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4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
emotional
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
fast-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
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Maybe 2.5 stars? I didn't really like this book. The writing was repetitive and dull, the characters didn't feel realistic to me (especially Holder, he did NOT sound like any teenager I've ever met!) and the plot felt overly dramatic to the point of disbelief. For example, when something really sensational happened near the end, I literally yelled out, "Oh come on! Are you kidding me?! That's convenient, isn't it?" It's too bad, because I think this book tries to call attention to some heavy and important issues, I just don't think these issues were dealt with properly.
Istyria book blog ~ B's world of enchanted books
You know, it should be illegal for a book to be like this. I almost can't handle all the feels I get these days. Seriously. I don't even know where to start, but damn Colleen... This has to be your best book so far. (I haven't read Losing Hope yet though.) I loved all three books of the Slammed series and I loved this one even more. It's so amazing!
You know, I'm not going to give a summary and I'm just going to say whatever comes up in my head because I don't know how else I can do this. This book made me feel so many things and honestly I've never read a book that touched me the way this one did. For a while, this book felt like a normal young adult contemporary. You know the recipe by now. A normal relatable girl (dark past optional), a hot but amazingly sweet and amazing guy (with dark past or not), a breathtaking romance, a huge fight or revelation near the end and a happily ever after. And I would've been okay with that. This book would still have been amazing if it was because I LOVED the first half of the book. It made me laugh out loud so much because it was so hilarious at times. The conversations in this book are the best part of this book. The chemistry between Sky and Holder was amazing and whenever the two of them were together I could feel the tension between them and my heart was beating a mile a minute. And I love Breckin. I'll say it again, every girl needs a gay best friend. They're awesome.
But then the second half changed that. My heart broke and I was sobbing and I had tears in my eyes and I couldn't look away from the words on the pages. I should've known something big like that was coming after reading that intense first chapter, but I didn't want to think about it. It was so intense and addicting. And the writing was so phenomenal. Colleen, you've now officially on my auto-buy list. I don't even have to know what the next book is about, I'll just buy it and read it and love it. Because that's how amazing you are.
This book wouldn't have been half as good without these characters. Sky is so funny and I love her to bits. I felt so bad for her in the second half and I wanted to hug her. But she's so strong through all of it. And she has Holder, who supports her through all of it. He has his own past but he's there for Sky and I love him. He's an amazing guy. And I love his mom even though she isn't really in the book but she has a library inside her house so that's enough reason for me to love her. And I loved Brecking, I already said that. He's awesome. And Six, Sky's best friend also is amazing. I just wish she had a bigger part in this book, but still.
Okay so. I started reading this book last night and around midnight I was just a couple of chapters in and I was tired so I went to bed with my e-reader. I said to myself, just finish this chapter then go to sleep. Yeah... When I looked at the clock again it was 2.35 am and I was halfway through the book. The only reason I stopped reading then was because my boyfriend came to sleep too and I didn't want to keep him up with the light of my e-reader. So be warned when you pick this book up. Be sure you have a few hours free for it because you'll want to read it in one sitting.
Highly recommended and easily in my top 5 for 2013.
You know, it should be illegal for a book to be like this. I almost can't handle all the feels I get these days. Seriously. I don't even know where to start, but damn Colleen... This has to be your best book so far. (I haven't read Losing Hope yet though.) I loved all three books of the Slammed series and I loved this one even more. It's so amazing!
You know, I'm not going to give a summary and I'm just going to say whatever comes up in my head because I don't know how else I can do this. This book made me feel so many things and honestly I've never read a book that touched me the way this one did. For a while, this book felt like a normal young adult contemporary. You know the recipe by now. A normal relatable girl (dark past optional), a hot but amazingly sweet and amazing guy (with dark past or not), a breathtaking romance, a huge fight or revelation near the end and a happily ever after. And I would've been okay with that. This book would still have been amazing if it was because I LOVED the first half of the book. It made me laugh out loud so much because it was so hilarious at times. The conversations in this book are the best part of this book. The chemistry between Sky and Holder was amazing and whenever the two of them were together I could feel the tension between them and my heart was beating a mile a minute. And I love Breckin. I'll say it again, every girl needs a gay best friend. They're awesome.
But then the second half changed that. My heart broke and I was sobbing and I had tears in my eyes and I couldn't look away from the words on the pages. I should've known something big like that was coming after reading that intense first chapter, but I didn't want to think about it. It was so intense and addicting. And the writing was so phenomenal. Colleen, you've now officially on my auto-buy list. I don't even have to know what the next book is about, I'll just buy it and read it and love it. Because that's how amazing you are.
This book wouldn't have been half as good without these characters. Sky is so funny and I love her to bits. I felt so bad for her in the second half and I wanted to hug her. But she's so strong through all of it. And she has Holder, who supports her through all of it. He has his own past but he's there for Sky and I love him. He's an amazing guy. And I love his mom even though she isn't really in the book but she has a library inside her house so that's enough reason for me to love her. And I loved Brecking, I already said that. He's awesome. And Six, Sky's best friend also is amazing. I just wish she had a bigger part in this book, but still.
Okay so. I started reading this book last night and around midnight I was just a couple of chapters in and I was tired so I went to bed with my e-reader. I said to myself, just finish this chapter then go to sleep. Yeah... When I looked at the clock again it was 2.35 am and I was halfway through the book. The only reason I stopped reading then was because my boyfriend came to sleep too and I didn't want to keep him up with the light of my e-reader. So be warned when you pick this book up. Be sure you have a few hours free for it because you'll want to read it in one sitting.
Highly recommended and easily in my top 5 for 2013.
SPOILERS
Sensitive Content: Mention of book enabling homophobia, pedophilia
Hopeless by Colleen Hoover is difficult for me to review. While the author has 4-star writing talent as it pertains to flow and diction, there are insurmountable problems with a few of the books messages that I cannot get over.
First: I acknowledge that I have a bias against young adult romance novels with high school characters. I should've researched this genre more but bought this book based on so many recommendations first. I find it inappropriate and creepy to read sexually graphic content involving minors, so I found myself skipping over much of the content and just reading the conversations in quotations. This of course is a bone to pick with the entirety of a genre, and not just the author.
Second: The book begins with the main character (Sky) learning that the guy she's crushing on (Holder) has committed a hate crime against a gay guy. She was presented this information and believed it as fact, not rumor. The biggest travesty is that she continues to flirt and explore Holder until he makes her aware that what she heard was an untrue rumor. In what world is it Okay to nonchalantly accept that someone has committed a HATE CRIME just because they're cute? Unacceptable.
Third: At the end of the book, Sky discovers her dad raped several children, and expresses that because she loves him, she "doesn't want to ruin his career." Unreal. I understand presenting the complex feelings associated with someone you love doing bad things, and the compartmentalized shattering of someones persona. To not want to accept the badness because of the goodness it taints. But to not report a CHILD RAPIST to avoid ruining their career? What a terrible, inexcusable message.
Those last two points indicate that perhaps the author doesn't understand the gravity of these traumas and uses them to turn pages at the expense of those who truly suffer from them. The plot line could have remained the same, but the refinement of the characters message and resolve surrounding those problems could have been more appropriate and inline with Sky's entire persona. I understand an authors right to make an unlikable character, but that clearly wasn't the intent here. I leave this book so worried about the messages therein.
Sensitive Content: Mention of book enabling homophobia, pedophilia
Hopeless by Colleen Hoover is difficult for me to review. While the author has 4-star writing talent as it pertains to flow and diction, there are insurmountable problems with a few of the books messages that I cannot get over.
First: I acknowledge that I have a bias against young adult romance novels with high school characters. I should've researched this genre more but bought this book based on so many recommendations first. I find it inappropriate and creepy to read sexually graphic content involving minors, so I found myself skipping over much of the content and just reading the conversations in quotations. This of course is a bone to pick with the entirety of a genre, and not just the author.
Second: The book begins with the main character (Sky) learning that the guy she's crushing on (Holder) has committed a hate crime against a gay guy. She was presented this information and believed it as fact, not rumor. The biggest travesty is that she continues to flirt and explore Holder until he makes her aware that what she heard was an untrue rumor. In what world is it Okay to nonchalantly accept that someone has committed a HATE CRIME just because they're cute? Unacceptable.
Third: At the end of the book, Sky discovers her dad raped several children, and expresses that because she loves him, she "doesn't want to ruin his career." Unreal. I understand presenting the complex feelings associated with someone you love doing bad things, and the compartmentalized shattering of someones persona. To not want to accept the badness because of the goodness it taints. But to not report a CHILD RAPIST to avoid ruining their career? What a terrible, inexcusable message.
Those last two points indicate that perhaps the author doesn't understand the gravity of these traumas and uses them to turn pages at the expense of those who truly suffer from them. The plot line could have remained the same, but the refinement of the characters message and resolve surrounding those problems could have been more appropriate and inline with Sky's entire persona. I understand an authors right to make an unlikable character, but that clearly wasn't the intent here. I leave this book so worried about the messages therein.