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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Very much a book driven by the characters. Each have their own story to tell with twists and turns along the way. As the narrative switches between the past and the present, the full story of what happened to Olivia on that very fateful night is revealed.
The writing style was absolutely beautiful and very descriptive. Certain paragraphs I had to re-read strictly because I was completely on awe of the author's choice of words. Absolutely breathtaking.
The only thing holding me back from a full 5 star review is that the mystery of what happened to Olivia was quite easy for me to predict early on. I am very much into thrillers and mysteries, so this is a common occurance for me when it comes to this genre.
Nonetheless, absolutely wonderful plot with twists and turns to keep you immersed from start to finish.
The writing style was absolutely beautiful and very descriptive. Certain paragraphs I had to re-read strictly because I was completely on awe of the author's choice of words. Absolutely breathtaking.
The only thing holding me back from a full 5 star review is that the mystery of what happened to Olivia was quite easy for me to predict early on. I am very much into thrillers and mysteries, so this is a common occurance for me when it comes to this genre.
Nonetheless, absolutely wonderful plot with twists and turns to keep you immersed from start to finish.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Grab your box of tissue and hunker down. This book will keep you up for hours! Just when you think you have it all figured out, nope! I actually yelled out “what the fork!” on more than one occasion. This is a book that I would gladly read again. My husband said he hadn’t seen me so engrossed in a book since “that grim reaper phase”
The writing was not that good. It was very clearly trying to be good and memorable and deep, but really the one part that stuck with me is the description: "a tall man the shape of a cucumber". I mean.
I also got tired of being told exactly why such and such a character couldn't trust people, or had abandonment issues, or any of the deep emotional stuff. Too much telling, not nearly enough showing. The writing was extremely distracting.
Wasn't wild about the plot either. And I liked maybe two characters, neither of whom was Abi or Olivia. All in all, I just personally didn't get into this book at all, but this seems to be a trend with most books from this genre.
I also got tired of being told exactly why such and such a character couldn't trust people, or had abandonment issues, or any of the deep emotional stuff. Too much telling, not nearly enough showing. The writing was extremely distracting.
Wasn't wild about the plot either. And I liked maybe two characters, neither of whom was Abi or Olivia. All in all, I just personally didn't get into this book at all, but this seems to be a trend with most books from this genre.
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
You learn what the inevitable end to this story is right from the start and you know it has to happen and you don’t want it to because you’re gonna cry your eyes out. So I had to keep reading but I didn’t want to get to the end...
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
I wrote this in a rage while quarantined, so please forgive it for being so ridiculously over the top (my mental state was not flourishing during that time and I was bored).
What did I like about this book? Really not much. I hate to leave a rage review, but not many positive aspects were present in this book. I guess I did like Abi’s character a bit as she had some moments of reliability. I am sure she portrayed anxieties about motherhood very realistically. Take this review with a grain of salt, however. I’m pretty sure this book is written for mothers by a mother, and as a high school student, I would not say I am well versed in motherhood. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something easy and short, and does not want their life changed.
Honestly, this book was extremely disappointing. I felt like I was back in seventh grade, reading whatever looked cool in the library section and always being terribly let down. But why did I dislike this novel? Firstly, the characters were very indistinguishable from each other. They’re all walking stereotypes. Tyler plays football and is a BAD BOYFRIEND, Derek wears leather jackets and is pretentious about it, Olivia is a good girl that isn’t that good, and Madison wears lip gloss and that’s about it. Also, every single character was super white, which isn’t that understandable considering they live in Seattle. I am only making note of that because McDonald goes out of her way to describe everyone’s eyes at least 3 times a chapter, which meant that the character’s overwhelmingly similar appearances were always being shoved down my throat. If she is going to over-describe every character, it would be more interesting if they weren’t all blonde. Olivia, her mother Abi, Tyler, Anthony, Gavin, and Kendall are all blonde with green eyes (and most of them are not related). As I said, it’s not crucial to the plot, but it was still odd. Next, it frustrated me that the readers get told over and over again that Olivia is a good, sweet girl because honestly, I did not buy it. She cheats on her boyfriend, her best friend is a bully, and she has no other characteristics that give us the impression that she is a benevolent person. Before she learns more about her past and starts to have a more troubled life she publicly bullies a girl for her acne, suggesting that she didn’t develop into a bad person, but rather she was bad all along. Furthermore, I barely knew anything about Olvia besides the fact that she fell. We find out halfway through the novel that she swims (okay…) and that she wants to study political science, which is odd considering she showed no prior interest in it until she mentioned it (she never mentions it again). In fact, it does not seem like she has hobbies or interests other than obtaining information about her father. I am aware that the point of the novel is to be suspenseful, but I felt no sympathy for Olivia because she was so unmemorable. In the nicest way, I don’t understand why she has multiple love interests (besides her Slavic cheekbones that get brought up every 20 pages), because she is so uninteresting. She doesn’t seem like a nice person. Also, the dialogue, especially in Olivia’s narrative was super awkward and hard to get through. Specifically, characters repeatedly “roll their head back in laughter” at the most unfunny things I have read. I know humor is subjective but the line “God! You said you were good, but I didn’t know you actually took people out!” is not hilarious enough to make someone “laugh so hard they could barely breathe” (83). This is one example, but it happens repeatedly throughout the book, and it’s laborious to sit through and enjoy.
These were all minute issues I took with The Night Olivia Fell, but the plot itself was more challenging. The pacing of the book ultimately was its downfall. It was confusing to get a sense of how much time had passed and when things happened. This was really evident in her chapters that were supposed to “teach us something” (you know, the ones with motifs to seem cool and deep). Olivia and Dereck hang out for half a page and she then suddenly realizes that she is in love with him and that all the bad things go away when they go to the arcade one time I guess. Olivia and her aunt talk about her father’s identity and I kid you not, Olvia learns the theme of the whole story on one page. Olivia’s aunt tells her that sometimes it’s best to not know the truth, Olivia forces her to tell her the truth, and then when she finds out she says “now I understood what Sarah was telling me”. For context, this scene happened in the span of half a page. I would have enjoyed it if Olivia learned an overarching lesson rather than have an epiphany after one hard conversation. I don’t know, it was just a very sudden revelation, which bothered me. Besides the pacing, I also loathed the majority of the characters. As I mentioned earlier, this book is a cliche on steroids, meaning that I could write an entire “Where Have I Seen Her Before” foster essay. McDonald often uses trauma to develop characters, which in my opinion is lazy writing. Why does Abi’s anxieties about motherhood have to be derivative of her mother's suicide? She can just have anxieties about being a mother, there does not have to be a dramatic reason for it. This is a cliche used in most Young Adult fiction, so I could sort of let it slide, but it was frustrating nonetheless. Finally, why did it have to be Tyler? Derek mentions that he didn't want to come forward about his relationship with Olivia because “it’s always the boyfriend” when her other boyfriend is the murderer? Normally, I can get through poorly characterized suspense books, but the mystery was not even compelling enough to keep me going.
TLDR: the pacing ruined this book and the mystery and characters were unmemorable
What I learned from this book is that sometimes you should not reimmerse yourself in YA, as you will be disappointed. I wished there would have been more commentary on political power and the ethics of life support and abortion. Because the book was “supposed” to tackle those subjects, I did some research on my own before reading (the Jahi McMath case was fascinating and heartbreaking). So I guess I learned a little bit, even if it was mostly premeditated. I wish I could have liked this book more, I'm just too mean.
What did I like about this book? Really not much. I hate to leave a rage review, but not many positive aspects were present in this book. I guess I did like Abi’s character a bit as she had some moments of reliability. I am sure she portrayed anxieties about motherhood very realistically. Take this review with a grain of salt, however. I’m pretty sure this book is written for mothers by a mother, and as a high school student, I would not say I am well versed in motherhood. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read something easy and short, and does not want their life changed.
Honestly, this book was extremely disappointing. I felt like I was back in seventh grade, reading whatever looked cool in the library section and always being terribly let down. But why did I dislike this novel? Firstly, the characters were very indistinguishable from each other. They’re all walking stereotypes. Tyler plays football and is a BAD BOYFRIEND, Derek wears leather jackets and is pretentious about it, Olivia is a good girl that isn’t that good, and Madison wears lip gloss and that’s about it. Also, every single character was super white, which isn’t that understandable considering they live in Seattle. I am only making note of that because McDonald goes out of her way to describe everyone’s eyes at least 3 times a chapter, which meant that the character’s overwhelmingly similar appearances were always being shoved down my throat. If she is going to over-describe every character, it would be more interesting if they weren’t all blonde. Olivia, her mother Abi, Tyler, Anthony, Gavin, and Kendall are all blonde with green eyes (and most of them are not related). As I said, it’s not crucial to the plot, but it was still odd. Next, it frustrated me that the readers get told over and over again that Olivia is a good, sweet girl because honestly, I did not buy it. She cheats on her boyfriend, her best friend is a bully, and she has no other characteristics that give us the impression that she is a benevolent person. Before she learns more about her past and starts to have a more troubled life she publicly bullies a girl for her acne, suggesting that she didn’t develop into a bad person, but rather she was bad all along. Furthermore, I barely knew anything about Olvia besides the fact that she fell. We find out halfway through the novel that she swims (okay…) and that she wants to study political science, which is odd considering she showed no prior interest in it until she mentioned it (she never mentions it again). In fact, it does not seem like she has hobbies or interests other than obtaining information about her father. I am aware that the point of the novel is to be suspenseful, but I felt no sympathy for Olivia because she was so unmemorable. In the nicest way, I don’t understand why she has multiple love interests (besides her Slavic cheekbones that get brought up every 20 pages), because she is so uninteresting. She doesn’t seem like a nice person. Also, the dialogue, especially in Olivia’s narrative was super awkward and hard to get through. Specifically, characters repeatedly “roll their head back in laughter” at the most unfunny things I have read. I know humor is subjective but the line “God! You said you were good, but I didn’t know you actually took people out!” is not hilarious enough to make someone “laugh so hard they could barely breathe” (83). This is one example, but it happens repeatedly throughout the book, and it’s laborious to sit through and enjoy.
These were all minute issues I took with The Night Olivia Fell, but the plot itself was more challenging. The pacing of the book ultimately was its downfall. It was confusing to get a sense of how much time had passed and when things happened. This was really evident in her chapters that were supposed to “teach us something” (you know, the ones with motifs to seem cool and deep). Olivia and Dereck hang out for half a page and she then suddenly realizes that she is in love with him and that all the bad things go away when they go to the arcade one time I guess. Olivia and her aunt talk about her father’s identity and I kid you not, Olvia learns the theme of the whole story on one page. Olivia’s aunt tells her that sometimes it’s best to not know the truth, Olivia forces her to tell her the truth, and then when she finds out she says “now I understood what Sarah was telling me”. For context, this scene happened in the span of half a page. I would have enjoyed it if Olivia learned an overarching lesson rather than have an epiphany after one hard conversation. I don’t know, it was just a very sudden revelation, which bothered me. Besides the pacing, I also loathed the majority of the characters. As I mentioned earlier, this book is a cliche on steroids, meaning that I could write an entire “Where Have I Seen Her Before” foster essay. McDonald often uses trauma to develop characters, which in my opinion is lazy writing. Why does Abi’s anxieties about motherhood have to be derivative of her mother's suicide? She can just have anxieties about being a mother, there does not have to be a dramatic reason for it. This is a cliche used in most Young Adult fiction, so I could sort of let it slide, but it was frustrating nonetheless. Finally, why did it have to be Tyler? Derek mentions that he didn't want to come forward about his relationship with Olivia because “it’s always the boyfriend” when her other boyfriend is the murderer? Normally, I can get through poorly characterized suspense books, but the mystery was not even compelling enough to keep me going.
TLDR: the pacing ruined this book and the mystery and characters were unmemorable
What I learned from this book is that sometimes you should not reimmerse yourself in YA, as you will be disappointed. I wished there would have been more commentary on political power and the ethics of life support and abortion. Because the book was “supposed” to tackle those subjects, I did some research on my own before reading (the Jahi McMath case was fascinating and heartbreaking). So I guess I learned a little bit, even if it was mostly premeditated. I wish I could have liked this book more, I'm just too mean.