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2.75 AVERAGE
2.75 AVERAGE
Actual rating: 2.5
I've been reading this on and off for a few days, and it really isn't something special. I didn't connect to any of the characters, and they all seemed boring, and quite frankly, annoying. The plot was eh, the major plot points weren't at all big enough to make me want to keep on reading, and the romance was waaay to insta- lovey. It just wasn't up my alley.
I've been reading this on and off for a few days, and it really isn't something special. I didn't connect to any of the characters, and they all seemed boring, and quite frankly, annoying. The plot was eh, the major plot points weren't at all big enough to make me want to keep on reading, and the romance was waaay to insta- lovey. It just wasn't up my alley.
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
tbh thought this book was a fever dream ?? it’s not like GOOD necessarily but it has fun nyc vibes. i remember the main character being stupid. but isn’t that always 😍😍😍
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Starry Night initially captured my attention based on the cover art which, I know, isn’t what you are meant to judge a book on. But isn’t it just so pretty? It was difficult not to want to snag a copy and I was very thrilled to see an ARC waiting on my doorstep one day.
Although the writing and characteristics may be weak in comparison to other novels in its genre, Starry Night may still stand out for teens looking for a realistic tale of first love and friendship in the setting of New York City. Rightfully so, there will be comparisons to the Gossip Girl novels for the light reading and web of romantic entanglements that will certainly appeal to fans of books as such.
Full review can be found on the blog.
Starry Night initially captured my attention based on the cover art which, I know, isn’t what you are meant to judge a book on. But isn’t it just so pretty? It was difficult not to want to snag a copy and I was very thrilled to see an ARC waiting on my doorstep one day.
Although the writing and characteristics may be weak in comparison to other novels in its genre, Starry Night may still stand out for teens looking for a realistic tale of first love and friendship in the setting of New York City. Rightfully so, there will be comparisons to the Gossip Girl novels for the light reading and web of romantic entanglements that will certainly appeal to fans of books as such.
Full review can be found on the blog.
****SPOILERS****
I liked this book. I agree with other opinions that the voice is very young and that there a lot of useless details and anecdotes. The author does it because the character has ADD, and has a hard time focusing.
I didn't think the pace was bad. I thought it was fitting. I finished the book quickly. I think Gillies did a good job of showing how groups of wealthy, teen girls talk, think, and behave. As a native NYer, I did not think she wrote the book in keeping with how teens in NYC speak. But other details were great.
This book is about how a group of friends navigate getting older. A boy named Nolan introduces a lot of firsts and makes the friend change. Reagan and Nolan get together while he is still with Wren. She did a similar thing to Vati and Oliver. Charlie goes a date with a guy. Vati and Oliver end up happy together. But Wren is left broken hearted with most of her friends.
I'd recommend it if you wanna read a highly implausible book. All these books are the same in how two teenagers fall so quickly and magically in love. Can we get a book about the second time someone falls in love and how practical it is???
I liked this book. I agree with other opinions that the voice is very young and that there a lot of useless details and anecdotes. The author does it because the character has ADD, and has a hard time focusing.
I didn't think the pace was bad. I thought it was fitting. I finished the book quickly. I think Gillies did a good job of showing how groups of wealthy, teen girls talk, think, and behave. As a native NYer, I did not think she wrote the book in keeping with how teens in NYC speak. But other details were great.
This book is about how a group of friends navigate getting older. A boy named Nolan introduces a lot of firsts and makes the friend change. Reagan and Nolan get together while he is still with Wren. She did a similar thing to Vati and Oliver. Charlie goes a date with a guy. Vati and Oliver end up happy together. But Wren is left broken hearted with most of her friends.
I'd recommend it if you wanna read a highly implausible book. All these books are the same in how two teenagers fall so quickly and magically in love. Can we get a book about the second time someone falls in love and how practical it is???
I think my middle school students will enjoy this - but I hope they realize this girl makes some seriosuly bad choices! Especially when she decides to give up pursuing her dreams because of a boy she met.
Spoiler: this book is terrible.
About 1/3 of the way through this book I wrote myself a note that said "am I hate-reading this book?" I think the answer was yes. I know that I am not the target audience for this book, but this was seriously bad.
This was written the way a nine year old talks, which makes it super creepy when they talk about sex. Also really infuriating to read.
So basically the protagonist is a whiney, spoiled, rich girl. And this never really gets addressed. One of her main conflicts is that she has to draw a self-portrait to get into this French art school. She is worried about it, so she just never does it. Oh, also because her "boyfriend" of like two days tells her he doesn't want her to go. Because god forbid you apply to the school and then decide not to go, no better just to never apply. But she supposedly draws all the time, just draw some damn self portraits. Also she ruins a designer vintage dress for basically no reason, because some guy she has literally known for 15 mins invites her somewhere and it's "love".
Her "friends" are the worst. I think one of the points is supposed to be something like "friends forever! You'll always come around to the ones you love!" But her friends are all just people she grew up around, not anyone she has anything in common with, and some of them treat her like shit, and she treats them like shit, and it's all just awful. She tells one she doesn't want to hear about the bad stuff she (the friend) is doing, then later gets upset that same friend is not telling her things. And the one friend is obviously just malicious and shitty. I can't believe I am still analyzing all these dumb things.
There are tons of stupid plot holes. Characters tell others things and then pages later they somehow don't know that thing? There's a cooking/reality show that shoots in their home a week ahead of airing. It's all the worst.
Every time she spouts something on love it is such teenage dumb nonsense that's treated like it is so deep. Love changes who you are. Love makes you weak. Your whole life and priorities will be uprooted when you fall in love. It's all such crap. Also, this all happened within 3 weeks. No mention is made at the end that this is not love but infatuation mixed with wanting an excuse to not have to try for the one thing in your damn privileged life you'll have to work for. She literally says at one point, about not wanting to work for a previous goal because you met someone and now your goal is just to be with them, "I don't think you have much control over it". And that's at the end!!! This is the revelation she comes to!! That for the rest of her life she should drop everything to be with someone, not find someone who supports those goals!!!! And is anything ever said about the fact that he wanted her to stay in NYC, but he was still gonna go on tour, and she was just fine with that?!
And now for the worst part of the book. One of her friends gets involved with a 30-something famous artist. Her friend is 15. This is statutory rape. He also gives her drugs, which she seems reluctant about taking. And this storyline is resolved when they all just go to a party, get her, and leave to go home and watch G-rated movies. A) that is not how drugs work. Seriously, she was just like, "I'm done!" and it was no problem?!?! and B) this is really important, so listen up. They were all worried about getting her out of this situation without getting adults involved or getting the artist in trouble. GET ADULTS INVOLVED. GET HIM IN TROUBLE!! NONE OF THIS IS OK!!!!
So, to sum up, all the the messages in this book were the worst, the writing was bad, and the characters were reprehensible. Do not read this book. Slap it out of other people's hands if you see them reading it.
About 1/3 of the way through this book I wrote myself a note that said "am I hate-reading this book?" I think the answer was yes. I know that I am not the target audience for this book, but this was seriously bad.
This was written the way a nine year old talks, which makes it super creepy when they talk about sex. Also really infuriating to read.
So basically the protagonist is a whiney, spoiled, rich girl. And this never really gets addressed. One of her main conflicts is that she has to draw a self-portrait to get into this French art school. She is worried about it, so she just never does it. Oh, also because her "boyfriend" of like two days tells her he doesn't want her to go. Because god forbid you apply to the school and then decide not to go, no better just to never apply. But she supposedly draws all the time, just draw some damn self portraits. Also she ruins a designer vintage dress for basically no reason, because some guy she has literally known for 15 mins invites her somewhere and it's "love".
Her "friends" are the worst. I think one of the points is supposed to be something like "friends forever! You'll always come around to the ones you love!" But her friends are all just people she grew up around, not anyone she has anything in common with, and some of them treat her like shit, and she treats them like shit, and it's all just awful. She tells one she doesn't want to hear about the bad stuff she (the friend) is doing, then later gets upset that same friend is not telling her things. And the one friend is obviously just malicious and shitty. I can't believe I am still analyzing all these dumb things.
There are tons of stupid plot holes. Characters tell others things and then pages later they somehow don't know that thing? There's a cooking/reality show that shoots in their home a week ahead of airing. It's all the worst.
Every time she spouts something on love it is such teenage dumb nonsense that's treated like it is so deep. Love changes who you are. Love makes you weak. Your whole life and priorities will be uprooted when you fall in love. It's all such crap. Also, this all happened within 3 weeks. No mention is made at the end that this is not love but infatuation mixed with wanting an excuse to not have to try for the one thing in your damn privileged life you'll have to work for. She literally says at one point, about not wanting to work for a previous goal because you met someone and now your goal is just to be with them, "I don't think you have much control over it". And that's at the end!!! This is the revelation she comes to!! That for the rest of her life she should drop everything to be with someone, not find someone who supports those goals!!!! And is anything ever said about the fact that he wanted her to stay in NYC, but he was still gonna go on tour, and she was just fine with that?!
And now for the worst part of the book. One of her friends gets involved with a 30-something famous artist. Her friend is 15. This is statutory rape. He also gives her drugs, which she seems reluctant about taking. And this storyline is resolved when they all just go to a party, get her, and leave to go home and watch G-rated movies. A) that is not how drugs work. Seriously, she was just like, "I'm done!" and it was no problem?!?! and B) this is really important, so listen up. They were all worried about getting her out of this situation without getting adults involved or getting the artist in trouble. GET ADULTS INVOLVED. GET HIM IN TROUBLE!! NONE OF THIS IS OK!!!!
So, to sum up, all the the messages in this book were the worst, the writing was bad, and the characters were reprehensible. Do not read this book. Slap it out of other people's hands if you see them reading it.
The ratings on this book are just plain terrible and I can see why others would feel such a way, but really sometimes we have to look past that and focus on the positive. Sometimes books are just fun.
Some of the decisions Wren and her friends made were just a bit shocking at times (like having an illegal relationship with a man who could be your dad) and the best friend code that was broken. But the mistakes that these group of teenagers made it shows that at one time or other we were that age and our actions turned into life lessons that helped us grow into the people we are.
I loved the aspect of the book being from an actual New Yorkers point of view, because it made New York more alive and real. It made the wanderlust girl wamt to go and visit the musesums and sights.
Some of the decisions Wren and her friends made were just a bit shocking at times (like having an illegal relationship with a man who could be your dad) and the best friend code that was broken. But the mistakes that these group of teenagers made it shows that at one time or other we were that age and our actions turned into life lessons that helped us grow into the people we are.
I loved the aspect of the book being from an actual New Yorkers point of view, because it made New York more alive and real. It made the wanderlust girl wamt to go and visit the musesums and sights.
Okay, to be completely honest, I thought this book was going to be perfect. Really, I mean, the author's name is the same as mine (spelled right, too), and the book itself is named after my very favorite painting! I kind of bought it on a whim because it looked cute and it was on sale. I'm impulsive, I know.
That's another reason I was excited for this book. I related to the character, a lot. She's an artist (like me), impulsive (like me), emotional (like me), kind of out-of-the-loop 100% of the time (like me, unfortunately), she loves Starry Night (like me), and she's tall (like me, and, okay, it's only mentioned once or twice but it totally counts).
I was a little let down with the dialogue though, that's why I can't give this book five stars. It was just awkward and forced. I don't think so, but maybe people from New York talk without contractions? There weren't many which made for really awlward sentences, especially since the main characters are all teenagers... As well as the contractions thing, they also used some weird words and some unusual grammar. And her nine year old sister talked and acted like a four year old.
But, even with the dialogue things, I still liked this book because I liked the plot (yeah, I don't care if anyone thinks it's cliché, I'm here for that). I also really liked Wren's inner monologue, and it made so much sense to me. Maybe it's because I relate so strongly to her but everything she said made sense to me, even if I disagreed with one major decision she made (slash: didn't make), I understood where she was coming from.
In the end, it wasn't perfect but the issues weren't so bad that I had to put it down. I finished it, I liked it, so four stars.
Also, "root-beer-brown Michaelangelo eyes" is not that scary. I mean, really, it explains itself perfectly. His eyes are brown like root beer, and they're shaped like the average eyes on a Michaelangelo statue, which are usually a little big and look honest, even when the statues have their eyes closed. So.
That's another reason I was excited for this book. I related to the character, a lot. She's an artist (like me), impulsive (like me), emotional (like me), kind of out-of-the-loop 100% of the time (like me, unfortunately), she loves Starry Night (like me), and she's tall (like me, and, okay, it's only mentioned once or twice but it totally counts).
I was a little let down with the dialogue though, that's why I can't give this book five stars. It was just awkward and forced. I don't think so, but maybe people from New York talk without contractions? There weren't many which made for really awlward sentences, especially since the main characters are all teenagers... As well as the contractions thing, they also used some weird words and some unusual grammar. And her nine year old sister talked and acted like a four year old.
But, even with the dialogue things, I still liked this book because I liked the plot (yeah, I don't care if anyone thinks it's cliché, I'm here for that). I also really liked Wren's inner monologue, and it made so much sense to me. Maybe it's because I relate so strongly to her but everything she said made sense to me, even if I disagreed with one major decision she made (slash: didn't make), I understood where she was coming from.
In the end, it wasn't perfect but the issues weren't so bad that I had to put it down. I finished it, I liked it, so four stars.
Also, "root-beer-brown Michaelangelo eyes" is not that scary. I mean, really, it explains itself perfectly. His eyes are brown like root beer, and they're shaped like the average eyes on a Michaelangelo statue, which are usually a little big and look honest, even when the statues have their eyes closed. So.
As I figured, this book was not for me. The characters didn't have much depth to them. You want to empathize with the characters but you're constantly reminded that they are just descriptions of people instead of feeling real. I feel like this book could have either been edited to become middle grade fiction to better use the very young voice given to this 15 year old or should have been reworked to delve into the characters and give them stronger voices. Seemed like the author focused on "what are teenagers like" more than "what makes my characters compelling people".
I really liked this book. I'm a sucker for little romance stories that are a *kilig-fest*. I don't really remember the ending to be honest. But I remember enjoying this book a lot.