Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
slow-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:
Yes
I liked this book…I liked Cassie as a main character and u liked the way time travel and Greek mythology was used. Her revelation at the end was insightful and really tied the whole book together. I found the first half very slow.
I really enjoyed most of this book, except the ending. I appreciated having a neurodivergent main character, and the concept of having infinite do-overs when you have trouble interpreting people's emotions and reactions is a very interesting concept for a sci-fi novel. Although this fits loosely in the sci-fi genre, the lack of any meaningful attempts to explain Cassandra's power, why it happened when it did, and its limitations seems like a big oversight. Nonetheless, the emotional pull of the book worked for me, and there were many poignant and relatable moments.
A bit of an aside, but the references to emotions and colors reminded me of a video game, Life is Strange True Colors, which is excellent. Although the premise is different (not time travel which was actually featured in the earlier Life is Strange game, but ability to alter others' emotions with a color-based representation), there might be some overlap in people interested in sci-fi with more inclusive characters and stories.
Spoiler
I greatly dislike the end of the book, in which she decides to time travel supposedly one last time to set everything up "right," and then let the chips fall as they may. I honestly do not believe she would not use time travel again to "fix" things. I felt that Cassandra did not actually end up learning much about others or herself, that perhaps Will and Art could get over the awkwardness and forgive themselves and her, or perhaps it isn't enough for only her to remember all these moments and relationships that were so meaningful. It seemed to ruin the emotional payoff of the final scene.A bit of an aside, but the references to emotions and colors reminded me of a video game, Life is Strange True Colors, which is excellent. Although the premise is different (not time travel which was actually featured in the earlier Life is Strange game, but ability to alter others' emotions with a color-based representation), there might be some overlap in people interested in sci-fi with more inclusive characters and stories.
"The Cassandra Complex" by Holly Smale left me with mixed feelings: the first three quarters of the story are pure chick lit with a touch of magical realism, then, at the 75% mark, the really interesting part starts, with all the drama and the character growth crammed into the last quarter of the novel.
Overall, I enjoyed it. It gave me more food for thought than you'd expect, based on the rather light-hearted premise. I would have given it 5 stars if the whole book had been as compelling as the final 25% of it was.
The only thing I truly didn't appreciate is how heavily the author leaned into the autism stereotypes. It felt almost like she must have had a checklist of symptoms she kept referring to while writing, actively striving to squeeze as many as possible in the story. Reality is not like that: every autistic person is different, but I don't suppose any one of them has every single symptom ever listed.
Also, the way.
Anyway, kudos to the author for the amount of research that went into this book, and for choosing to make her protagonist neurodivergent in the first place! We need more positive representation of the autistic community in the media!
Overall, I enjoyed it. It gave me more food for thought than you'd expect, based on the rather light-hearted premise. I would have given it 5 stars if the whole book had been as compelling as the final 25% of it was.
The only thing I truly didn't appreciate is how heavily the author leaned into the autism stereotypes. It felt almost like she must have had a checklist of symptoms she kept referring to while writing, actively striving to squeeze as many as possible in the story. Reality is not like that: every autistic person is different, but I don't suppose any one of them has every single symptom ever listed.
Also, the way
Spoiler
Cassandra kept referring to her difficulties and her "odd habits" felt way too self-aware for an undiagnosed autistic woman. Honestly, up to the point where Cassandra got her "informal diagnosis" and acted all surprised about it, I had simply assumed that she was aware of being autistic and just never actually used the word "autistic" for some reasonAnyway, kudos to the author for the amount of research that went into this book, and for choosing to make her protagonist neurodivergent in the first place! We need more positive representation of the autistic community in the media!
funny
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:
Yes
Started interesting, but got a bit slow around 1/3 of the way in, so I put it down to do two other books. The ending was satisfying. Overall, it's a book about one woman finding how to live as her authentic self instead of catering to others...with the ability to time travel! Ha.
This book is absolutely delightful in every way, and I was devastated when it ended. Literary joy. The way the author uses words to describe emotions in concrete ways is … masterful. Also, I realize that this is the second book I’ve read this year featuring a neuro-divergent main character, and I thoroughly enjoyed both. ETA: I made the mistake of reading some reviews after I wrote this, and the common theme seems to be that the main character is unlikeable. I wholeheartedly disagree and recognize the irony that Cassandra's internal "Greek chorus" constantly reminds her that she's unlikeable. Also, the Greek references, which seem to turn off some readers, appeal to me as a student of history and literature, so there's that. Maybe this book isn't for everyone, but it is perfect to me. Also, "Call me Cassandra" has been common refrain in our house for years. . . sometimes mothers have the unappreciated/unbelieved gift of prophecy LOL.
This book is so touching, different, and full of gems. It tells us a story about Cassandra and her love and working life. However Cassandra is... different. Instead of being able to gauge people's emotion, she sees colors, she can't live without her routine, she feels like she wants to explode, all the time. But she's so beautiful that it attracts jerks sometimes.
Yes, you're right, right from the get go you'll see that Cassandra is most definitely autistic, though she doesn't realize it at all. We were brought into her daily routine, about her work, her boyfriend, and how the world suddenly imploded at her and how she suddenly possessed the ability to time-travel! Everything that goes wrong, she can just undo it by backtracking several minutes before and she can react appropriately to that, because reacting is something that doesn't come naturally to Cassandra. You'd think it'd give her a lot of benefits? No, not really. It created problems that snowballs. And how does it end? You need to read this yourself.
Like I said before, the book is full of gems, a lot of wisdom imparted and lessons you can learn. The plot is not truly unusual (there are books about female autistic protagonists out there) but this one made me truly feel how it feels (maybe) to become autistic. And this is a topic dear to my heart because my own son is autistic.
4 stars from me!
Yes, you're right, right from the get go you'll see that Cassandra is most definitely autistic, though she doesn't realize it at all. We were brought into her daily routine, about her work, her boyfriend, and how the world suddenly imploded at her and how she suddenly possessed the ability to time-travel! Everything that goes wrong, she can just undo it by backtracking several minutes before and she can react appropriately to that, because reacting is something that doesn't come naturally to Cassandra. You'd think it'd give her a lot of benefits? No, not really. It created problems that snowballs. And how does it end? You need to read this yourself.
Like I said before, the book is full of gems, a lot of wisdom imparted and lessons you can learn. The plot is not truly unusual (there are books about female autistic protagonists out there) but this one made me truly feel how it feels (maybe) to become autistic. And this is a topic dear to my heart because my own son is autistic.
4 stars from me!
I tried to push through with this, because the writing was decent and it has the hallmarks of something I'd really like. The premise of an autistic person being able to time travel and essentially using it to understand people's reactions/redo anything they say that doesn't translate well was smart and interesting to me. Unfortunately, I just really didn't like Cassandra. I often enjoy books with unlikeable MCs, but this one was meant to be likeable so it was just a frustrating experience. I also generally find Greek mythology interesting, but the sheer amount of it in this was really tedious and ground the momentum to a halt.
Typically, I love everything with this kind of Groundhog Day/time travel theme, but sadly this didn't do it for me.
Typically, I love everything with this kind of Groundhog Day/time travel theme, but sadly this didn't do it for me.
Ihan kiva kirja autisminkirjon ihmisestä, joka ei sitä itsestään tiedä. Mukana ripaus taikaa ja maagisia elementtejä. Mukaansatempaava ja yllätyksellinen tarina.