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mar_w's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
halthemonarch's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this was going to be my punchy little palette cleanser after reading something as heavy and tragic as Parable of the Sower, but this one surprisingly got deep. Smyth introduces us to Aideen Cleary and her world. Her mother is a recovering alcoholic, whose alcoholism plays a large role in her daughter’s life. Her father is a serial cheater who had an affair with her mother and had her (his daughter) out of wedlock while remaining with his wife, Sarah. Her best friend Holly is pulling away, but Aideen gets it-- she’s kind of a bummer to be around, a bit of a prickly loner. Holly’s nemesis, Meabh Kowalski is running for class representative and somehow Meabh and Aideen wind up on a school staircase with Meabh begging Aideen to push her down the stairs.
When you’re a teenager, everything seems so urgent. You take all your life lessons and parental advice literally and so the only way to get relief from some responsibility is to have a sprained ankle for a while, you see? Hurriedly, Aideen does it and it’s the start of a tentative friendship and the beginning of a new racket (and keeping her mind off of her home life). From there, they make friends with Kavi and the three of them begin facilitating favors for people-- although in truth they aren’t very good, they were caught like every time and someone (although never the catalyst who started the chain) had to suffer consequences each time. Whatever. Teenagers be grounded sometimes.
Smyth develops the character of Aideen through how vehemently she resolves to help other people, juxtaposed with how helpless she feels against her mother’s addiction or her father’s situation. There is no right answer to these things and no right way to react, except to repress it because Aideen ends up blowing up at Kavi and isolating herself from Meabh at a time when she needed her. People aren’t perfect and Aideen is genuine and relatable/ There’s grace in her failings and by the end of the book she’s not afraid to apologize to her friends, set boundaries, and ask for help. I like that Smyth left the book as open-ended as she did because Aideen is young and her life can go any number of ways. I’ll choose to think the best, of course, but there’s something heartwarming and heart-tugging about the last line, “I need help.” Bravo, girlie!
Oh! But this was a romance novel, wasn’t it? I picked it up because it was in the LGBT+ romance section of my library, and though Aideen does pine after Meabh a little, and they do kiss, their flirtationship isn’t really the focus. Neither is their coming out, which I thought was a relief-- so often the climactic event is the “coming out kiss” bullshit and I liked that it was established that both of these characters were lesbians, had faced mild homophobia in the past, and moved on to the favors, and Aideen’s agonizing. Although the tone of the novel was light and easy to read and our protagonist is a quippy, note-slinging delight, there was something profound in here. I love the theme “we’re all in this together”, and a lot of the books I’ve been reading line up with it. :)
When you’re a teenager, everything seems so urgent. You take all your life lessons and parental advice literally and so the only way to get relief from some responsibility is to have a sprained ankle for a while, you see? Hurriedly, Aideen does it and it’s the start of a tentative friendship and the beginning of a new racket (and keeping her mind off of her home life). From there, they make friends with Kavi and the three of them begin facilitating favors for people-- although in truth they aren’t very good, they were caught like every time and someone (although never the catalyst who started the chain) had to suffer consequences each time. Whatever. Teenagers be grounded sometimes.
Smyth develops the character of Aideen through how vehemently she resolves to help other people, juxtaposed with how helpless she feels against her mother’s addiction or her father’s situation. There is no right answer to these things and no right way to react, except to repress it because Aideen ends up blowing up at Kavi and isolating herself from Meabh at a time when she needed her. People aren’t perfect and Aideen is genuine and relatable/ There’s grace in her failings and by the end of the book she’s not afraid to apologize to her friends, set boundaries, and ask for help. I like that Smyth left the book as open-ended as she did because Aideen is young and her life can go any number of ways. I’ll choose to think the best, of course, but there’s something heartwarming and heart-tugging about the last line, “I need help.” Bravo, girlie!
Oh! But this was a romance novel, wasn’t it? I picked it up because it was in the LGBT+ romance section of my library, and though Aideen does pine after Meabh a little, and they do kiss, their flirtationship isn’t really the focus. Neither is their coming out, which I thought was a relief-- so often the climactic event is the “coming out kiss” bullshit and I liked that it was established that both of these characters were lesbians, had faced mild homophobia in the past, and moved on to the favors, and Aideen’s agonizing. Although the tone of the novel was light and easy to read and our protagonist is a quippy, note-slinging delight, there was something profound in here. I love the theme “we’re all in this together”, and a lot of the books I’ve been reading line up with it. :)
ttlymental's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This became my favourite book in an instant. Caught me from the very beginning. The strangest individuals find common ground by helping others with their problems, which seem just too great to overcome themselves. I just love how so many different young people learn to go out of their way to help another teenager they haven't even talked to before, even though they've gone to the same school, possibly even the same class, for years. They learn that while asking for help is one of the hardest things in life, offering help can be so very easy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, and Bullying
Moderate: Classism, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, and Self harm
Minor: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
worst_part_is's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
dafnep's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ashction's review against another edition
5.0
I really really enjoyed this one! It's very much coming-of-age and friendship bonding, with a good dose of teenagers trying to deal with problems and heavy things. This is a perfect comp for Heartstopper fans (especially those who might want less romance) and Derry Girls fans.
I am mostly shocked I didn't realize this took place in Ireland (or that Ciara is Irish), and that this is also true for The Falling in Love Montage. Definitely can't wait to check that one out soon!
I am mostly shocked I didn't realize this took place in Ireland (or that Ciara is Irish), and that this is also true for The Falling in Love Montage. Definitely can't wait to check that one out soon!
chloevictoria8's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
ren36's review against another edition
5.0
I have so much to process from this book. It too me by surprise how much I laughed and felt for all the characters. I certainly wasn't expecting the tears.
laoise_obrien's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0