wonder if that's what made it feel so, mysterious. But it was definitely a good choice on the author's part.
Cons: As much as not knowing what was happening was a positive, it wasn't helpful when the book ended. I'll always remember this book as the book that left me hanging (and some people will love this, but I needed answers about Daniel, Luke, even Claire... hell, the epilogue itself needs to provide some answers).
As weird as this is, Luke is said to graduate high school at 19 - and make some legal decisions for himself at 21... but the legal age (or a state in which adulthood is declared) in the United States is 18, in every state. So it was really bothesome that a seemingly smart student was graduating at 19, and not able to make personal decisions for himself at 21. I'm not sure if the author is just an idiot, or if there was some reason that was listed that I didn't catch (although, I find this hard to believe because he was a junior at 18, which could make sense... but without repeating a grade, 19 is the age at which you're well out of high school).
And finally this book was nearly 300 pages - and it was so repetitive. For example, I think we spent nearly two chapters reading about Richard's 'out-there' behavior; we really could've covered it in a single chapter - however, I would've preferred just a few pages on his behavior and how it influenced both Daniel and Luke. I hate books that write without a purpose. And this book did that a lot - which may be contributed to the fact that this guy never wrote a book prior (and only one after). It was kind of like, 'blah, blah, important stuff here for 2 pages, then blah blah for 43 pages, then important stuff here for 1 page, etc.'
Luke and Daniel met when Luke was 6 - and then Daniel came to stay with them... for the rest of Luke's life.
(Warning: "explicit" language is used. Not for innocent ears... or eyes.)
You may like this book if you like the following sub-genres:
Books that don't tell you what's actually happening
Childhood
Mental Illness
Family
Murder
Mystery
Goodreads users gave this book a 3.24. I think it was more deserving of a 3.00.
Pros: If you need something that will keep you entertained, this will certainly do it. I'm pretty sure I said "what the fuck" more in the last two days than I have in the last year. This was basically the biggest mind-trip. Nothing made sense, and everything made sense. If you want a book that literally leaves everything to the imagination, this will let you do it. This couldn't have been a better movie - and maybe I might know what the hell was happening. It kind of felt like, Gone Girl, not knowing what was actually happening - and once you think you know, that theory is ripped out of possibility. (I asked "what the fuck a lot in that movie, too.)
Now, reading this from the perspective of Daniel, instead of Luke, is definitely interesting... and I wonder if that's what made it feel so, mysterious. But it was definitely a good choice on the author's part.
Cons: As much as not knowing what was happening was a positive, it wasn't helpful when the book ended. I'll always remember this book as the book that left me hanging (and some people will love this, but I needed answers about Daniel, Luke, even Claire... hell, the epilogue itself needs to provide some answers).
As weird as this is, Luke is said to graduate high school at 19 - and make some legal decisions for himself at 21... but the legal age (or a state in which adulthood is declared) in the United States is 18, in every state. So it was really bothesome that a seemingly smart student was graduating at 19, and not able to make personal decisions for himself at 21. I'm not sure if the author is just an idiot, or if there was some reason that was listed that I didn't catch (although, I find this hard to believe because he was a junior at 18, which could make sense... but without repeating a grade, 19 is the age at which you're well out of high school).
And finally this book was nearly 300 pages - and it was so repetitive. For example, I think we spent nearly two chapters reading about Richard's 'out-there' behavior; we really could've covered it in a single chapter - however, I would've preferred just a few pages on his behavior and how it influenced both Daniel and Luke. I hate books that write without a purpose. And this book did that a lot - which may be contributed to the fact that this guy never wrote a book prior (and only one after). It was kind of like, 'blah, blah, important stuff here for 2 pages, then blah blah for 43 pages, then important stuff here for 1 page, etc.'
More like a 1.5.
Maybe some spoilers here...but I don't really think so.
Whew. This was a chore. I don't remember the last time it took me two weeks to read a less than 300 page book. But, here we are.
This was kind of a mess with some dashes of brilliance throughout. It isn't entirely sure what it wants to be from the beginning. Is Daniel a doppelganger? Is Daniel just a part of Luke's fractured psyche? Is he a second personality fighting for control? Personally, I think the last one is what DeLeeuw was going for here but he attempts to inject both a doppelganger narrative AND a mental illness narrative. These are not the same things. At all. And it just leaves you scratching your head. I'm still not entirely sure just what happened at the end and, frankly, I don't really care at this point.
Not a lot happens throughout this story. It felt like a bunch of jumbled scenes stuck together without a lot of cohesion and this brought me a great deal of frustration. I nearly didn't finish it. Had DeLeeuw chosen a specific path to put these characters on and built into it, we could have gotten some closure with these people but, hell...I don't even really understand what happened to Luke's mother. I'm sure it all has something to do with this mental illness being hereditary but it isn't entirely clear on that so...It mostly just leaves you lost.
All that being said there is some great stuff here and there. The writing isn't terrible, it's just a mostly boring story, so I believe this guy has some talent as an author. Some of his ideas and use of metaphor, especially when in reference to mental illness, is really beautifully done. There are strokes of genius tossed throughout this book as well as a few instances of actually terrifying scenes.
On top of the really bad cover, it just didn't work for me, in the end. It didn't flow very well, it didn't feel consistent or coherent and I still am not entirely sure just what happened at the end. I don't need everything wrapped up in a neat little bow but SOME answers would be nice. "Daniel Isn't Real" comes out December 6th, 2019...the trailers look great but I can only hope it's a lot better than the book. (Update...the movie sucked too.
Maybe some spoilers here...but I don't really think so.
Whew. This was a chore. I don't remember the last time it took me two weeks to read a less than 300 page book. But, here we are.
This was kind of a mess with some dashes of brilliance throughout. It isn't entirely sure what it wants to be from the beginning. Is Daniel a doppelganger? Is Daniel just a part of Luke's fractured psyche? Is he a second personality fighting for control? Personally, I think the last one is what DeLeeuw was going for here but he attempts to inject both a doppelganger narrative AND a mental illness narrative. These are not the same things. At all. And it just leaves you scratching your head. I'm still not entirely sure just what happened at the end and, frankly, I don't really care at this point.
Not a lot happens throughout this story. It felt like a bunch of jumbled scenes stuck together without a lot of cohesion and this brought me a great deal of frustration. I nearly didn't finish it. Had DeLeeuw chosen a specific path to put these characters on and built into it, we could have gotten some closure with these people but, hell...I don't even really understand what happened to Luke's mother. I'm sure it all has something to do with this mental illness being hereditary but it isn't entirely clear on that so...It mostly just leaves you lost.
All that being said there is some great stuff here and there. The writing isn't terrible, it's just a mostly boring story, so I believe this guy has some talent as an author. Some of his ideas and use of metaphor, especially when in reference to mental illness, is really beautifully done. There are strokes of genius tossed throughout this book as well as a few instances of actually terrifying scenes.
On top of the really bad cover, it just didn't work for me, in the end. It didn't flow very well, it didn't feel consistent or coherent and I still am not entirely sure just what happened at the end. I don't need everything wrapped up in a neat little bow but SOME answers would be nice. "Daniel Isn't Real" comes out December 6th, 2019...the trailers look great but I can only hope it's a lot better than the book. (Update...the movie sucked too.
3.5 stars. At first I thought this was told from the point of view of an imaginary friend, but as it moved through Luke and Daniels life (as well as Claire’s) I was thinking it was told from the POV of the split personality. Well told story that is so believable it is scary.
Even knowing the deal behind the main character right off the bat, this was a sufficiently creepy novel. A little more depth would have been nice, but it's good for a first-timer.
I definitely enjoyed this book, but I felt like some parts seemed a little rushed.
I’m not sure whether I truly enjoyed this or not. It kept me reading, and parts of it intrigued me but I feel as though I kept reading more to just get through it so I could move on to something else. No characters were likeable. It was dull in parts and the author often used several paragraphs to say what a sentence could have done. Knowing this started as a short story, I think I would have enjoyed it more if it stayed as just that. It wasn’t a bad book but it didn’t have enough about it to make it good... I would not do a reread. The movie was better, which is not something I say often.