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deathlynx's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
gemmaflo's review
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
madlymia's review
‘He made me much more unhappy than happy’ she said. ‘It was like being possessed’.
I have a place in my heart for Meg Rosoff’s ‘How I Live Now’, so I couldn’t walk past this novel in the book store. Summer, wine, card games and tension. A novel you can devour on the couch in one sitting because it’s too good to put down.
I have a place in my heart for Meg Rosoff’s ‘How I Live Now’, so I couldn’t walk past this novel in the book store. Summer, wine, card games and tension. A novel you can devour on the couch in one sitting because it’s too good to put down.
lou_willingham's review against another edition
5.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in return for an honest review!
This book has the hazy golden shimmer of messy teen summers. It's a great read. The narration is quick, witty, and self-aware throughout, and you read through this whole Godden summer as if you're living it--or hearing about it on the phone from a very dear friend.
I loved this book. Rosoff's writing is always surprising and unconventional, and she has a track-record of shunning norms when it comes to gender and relationships. Most notably, in The Great Godden, is the gender of the main character. We're never given one. Nor a name. Some people are simply neither "he" nor "she", and that should be recognised in books. The best bit? It's never mentioned. It's not a big deal--and it's not a big deal that the love interest, Kit, flirts outrageously with people regardless of gender.
I loved it so much I pre-ordered the hard-back.
Highly recommend for anyone wanting an unapologetically honest and brutal commentary on adolescence in the hazy days of summertime!
This book has the hazy golden shimmer of messy teen summers. It's a great read. The narration is quick, witty, and self-aware throughout, and you read through this whole Godden summer as if you're living it--or hearing about it on the phone from a very dear friend.
I loved this book. Rosoff's writing is always surprising and unconventional, and she has a track-record of shunning norms when it comes to gender and relationships. Most notably, in The Great Godden, is the gender of the main character. We're never given one. Nor a name. Some people are simply neither "he" nor "she", and that should be recognised in books. The best bit? It's never mentioned. It's not a big deal--and it's not a big deal that the love interest, Kit, flirts outrageously with people regardless of gender.
I loved it so much I pre-ordered the hard-back.
Highly recommend for anyone wanting an unapologetically honest and brutal commentary on adolescence in the hazy days of summertime!
teveritt's review
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
meeshapatel08's review
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
chloe341's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lesleygaisford's review
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
hyh0706z's review
2.0
I don’t know why I didn’t write a review when I finished reading it so I’m doing this based on memory and vibes.
I think my main problem with this book was that it was so much more duller than I thought it would be. I thought there was going to be murder, a mystery killer and a summer of madness. That’s what I thought but then I was halfway through the book when I realised nope, it’s nothing like that.
Also call me naive or whatever but I really thought there was going to be a lot of summer vibes and very much oooh i love summer and I can’t wait for summer. But they were spending summer in England. How miserable is that? And how miserable is it for the Godden’s to fly from LA to miserable English summer?? Honestly.
But maybe it was just my idealised version of a summer mystery and a summer of chaos. But I was really looking forward to this book and I think out of the three that the librarians gave me this disappointed me the most. Disappointment really does come when you expect too much.
Overall I wouldn’t say I hated it. It was okay. It was mid. It was not very interesting and I couldn’t go through this as quickly as I thought I could despite it being printed in big ass fonts as well. 3.5/10.
I think my main problem with this book was that it was so much more duller than I thought it would be. I thought there was going to be murder, a mystery killer and a summer of madness. That’s what I thought but then I was halfway through the book when I realised nope, it’s nothing like that.
Also call me naive or whatever but I really thought there was going to be a lot of summer vibes and very much oooh i love summer and I can’t wait for summer. But they were spending summer in England. How miserable is that? And how miserable is it for the Godden’s to fly from LA to miserable English summer?? Honestly.
But maybe it was just my idealised version of a summer mystery and a summer of chaos. But I was really looking forward to this book and I think out of the three that the librarians gave me this disappointed me the most. Disappointment really does come when you expect too much.
Overall I wouldn’t say I hated it. It was okay. It was mid. It was not very interesting and I couldn’t go through this as quickly as I thought I could despite it being printed in big ass fonts as well. 3.5/10.
guavareads's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5