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flowpouet's review against another edition
5.0
Je devrais écrire cette "review" en anglais, probablement, mais je risque de manquer de mots.
Et je suis surprise de me prendre au jeu de commenter une oeuvre.
Simplement, je viens de fermer le livre et j'aimerais que tout le monde. Tout. Le. Monde. Le lise. L'ait entre le main. Le comprenne. Se laisser emporter dans l'univers que l'auteur a créée, avec le plus grand soin, pour nous.
On dit souvent qu'on se prend des claques avec certaines oeuvres. Là, je viens littéralement de subir un impact dont la force me fait perdre tous mes mots. Il y a d'un coup beaucoup trop de choses qui me viennent en tête, beaucoup trop de réflexions qui tourbillonnent et ne se fixent pas. Pendant que mon coeur est assaillis par un lot émotionnel assez important.
Je peux simplement dire qu'il faut faire confiance à Neil Smith et à sa plume. Il faut se laisser séduire par ses mots et sa narration hautement maîtrisée. Si le premier quart ne vous emporte pas, donner lui sa chance et vous ne pourrez plus vous empêcher de tourner les pages, de les dévaler, de dévorer.
Bref.
C'est à ce point. C'est une urgence, il faudrait que tout le monde puisse le lire. Et que tous puissent y être sensible.
En attendant, si vous hésitiez, foncez!
Et je suis surprise de me prendre au jeu de commenter une oeuvre.
Simplement, je viens de fermer le livre et j'aimerais que tout le monde. Tout. Le. Monde. Le lise. L'ait entre le main. Le comprenne. Se laisser emporter dans l'univers que l'auteur a créée, avec le plus grand soin, pour nous.
On dit souvent qu'on se prend des claques avec certaines oeuvres. Là, je viens littéralement de subir un impact dont la force me fait perdre tous mes mots. Il y a d'un coup beaucoup trop de choses qui me viennent en tête, beaucoup trop de réflexions qui tourbillonnent et ne se fixent pas. Pendant que mon coeur est assaillis par un lot émotionnel assez important.
Je peux simplement dire qu'il faut faire confiance à Neil Smith et à sa plume. Il faut se laisser séduire par ses mots et sa narration hautement maîtrisée. Si le premier quart ne vous emporte pas, donner lui sa chance et vous ne pourrez plus vous empêcher de tourner les pages, de les dévaler, de dévorer.
Bref.
C'est à ce point. C'est une urgence, il faudrait que tout le monde puisse le lire. Et que tous puissent y être sensible.
En attendant, si vous hésitiez, foncez!
erik_gamlem's review against another edition
4.0
I feel different after reading this, like the dream state this purgatory like afterlife felt. A world un-finished but also somehow infinite. The wait always seems worth it though. Things are revealed only when you and Boo are truly ready to understand them. I'm not often a journeyman, but this was a mystery that unfolded nearly perfectly.
joceline_foley's review against another edition
1.0
No. This book is terrible. And in the audiobook version, they spell out all of the swear words. This made my skin crawl.
annaa1108's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.25
readacorn's review against another edition
3.0
Ein interessanter Ansatz dennoch hätte ich mir etwas mehr Differenzierung der Nachwelt von der hiesigen gewünscht. Boo war sympathisch aber 100 Seiten weniger hätten es auch getan.
purrfectpages's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, I'll admit it. I picked this book because it had an October-esque title and I'm a dork who likes to theme my reading sometimes. So what of it? This book wasn't really spooky at all, although it did involve life in the afterlife. Kind of, sort of.
This is the story of Oliver "Boo" Dalrymple who wakes up one day to find that he is actually dead. If that sentence sounds confusing, don't worry, I'll explain. See, on Earth, Boo has passed, but now he's in heaven, or really a purgatory of sorts. It turns out in the afterlife, you are grouped with people who are of the same age as you when he died. So Boo is in a thirteen year old heaven where no one ever ages in body, only in spirit. That is, of course, until they hit the ripe old age of 50. Then they move on to another unknown.
Boo was always a loner on Earth, so he pretty much plans to settle in for more of the same. Imagine his surprise when he discovers how he died and even sees a fellow classmate is in his midst. Together, they work to avenge their deaths, but not all is as perfect as it seems, even in the ever after.
I found myself rather ambivalent while reading Boo. I liked the premise and even the execution. I even enjoyed the end. It's the parts in the middle that I found myself muddling through a bit. And without giving anything away I predicted the twist, so perhaps that's why I wasn't as taken with this book as I thought it might be.
This is the story of Oliver "Boo" Dalrymple who wakes up one day to find that he is actually dead. If that sentence sounds confusing, don't worry, I'll explain. See, on Earth, Boo has passed, but now he's in heaven, or really a purgatory of sorts. It turns out in the afterlife, you are grouped with people who are of the same age as you when he died. So Boo is in a thirteen year old heaven where no one ever ages in body, only in spirit. That is, of course, until they hit the ripe old age of 50. Then they move on to another unknown.
Boo was always a loner on Earth, so he pretty much plans to settle in for more of the same. Imagine his surprise when he discovers how he died and even sees a fellow classmate is in his midst. Together, they work to avenge their deaths, but not all is as perfect as it seems, even in the ever after.
I found myself rather ambivalent while reading Boo. I liked the premise and even the execution. I even enjoyed the end. It's the parts in the middle that I found myself muddling through a bit. And without giving anything away I predicted the twist, so perhaps that's why I wasn't as taken with this book as I thought it might be.
jhane's review against another edition
4.0
The general plot of Boo is a relatively simple one, but nevertheless Smith managed to throw some twists and turns in there. The thing that really made the story (and earned it more of a 4.5 than a 4) are the characters and their development. Neither Boo nor Johnny are like characters I've read before and make this book definitely worth the read.
kojo0o's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
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
3.5
brooke_review's review against another edition
4.0
Oliver “Boo” Dalrymple has died in front of his junior high school locker from a “holey heart.” One minute, he is reciting the periodic table in order, the next, he finds himself in “Town,” a special heaven reserved for United States 13-year olds. The residents of town, called “Townies,” “live” in a world where there is no life – no animals, no plants. Townies, who remain 13 forever, live in brick dormitories, find a job that is to their liking, and enjoy their afterlife ... or at least for 50 years, when they “re-die” and go on to another phase of the after-life.
Boo’s afterlife is flowing along smoothly until one day when his former acquaintance on Earth, Johnny Henzel, shows up in heaven with some bad news – Boo and Johnny died from a gunshot fired by a shooter in their school, a student they have aptly named, “Gunboy.” Boo and Johnny soon surmise that Gunboy died in a suicide, and is likely walking around Town, maybe even looking for them. The boys make it their mission to find their killer and set off on a quest to scour Town for Gunboy’s whereabouts, but their search is not without consequence.
Boo is a funny take on a young boy’s self-discovery of himself in the afterlife. Boo, someone who struggled with relationships and the “right thing to say” on Earth, finds it easy to forge friendships and make people laugh in Town. Readers who enjoy a good coming-of-age story with a twist will find enjoyment in Boo. Also, those who like to think that they have a story all figured out, only to be proven wrong, will have fun with the ride Boo takes them on. This novel also has a good bit of world-building, and while Town is not most people’s typical vision of heaven, it’s interesting to read about this place created just for 13-year olds to “live” out their afterlife.
NOVELIST APPEALS:
Genre: Adult books for young adults; Mainstream fiction
Character: Awkward; Quirky
Tone: Whimisical
Boo’s afterlife is flowing along smoothly until one day when his former acquaintance on Earth, Johnny Henzel, shows up in heaven with some bad news – Boo and Johnny died from a gunshot fired by a shooter in their school, a student they have aptly named, “Gunboy.” Boo and Johnny soon surmise that Gunboy died in a suicide, and is likely walking around Town, maybe even looking for them. The boys make it their mission to find their killer and set off on a quest to scour Town for Gunboy’s whereabouts, but their search is not without consequence.
Boo is a funny take on a young boy’s self-discovery of himself in the afterlife. Boo, someone who struggled with relationships and the “right thing to say” on Earth, finds it easy to forge friendships and make people laugh in Town. Readers who enjoy a good coming-of-age story with a twist will find enjoyment in Boo. Also, those who like to think that they have a story all figured out, only to be proven wrong, will have fun with the ride Boo takes them on. This novel also has a good bit of world-building, and while Town is not most people’s typical vision of heaven, it’s interesting to read about this place created just for 13-year olds to “live” out their afterlife.
NOVELIST APPEALS:
Genre: Adult books for young adults; Mainstream fiction
Character: Awkward; Quirky
Tone: Whimisical