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shannonreadssometimes's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I had reviewed this as 2.5 's in my reading journal but in honestly thinking about it now it was a fun read. it was incredibly over-dramatic, but then again, that's how life feels sometimes. and it dealt with some seriously heavy stuff like s*xual assault, sibling d**th and mental illness and eating disorders. it was a very odd mix of elements and very odd way of dealing with them and the trauma, but i think i liked it. hey, I'm not here to judge how you deal with your issues, even if you're fictional! But fr, these kids have some serious shit going on, and instead of, idk, going to therapy, a rag-tag found family group of friends all hyper fixate on the mystery of the mc's great great great grandparents and their sunk ship. to the point where they literally nearly died trying to find said ship.
it felt a little trauma dumpy at times, and the characters felt very real and human to the point where they were almost hard to like, but i adore the side character little brother and his mental health side plot. he has, in my professional armchair psychologist's opinion, AFRID, OCD and ASD, and during this book was staying in a psychiatric facility for a s**cide attempt. his big sister, our mc, has a serious case of glass child syndrome after being raised alongside his meltdowns and early symptoms. she had a brief stint of fame in musical theatre (btw, there is so much singing in this book) which ended in s*xual assault, which she is obviously learning to cope with too. her love interest and her li's mother both have persistent complex bereavement disorder, which manifests in delusions and hallucinations at time. none of this is explicitly stated or even truly dealt with, but it was very cool to read about regardless. my favourite hobby is psycho-analysing my book characters.
ultimately, it is a love story too. a sweet, complicated, very realistic love story fill of miscommunication, and even though i hate that stuff, i couldn't help but really warm to the characters eventually <3
it felt a little trauma dumpy at times, and the characters felt very real and human to the point where they were almost hard to like, but i adore the side character little brother and his mental health side plot. he has, in my professional armchair psychologist's opinion, AFRID, OCD and ASD, and during this book was staying in a psychiatric facility for a s**cide attempt. his big sister, our mc, has a serious case of glass child syndrome after being raised alongside his meltdowns and early symptoms. she had a brief stint of fame in musical theatre (btw, there is so much singing in this book) which ended in s*xual assault, which she is obviously learning to cope with too. her love interest and her li's mother both have persistent complex bereavement disorder, which manifests in delusions and hallucinations at time. none of this is explicitly stated or even truly dealt with, but it was very cool to read about regardless. my favourite hobby is psycho-analysing my book characters.
ultimately, it is a love story too. a sweet, complicated, very realistic love story fill of miscommunication, and even though i hate that stuff, i couldn't help but really warm to the characters eventually <3
linak88's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
thepetitepunk's review against another edition
4.0
"The world is a big place. There's space for you in it."
This was a beautiful story. The writing worked so well for the the YA genre--it definitely sounded like the voice of a teenager, yet there was a certain kind of elegance to it. The characters were interesting and the setting was incredibly fun. I also thought the audiobook narrator was quite engaging.
I think the only thing I didn't really like was the love triangle, but to be fair, that's never my thing.
This was a beautiful story. The writing worked so well for the the YA genre--it definitely sounded like the voice of a teenager, yet there was a certain kind of elegance to it. The characters were interesting and the setting was incredibly fun. I also thought the audiobook narrator was quite engaging.
I think the only thing I didn't really like was the love triangle, but to be fair, that's never my thing.
skylercauldron's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.5
rocomama's review against another edition
informative
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
irismessenger_'s review against another edition
4.0
A little bit angsty YA, a little bit wholesome, and a whole lot of lyrical writing made a damn fine book to read when I wasn't feeling the best. As a retelling of The Twelfth Night, I don't know how successful it was, but as an exploration into a blossoming queer and a look into the mental health of teens these days it surpassed the small amount of YA I've read these days.
Mirroring the nautical themed story, the narrative sometimes got lost in eddies, taking too long to move forward to the next step in the plot. But if that was my only gripe with the book, I think we have a solid debut in our hands. It hit WAY too close to home to a time in my life where I shaved my head and wore only men's clothes, but at least I then know that is an integral part to some queer's experiences. Overall I'd recommend, the author takes risks and writes beautifully, and the queer love triangle is kinda to die for.
Mirroring the nautical themed story, the narrative sometimes got lost in eddies, taking too long to move forward to the next step in the plot. But if that was my only gripe with the book, I think we have a solid debut in our hands. It hit WAY too close to home to a time in my life where I shaved my head and wore only men's clothes, but at least I then know that is an integral part to some queer's experiences. Overall I'd recommend, the author takes risks and writes beautifully, and the queer love triangle is kinda to die for.
slushysands's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
4.5
shelbyswartzel's review against another edition
5.0
This was a wonderful book that I got from a "blind date" from B&N. I believe it captures teenage life fairly well while still adding the dramatics we all see in books and movies. Family, friends, and love.
snaillydia's review against another edition
DNF @ 132 pages
I cannot stress enough how much I wanted to enjoy this book. I bought it new, in hardback, I nearly never do that. I waited for the perfect moment when I'd need a heartwrenching sapphic YA, and that moment finally came.
But nope. No satisfaction. No heart wrenching or swooning to be found.
I suppose that this book just ticked too many of my random pet-peeves. I hate when characters break into song. I hate characters self diagnosing. I hate manic pixie dream girls that are squeaky clean. I dislike love triangles.
So the novel was already stretching the limits of my patience by the 130 page mark, when I realized how little had happened by that point. Seriously. This book moves at a snail's pace, attempting to focus of characters and their relationships. Which I usually love! Some of my favorite books are commonly criticized for their pace. But those books managed to get me to care about their characters. The Last True Poets of the Sea never gets me to care, not even a little bit. The protagonist is as interesting as a saltine cracker, and the rest of the characters have zero edge.
I thought that, with a whimsical title like 'The Last True Poets of the Sea', I would be in for some nice, poetic prose at least. Nope, the writing falls short. Nothing special, no spark, nothing to separate it from every contemporary YA novel I've ever read.
Yawn.
I cannot stress enough how much I wanted to enjoy this book. I bought it new, in hardback, I nearly never do that. I waited for the perfect moment when I'd need a heartwrenching sapphic YA, and that moment finally came.
But nope. No satisfaction. No heart wrenching or swooning to be found.
I suppose that this book just ticked too many of my random pet-peeves. I hate when characters break into song. I hate characters self diagnosing. I hate manic pixie dream girls that are squeaky clean. I dislike love triangles.
So the novel was already stretching the limits of my patience by the 130 page mark, when I realized how little had happened by that point. Seriously. This book moves at a snail's pace, attempting to focus of characters and their relationships. Which I usually love! Some of my favorite books are commonly criticized for their pace. But those books managed to get me to care about their characters. The Last True Poets of the Sea never gets me to care, not even a little bit. The protagonist is as interesting as a saltine cracker, and the rest of the characters have zero edge.
I thought that, with a whimsical title like 'The Last True Poets of the Sea', I would be in for some nice, poetic prose at least. Nope, the writing falls short. Nothing special, no spark, nothing to separate it from every contemporary YA novel I've ever read.
Yawn.