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3.56 AVERAGE
3.56 AVERAGE
Meh. I can't really find much to say about this book. The characters were bland, the romance was incredibly dull, the plot meandering but at the same time went nowhere. Not for me.
Nanette is stuck. She's got everything going for her, but nothing inspires her, makes her feel alive. After her English teacher gives her a decrepit copy of a cult favorite, The Bubblegum Reaper, she's set on a course of bravery and stark individualism, leading her to make bold choices that don't always serve her well. Soon she's wrapped up in determining the meaning behind The Bubblegum Reaper and embarks on a stormy friendship with the book's author, another diehard fan and poet with a chip on his shoulder named Alex, and Alex's friend Oliver.
Quick pushes Nanette's inner turmoil beautifully in a plot that, while depicts an identity crisis, is clearly marked by actions and brings the reader along on an up-and-down course along with Nanette. Although it's "just another teen coming of age novel," Quick manages to emphasize the stakes with smart choices that underline the urgency of Nanette's success. The novel nails the ease with which fans of cult classics can become immersed and even obsessed with the material to the point that their own identity becomes nonexistent and tied only to the material itself.
Readers are treated to complex characters, including secondary and tertiary characters who not only help to complicate Nanette's life and experiences but also have complex motivations of their own. An on-again-off-again friend of Nanette's in particular is especially interesting and fairly consistent with my own experience of teenage girl friendships. Character differences make conflict feel natural even when the opposing views are more on the subtle side in a more natural take on how tension brews and grows.
Despite a largely internal conflict, Every Exquisite Thing keeps up a comfortable pace while still conveying Nanette's inner monologue. In a really interesting style choice, there's a switch in person perspective partway through the book. Had anyone told me this was coming, I would have expected the execution to be a disaster and it to feel like a total gimmick. While it took some getting used to at first, the deployment of this change was actually very impressive and had a great deal of impact on how the book moved forward. I doubt any other book could have achieved this move, and I give extra kudos to Exquisite for making it happen and doing it well.
Quick keeps a good grip on his setting and moves readers throughout a small town that feels real, plopping landmarks around that are plausible for teens to visit based on their travel abilities as teens. While the setting itself doesn't play a major role, its importance is still clear -- as in many coming of age stories, its smallness feels confining for the reader and helps create a sense of need for Nanette to remove herself from it (either literally or less literally in terms of imagination or understanding herself as a person separate from the population of the town).
There's plenty to analyze and dissect in Exquisite if you're into that, but there's also plenty to enjoy from just a surface read of the book. It's a little on the serious side but has moments of humorous levity and an interesting and varied cast of characters. A solid choice for fans of The Catcher in the Rye and John Green.
Quick pushes Nanette's inner turmoil beautifully in a plot that, while depicts an identity crisis, is clearly marked by actions and brings the reader along on an up-and-down course along with Nanette. Although it's "just another teen coming of age novel," Quick manages to emphasize the stakes with smart choices that underline the urgency of Nanette's success. The novel nails the ease with which fans of cult classics can become immersed and even obsessed with the material to the point that their own identity becomes nonexistent and tied only to the material itself.
Readers are treated to complex characters, including secondary and tertiary characters who not only help to complicate Nanette's life and experiences but also have complex motivations of their own. An on-again-off-again friend of Nanette's in particular is especially interesting and fairly consistent with my own experience of teenage girl friendships. Character differences make conflict feel natural even when the opposing views are more on the subtle side in a more natural take on how tension brews and grows.
Despite a largely internal conflict, Every Exquisite Thing keeps up a comfortable pace while still conveying Nanette's inner monologue. In a really interesting style choice, there's a switch in person perspective partway through the book. Had anyone told me this was coming, I would have expected the execution to be a disaster and it to feel like a total gimmick. While it took some getting used to at first, the deployment of this change was actually very impressive and had a great deal of impact on how the book moved forward. I doubt any other book could have achieved this move, and I give extra kudos to Exquisite for making it happen and doing it well.
Quick keeps a good grip on his setting and moves readers throughout a small town that feels real, plopping landmarks around that are plausible for teens to visit based on their travel abilities as teens. While the setting itself doesn't play a major role, its importance is still clear -- as in many coming of age stories, its smallness feels confining for the reader and helps create a sense of need for Nanette to remove herself from it (either literally or less literally in terms of imagination or understanding herself as a person separate from the population of the town).
There's plenty to analyze and dissect in Exquisite if you're into that, but there's also plenty to enjoy from just a surface read of the book. It's a little on the serious side but has moments of humorous levity and an interesting and varied cast of characters. A solid choice for fans of The Catcher in the Rye and John Green.
~reread~
I first read this book almost 5 years ago so I was nervous and excited about experiencing and reading this book again since I feel like I'm going to like it less just because a lot has changed over the years - with my preference and perspective. Overall, I did love it less than I used to years ago, but not in a bad way. Some parts are still relatable for me and get me in the feels. I loved going back to Nanette's journey throughout the book, though there some parts that annoyed me, which I didn't felt years ago. Also, I understand the poems included more now which feels good.
Overall, "Every Exquisite Thing" is still a comfort read to me. It still hit the right notes for me especially when it comes to self-discovery, being authentic, and the power of literature.
I first read this book almost 5 years ago so I was nervous and excited about experiencing and reading this book again since I feel like I'm going to like it less just because a lot has changed over the years - with my preference and perspective. Overall, I did love it less than I used to years ago, but not in a bad way. Some parts are still relatable for me and get me in the feels. I loved going back to Nanette's journey throughout the book, though there some parts that annoyed me, which I didn't felt years ago. Also, I understand the poems included more now which feels good.
Overall, "Every Exquisite Thing" is still a comfort read to me. It still hit the right notes for me especially when it comes to self-discovery, being authentic, and the power of literature.
Nanette has always done what was expected of her. She got good grades, she was college bound with a chance for a soccer scholarship and she had lots of friends. Then a teacher gave her a very well read copy of The Bubblegum Reaper because he believed she was a kindred spirit and would appreciate the nuances. Even though the book had been out of print for years, the story hit her at her core and sparked a rebellion that no one could have foreseen. Will Nanette ever discover the true ending of the book? What truths about herself will she find out along the way?
Every Exquisite Thing is a coming of age story that everyone can relate to. Quick addresses bulling, social pressure, depression and peer acceptance, without causing the reader to feel as if a lesson is being presented. So many of the characters become obsessed about The Bubblegum Reaper that it will be likely that readers will investigate if it is a real novel. Although that novel is only real inside this story, other strong books are mentioned by the characters and I hope that readers look for them. This was a great read that is easy to devour and readers will be satisfied with this ending, even if Nanette was not satisfied with the ending of The Bubblegum Reaper.
Every Exquisite Thing is a coming of age story that everyone can relate to. Quick addresses bulling, social pressure, depression and peer acceptance, without causing the reader to feel as if a lesson is being presented. So many of the characters become obsessed about The Bubblegum Reaper that it will be likely that readers will investigate if it is a real novel. Although that novel is only real inside this story, other strong books are mentioned by the characters and I hope that readers look for them. This was a great read that is easy to devour and readers will be satisfied with this ending, even if Nanette was not satisfied with the ending of The Bubblegum Reaper.
This book started out okay, I liked the first half of the books but then it seemed to unravel off of the original plot.
The premise of this book was good, two teens that both feel they don't fit in with most other teens and the "in" crowd. But they are drawn together by a mutual friend, the author of their favorite book, The Bubblegum Reaper. This old man is a advocate for the underdogs and the book seems to be on the plot line of him being a mentor to these kids and help them find who they truly are.
The rest of the book seems to try and continue this plot but it gets overwhelmed by the other elements of romance, tragedy, and typical teen life/angst.
The main character, Nanette, started out as relatable but ends up becoming, in my opinion, very annoying. She doesn't listen to anything anyone has to say, and when she ends up going to therapy she uses it as a game. Her parents' marriage also had some issues and it was conveyed unrealistically.
The only characters in this book I feel that were constant in their personality and I actually liked, were Oliver and Unproductive Ted.
The premise of this book was good, two teens that both feel they don't fit in with most other teens and the "in" crowd. But they are drawn together by a mutual friend, the author of their favorite book, The Bubblegum Reaper. This old man is a advocate for the underdogs and the book seems to be on the plot line of him being a mentor to these kids and help them find who they truly are.
The rest of the book seems to try and continue this plot but it gets overwhelmed by the other elements of romance, tragedy, and typical teen life/angst.
The main character, Nanette, started out as relatable but ends up becoming, in my opinion, very annoying. She doesn't listen to anything anyone has to say, and when she ends up going to therapy she uses it as a game. Her parents' marriage also had some issues and it was conveyed unrealistically.
The only characters in this book I feel that were constant in their personality and I actually liked, were Oliver and Unproductive Ted.
An interesting coming-of-age novel that perhaps I am just too old to appreciate. Had my teenage self read this book I think I would have liked Nanette more, I would have rooted for her to be a rebel, I would have believed that secretly inside she really WAS a rebel. Now I just think she's kind of pretentious. She gets utterly fixated on a book that her high school teacher gives to her. Like, fixated to an unhealthy degree. But the flip side of that is, don't we all, especially when we are teens, just want to know that there is someone else out there who thinks like us? Someone who understands where we've been, where we are, and can give us clues about where we're going? So I do understand the fixation to a certain degree.
But here's the thing. Nanette reads this book and instead of thinking 'gee, maybe other peers feel the same way and are just pretending' she strikes up a friendship with the author. The author, instead of telling her to get to know her peers, to be real, to be honest about who she is, to seek out the others who are pretending their way through life, sets her up with batshit crazy guy. Because clearly the healthiest thing to do with two people who are obsessed with your book (which you won't even talk about and wish you'd never written because kids get obsessed with it), is to put them together and hope that health ensues.
Spoiler, it doesn't, and the book kind of goes downhill from there. There are moments that I really like, beautiful writing, but I just don't buy anything about Nanette as a character until about the last two pages.
So, if you are a teen, read it and know that life as it is now isn't life as it always will be. You get to grow up, you get to make choices. Maybe make some better choices than Nanette did. Bask in the idea of what it would mean to be true to your deepest self. Fall in love with the characters, wish that you knew the rest of the story.
If you are an adult, you already know the rest of the story. You've lived it in large and small ways. Read the book and remember, just a little bit, what it felt like to be a teen, with a world of mystery in front of you, trying to figure out if life is exquisite or tragic, trying to just fit in.
But here's the thing. Nanette reads this book and instead of thinking 'gee, maybe other peers feel the same way and are just pretending' she strikes up a friendship with the author. The author, instead of telling her to get to know her peers, to be real, to be honest about who she is, to seek out the others who are pretending their way through life, sets her up with batshit crazy guy. Because clearly the healthiest thing to do with two people who are obsessed with your book (which you won't even talk about and wish you'd never written because kids get obsessed with it), is to put them together and hope that health ensues.
Spoiler, it doesn't, and the book kind of goes downhill from there. There are moments that I really like, beautiful writing, but I just don't buy anything about Nanette as a character until about the last two pages.
So, if you are a teen, read it and know that life as it is now isn't life as it always will be. You get to grow up, you get to make choices. Maybe make some better choices than Nanette did. Bask in the idea of what it would mean to be true to your deepest self. Fall in love with the characters, wish that you knew the rest of the story.
If you are an adult, you already know the rest of the story. You've lived it in large and small ways. Read the book and remember, just a little bit, what it felt like to be a teen, with a world of mystery in front of you, trying to figure out if life is exquisite or tragic, trying to just fit in.
I really loved this beautiful book. I think the main reason I was drawn into this book was because I know students like Nanette. Students who just decide to be themselves and forget the status quo, even if it means being called names in the hallway or being on the receiving end of scorn. I admire those kinds of students who are brave enough just to be themselves, and this book is a celebration of them. It's not a book for everyone. This is for my artist. The rebel. Those that believe that a book can change your life. Or those that need a little courage to be themselves.
I listened to the audiobook and it struck me how some teenagers arrive at introspection differently than others. I’m not sure why I have a propensity for texts that feature mentally ill teenagers, but this was no exception. I enjoyed the author of The Bubblegum Reaper very much and sadly echoed his wise words as if in cue when they came to guide Nanette. I’m thankful for the opportunity to park inside this fictional world and feel relief that as an adult I don’t have to navigate the complex world of today as a teen.
I did enjoy this, but towards the end, I found Nanette to be annoying and her attitude quite grating.
Surely, being ourselves is important, but there is nothing wrong with occasionally doing things for other people--it seemed to me that Nanette really needed to find that balance. I couldn't help but agree when people called her selfish--her sense of self-importance had simply become too much for me to bear.
Maybe I'm too far away from that teenaged self I used to be, but I found myself rolling my eyes at Nanette quite a lot near the end.
I'll give it three stars because it's a fast read and an interesting concept, but it's difficult for me to praise a book that had me finding the main character completely disingenuous.
Surely, being ourselves is important, but there is nothing wrong with occasionally doing things for other people--it seemed to me that Nanette really needed to find that balance. I couldn't help but agree when people called her selfish--her sense of self-importance had simply become too much for me to bear.
Maybe I'm too far away from that teenaged self I used to be, but I found myself rolling my eyes at Nanette quite a lot near the end.
I'll give it three stars because it's a fast read and an interesting concept, but it's difficult for me to praise a book that had me finding the main character completely disingenuous.