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sallashelves's review against another edition
4.0
Full review here:
https://bookstoldmeso.blogspot.com/2019/03/review-sidewalks-regrets.html
Music and addiction, Sacha's priorities change when she meets Dylan. Suddenly, the violin that has ruled her life so far is left in the corner and she is consumed by Dylan's music and the world surrounding him.
https://bookstoldmeso.blogspot.com/2019/03/review-sidewalks-regrets.html
Music and addiction, Sacha's priorities change when she meets Dylan. Suddenly, the violin that has ruled her life so far is left in the corner and she is consumed by Dylan's music and the world surrounding him.
maria202292's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to BookSirens for giving me a free copy.
Trigger warning: drug abuse.
I wasn't very enthusiastic about this book at first because it seemed like the standard teenage ''good girl meets bad boy'' novel. But it quickly revealed itself to be much more.
Sacha, a violinist, meets Dylan, a guitarist, in a music shop and this meeting sets off a chain of events that she may or may not be able to come back from. The drug abuse scenes were quite graphic and hopefully will put off readers who have been tempted by drugs.
I liked that it was more realistic than most teen romances. Sacha was quite annoying though and I felt that she was a spoilt brat who had no idea how lucky she was. Dylan wasn't very good for her.
Trigger warning: drug abuse.
I wasn't very enthusiastic about this book at first because it seemed like the standard teenage ''good girl meets bad boy'' novel. But it quickly revealed itself to be much more.
Sacha, a violinist, meets Dylan, a guitarist, in a music shop and this meeting sets off a chain of events that she may or may not be able to come back from. The drug abuse scenes were quite graphic and hopefully will put off readers who have been tempted by drugs.
I liked that it was more realistic than most teen romances. Sacha was quite annoying though and I felt that she was a spoilt brat who had no idea how lucky she was. Dylan wasn't very good for her.
babyleo's review against another edition
4.0
A longer version of review was published on my blog Lost in a Good Book
Note: I received a copy of this book from the author for review
CW: Drug use
I was pleasantly surprised by the direction this story took. It wasn’t the rock and roll summer story I was expecting, though there were a few tropes like instant love, but from a “first love at seventeen” approach the infatuation and impulsiveness makes sense. The narrative starts off slow as we are introduced to Sacha and her world of classical music. Her sheltered music life gets a jolt when she hears the music of Dylan for the first time and she is thrown into this rock and roll world. From there the story starts rolling and soon it has a nice flow which is maintained through the rest of the story.
Sacha’s mindset and her goals are explored quite well through this and you see how her reasoning and her justifications change with each new experience. It’s one way to see it as her constantly changing her mind, but it makes more sense that she justifies things to herself, especially given her situation and her desire to stay with Dylan. The depiction of drug use is well done and a very apt description from what I have read elsewhere. It is a key part of the story and there are moments where using drugs is described in action and character reaction. Larkindale also shows the gradual descent of usage, the way it starts off small and soon grows into something bigger. It also shows how easy it is to actually fall and how you can go from top to bottom fairly fast.
This is a story revolving around one summer, but Larkindale takes it beyond that as well and you see the characters grow and find out who they are. I loved how the story ends up, the experiences of the characters makes this story and seeing how the story ends is satisfying once you have gone on this journey with them.
Note: I received a copy of this book from the author for review
CW: Drug use
I was pleasantly surprised by the direction this story took. It wasn’t the rock and roll summer story I was expecting, though there were a few tropes like instant love, but from a “first love at seventeen” approach the infatuation and impulsiveness makes sense. The narrative starts off slow as we are introduced to Sacha and her world of classical music. Her sheltered music life gets a jolt when she hears the music of Dylan for the first time and she is thrown into this rock and roll world. From there the story starts rolling and soon it has a nice flow which is maintained through the rest of the story.
Sacha’s mindset and her goals are explored quite well through this and you see how her reasoning and her justifications change with each new experience. It’s one way to see it as her constantly changing her mind, but it makes more sense that she justifies things to herself, especially given her situation and her desire to stay with Dylan. The depiction of drug use is well done and a very apt description from what I have read elsewhere. It is a key part of the story and there are moments where using drugs is described in action and character reaction. Larkindale also shows the gradual descent of usage, the way it starts off small and soon grows into something bigger. It also shows how easy it is to actually fall and how you can go from top to bottom fairly fast.
This is a story revolving around one summer, but Larkindale takes it beyond that as well and you see the characters grow and find out who they are. I loved how the story ends up, the experiences of the characters makes this story and seeing how the story ends is satisfying once you have gone on this journey with them.
maureensbooks89's review against another edition
5.0
A little while ago I received an review request for ‘The Sidewalk’s Regrets’ by the author. Although I hadn’t read a lot of YA Contemporary novels in a while now, there just was something about the cover of this book and the book description that made me want to read it. And I’m glad I did.
But this is definitely not an easy review to write. I finished reading this book last night, and it keeps going through my mind. And it’s just hard to write down what I really felt about this book. For one, it made me think back to my early teens, which isn’t a time I like to think about at all. Secondly this book made me angry, sad, laugh, overall confused. This book made me feel all sorts of emotions. When a book makes you feel so many different things, not only good things, and makes you want to keep on reading at the same time.. I can only say one thing.. Bravo to the author!
In ‘The Sidewalk’s Regrets’ we meet seventeen year old Sacha. Sacha is a musical prodigy who lives a very save and controlled life. All she ever wanted was to be a great violinist. So she practices every day for hours, her parents do everything they can to take her to every class and every event she needs to go, and she doesn’t party or just hangs out. Accept for the occasional girls night with her best friend, but nothing to bad. So when ‘naïve’ Sacha meets guitarist and rock band member Dylan her world changes instantly. Sacha soon finds out her world has been very small, and there is a lot more to figure out. For one rock music, love and bars.. but also drugs and lies.
From the moment I started reading I couldn’t put this book down. I just had to know what would happen to Sacha and Dylan. There where many moments while I read this book that I was almost screaming to Sacha, to make her take another decision and to let her see the so obvious signs. But I soon realized that the signs she missed about drug use etc. are probably all signs we wouldn’t see either as a seventeen year old in love. The writing in this book was easy to follow, and kept you hooked to the pages.
The romance between Sacha and Dylan was so relatable. I loved reading how in love they were, and how much they wanted to be together even though Sacha’s parents seemed so against it. There love was sweet and intense and I wished so many things for them.
And the drugs.. well I’ve never used drugs but as a nurse I’ve seen people with drug addictions. And it’s definitely something that is dangerous, and inviting and just something I wished people wouldn’t have such an easy access too. The author described the ‘high’ in an fascinating way. I could almost understand why someone would want to take another ‘hit’. Almost..
‘The Sidewalk’s Regrets’ is an intense read that will probably keep me thinking for a while. It’s a lot different from all the romance novels I’ve been reading lately. But this book is definitely a good one. And although I thought about this book as a 4 star read when I finished it.. I’m going for 5 stars! A book that still keeps me thinking about it so much, even after I finished reading it deserves 5 stars.
But this is definitely not an easy review to write. I finished reading this book last night, and it keeps going through my mind. And it’s just hard to write down what I really felt about this book. For one, it made me think back to my early teens, which isn’t a time I like to think about at all. Secondly this book made me angry, sad, laugh, overall confused. This book made me feel all sorts of emotions. When a book makes you feel so many different things, not only good things, and makes you want to keep on reading at the same time.. I can only say one thing.. Bravo to the author!
In ‘The Sidewalk’s Regrets’ we meet seventeen year old Sacha. Sacha is a musical prodigy who lives a very save and controlled life. All she ever wanted was to be a great violinist. So she practices every day for hours, her parents do everything they can to take her to every class and every event she needs to go, and she doesn’t party or just hangs out. Accept for the occasional girls night with her best friend, but nothing to bad. So when ‘naïve’ Sacha meets guitarist and rock band member Dylan her world changes instantly. Sacha soon finds out her world has been very small, and there is a lot more to figure out. For one rock music, love and bars.. but also drugs and lies.
From the moment I started reading I couldn’t put this book down. I just had to know what would happen to Sacha and Dylan. There where many moments while I read this book that I was almost screaming to Sacha, to make her take another decision and to let her see the so obvious signs. But I soon realized that the signs she missed about drug use etc. are probably all signs we wouldn’t see either as a seventeen year old in love. The writing in this book was easy to follow, and kept you hooked to the pages.
The romance between Sacha and Dylan was so relatable. I loved reading how in love they were, and how much they wanted to be together even though Sacha’s parents seemed so against it. There love was sweet and intense and I wished so many things for them.
And the drugs.. well I’ve never used drugs but as a nurse I’ve seen people with drug addictions. And it’s definitely something that is dangerous, and inviting and just something I wished people wouldn’t have such an easy access too. The author described the ‘high’ in an fascinating way. I could almost understand why someone would want to take another ‘hit’. Almost..
‘The Sidewalk’s Regrets’ is an intense read that will probably keep me thinking for a while. It’s a lot different from all the romance novels I’ve been reading lately. But this book is definitely a good one. And although I thought about this book as a 4 star read when I finished it.. I’m going for 5 stars! A book that still keeps me thinking about it so much, even after I finished reading it deserves 5 stars.
andragel's review against another edition
4.0
Song vibes
Kids, drugs are bad!
Ah, this book. So many things I could say about it. Overall, a great book I enjoyed reading, emotionally heavy loaded and with strong, sharply drawn characters. I am not much into books which deal with music and musicians so I picked this out on a whim: having indulged into Where She Went, I thought a book which approaches a similar subject but also touches the issue of drugs was a potentially good read. And I was right. It is my two cents that in a society still heavily afflicted by addictions of various ways, continuing to explore their nature, the motivations of people who do it.
How it goes down
Sacha, violin prodigy and Dylan, rock musician, fall for each other. Then drugs happen and everything spirals completely out of control. Recently, the pop scene exploded with the news of Demi Lovato's overdose, after several years of being clean. Ariana's Grande ex, Pete Davidson, met his early death out of similar reasons. We were all baffled to how this could have actually happened. The book attempts to provide at least a potential answer for the fictional world. As Dylan slowly descends into desperation, the drugs offer the perfect lifeline.
Then, there is also the idea that drugs go hand in hand with creativity. All musicians in the book seem to have their performance enhanced by the drugs, and their absences remain to be felt like a real, physical void.
The descent into addiction, clearly perceived by the readers on the outside as such, becomes, in the novel, an insidious force which befuddles those who engage in it. Isn't it how it always goes, oh, but I am not addicted to it? "I grab the windowsill to keep standing." "He nods without meeting my eye. “Heroin. Not much, though. I’m not … hooked or anything." And as the descend gains speed and they turn into former shadows of selves, the eternal promise is always there, the illusion you are still in control: "It’s the last time,” he promises as he slides the needle into his flesh. I can see the self-loathing in his face, in the way his eyes won’t meet mine. I know how he feels."
The good
There are plenty of things which make this book quite splendid:
-The characters. Certainly a highlight of it. I dislike when books just throw characters at you, characters you aren't supposed to like or hate, characters you can simply ignore because they are incredibly one dimensional. In Sidewalk Regrets, you have a plethora of people navigating throughout the book but none is easy to ignore. Dylan's band members, Sacha's friends and parents, her music teacher, they are genuine people, whom we could meet at any corner of our streets who all add important bits to the story.
-The protagonists. For most of the book, I loved Sacha and Dylan, although I know they are not without a fault. They are brilliant musicians, kind souls, who share a beautiful thing before the addiction rears its ugly head. And man, is it ugly.
-The portrayal of drugs.
He hasn’t touched junk and I know he’s suffering. I see the way he shivers despite the warm weather, how carefully he moves on his aching joints. And I feel for him. This pain must be unbearable. Especially when he knows how to escape it.
Mostly, the topic is handled with care. We get to understand it as a physical need ourselves, as if we could be in the book, be the characters, partake their entire emotional spectrum. Rather than just judging, we are compelled to be empathetic, especially as, for some of us, it is quite easy to relate to the characters.
-The music's treatment is amazing. Multiple times, rather than seen as a hobby, it is described as a real life-altering force.
The music works its way into my chest, forcing my pulse to alter, to beat in time. Dylan’s guitar wraps around me, the notes slashing at my flesh, flaying strips from it, leaving me raw and exposed, bleeding. I gasp for breath between songs, needing the moments of quiet to gather my senses before the next assault
-The writing style just flows like a breeze. The author has a way with her words and The sensations rumbling in the pit of my stomach now and then helped me establish a real emotional connection with it.
The bad:
- The entire plotline of addiction on Sasha's side feels more than a little bit chaotic and underwhelmingly handled.
-The denouement of their relationship.
Uplifting at times, heartbreaking at others, Sidewalk Regrets is the book I didn't know I wanted to read but I am so happy I decided to.
I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
Kids, drugs are bad!
Ah, this book. So many things I could say about it. Overall, a great book I enjoyed reading, emotionally heavy loaded and with strong, sharply drawn characters. I am not much into books which deal with music and musicians so I picked this out on a whim: having indulged into Where She Went, I thought a book which approaches a similar subject but also touches the issue of drugs was a potentially good read. And I was right. It is my two cents that in a society still heavily afflicted by addictions of various ways, continuing to explore their nature, the motivations of people who do it.
How it goes down
Sacha, violin prodigy and Dylan, rock musician, fall for each other. Then drugs happen and everything spirals completely out of control. Recently, the pop scene exploded with the news of Demi Lovato's overdose, after several years of being clean. Ariana's Grande ex, Pete Davidson, met his early death out of similar reasons. We were all baffled to how this could have actually happened. The book attempts to provide at least a potential answer for the fictional world. As Dylan slowly descends into desperation, the drugs offer the perfect lifeline.
Spoiler
And then there is Sacha who is so strongly attached to Dylan she would submit to heroin rather than risk losing him. Ah, the perilous ways of love.Then, there is also the idea that drugs go hand in hand with creativity. All musicians in the book seem to have their performance enhanced by the drugs, and their absences remain to be felt like a real, physical void.
The descent into addiction, clearly perceived by the readers on the outside as such, becomes, in the novel, an insidious force which befuddles those who engage in it. Isn't it how it always goes, oh, but I am not addicted to it? "I grab the windowsill to keep standing." "He nods without meeting my eye. “Heroin. Not much, though. I’m not … hooked or anything." And as the descend gains speed and they turn into former shadows of selves, the eternal promise is always there, the illusion you are still in control: "It’s the last time,” he promises as he slides the needle into his flesh. I can see the self-loathing in his face, in the way his eyes won’t meet mine. I know how he feels."
The good
There are plenty of things which make this book quite splendid:
-The characters. Certainly a highlight of it. I dislike when books just throw characters at you, characters you aren't supposed to like or hate, characters you can simply ignore because they are incredibly one dimensional. In Sidewalk Regrets, you have a plethora of people navigating throughout the book but none is easy to ignore. Dylan's band members, Sacha's friends and parents, her music teacher, they are genuine people, whom we could meet at any corner of our streets who all add important bits to the story.
-The protagonists. For most of the book, I loved Sacha and Dylan, although I know they are not without a fault. They are brilliant musicians, kind souls, who share a beautiful thing before the addiction rears its ugly head. And man, is it ugly.
-The portrayal of drugs.
He hasn’t touched junk and I know he’s suffering. I see the way he shivers despite the warm weather, how carefully he moves on his aching joints. And I feel for him. This pain must be unbearable. Especially when he knows how to escape it.
Mostly, the topic is handled with care. We get to understand it as a physical need ourselves, as if we could be in the book, be the characters, partake their entire emotional spectrum. Rather than just judging, we are compelled to be empathetic, especially as, for some of us, it is quite easy to relate to the characters.
-The music's treatment is amazing. Multiple times, rather than seen as a hobby, it is described as a real life-altering force.
The music works its way into my chest, forcing my pulse to alter, to beat in time. Dylan’s guitar wraps around me, the notes slashing at my flesh, flaying strips from it, leaving me raw and exposed, bleeding. I gasp for breath between songs, needing the moments of quiet to gather my senses before the next assault
-The writing style just flows like a breeze. The author has a way with her words and The sensations rumbling in the pit of my stomach now and then helped me establish a real emotional connection with it.
The bad:
- The entire plotline of addiction on Sasha's side feels more than a little bit chaotic and underwhelmingly handled.
Spoiler
She starts consuming just because she wants to be closer to him. In theory, it seems valid enough. But it didn't work out with Sasha's established personality: calculated, well-organised, thoughtful, wise, in no way reckless and impulsive. Consider the recent development of events it made sense, somehow, but it still felt rushed. And her desire to give up by the power of sheer will seems greatly exaggerated and virtually impossible.-The denouement of their relationship.
Spoiler
I find it impossible to believe that there was no real love between them, only a love of music. Can someone who says this: "His eyes meet mine and the trace of a smile lurks about his lips. Is this what love feels like? My heart expands in my chest, filling it so completely there’s no room for air. I can’t tear my eyes away from him" really be just under the spell of music? It also really doesn't explain the myriad of sacrifices Sacha makes. It's like a huge plothole which made me feel weirdly unsatisfied.Uplifting at times, heartbreaking at others, Sidewalk Regrets is the book I didn't know I wanted to read but I am so happy I decided to.
I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
si0bhan's review against another edition
4.0
Kate Larkindale’s The Sidewalk’s Regrets is one of those books that surprised me in all the best ways. I thought I had everything figured out, I rolled my eyes at the naivety of some of the characters, only to find myself surprised by the way everything played out. I love it when books surprise me, and this one certainly did.
The Sidewalk’s Regrets is a book that hooked me from the very start. I was sucked into this one from the very first page, and in no time at all I was powering through in my quest to find out how everything came together. The characters and their development intrigued me, the storyline and the places we would go had me hooked, and the realistic portrayal of teenage life left me unable to put the book down.
At first, this seemed like it would be a simple love story. However, it quickly morphed into more. It is a story with so many layers, so many elements interwoven in wonderful ways, and you will find yourself feeling all kinds of things for the characters.
I want to say so much about this one but can say so little. The tiniest of details will result in spoilers crumbling down around you, as everything is connected in such fabulous ways. Just know, there is plenty to enjoy about this one. There are countless ways in which you’ll be sucked in, and the story will linger with you long after you’ve finished.
Without giving spoilers, I just wish to say the way things ended was my favourite part of the book. I enjoyed so much of it, but I was surprised by the way things finished. It is not how most stories in this genre end, and I adored the way we were given something different. It was way more realistic than many endings, and I adored this.
There is no doubt in my mind, I’ll certainly be reading more Kate Larkingdale in the future.
The Sidewalk’s Regrets is a book that hooked me from the very start. I was sucked into this one from the very first page, and in no time at all I was powering through in my quest to find out how everything came together. The characters and their development intrigued me, the storyline and the places we would go had me hooked, and the realistic portrayal of teenage life left me unable to put the book down.
At first, this seemed like it would be a simple love story. However, it quickly morphed into more. It is a story with so many layers, so many elements interwoven in wonderful ways, and you will find yourself feeling all kinds of things for the characters.
I want to say so much about this one but can say so little. The tiniest of details will result in spoilers crumbling down around you, as everything is connected in such fabulous ways. Just know, there is plenty to enjoy about this one. There are countless ways in which you’ll be sucked in, and the story will linger with you long after you’ve finished.
Without giving spoilers, I just wish to say the way things ended was my favourite part of the book. I enjoyed so much of it, but I was surprised by the way things finished. It is not how most stories in this genre end, and I adored the way we were given something different. It was way more realistic than many endings, and I adored this.
There is no doubt in my mind, I’ll certainly be reading more Kate Larkingdale in the future.
heatherhy01's review
3.0
I had to really gather my thoughts before trying to review this one. So much happens in this book and although it only consists of 263 pages, it felt like so much more!
I was not a fan of Sacha and I am not sure why her and Dylan hit it off to begin with? She just seems very immature to me and Dylan just seemed way more mature. I do feel that she redeemed herself at the end and I admired the tough decisions that she had made.
I adored Dylan but while I felt that Sacha was too immature, I also felt that he was not good for her. They didn’t share the same goals. She was set for college while he just wanted to play in a band. Yes, they had music in common but it just seemed to end there.
While I was not a big fan of them together, I was still entertained while reading to just see all that they go through as a couple. Which is way too much for their young age but I did enjoy the story all the same.
If you enjoy the “opposites attract” vibe, then this would be a great book for you! I did enjoy it even though it was way intense for a younger audience but great for a bit older crowd.
Thanks to the author for this copy in exchange of an honest review.
I was not a fan of Sacha and I am not sure why her and Dylan hit it off to begin with? She just seems very immature to me and Dylan just seemed way more mature. I do feel that she redeemed herself at the end and I admired the tough decisions that she had made.
I adored Dylan but while I felt that Sacha was too immature, I also felt that he was not good for her. They didn’t share the same goals. She was set for college while he just wanted to play in a band. Yes, they had music in common but it just seemed to end there.
While I was not a big fan of them together, I was still entertained while reading to just see all that they go through as a couple. Which is way too much for their young age but I did enjoy the story all the same.
If you enjoy the “opposites attract” vibe, then this would be a great book for you! I did enjoy it even though it was way intense for a younger audience but great for a bit older crowd.
Thanks to the author for this copy in exchange of an honest review.
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