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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism
Meet the author here in the location of her novel!
A story about first loves and mix tapes! For those of you old enough to know about the mix tapes and for those who don't, here's a chat with the author talking stories,locations and of course MUSIC!!
You never forget the one that got away. But what if ‘what could have been’ is still to come?
Daniel was the first boy to make Alison a mix tape. But that was years ago and Ali hasn’t thought about him in a very long time. Even if she had, she might not have called him ‘the one that got away’; she’d been the one to run away, after all. Then Dan’s name pops up on her phone, with a link to a song from their shared past. What if ‘what could have been’ is still to come?
It took me a little while to get into this book. The first third or so didn't really catch me. I loved reading about them when they were at school - sucker for a little bit of love - but at the start I wasn't too interested in their 'present' lives. Not until they started getting in contact with each other. Once that happened, I couldn't stop reading. The story got heart breaking and hard, and then it made me angry, and then it filled my heart with joy. It was fantastic. By the end I was so in love that I pretty much forgot that I didn't enjoy the opening!
Daniel was the first boy to make Alison a mix tape. But that was years ago and Ali hasn’t thought about him in a very long time. Even if she had, she might not have called him ‘the one that got away’; she’d been the one to run away, after all. Then Dan’s name pops up on her phone, with a link to a song from their shared past. What if ‘what could have been’ is still to come?
It took me a little while to get into this book. The first third or so didn't really catch me. I loved reading about them when they were at school - sucker for a little bit of love - but at the start I wasn't too interested in their 'present' lives. Not until they started getting in contact with each other. Once that happened, I couldn't stop reading. The story got heart breaking and hard, and then it made me angry, and then it filled my heart with joy. It was fantastic. By the end I was so in love that I pretty much forgot that I didn't enjoy the opening!
What a gem.
Ali and Dan were a couple and very much in love until she mysteriously disappeared from his life. About 30 years later, almost accidentally, they connect on social media. While they begin communicating by sending not messages but songs to each other, they also start to question some of their life choices and to entertain the idea of "what if".
I'd never read anything by Jane Sanderson before, and I went in with the expectation of something along the lines of High Fidelity. While this isn't Nick Hornby's world, there certainly are some similarities: the central role of music, the references to songs, the mix tapes, and the ordinary, relatable characters. I checked out the songs after reading, and the characters stayed with me longer, like the reading experience was extended. I also discovered some tunes I'll definitely return to.
But most importantly, I enjoyed the story unfolding quite slowly, I felt for the characters (except for Michael), and I admired the beautiful writing. overall, it was a great read.
Ali and Dan were a couple and very much in love until she mysteriously disappeared from his life. About 30 years later, almost accidentally, they connect on social media. While they begin communicating by sending not messages but songs to each other, they also start to question some of their life choices and to entertain the idea of "what if".
I'd never read anything by Jane Sanderson before, and I went in with the expectation of something along the lines of High Fidelity. While this isn't Nick Hornby's world, there certainly are some similarities: the central role of music, the references to songs, the mix tapes, and the ordinary, relatable characters. I checked out the songs after reading, and the characters stayed with me longer, like the reading experience was extended. I also discovered some tunes I'll definitely return to.
But most importantly, I enjoyed the story unfolding quite slowly, I felt for the characters (except for Michael), and I admired the beautiful writing.
Spoiler
The ending was a bit too rosy for me, and I'm not sure I can believe this relationship has a future, as Ali hasn't really been a problem-solver so far, she just did what others told her and/or ran away. But
My new approach to star ratings are the amount of times books make me cry (jokes).
Alison and Dan are each other's first loves and it's their love of music that brings them together. Many years later, with both of them married and living at opposite ends of the world, Dan sends Ali a track from the mix tape he made when they were 17 and it rekindles something inside both of them...
This was a lovely book to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a love story but with more depth than the classic 'boy meets girl' romance fiction I have read before. Dan and Ali are grown up, complex characters who are interesting and I found myself rooting for them to get a second chance.
The perfect book for anyone who has ever found themselves wondering about "the one who got away". Top marks to the publishers who have put together a Spotify playlist that features all the songs that Dan and Ali send each other and it really added an extra layer when reading and listening along to the tracks.
This was a lovely book to read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is a love story but with more depth than the classic 'boy meets girl' romance fiction I have read before. Dan and Ali are grown up, complex characters who are interesting and I found myself rooting for them to get a second chance.
The perfect book for anyone who has ever found themselves wondering about "the one who got away". Top marks to the publishers who have put together a Spotify playlist that features all the songs that Dan and Ali send each other and it really added an extra layer when reading and listening along to the tracks.
Výberovka je solídna romantická kniha, ktorá na mňa zafungovala vďaka sympatickým hlavným postavám a množstvu piesní, ktoré sa v knihe objavili. Tie som našla nielen v oficiálnom playliste pre túto knihu na Spotify, ale aj v zozname piesní na konci knihy, čo je za mňa super nápad. Autorka si síce mohla odpustiť zopár klišé, no príbeh som napriek tomu prežívala a dúfala som, že sa hlavné postavy dajú dokopy. A to je pre mňa pri romantike najdôležitejšie – dúfať, veriť a prežívať.
Really couldn't get along with this book, although I had high hopes from reading the blurb. It felt like it wasn't as gripping as I needed it to be. I get bored too easily!