Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Ik geef je de zon

3rd time reading:
I highlighted and annotated it this time and hnnngh it's still so good.

2nd time reading:
I still stand by my point that I don't know what exactly it is about this book that makes it such a fantastic experience to read, but it is so good!

I still adore the storytelling, as this book alternates between the perspectives of the twins Noah and Judeando between different points in time. What sounds confusing actually isn't and it gives the story almost a mystery aspect as the two storylines begin to tie closer and closer together and you begin to understand everything that happened.

I still love Noah so much but I've also grown to like Jude more. Both of them are very complex characters and you feel the constant tension between them.

An absolute recommendation!

1st time reading (German):

Dieses Buch ist definitiv eins der besten Bücher, die ich dieses Jahr gelesen habe.
Ich weiß eigentlich nicht genau, was mich an der Geschichte so gefesselt hat. Ein interessantes Element ist auf jeden Fall, dass Jude in der 17-jährigen Gegenwart erzählt und Noah aus der 13 1/2-jährigen Vergangenheit. Dadurch setzen sich die Hintergründe nach und nach zusammen und man hat außerdem sehr unterschiedliche Erzählperspektiven.

Ich liebe "Noahs" Schreibstil so sehr, obwohl man komplett von sprachlichen Bildern überrannt wird. Aber das ist wahrscheinlich gerade das, was ich so toll fand.

Ich habe erst eine Weile gebraucht um mich mit Jude anzufreunden, da sie am Anfang wirklich unsympathisch rüberkommt, aber das legt sich aber mit der Zeit, da man sie besser kennenlernt.

Ich weiß nicht, was ich noch genau über dieses Buch sagen soll, außer, dass ich es wirklich sehr empfehlen kann.

Content Warnings

servemethesky's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I was quite pleasantly surprised by this book! I wasn’t expecting much, but it was full of beauty and hope and art and grief. It does feel very YA, so mentally prepare yourself if you’re an adult to be a little frustrated with the characters. Then remind yourself “damn, they’re only 13 or 16.”

I loved how this author wrote about art. Everything jumped off the page so vividly, from Jude’s sand sculptures to Noah’s murals. Just beautiful. And I loved the characters, like Guillermo and Oscar.

It was beautiful to see the twins work through their grief and unravel the truth eventually so they could be their truest selves. I wish my family could’ve healed and told the truth as much 2 years post our mom’s death as the family in this book did, damn!

It does feel melodramatic at times, which I somewhat expect of YA. Also, someone desperately need to tell this author it’s not okay to say “surftard” 100x in your novel.

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jody_deijlen's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

siobhanward's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Was given this by a friend, but I'm not sure how I never came across it before. It was a cute read - I liked the character development well enough, but it felt like nothing actually happened until the last 50 or so pages - so much of the action took place off-page, which made me feel disconnected from the plot.

I wish we'd spent more time with Noah as an older teenager. He definitely had a more interesting plot in my mind and I found Jude just to be kind of a pain at times. It was still a good read and I appreciated that the characters were not the normal stunned teenagers that you find in YA books - they generally had ok heads on their shoulders, or at least made decisions a normal person would make.

Content Warnings