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zanybibliophile's review
4.0
Part high school contemporary, part mystery, this debut novel is quite an impressive story.
You can read my full review here!
Not only is it a wonderful book, but I think we can all learn something from this book.
You can read my full review here!
Not only is it a wonderful book, but I think we can all learn something from this book.
bookish_brooklyn's review
4.0
This book was so addictive, I finished it in all of a day- and enjoyed it greatly! I think the author did an absolute riveting job presenting the mystery of The Somerton Man, who's body was found slumped on the Beach of the same name (hence the collective title of the mystery) and she blended fact with her own fiction so intricately!
A huge thank you to AusYABloggers for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour and to Hachette Australia for providing me with a copy of this book to review! Full review to come upon my posting date for the blog tour.
A huge thank you to AusYABloggers for allowing me to be a part of this blog tour and to Hachette Australia for providing me with a copy of this book to review! Full review to come upon my posting date for the blog tour.
shelleyrae's review
4.0
WIN a copy here: https://bookdout.wordpress.com/2019/06/28/blog-tour-giveaway-all-that-impossible-space-by-anna-morgan/ Entries close July 5th 2019
Anna Morgan’s contemporary young adult novel, All That Impossible Space, is an engaging debut exploring the themes of identity, friendship, family, and coming-of-age, framed by the enigmatic mystery of Somerton Man.
I was vaguely aware of the Somerton Man case before reading All That Impossible Space, and it was one of the main reasons that I was persuaded to read the novel. Given the current popularity of true crime, evidenced by podcasts such as My Favorite Murder (which I personally enjoy), and the plethora of documentaries on streaming services such as Netflix, it’s a savvy inclusion from the author. The Somerton Man case cleverly reflects Lara’s search for her own identity, as someone other than Hannah’s sister, and Ashley’s best friend. This in part explains her attachment to Mr Grant, who as a new teacher has no knowledge of Hannah’s accomplishments, and acknowledges Lara as an individual, rather than part of ‘AshleyandLara’.
I appreciated Morgan’s realistic portrayal of her characters. My teenagers are all of a similar age and I feel Lara, Ashley, Kate and Jos demonstrated appropriate attitudes and behaviours for their age group, which isn’t always the case in young adult fiction.
There would be few among us who wouldn’t be familiar with a ‘friend’ like Ashley, and Morgan skilfully portrays the codependent dynamic of their toxic relationship. I really liked that the author showed how difficult it was for Lara to extricate herself from the situation, struggling with her sense of loyalty to Ashley, and not wanting to hurt her feelings. The author underscores how destructive the friendship is by contrasting it with Lara’s interactions with Kate, the new girl, and Jos, the love interest.
Lara’s issues with her family are relatively benign for the genre, but I liked that Morgan showed that family problems don’t have to be dramatic (eg abuse, drugs, neglect etc) to have an effect on a teen’s sense of self. Lara’s parents are loving but have in a way lost sight of her, focused on her sister’s drama, even in Hannah’s absence. It’s clear Lara misses her sister, who is travelling on a gap year, but is also hurt by Hannah’s lack of communication.
I enjoyed All That Impossible Space, particularly the thoughtful examination of teen friendships and the intriguing study of Somerton Man (be prepared to fall down that rabbithole when you are done reading).
“Tamám Shud”
#AllThatImpossibleSpace Blog Tour
Anna Morgan’s contemporary young adult novel, All That Impossible Space, is an engaging debut exploring the themes of identity, friendship, family, and coming-of-age, framed by the enigmatic mystery of Somerton Man.
I was vaguely aware of the Somerton Man case before reading All That Impossible Space, and it was one of the main reasons that I was persuaded to read the novel. Given the current popularity of true crime, evidenced by podcasts such as My Favorite Murder (which I personally enjoy), and the plethora of documentaries on streaming services such as Netflix, it’s a savvy inclusion from the author. The Somerton Man case cleverly reflects Lara’s search for her own identity, as someone other than Hannah’s sister, and Ashley’s best friend. This in part explains her attachment to Mr Grant, who as a new teacher has no knowledge of Hannah’s accomplishments, and acknowledges Lara as an individual, rather than part of ‘AshleyandLara’.
I appreciated Morgan’s realistic portrayal of her characters. My teenagers are all of a similar age and I feel Lara, Ashley, Kate and Jos demonstrated appropriate attitudes and behaviours for their age group, which isn’t always the case in young adult fiction.
There would be few among us who wouldn’t be familiar with a ‘friend’ like Ashley, and Morgan skilfully portrays the codependent dynamic of their toxic relationship. I really liked that the author showed how difficult it was for Lara to extricate herself from the situation, struggling with her sense of loyalty to Ashley, and not wanting to hurt her feelings. The author underscores how destructive the friendship is by contrasting it with Lara’s interactions with Kate, the new girl, and Jos, the love interest.
Lara’s issues with her family are relatively benign for the genre, but I liked that Morgan showed that family problems don’t have to be dramatic (eg abuse, drugs, neglect etc) to have an effect on a teen’s sense of self. Lara’s parents are loving but have in a way lost sight of her, focused on her sister’s drama, even in Hannah’s absence. It’s clear Lara misses her sister, who is travelling on a gap year, but is also hurt by Hannah’s lack of communication.
I enjoyed All That Impossible Space, particularly the thoughtful examination of teen friendships and the intriguing study of Somerton Man (be prepared to fall down that rabbithole when you are done reading).
“Tamám Shud”
#AllThatImpossibleSpace Blog Tour
izzie_07's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
beematthews's review
3.0
the first half of the book felt extraordinary average. although i did know exactly what lara was going through with ash
elx_mathit's review
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
elysian_words_'s review
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
fr1dge's review
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lainy122's review
4.0
Well! That caught me by surprise. I usually have very little time in YA novels for high school politics (no tolerance for it when I was a teen and even less now) but while there was a little bit of impatient eye-rolling involved, there was much less than I had expected given the blurb.
Loved the mystery of the assignment, and though the teacher's disappearance was far less of a mystery to me, it was very believable how strange it would all be to the main character.
The musical and romance was well played but the whole arc with the sister felt a bit odd to me - I could see what the role of her character would play, but it still felt a bit too much like too many cooking spoons stirring the soup to me. Especially
It didn't spoilt the book for me in any way though, and I'm interested to see what this author comes out with next!
Loved the mystery of the assignment, and though the teacher's disappearance was far less of a mystery to me, it was very believable how strange it would all be to the main character.
The musical and romance was well played but the whole arc with the sister felt a bit odd to me - I could see what the role of her character would play, but it still felt a bit too much like too many cooking spoons stirring the soup to me. Especially
Spoiler
when she turns up back home and I realised I had forgotten about her completely as a character and not in a something-else-Lara-is-worried-about kind of way.It didn't spoilt the book for me in any way though, and I'm interested to see what this author comes out with next!