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blurrypetals's review against another edition
3.0
I am The Girl Most Likely To Get an Audiobook Because It's Narrated by MacLeod Andrews and Jorjeana Marie.
That's 100% the reason I got this from the library. There is no other explanation. I was looking through Jorjeana's catalogue on Audible, saw MacLeod Andrews also narrated, and immediately requested it from the library; I didn't even care what it was about.
It turns out, it's about the pretty typical story of Alice, who has about a dozen siblings and, due to her father getting into an accident (which, honestly, I'm not even clear as to exactly WHAT that accident was; I know who was responsible and that he couldn't walk for a long time because of it but...?) she's been overwhelmed with the responsibility of making sure her family is taken care of whether she stays there with them or not, and Tim, a serial fuckup who was just kicked out of high school and his own home due to his alcoholism and dabbling with many other substances and addictions.
I distinctly remember getting to an earlier chapter of the book and thinking to myself, "Man it was weird in The Closer You Come when the bomb was dropped that Jase had a kid he didn't know about. It sure would make this story weird if that were to hap--" and then the moment I thought that, BAM, a girl showed up in THIS story and dropped the bomb that, yeah, Tim had a kid he didn't know about.
Things from there get...weird, so to speak. It's an incredibly tonally dissonant experience. One minute, we'll be with Alice, who's struggling to find her place in the world, with things set at a lazy, calm pace as she wonders at what she wants in life, then the next we'll be with Tim, struggling to change a messy diaper in a borderline-bombastic scene and, to say it gave me tonal whiplash would be an understatement.
I also felt like the way in which Alice and Tim decide they want to date was nearly out of nowhere. Sure, they have a past we don't know about, but they're so quick to grow close to one another. That said, when they are together, that's when the book is at its strongest, because their chemistry is really fun, sweet, and romantic.
That chemistry, as well as the way things wrapped up plot-wise is why this book is going to sit at a 3/5 instead of a 2/5, but it's closer to a 2.5, even though I think the idea of half-stars defeats the purpose of having a five star scoring system.
Anyway, it was a weird, occasionally endearing book and it wasn't the worst, but definitely not something I'll be looking back on very fondly anytime soon. You can't win 'em all, not even when Jorjeana Marie and MacLeod Andrews are involved.
That's 100% the reason I got this from the library. There is no other explanation. I was looking through Jorjeana's catalogue on Audible, saw MacLeod Andrews also narrated, and immediately requested it from the library; I didn't even care what it was about.
It turns out, it's about the pretty typical story of Alice, who has about a dozen siblings and, due to her father getting into an accident (which, honestly, I'm not even clear as to exactly WHAT that accident was; I know who was responsible and that he couldn't walk for a long time because of it but...?) she's been overwhelmed with the responsibility of making sure her family is taken care of whether she stays there with them or not, and Tim, a serial fuckup who was just kicked out of high school and his own home due to his alcoholism and dabbling with many other substances and addictions.
I distinctly remember getting to an earlier chapter of the book and thinking to myself, "Man it was weird in The Closer You Come when the bomb was dropped that Jase had a kid he didn't know about. It sure would make this story weird if that were to hap--" and then the moment I thought that, BAM, a girl showed up in THIS story and dropped the bomb that, yeah, Tim had a kid he didn't know about.
Things from there get...weird, so to speak. It's an incredibly tonally dissonant experience. One minute, we'll be with Alice, who's struggling to find her place in the world, with things set at a lazy, calm pace as she wonders at what she wants in life, then the next we'll be with Tim, struggling to change a messy diaper in a borderline-bombastic scene and, to say it gave me tonal whiplash would be an understatement.
I also felt like the way in which Alice and Tim decide they want to date was nearly out of nowhere. Sure, they have a past we don't know about, but they're so quick to grow close to one another. That said, when they are together, that's when the book is at its strongest, because their chemistry is really fun, sweet, and romantic.
That chemistry, as well as the way things wrapped up plot-wise is why this book is going to sit at a 3/5 instead of a 2/5, but it's closer to a 2.5, even though I think the idea of half-stars defeats the purpose of having a five star scoring system.
Anyway, it was a weird, occasionally endearing book and it wasn't the worst, but definitely not something I'll be looking back on very fondly anytime soon. You can't win 'em all, not even when Jorjeana Marie and MacLeod Andrews are involved.
letsbebookfriends's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book so much more than I did MLND. Almost instantly, I was emotionally invested in the main characters and their story. This book was everything I love about YA contemparary. One of my favorite reads this year!
watershine's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Car accident
annalee219's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
roglows's review against another edition
5.0
maybe my favorite book by this author. i really loved the characters, so much.
mollywetta's review against another edition
3.0
i was a bit disappointed with this. It felt disjointed, and didn't have those amazing, feel-like-real-life scenes. The character and conflict felt a bit flat. Still an okay summer read, just not my favorite.
natsbookshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.0
4saradouglas's review against another edition
2.0
Yikes... didn't like one bit. Should have stopped at My Life Next Door.
steph01924's review against another edition
4.0
I had a recollection of the plot of the first book, but to be honest, Sam and Jase's relationship was a blank spot for me. And I can't remember if Tim and Alice were even that much a part of that book. So aside from knowing Mr. Garret's accident and how many kids there were in the family, this was just like reading a brand new story for me.
I was not into Alice and Tim in the beginning. He was already deeply obsessed with her in a way that wasn't really explained, I couldn't see why she even would be into him, knowing what she knew of his spotty past and cleaning up his messes. Her wanting to go on a test date seemed out of left field. Maybe this was all hinted at in the first book, all those parts I'm forgetting?? So that was the weakest piece of this book. Once they were 'together', well, Ms. Fitzpatrick knows how to write some lovely scenes of two people falling in love.
The stuff with Cal was poignant and sad and although the ending felt a bit like a cop-out, it made me breath a sigh of relief that Tim.
In following with the trend of 'books I've read recently having similar themes', the parts about Alice and her large family were reminding me of Something Real by Heather Demetrios, where the idea is brought up about whether it's selfish for parents to have so many children when they can barely care for them, or spend any quality individual time with them, without burdening the older children to help in a way that some would consider above and beyond what's reasonable. There's no real right answer there, and both books shy away from making any sort of absolute statements.
All in all, this isn't going to be a book that I return to, and I will probably forget a lot of the details, but it was well-written and definitely sucked me in until I had to finish it. I will still keep an excited eye out for future books from Huntley Fitzpatrick.
I was not into Alice and Tim in the beginning. He was already deeply obsessed with her in a way that wasn't really explained, I couldn't see why she even would be into him, knowing what she knew of his spotty past and cleaning up his messes. Her wanting to go on a test date seemed out of left field. Maybe this was all hinted at in the first book, all those parts I'm forgetting?? So that was the weakest piece of this book. Once they were 'together', well, Ms. Fitzpatrick knows how to write some lovely scenes of two people falling in love.
The stuff with Cal was poignant and sad and although the ending felt a bit like a cop-out, it made me breath a sigh of relief that Tim
Spoiler
wasn't going to throw his life away to be a dad. Not saying that it wouldn't be a brave choice, and even be mutually beneficial for them both, but, man, he had the odds stacked against him (no education, no income, unsupportive parents), and it just felt too depressingly real-life.In following with the trend of 'books I've read recently having similar themes', the parts about Alice and her large family were reminding me of Something Real by Heather Demetrios, where the idea is brought up about whether it's selfish for parents to have so many children when they can barely care for them, or spend any quality individual time with them, without burdening the older children to help in a way that some would consider above and beyond what's reasonable. There's no real right answer there, and both books shy away from making any sort of absolute statements.
All in all, this isn't going to be a book that I return to, and I will probably forget a lot of the details, but it was well-written and definitely sucked me in until I had to finish it. I will still keep an excited eye out for future books from Huntley Fitzpatrick.