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julie_reads15's review
3.0
Summary
One Night by Margaret Wild is a young adult novel written in verse about how one night can change everything.
One night Gabe, Helen, Bram, and Al attend a house party which leads to their lives spiralling out of control. They are faced with the consequences of their actions and have some important decisions to make about their lives.
Gabe is good looking, and all the girls fall for him. He has plenty of one night stands. One night, he fools around with Helen and she gets pregnant.
Helen was born with a facial deformity and has had plastic surgery in order to try and fit in with her peers. After a one night stand results in her getting pregnant, she has a serious decision to make.
Bram loves hosting parties at his peers' lavish houses because it allows him to escape from the caravan park where he lives.
Al gets drunk a lot and hates everything. He believes his life has no purpose.
The novel is divided into three parts: Gabe, Helen, Gabe and Helen. It focuses on Gabe, Helen, and their friends. It shifts between first person and third person point of view.
Review
I liked how the novel was written in verse. It flowed quickly and was a fast read. I liked how it was about teenagers going through realistic problems.
Gabe wasn't a very likeable character, and I found the author tried too hard to make him likeable new the end and rushed his character development.
I liked how Helen was feisty and strong, but also a little vulnerable.
Bram was an interesting character and I would have liked to have read more about him. I also would have liked to have read more about Al.
I would have liked more interaction between the characters, especially Gabe and Helen.
It annoyed me how the novel switched from first person to third person point of view. It was inconsistent and hard to follow.
For example, on one page Gabe was writing first person, and on the next page the author would be talking about Gabe in third person.
I recommend this book for anyone who's 14 years and older and wants to read a verse novel about teenagers experiencing realistic problems.
One Night by Margaret Wild is a young adult novel written in verse about how one night can change everything.
One night Gabe, Helen, Bram, and Al attend a house party which leads to their lives spiralling out of control. They are faced with the consequences of their actions and have some important decisions to make about their lives.
Gabe is good looking, and all the girls fall for him. He has plenty of one night stands. One night, he fools around with Helen and she gets pregnant.
Helen was born with a facial deformity and has had plastic surgery in order to try and fit in with her peers. After a one night stand results in her getting pregnant, she has a serious decision to make.
Bram loves hosting parties at his peers' lavish houses because it allows him to escape from the caravan park where he lives.
Al gets drunk a lot and hates everything. He believes his life has no purpose.
The novel is divided into three parts: Gabe, Helen, Gabe and Helen. It focuses on Gabe, Helen, and their friends. It shifts between first person and third person point of view.
Review
I liked how the novel was written in verse. It flowed quickly and was a fast read. I liked how it was about teenagers going through realistic problems.
Gabe wasn't a very likeable character, and I found the author tried too hard to make him likeable new the end and rushed his character development.
I liked how Helen was feisty and strong, but also a little vulnerable.
Bram was an interesting character and I would have liked to have read more about him. I also would have liked to have read more about Al.
I would have liked more interaction between the characters, especially Gabe and Helen.
It annoyed me how the novel switched from first person to third person point of view. It was inconsistent and hard to follow.
For example, on one page Gabe was writing first person, and on the next page the author would be talking about Gabe in third person.
I recommend this book for anyone who's 14 years and older and wants to read a verse novel about teenagers experiencing realistic problems.
desterman's review
4.0
I liked this book a lot. The language was sparse and beautifully composed, and the voices of the teenagers were captured really well. The art of saying a lot through saying very little. The only gripe I would have is how well the character of Helen seemingly handled the difficult circumstances she found herself in - too composed? Great climax and lovely pensive ending.
trisha_thomas's review
4.0
"You're a tough little bird, Hen. Never forget that."
wow, this was a very moving tale about one night that changed the lives of many.
I really liked Gabe and Helen and just the little glimpse you get into their worlds. And I do love a good book in verse. I think sometimes a book theme is too sad or too emotional to read a whole novel about it - especially when fewer words can be so powerful.
My only hesitation with this book is the topic of teenage pregnancy. It's a tough topic and, although I'm glad Helen is so strong, she almost made it sound easy.....and it's not. Not at all.
wow, this was a very moving tale about one night that changed the lives of many.
I really liked Gabe and Helen and just the little glimpse you get into their worlds. And I do love a good book in verse. I think sometimes a book theme is too sad or too emotional to read a whole novel about it - especially when fewer words can be so powerful.
My only hesitation with this book is the topic of teenage pregnancy. It's a tough topic and, although I'm glad Helen is so strong, she almost made it sound easy.....and it's not. Not at all.
crystal_reading's review
3.0
This novel in verse explores the consequences of events on one brief night in the lives of several teens. The characters’ lives are spiraling out of control when they are abruptly shaken and have to make decisions about how they will live the rest of their lives.
juicelina's review
3.0
*More of a 2.5*
This book was okay. I don't know what it is, but whenever I pick up a book written in verse that isn't by Ellen Hopkins I tend not to like it that much. This was a super quick read I read it in about 2 hours. It was enjoyable, but not really a book that's going to stick with me. I didn't like how it skipped around so much in perspectives, but it was done well enough that you don't get confused on which perspective you're reading from. The characters were done pretty well. Even the minor characters had backgrounds that were explored a bit. I liked the story line as well. Maybe I would've liked it better if it was longer. Who knows ? It's definitely worth picking up and seeing for yourself since it's such a short a book. Overall, I just felt kind of meh about it.
This book was okay. I don't know what it is, but whenever I pick up a book written in verse that isn't by Ellen Hopkins I tend not to like it that much. This was a super quick read I read it in about 2 hours. It was enjoyable, but not really a book that's going to stick with me. I didn't like how it skipped around so much in perspectives, but it was done well enough that you don't get confused on which perspective you're reading from. The characters were done pretty well. Even the minor characters had backgrounds that were explored a bit. I liked the story line as well. Maybe I would've liked it better if it was longer. Who knows ? It's definitely worth picking up and seeing for yourself since it's such a short a book. Overall, I just felt kind of meh about it.
blacksheepdigitalva's review
4.0
One Night is a really good story about a one night satnd and the consequences that follow. It is a terrific book that shows you, you should always think before you act. You may get something out of it, but not always for the better.
laurasaur112's review
4.0
Totally loved this book!
I haven't read a lot of books in verse, because I hate the format of poetry. So, when I started this book, I thought it would be boring with no storyline or meaning.
But I was so wrong!
Even though this book didn't have a lot of words, it was very meaningful. It was about real issues that teenagers face everyday. But it did it in a unique way that made me want to keep reading. I loved how the author interpreted so much feeling into the book. And how she made it not just about the two main characters, Helen and Gabe, but also about their families, friends, and everyone's pasts.
The book had a lot of depressing moments, but also some happy ones. And even though it made the issue of teenage pregnancy seem easy at times, it also expressed the main characters feelings on it and how it affected her. There was also the issue of teens being depressed and feeling alone. I thought the author put that out there very well. Now there were some moments that made me cringe from the lack of thought, but the good moments clearly out-weighed those.
Overall, I really liked the storyline and how it spanned out within a year. Most books stick to a small time range, which does allow more detail, but this one was really well with the time frame.
The story really progressed, though. As well as the characters. Helen was a bit timid at first, but also defiant. How the two traits went together so well, I will never know. It just worked. She was scared and thoughtless at first, but throughout the book, she finds herself becoming more in control. Gabe also developed. He went from being some playboy who really only did the things he did because he thought his life had no meaning. But in the end, he really stepped up and wised up.
The other characters...Bram and Al, Helen's parents...they all truly developed greatly in the book. I mean, the author did an amazing job with really involved other characters.
So, I liked this book. It's really different, so that will automatically make people weary of it, or not like it. It's a gamble, I would say.
But I am such a slow reader, and it only took me about an hour to read, so you're not wasting a lot of time either way.
I say give it a go!
I haven't read a lot of books in verse, because I hate the format of poetry. So, when I started this book, I thought it would be boring with no storyline or meaning.
But I was so wrong!
Even though this book didn't have a lot of words, it was very meaningful. It was about real issues that teenagers face everyday. But it did it in a unique way that made me want to keep reading. I loved how the author interpreted so much feeling into the book. And how she made it not just about the two main characters, Helen and Gabe, but also about their families, friends, and everyone's pasts.
The book had a lot of depressing moments, but also some happy ones. And even though it made the issue of teenage pregnancy seem easy at times, it also expressed the main characters feelings on it and how it affected her. There was also the issue of teens being depressed and feeling alone. I thought the author put that out there very well. Now there were some moments that made me cringe from the lack of thought, but the good moments clearly out-weighed those.
Overall, I really liked the storyline and how it spanned out within a year. Most books stick to a small time range, which does allow more detail, but this one was really well with the time frame.
The story really progressed, though. As well as the characters. Helen was a bit timid at first, but also defiant. How the two traits went together so well, I will never know. It just worked. She was scared and thoughtless at first, but throughout the book, she finds herself becoming more in control. Gabe also developed. He went from being some playboy who really only did the things he did because he thought his life had no meaning. But in the end, he really stepped up and wised up.
The other characters...Bram and Al, Helen's parents...they all truly developed greatly in the book. I mean, the author did an amazing job with really involved other characters.
So, I liked this book. It's really different, so that will automatically make people weary of it, or not like it. It's a gamble, I would say.
But I am such a slow reader, and it only took me about an hour to read, so you're not wasting a lot of time either way.
I say give it a go!
stefhyena's review
4.0
The very positive view of human nature that shines through from about the middle of the book onward, untangling every relational or emotional tangle, though pitched in slow steps and claiming not to offer guarantees comes across as so glowing as to be naive. But in a world where Thatcher has more or less caused us all to subscribe to her TINA (there is no alternative) thinking and we are all a bit sold on the hypercapitalist, neoliberal view of human nature as paranoid and grasping this is a refreshing way to try to think.
Perhaps we need to go back to believing that everyone is redeemable and that the welfare state heals deep wounds (slowly). I struggled to get into that, and I am grateful to Wild for deliberately keeping it low key. Characters tend to be more connected in and functional by the end of the book but there is no "happily ever after" as such. Much of what is good comes from the agency of characters, from their willingness to struggle and even forgive (people forgiving Al was the hardest to believe but was beautiful in the context). The lovely, deep goodness and orientation toward love and social cohesion of the characters by the end of the book reminds me of Wild's children's books (my favourite may be Mr Nick's Knitting).
The fragments of poetry style of writing was hard to get into in some ways and sounded a bit teenagerish (which I guess it was supposed to). It worked for what the book was and also to hide the destination from the travelling reader. I am disappointed that Tony just faded out of the book after a while...he seemed more significant and loveable than many of the characters we did see a lot of, I can;t help wondering if he is so backgrounded because he was the only clearly non-white character.
We never really see what makes him tick or any of his flaws anyway. He is jut generosity and solace and then gone once Helen doesn't need him (more a foil than a character). After the Christmas scene around the table I expected more from/for him.
Anyway it is worth reading this book whether or not you usually like the YA genre. Fans of romance may be disappointed but remember a lack of a resolution doesn't mean things are not possible. It's more than a book about consequences, it's a book filled with hope for those who would face their consequences with any degree of courage and integrity.
Perhaps we need to go back to believing that everyone is redeemable and that the welfare state heals deep wounds (slowly). I struggled to get into that, and I am grateful to Wild for deliberately keeping it low key. Characters tend to be more connected in and functional by the end of the book but there is no "happily ever after" as such. Much of what is good comes from the agency of characters, from their willingness to struggle and even forgive (people forgiving Al was the hardest to believe but was beautiful in the context). The lovely, deep goodness and orientation toward love and social cohesion of the characters by the end of the book reminds me of Wild's children's books (my favourite may be Mr Nick's Knitting).
The fragments of poetry style of writing was hard to get into in some ways and sounded a bit teenagerish (which I guess it was supposed to). It worked for what the book was and also to hide the destination from the travelling reader. I am disappointed that Tony just faded out of the book after a while...he seemed more significant and loveable than many of the characters we did see a lot of, I can;t help wondering if he is so backgrounded because he was the only clearly non-white character.
We never really see what makes him tick or any of his flaws anyway. He is jut generosity and solace and then gone once Helen doesn't need him (more a foil than a character). After the Christmas scene around the table I expected more from/for him.
Anyway it is worth reading this book whether or not you usually like the YA genre. Fans of romance may be disappointed but remember a lack of a resolution doesn't mean things are not possible. It's more than a book about consequences, it's a book filled with hope for those who would face their consequences with any degree of courage and integrity.
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