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quirkycynic's review against another edition
4.0
About a month ago I read (and hated) another queer YA novel that shall remain nameless for anyone who doesn't check my reads list, but which happened to be about pretty much the same kind of thing as this one. I won't compare the two -- the former is a genre novel so putting its execution against a non-genre novel is unfair -- but in my review I did note that what I wanted from that book was one that, quote, "actually means something as a whole, and is unified in its themes and its storytelling".
So for whatever it's worth, this book is that.
Like all my favourite YA fiction, Gone Gone Gone is about no easy subject: it takes place after the September 11th attacks, against the backdrop of the Beltway Sniper shootings, and with a protagonist struggling to accept why he has recovered from cancer while his twin brother did not. Its plot isn't complex, but means a huge amount since it's about two boys struggling to accept love while living in a world of random, chaotic, and utterly irrational violence.
Because I'm an emotional masochist I guess I gravitate toward these stories more than others, but also because I think it accomplishes a very simple but profound meaning about the state of life itself and how to accept it -- there is death, the absence of life, and love, the embrace of it. A story about two people trying to understand which of these two states is more essential to the very purpose of living feels as if it should not be as compelling as it is, and yet the stakes could not be higher. It's absurd, heartrending, hilarious, dispiriting, and beautiful all at once. A lot like life.
So for whatever it's worth, this book is that.
Like all my favourite YA fiction, Gone Gone Gone is about no easy subject: it takes place after the September 11th attacks, against the backdrop of the Beltway Sniper shootings, and with a protagonist struggling to accept why he has recovered from cancer while his twin brother did not. Its plot isn't complex, but means a huge amount since it's about two boys struggling to accept love while living in a world of random, chaotic, and utterly irrational violence.
Because I'm an emotional masochist I guess I gravitate toward these stories more than others, but also because I think it accomplishes a very simple but profound meaning about the state of life itself and how to accept it -- there is death, the absence of life, and love, the embrace of it. A story about two people trying to understand which of these two states is more essential to the very purpose of living feels as if it should not be as compelling as it is, and yet the stakes could not be higher. It's absurd, heartrending, hilarious, dispiriting, and beautiful all at once. A lot like life.
mario_pellegrino's review against another edition
4.0
Amid the backdrop of the true 2002 Beltway Sniper attacks around Washington, D.C., two boys struggle through friendship, loss, grief, fear, and love. They both cling to people in their pasts and have a hard time noticing each other in the present.
vtmichelle's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5
As always, Hannah's books are very addicting to read. However, not much really happened and sometimes it felt like one big stream of conscious (not that that is bad, but just nothing really happened xD).
As always, Hannah's books are very addicting to read. However, not much really happened and sometimes it felt like one big stream of conscious (not that that is bad, but just nothing really happened xD).
howifeelaboutbooks's review against another edition
5.0
I was lucky enough to get a spot on the ARC tour Hannah sent this book on, which means I got to read a copy even though it's not released yet. Once I started reading, I could not put it down; according to the notes scribbled in the margins (which Hannah encouraged), this is pretty much the norm.
Gone, Gone, Gone is about two gay boys who meet in Maryland during the sniper attacks, a year after 9/11. Their worlds seem shaky and uncertain due to those major occurrences, but also because of their own personal issues. I love how being gay is not actually an issue for either boy - most of their family members know and accept them, as do classmates. Every single character was incredibly real and funny and touching, and the story arc was incredibly well done. (Since the book won't be released until 2012, I don't want to give away much more of the story because You Need To Read It.)
I loved the story overall, but after I finished, the thing that stuck with me most is that Hannah is an amazing writer. She makes things sound beautiful and profound, without overusing a thesaurus or making you feel sick with how flowery her language is. She can write a simple sentence and it will resonate with you long after you finish the book.
Gone, Gone, Gone is about two gay boys who meet in Maryland during the sniper attacks, a year after 9/11. Their worlds seem shaky and uncertain due to those major occurrences, but also because of their own personal issues. I love how being gay is not actually an issue for either boy - most of their family members know and accept them, as do classmates. Every single character was incredibly real and funny and touching, and the story arc was incredibly well done. (Since the book won't be released until 2012, I don't want to give away much more of the story because You Need To Read It.)
I loved the story overall, but after I finished, the thing that stuck with me most is that Hannah is an amazing writer. She makes things sound beautiful and profound, without overusing a thesaurus or making you feel sick with how flowery her language is. She can write a simple sentence and it will resonate with you long after you finish the book.
believedcrazy's review against another edition
4.0
I liked this book quite a lot whilst reading it; it’s got great pacing and a well thought out storyline that made me want to keep reading as quickly as possible.
The characters are my problem with this story; they are just too boring and predictable. It seems like a lot of authors are creating character dynamics of a shy character having some sort of relationship with an extroverted character, and while in some cases that works (I think [b:Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda|19547856|Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda|Becky Albertalli|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402915678s/19547856.jpg|27679579] handled the dynamic well, as well as [b:The Perks of Being a Wallflower|22628|The Perks of Being a Wallflower|Stephen Chbosky|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1363910637s/22628.jpg|2236198]), I felt like these characters were just carbon copies of every other character like this.
That being said I did enjoy the storyline a lot, and it definitely saved this book for me. I loved Craig’s passion about his animals, and I did appreciate that at times he did get frustrated at Lio instead of letting him just be the shy guy. I also love that whilst this book does mention 9/11, it isn’t just another 9/11 book. The sniper plot was also fantastic.
I think the problem was that I was reading this to find out if Craig would find his animals, if the sniper would shoot anyone, and what had happened to Craig’s ex-boyfriend. I never once actually cared about Craig and Lio as a couple, in fact I was kind of hoping one of them would be killed by the sniper, not because I hated the characters and wanted them to die, just because I needed something to make me care about them and I would never class this as a romance book.
All that said I think Hannah Moskowitz is a great writer and I definitely want to read more from her in the future, she uses fantastic pacing and language, and she had unique ideas I hadn't encountered in other books before.
The characters are my problem with this story; they are just too boring and predictable. It seems like a lot of authors are creating character dynamics of a shy character having some sort of relationship with an extroverted character, and while in some cases that works (I think [b:Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda|19547856|Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda|Becky Albertalli|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1402915678s/19547856.jpg|27679579] handled the dynamic well, as well as [b:The Perks of Being a Wallflower|22628|The Perks of Being a Wallflower|Stephen Chbosky|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1363910637s/22628.jpg|2236198]), I felt like these characters were just carbon copies of every other character like this.
That being said I did enjoy the storyline a lot, and it definitely saved this book for me. I loved Craig’s passion about his animals, and I did appreciate that at times he did get frustrated at Lio instead of letting him just be the shy guy. I also love that whilst this book does mention 9/11, it isn’t just another 9/11 book. The sniper plot was also fantastic.
I think the problem was that I was reading this to find out if Craig would find his animals, if the sniper would shoot anyone, and what had happened to Craig’s ex-boyfriend. I never once actually cared about Craig and Lio as a couple,
All that said I think Hannah Moskowitz is a great writer and I definitely want to read more from her in the future, she uses fantastic pacing and language, and she had unique ideas I hadn't encountered in other books before.
thebookishaustin's review against another edition
3.0
It was good. I think I wanted more depth, though. Would recommend it to certain people.
jessicaaaacr's review against another edition
4.5
Written beautifully and so, so real. I've had a lot of the conversations that go on in this book and I was really delighted to see somehow write them with such care.
slammy90's review against another edition
3.0
Sono perplessa. Molto perplessa!!
Ho letto lodi sperticate su questa autrice, sono impazzita a cercare il suo libro "Break", che era sulla bocca di tutti e quando finalmente leggo un suo libro, mi ritrovo con una buona idea, buoni personaggi a livello potenziale e uno sviluppo che in più di un'occasione mi ha fatto storcere il naso.
L'ho finito solo perché era breve e perché speravo davvero succedesse qualcosa! E invece no ._.
Certe parti sono addirittura pruriginose e mi è presa voglia di menare le mani..
Craig, il protagonista mi ha davvero davvero fatto antipatia. E non so nemmeno dare un motivo, perché povera stella è una persona che chiaramente ha dei problemi da risolvere: la sua insonnia, il suo bisogno insormontabile di avere a fianco QUATTORDICI animali. le questioni con l'ex fidanzato.. Eppure tutti i suoi vaneggiamenti e le sue azioni mi hanno fatto perdere la pazienza!
Lio di contro l'ho trovato parecchio sciapo e inutile. La storia è narrata dal POV di Craig e Lio, ma mentre il primo qualche reazione/emozione me l'ha suscitata, il secondo mi ha lasciato fredda, non è riuscita per niente a coinvolgermi.
La trama è debole, è furba e meschina: non basta mettere in mezzo l'attacco alle Torri Gemelle e la malattia per fare un buon libro! Anzi, non è nemmeno corretto! E poi, no, non ha senso..
Vogliamo parlare delle sparatorie a cui assistono Lio e Craig e che fanno impazzire la cittadina?! Ma stiamo parlando sul serio?!
Sarà che sono una disillusa, disincantata e cinica, ma a me questa storia puzza di imbroglio bello e buono. "Ma sì, freghiamo i lettori con due,tre elementi strappalacrime, con personaggi che fanno tenerezza, con una storia improbabile! Tanto ci cascheranno tutti!". Ennò, Hanna, a me non freghi!
Ho letto lodi sperticate su questa autrice, sono impazzita a cercare il suo libro "Break", che era sulla bocca di tutti e quando finalmente leggo un suo libro, mi ritrovo con una buona idea, buoni personaggi a livello potenziale e uno sviluppo che in più di un'occasione mi ha fatto storcere il naso.
L'ho finito solo perché era breve e perché speravo davvero succedesse qualcosa! E invece no ._.
Certe parti sono addirittura pruriginose e mi è presa voglia di menare le mani..
Craig, il protagonista mi ha davvero davvero fatto antipatia. E non so nemmeno dare un motivo, perché povera stella è una persona che chiaramente ha dei problemi da risolvere: la sua insonnia, il suo bisogno insormontabile di avere a fianco QUATTORDICI animali. le questioni con l'ex fidanzato.. Eppure tutti i suoi vaneggiamenti e le sue azioni mi hanno fatto perdere la pazienza!
Lio di contro l'ho trovato parecchio sciapo e inutile. La storia è narrata dal POV di Craig e Lio, ma mentre il primo qualche reazione/emozione me l'ha suscitata, il secondo mi ha lasciato fredda, non è riuscita per niente a coinvolgermi.
La trama è debole, è furba e meschina: non basta mettere in mezzo l'attacco alle Torri Gemelle e la malattia per fare un buon libro! Anzi, non è nemmeno corretto! E poi, no, non ha senso..
Vogliamo parlare delle sparatorie a cui assistono Lio e Craig e che fanno impazzire la cittadina?! Ma stiamo parlando sul serio?!
Sarà che sono una disillusa, disincantata e cinica, ma a me questa storia puzza di imbroglio bello e buono. "Ma sì, freghiamo i lettori con due,tre elementi strappalacrime, con personaggi che fanno tenerezza, con una storia improbabile! Tanto ci cascheranno tutti!". Ennò, Hanna, a me non freghi!
shamelesslyash's review against another edition
3.0
Set to the timeline of the 2002 DC sniper shootings, this novel is has an interesting way of showing you a love story between two boys. The shootings are talked about a lot in the book as it is a huge event happening while Craig and Lio are getting to know one another. I do find that since this is set in 2002 there are some very interesting plot points when it comes to the LGBT part of the book. The fact that Craig's parents are okay with him being gay is almost refreshing. The book wasn't spent with him and Lio having to hide the fact that they like each other. Also the school being totally on board for a GSA was almost surprising. Though school's have to allow the club there still was much fighting going on when in the early 2000s for the club. I know at my high school the GSA was called 'support club' because the school didn't want to the word gay in it...and this is from a school in Los Angeles!
I wish there was more talk about Craig and his need to talk animals end. There is mention is has to do with his ex, Cody, but other than that most of the focus is on Lio and how he had cancer and a twin who died from cancer.
All in all I found this was an easy read and I couldn't put it down. Just wish there was a little more at the end to see how Craig and Lio do after the snipers were arrested.
I wish there was more talk about Craig and his need to talk animals end. There is mention is has to do with his ex, Cody, but other than that most of the focus is on Lio and how he had cancer and a twin who died from cancer.
All in all I found this was an easy read and I couldn't put it down. Just wish there was a little more at the end to see how Craig and Lio do after the snipers were arrested.