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rjeilani's review
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
shimmery's review
4.0
I enjoyed this. It’s about two twenty-one year old women partying and grifting their way through New York one summer. It’s a lot of fun — when I started to read it I wondered how the author was going to keep it up for 270 pages and expected it to fall flat after 100 but was pleasantly surprised when it didn’t. I especially liked two things about it — that it wasn’t too self aware or self pitying like some of these what people call ‘millennial’ novels tend to be, and also that the first person narrator was the subject — a pretty it girl. What I mean by that is that so often these kinds of stories, especially ones that centre on a friendship, are told from the point of view of a more timid, less interesting friend who slightly feels sorry for herself and resents her more bold companion while documenting her every move. That isn’t the case here — we get to see inside the mind of the girl everyone is interested in and she tells her story herself.
I definitely couldn’t keep track of all the characters — many seem interchangeable — but you don’t really have to. Not deep or profound but it isn’t trying to be.
I definitely couldn’t keep track of all the characters — many seem interchangeable — but you don’t really have to. Not deep or profound but it isn’t trying to be.
pradha's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-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? It's complicated
4.5
The beginning was rigid, but somewhere around the eighty page mark the narrative simply melted with humor and Life, or maybe I became accustomed to the cut-and-dry tone that increasingly grew on me with wit and honesty. Either way, what a fun read; it makes one heady from a lack of terminus.
lisamarie44's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
carlyjordyn's review against another edition
5.0
i love it i love it i love it!
i went in knowing nothing but girls in new york for the summer and that uncarley loves it and honestly i prefer it that way! this is the type of book that i think works better with no expectations but only if the reader enjoys something that’s more of a character study than a plot focused book.
i loved isa and gala and their friendship just ahhh perfection so real and raw. both characters felt like actual people which i always appreciate immensely.
also the backdrop of new york was so magical to me like although ive been there before this version was so different to anything ive experienced while visiting.
just all around great writing, great characters, great narrative and so much emotion i just loved it.
i went in knowing nothing but girls in new york for the summer and that uncarley loves it and honestly i prefer it that way! this is the type of book that i think works better with no expectations but only if the reader enjoys something that’s more of a character study than a plot focused book.
i loved isa and gala and their friendship just ahhh perfection so real and raw. both characters felt like actual people which i always appreciate immensely.
also the backdrop of new york was so magical to me like although ive been there before this version was so different to anything ive experienced while visiting.
just all around great writing, great characters, great narrative and so much emotion i just loved it.
sagabrodersen's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Fun and lighthearted! Some really beautiful moments, but a little bit too much of “hot girl summer”-vibes idk got a little bit annoyed after a while
vgm03's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
juliannasiegrist's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
this book is girlhood in your early twenties personified!!! there were so many lines I read and thought they reflected my own thoughts from this time exactly. isa and gala are pretentious and obnoxious but that's the point!! I love when girls do stuff
toto_books's review against another edition
obsessed with this, would love to read it again in a few summers time
blueridgebookworm's review against another edition
5.0
That rare work that remains fun, witty, warm, and lighthearted, while also revealing more serious themes of grief, loss, and finding oneself. A gem.
“It would be nice if whenever someone said ‘I love you,’ - it meant ‘Everything will be fine.’ It’s all assurance anyway.”
“Am I not always shouting into the void, waiting to be responded to with courtesy? Wrestling to get other people to see me how I see myself.”
“He said, 'What do you want?' All I could think of was peeling the skin of a Valencia orange in bed on a bright morning with someone pulling me into the covers because they want to spend two or three minutes nestling before starting their day. So I said, 'Not much.’”
“It would be nice if whenever someone said ‘I love you,’ - it meant ‘Everything will be fine.’ It’s all assurance anyway.”
“Am I not always shouting into the void, waiting to be responded to with courtesy? Wrestling to get other people to see me how I see myself.”
“He said, 'What do you want?' All I could think of was peeling the skin of a Valencia orange in bed on a bright morning with someone pulling me into the covers because they want to spend two or three minutes nestling before starting their day. So I said, 'Not much.’”