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lenore's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jugglingpup's review
4.0
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My library has this really cool program. You fill out a form and one of the librarians creates a reading list curated especially to your likes and dislikes. I submitted one and either I am the easiest person to recommend books to or this librarian went out of his way to put a great deal of effort into making this pretty much perfect list for me. So this is just yet another reason I love libraries and especially my public library.
The book isn’t something I probably would have found on my own. The description just sounds so YA cliche I would have overlooked it. There is the don’t want to be stuck in the hometown plot. The feeling trapped plot. The questioning sexuality because of one person plot. Honestly, it sounds like something twelve year old me would have wanted to read. I am glad I didn’t read it at twelve. I would have missed so much of the depths of this book if I had.
Savannah wants to escape her hometown, but feels trapped once her dad is diagnosed with Huntington’s. The book doesn’t go into a great deal of detail about how that all went down or what the diagnosis really means for the family. Instead there is a focus on what Savannah knows about it. This is amazing. It keeps the book from being HD 101 and keeps it with the YA themes. Savannah learns to express some of her feelings throughout the book, but some of them hit me hard hundreds of pages before she seems to consciously realize them. Numbing emotional pain and difficult feelings with sex, I hear you. Welcome to my teens. It was so wonderful to see such a good depiction of unhealthy coping mechanisms and it being done in a way that neither glorified them or vilified the person using them.
Podos was able to show multiple unhealthy coping mechanisms through multiple characters. None of the characters were vilified and none of the coping mechanisms were ever really shown as being good. They were shown slowly to just be like taping a leak in a boat though. There was a really strong message of actually dealing with emotions instead of bottling them up or trying to hide them. This is the sort of book that hits more now for me, than it would if I was in the age range YA was aimed at. Podos was able to create a story full of incredibly flawed people, but have them be more than their flaws, while also being very much their flaws. There would be no Savannah if it weren’t for her hiding from her fear. There would be no Leigh if there wasn’t impulsive and angry. It would be incredible to see what these characters are once they have some time to actually work through their emotions and their problems.
This might be the first time that genderqueer has come up in fiction and I wasn’t pissed off about it. The character was flawed, but part of the flaw was not dealing with emotions around gender. It was pretty cool to see a character finally starting to address things. The therapist was even actually helpful for figuring out gender stuff. It felt a little rushed, but I was also glad it was added in. There was a bit more depth to the character after that.
My library has this really cool program. You fill out a form and one of the librarians creates a reading list curated especially to your likes and dislikes. I submitted one and either I am the easiest person to recommend books to or this librarian went out of his way to put a great deal of effort into making this pretty much perfect list for me. So this is just yet another reason I love libraries and especially my public library.
The book isn’t something I probably would have found on my own. The description just sounds so YA cliche I would have overlooked it. There is the don’t want to be stuck in the hometown plot. The feeling trapped plot. The questioning sexuality because of one person plot. Honestly, it sounds like something twelve year old me would have wanted to read. I am glad I didn’t read it at twelve. I would have missed so much of the depths of this book if I had.
Savannah wants to escape her hometown, but feels trapped once her dad is diagnosed with Huntington’s. The book doesn’t go into a great deal of detail about how that all went down or what the diagnosis really means for the family. Instead there is a focus on what Savannah knows about it. This is amazing. It keeps the book from being HD 101 and keeps it with the YA themes. Savannah learns to express some of her feelings throughout the book, but some of them hit me hard hundreds of pages before she seems to consciously realize them. Numbing emotional pain and difficult feelings with sex, I hear you. Welcome to my teens. It was so wonderful to see such a good depiction of unhealthy coping mechanisms and it being done in a way that neither glorified them or vilified the person using them.
Podos was able to show multiple unhealthy coping mechanisms through multiple characters. None of the characters were vilified and none of the coping mechanisms were ever really shown as being good. They were shown slowly to just be like taping a leak in a boat though. There was a really strong message of actually dealing with emotions instead of bottling them up or trying to hide them. This is the sort of book that hits more now for me, than it would if I was in the age range YA was aimed at. Podos was able to create a story full of incredibly flawed people, but have them be more than their flaws, while also being very much their flaws. There would be no Savannah if it weren’t for her hiding from her fear. There would be no Leigh if there wasn’t impulsive and angry. It would be incredible to see what these characters are once they have some time to actually work through their emotions and their problems.
This might be the first time that genderqueer has come up in fiction and I wasn’t pissed off about it. The character was flawed, but part of the flaw was not dealing with emotions around gender. It was pretty cool to see a character finally starting to address things. The therapist was even actually helpful for figuring out gender stuff. It felt a little rushed, but I was also glad it was added in. There was a bit more depth to the character after that.
blakehalsey's review
5.0
I had the great privilege of reading an early version of this book, and wow is it gorgeous. Messy, complex characters and motivations, beautiful prose, a diverse cast, and QUEER. I have so many thoughts, and I'll add to this later, but yes, yes, you want this on your 2017 TBR.
ninasri's review
4.0
This just *clenches fist*.
I think the easiest way to describe how I feel about this book is the fact that I read this in a day. There so much depth to this story and so many little moments that I relished, I barely stopped to give myself time to do anything other than read.
I definitely will think back on this book many times in the future.
I think the easiest way to describe how I feel about this book is the fact that I read this in a day. There so much depth to this story and so many little moments that I relished, I barely stopped to give myself time to do anything other than read.
Spoiler
This is one of the very few books I've read so far that has more or less nailed my own experience with discovering and figuring out my own sexuality. Especially the seamlessness and "ease" with which Savannah falls in with Leigh - the first girl* she ever is romantically involved with - hit so close to home. I felt touched and understood by how easily she seems to accept it for herself, the way she is drawn to Leigh.I definitely will think back on this book many times in the future.
cs_the_librarian's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0