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angry_bun's review against another edition
5.0
"Do we create reality by interaction and observation, or does it only appear that way because we're incapable of seeing the whole prism?"
The Universe is shrinking, and Oswald Pinkerton, better known as Ozzie, is the only person on Earth aware of this slowly impending disaster. And, honestly, right now it's the least of his problems. His boyfriend, Tommy, has suddenly vanished into thin air, and nobody even remembers him, his parents are divorcing and his stupid older brother is joining army. And to top it of (as if it's not enough already) he is paired with the silent and reclusive classmate, Calvin, for a physics project.
"I'd never been so sad to be so happy."
Shaun David Hutchinson has once again managed to create an amazing and diverse cast of well-developed characters! All of them are incredibly and painfully real. Each of them has their own flows and problems, which they mostly overcame. At the beginning of the story our main character, Ozzie, appeared to be self centered, ignorant and a bit too rude (but I still love him). He was fully engrossed in his own problems and feelings. But as the story kept going and the Universe continued to shrink, his vision kept broadening, until he was looking at the edge of the universe and was forced to realize that he "was just a boy chained in a cave, too stupid to know I'd been staring at shadows in a wall while the real world was happening behind me".
To be completely honest, the first hundred and something pages were quite hard to get through because it felt like I was reading same things over and over again. But as I proceeded forward, all this repetitions actually made perfect sense (well, at least to me), and it completely blew my mind.
The Universe is shrinking, and Oswald Pinkerton, better known as Ozzie, is the only person on Earth aware of this slowly impending disaster. And, honestly, right now it's the least of his problems. His boyfriend, Tommy, has suddenly vanished into thin air, and nobody even remembers him, his parents are divorcing and his stupid older brother is joining army. And to top it of (as if it's not enough already) he is paired with the silent and reclusive classmate, Calvin, for a physics project.
"I'd never been so sad to be so happy."
Shaun David Hutchinson has once again managed to create an amazing and diverse cast of well-developed characters! All of them are incredibly and painfully real. Each of them has their own flows and problems, which they mostly overcame. At the beginning of the story our main character, Ozzie, appeared to be self centered, ignorant and a bit too rude (but I still love him). He was fully engrossed in his own problems and feelings. But as the story kept going and the Universe continued to shrink, his vision kept broadening, until he was looking at the edge of the universe and was forced to realize that he "was just a boy chained in a cave, too stupid to know I'd been staring at shadows in a wall while the real world was happening behind me".
To be completely honest, the first hundred and something pages were quite hard to get through because it felt like I was reading same things over and over again. But as I proceeded forward, all this repetitions actually made perfect sense (well, at least to me), and it completely blew my mind.
louismunozjr's review
4.0
3.75 stars, rounding up to 4.
Not sure how to describe this novel, nor my thoughts on it. Ozzie, the main character, is an engaging young man and I was immediately drawn into his story. On a side note, the narrator was quite good.
Not sure how to describe this novel, nor my thoughts on it. Ozzie, the main character, is an engaging young man and I was immediately drawn into his story. On a side note, the narrator was quite good.
shiri55's review against another edition
5.0
So emotional. Shaun David Hutchinson has a way of making me cry with every single one of his books
alifromkc1907's review against another edition
4.0
I’m not entirely sure what I just listened to. This book was just weird… like, I thought this one was going to be mental health related, but it was kind of like… sci-fi ish? I’m not really sure. I didn’t like or dislike this one… it was just an entertainment piece, I suppose.
heresmika's review against another edition
i really like other books of the author, so i was excited to read this book
but this book just wasn’t for me, the writing - as usual - was amazing. he knows how to write books and convey relationships and mental illness and plot. at first i thought that the shrinking was just a metaphor, but i actually liked the end result better (expect of the last chapter i guess?)
so, i didn’t really enjoyed the book, it talked about topics that were too much for me at times. but i’m sure this book will hook people who like these kinds of books (:
but this book just wasn’t for me, the writing - as usual - was amazing. he knows how to write books and convey relationships and mental illness and plot. at first i thought that the shrinking was just a metaphor, but i actually liked the end result better (expect of the last chapter i guess?)
so, i didn’t really enjoyed the book, it talked about topics that were too much for me at times. but i’m sure this book will hook people who like these kinds of books (:
hugo19999's review against another edition
3.0
I love the build up most of the time and the mystery,
But wtf was that ending
It is so underwhelming
You're just gonna completely erased calvin experience with mental health issues and sexual harrassment like that,
That took away the point of acknowledging the issues on the first place if you're just gonna end it with erasing it, because people in real life can't just erase those experiences from existing just like that
But wtf was that ending
It is so underwhelming
You're just gonna completely erased calvin experience with mental health issues and sexual harrassment like that,
That took away the point of acknowledging the issues on the first place if you're just gonna end it with erasing it, because people in real life can't just erase those experiences from existing just like that
sc104906's review against another edition
2.0
Ozzie is the only person in the entire universe who remembers Tommy. Ozzie was never without Tommy, they grew up together and were each others' first everything. While friends and family think Ozzie is crazy and they ask him to seek medical attention, Ozzie will not give up on the most important person in his life. Tommy attempts to take a plane from Florida to Washington to search for Tommy, but is removed from the plane, which subsequently crashes for no reason. This mysterious circumstance clues Ozzie into the fact the the universe is shrinking, first by light years, then by kilometers, and so on. Ozzie becomes desperate with the idea of saving his world, while also going about his normal life. His best friend Lua is an awesome rock star with the potential for making it big, his older brother Warren is leaving for the army, and his parents are divorcing. Ozzie fights the inevitability of life. Things become more desperate when Ozzie's lab partner, Calvin, says he knows something about Tommy. However, this damaged boy leads Ozzie further down the rabbit hole.
This novel did not work for me. I felt that the best developed character in this novel was Lua. I didn't care about anyone else. I felt that there were certain realistic scenes, especially between Lua and Ozzie that worked beautifully, but the sci-fi aspect was not pulled off well. This book had potential without the irrelevant and cheesy sci-fi/narrowing universe aspect. Also as a note when recommending this book, the author does provide several sex scenes, so it may not be appropriate for younger teens.
This novel did not work for me. I felt that the best developed character in this novel was Lua. I didn't care about anyone else. I felt that there were certain realistic scenes, especially between Lua and Ozzie that worked beautifully, but the sci-fi aspect was not pulled off well. This book had potential without the irrelevant and cheesy sci-fi/narrowing universe aspect. Also as a note when recommending this book, the author does provide several sex scenes, so it may not be appropriate for younger teens.
chelsealaurenauthor's review against another edition
4.0
I am really starting to love Shaun David Hutchinson as an author. This is my second book by him. He’s handle a lot of really complicated topics very well in my opinion and has a fantastic grip on the teenage mind. I am just disappointed by the ending. I felt like it was being built up for something pretty spectacular and I felt like it dropped the ball, except the closer I got to the end I was anticipating being disappointed because it seemed near impossible to create an ending as amazing as the rest of the book.
emmascc's review against another edition
5.0
Actual rating: 4.5 stars
I don't even know what to say right now holy shit
tw: mentions of sexual assault of a minor by a teacher, self-harm, depression
I don't even know what to say right now holy shit
tw: mentions of sexual assault of a minor by a teacher, self-harm, depression