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4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was COMPLETELY FLOORED by this beautiful book. RTC!
4.5*
I don't know where to start with this book because it is not at all what I expected. But it tells the story of Ellis and Michael two inseparable friends. Then Annie comes along and things begin to change. My aunt actually recommended this book to me and after having a look turns out it was gay so I bought it.
This book is beautiful, like honestly beautiful. Winman's prose is absolutely exquisite, it is flowery but not overly done its descriptive yet not dense and it is raw. So raw. There is an undeniable beauty to the way she tells the story of these two friends. Ellis at first then Michael to show us his side of the story. And it ripped my heart out. I wasn't expecting it to. I thought it was going to be fun little story about coming together and how friendship wins the day.
*SPOILERS FROM NOW ON PEOPLE RUN AWAY*
Friendship does win the day but death is very important too. At the beginning I hadn't quite pieced it together until Ellis kind of revealed to us that both Annie and Michael were dead. Punch one. Michael died of AIDS complications. Punch Two. He knew he was dying so he came home to see his best friends despite the estrangement. Punch Three. I felt like I really knew these characters and how each of them had their quirks and the boys had their damage. So much damage. But it felt so authentic all of it. The depression that Ellis was evidently suffering from and how he tried to cope with his losses was clearly unhealthy but it is through that we finally see how he actually begins to get better.
I don't even know how to explain this book because it wasn't an action-plot driven book. It focused so heavily on building the intense bond these three characters shared that the events are irrelevant. They get married woo but here's the powerful moment of the three of them together to inexplicably show how connected they are. Here's a sad moment of Ellis and his dad fighting but it brought the boys together physically for the first time. Then they went on holiday and got their moment in the sun but it's all shaping up to show us how they fell apart. It devastated me. But I loved it.
Winman wove their lives into a compelling book that made me tear up so that's a vote for me.
I don't know where to start with this book because it is not at all what I expected. But it tells the story of Ellis and Michael two inseparable friends. Then Annie comes along and things begin to change. My aunt actually recommended this book to me and after having a look turns out it was gay so I bought it.
This book is beautiful, like honestly beautiful. Winman's prose is absolutely exquisite, it is flowery but not overly done its descriptive yet not dense and it is raw. So raw. There is an undeniable beauty to the way she tells the story of these two friends. Ellis at first then Michael to show us his side of the story. And it ripped my heart out. I wasn't expecting it to. I thought it was going to be fun little story about coming together and how friendship wins the day.
*SPOILERS FROM NOW ON PEOPLE RUN AWAY*
Friendship does win the day but death is very important too. At the beginning I hadn't quite pieced it together until Ellis kind of revealed to us that both Annie and Michael were dead. Punch one. Michael died of AIDS complications. Punch Two. He knew he was dying so he came home to see his best friends despite the estrangement. Punch Three. I felt like I really knew these characters and how each of them had their quirks and the boys had their damage. So much damage. But it felt so authentic all of it. The depression that Ellis was evidently suffering from and how he tried to cope with his losses was clearly unhealthy but it is through that we finally see how he actually begins to get better.
I don't even know how to explain this book because it wasn't an action-plot driven book. It focused so heavily on building the intense bond these three characters shared that the events are irrelevant. They get married woo but here's the powerful moment of the three of them together to inexplicably show how connected they are. Here's a sad moment of Ellis and his dad fighting but it brought the boys together physically for the first time. Then they went on holiday and got their moment in the sun but it's all shaping up to show us how they fell apart. It devastated me. But I loved it.
Winman wove their lives into a compelling book that made me tear up so that's a vote for me.
HEART WRENCHING.
I am only giving this 4 stars because it was slow at certain points but ugh what a beautiful story in a short amount of pages.
I am only giving this 4 stars because it was slow at certain points but ugh what a beautiful story in a short amount of pages.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I got such a shock. I didn’t expect much from this. Such a powerful story packed into so few pages.
It made my hurt hurt but soar at the same time. Love. Love is so complex, but the possibilities are endless. Love is powerful, it rules over everything.
1000% recommend.
It made my hurt hurt but soar at the same time. Love. Love is so complex, but the possibilities are endless. Love is powerful, it rules over everything.
1000% recommend.