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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
I had high hopes for this book but soon realized I wasn’t its audience. Didn’t realize it’s young adult. Characters predictable, plot (mostly) predicable, overall not extraordinary memorable, definitely not all believable (probably what I most disliked) but the prose was good. The last 1/3 was maybe the better part of the book. I think the book was too message driven instead of character driven.
This is Quick's first novel geared towards Teens, and is just as captivating as his adult novels. For student Nanette, she has always gone with the flow. She is the perfect daughter, the perfect friend, the perfect student and the perfect athlete. Now we all know that one cannot be perfect all the time, and at some point, we all snap. Nanette is no exception. She forms a quick bond with her high school literature teacher when he provides a special book for her to read. In no time she becomes completely obsessed with it. Nanette is not the only one obsessed with The Bubblegum Reader, Alex is as well. In no time Nanette and Alex form a strong bond of both friendship and romance.
Quick is great at finding those students or people in life that walk to their own tune and refuse to conform to societies rules. Alex is one of those. His views soon transfer to Nanette, and in no time she quits her soccer team in the middle of her senior year, and begins to explore unchartered territory with Alex. How long will Nanette rebel against her perfect self? Will she continue to exercise her own beliefs and actions? Only time will tell.
This novel will appeal to anyone who walked the halls of high school and always felt like they didn’t quite belong. It will also speak to those who continue to deny their inner voice and confirm that in life, mistakes happen, but we never know how it will turn out unless we try. –Pamela B.
Quick is great at finding those students or people in life that walk to their own tune and refuse to conform to societies rules. Alex is one of those. His views soon transfer to Nanette, and in no time she quits her soccer team in the middle of her senior year, and begins to explore unchartered territory with Alex. How long will Nanette rebel against her perfect self? Will she continue to exercise her own beliefs and actions? Only time will tell.
This novel will appeal to anyone who walked the halls of high school and always felt like they didn’t quite belong. It will also speak to those who continue to deny their inner voice and confirm that in life, mistakes happen, but we never know how it will turn out unless we try. –Pamela B.
I'm not sure how many stars to give this book. At times I thought I would fully hate this book. At other times, I remembered what it felt like senior year of high school, to feel disconnected from everyone else at the exact time that you're supposed to be living in an amazing 80s movie and have the *best friends ever*. Nanette falls in love with a Catcher in the Rye-type book, and everything in her life changes- some things by her choice and others not so much. She falls down the rabbit hole a little bit, and swirls around the question of who she really is and what she really wants. Meanwhile, the Salinger/Quick-stand-in keeps insisting two things: 1. there is no such thing as fiction, and 2. the author can not be held responsible for a reader's actions. I think this book will lend itself to great discussions and debates, maybe even someday as a class reading.
I received a signed copy of Every Exquisite Thing from Goodreads (thank you so much!!).
Quick overview: all-star soccer player Nanette decides, after reading the cult classic book, The Bubblegum Reaper, to quit soccer and spend her senior year hanging out with her new friends Alex (a fellow Reaper fan) and Nigel Booker (author of The Bubblegum Reaper). But choosing to "quit" has major repercussions, especially as Alex becomes more obsessed with the novel and tries to emulate its sometimes violent protagonist.
Some spoilers below!
There were so many things I loved about this novel!
1) The portrayal of high school from a loner's perspective. Honestly, it was pretty similar to how I felt about my high school experience during my senior year; not fitting in with any particular crowd and feeling alienated from the party/sex culture.
2) Nanette's struggle to be okay on her own terms and the fact that she doesn't go it alone, she has help from her parents and therapist. She tries some pretty extreme things as she wrestles with her identity and desires. (Her whole "experiment" was heartbreaking and I kept being like "no, no, this isn't you!!" but I'm glad she was finally able to see that it wasn't working and was able to stop).
3) The adult involvement! I feel like every YA book I read the parents are dead or absent and other adult characters are the villains, not helpers. As Nanette works through her issues she spends time both distancing herself from the adults in her life but then coming back to them for support. Her parents aren't always there or supportive but when it counts they show up.
4) The intersection between fiction and reality. Nanette and Alex try to live out the counter culture principles presented in The Bubblegum Reaper and constantly try to aline the fictional story with the life of the author. Booker (the author) frequently complains about people using his book as justification/motivation to commit violent acts and tries to persuade Nanette and Alex to not use his novel as a life guide.
Overall, I really liked this book and think it would be a great choice for anyone, especially those who feel like they're living on the fringes of high school (or society in general).
Quick overview: all-star soccer player Nanette decides, after reading the cult classic book, The Bubblegum Reaper, to quit soccer and spend her senior year hanging out with her new friends Alex (a fellow Reaper fan) and Nigel Booker (author of The Bubblegum Reaper). But choosing to "quit" has major repercussions, especially as Alex becomes more obsessed with the novel and tries to emulate its sometimes violent protagonist.
Some spoilers below!
There were so many things I loved about this novel!
1) The portrayal of high school from a loner's perspective. Honestly, it was pretty similar to how I felt about my high school experience during my senior year; not fitting in with any particular crowd and feeling alienated from the party/sex culture.
2) Nanette's struggle to be okay on her own terms and the fact that she doesn't go it alone, she has help from her parents and therapist. She tries some pretty extreme things as she wrestles with her identity and desires. (Her whole "experiment" was heartbreaking and I kept being like "no, no, this isn't you!!" but I'm glad she was finally able to see that it wasn't working and was able to stop).
3) The adult involvement! I feel like every YA book I read the parents are dead or absent and other adult characters are the villains, not helpers. As Nanette works through her issues she spends time both distancing herself from the adults in her life but then coming back to them for support. Her parents aren't always there or supportive but when it counts they show up.
4) The intersection between fiction and reality. Nanette and Alex try to live out the counter culture principles presented in The Bubblegum Reaper and constantly try to aline the fictional story with the life of the author. Booker (the author) frequently complains about people using his book as justification/motivation to commit violent acts and tries to persuade Nanette and Alex to not use his novel as a life guide.
Overall, I really liked this book and think it would be a great choice for anyone, especially those who feel like they're living on the fringes of high school (or society in general).
While I understand and agree that the theme to this book, being true to oneself, and the interlacing of events that commonly occur while growing up, I found "Every Exquisite Thing" not as engaging or compelling as I had hoped. Still recommendable as it does address issues such as parents divorcing and teen sex with great examples of positive and negative behaviors and situations. Nanette, the lead character never seems to fit her age, sometimes acting younger or older than the situation normally dictated. The character development seems lackluster and dull. With some really great characters, Matthew Quick decided to fill them in with shades of grey instead of the color they so easily could have stepped into. I would recommend parents do a quick read before handing this book over to be prepared for discussions that would follow.
I'm glad I bought a paperback copy of this book. I always wanted to try Matthew Quick's books because well very high rating, everyone recommends and I should try and read it already.
Hence, the book is about growth. There's death and losing someone you love and mistakes made, this book basically teaches a lot about life. Makes you ponder about your own. I like this kind of book, where, it makes you stop on your track and think about yours
Hence, the book is about growth. There's death and losing someone you love and mistakes made, this book basically teaches a lot about life. Makes you ponder about your own. I like this kind of book, where, it makes you stop on your track and think about yours
3.5 books like this make me glad that high school only happens once and is a blip in the grand scheme of things.
Wow. Where was this book when I was a high schooler?