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tyardley's review
2.0
I think I read a different book than most of the reviewers...
First off, is it Gulf City or Gulf city? Lynn couldn't seem to keep her punctuation of a proper noun straight. Maybe I'm nitpicking, but when an error occurs multiple times in one book, I find it hard to excuse.
Second, I understand this is YA. Honestly, I had no idea it was until I was already reading it. It is a genre I tend to avoid. I avoid it specifically for reasons highlighted in this book. While I understand teen characters should speak like teens (and yes, I am guilty of criticizing a story whose young characters talk like adults), for some reason the whole story, including narrative, came across as juvenile. Lynn touched upon some heavy content here, but none of it was given the focus it probably deserved. In fact, she touched upon so much that as a whole they all became insignificant.
Now for my list of petty complaints:
- We know Jay is Callie's best friend. We get it. She really does not need to state it every time she talks about him, as though we as readers have forgotten.
- I find it difficult to believe Callie's luck. She's described as this shy, unsociable loner whose twin brother got the charisma and looks, yet somehow her best friend is this hunk of a guy one year older than her and his equally hot brother has had a thing for her their whole lives. I mean, one unbelievable character relationship is passable, but two?
- All Jamie seems to do when she kisses him is growl. There are SO MANY weird adjectives and verbs thrown into the "passionate" scenes. She always bites his lip. He always makes some animalistic noise. It is as though each occurrence of the two coming together was written by a 14 year old excited to share their first hook up.
I feel like I just wrote this same statement a week or so ago, YA is not for me. How I somehow end up with them on my kindle is beyond me.
First off, is it Gulf City or Gulf city? Lynn couldn't seem to keep her punctuation of a proper noun straight. Maybe I'm nitpicking, but when an error occurs multiple times in one book, I find it hard to excuse.
Second, I understand this is YA. Honestly, I had no idea it was until I was already reading it. It is a genre I tend to avoid. I avoid it specifically for reasons highlighted in this book. While I understand teen characters should speak like teens (and yes, I am guilty of criticizing a story whose young characters talk like adults), for some reason the whole story, including narrative, came across as juvenile. Lynn touched upon some heavy content here, but none of it was given the focus it probably deserved. In fact, she touched upon so much that as a whole they all became insignificant.
Now for my list of petty complaints:
- We know Jay is Callie's best friend. We get it. She really does not need to state it every time she talks about him, as though we as readers have forgotten.
- I find it difficult to believe Callie's luck. She's described as this shy, unsociable loner whose twin brother got the charisma and looks, yet somehow her best friend is this hunk of a guy one year older than her and his equally hot brother has had a thing for her their whole lives. I mean, one unbelievable character relationship is passable, but two?
- All Jamie seems to do when she kisses him is growl. There are SO MANY weird adjectives and verbs thrown into the "passionate" scenes. She always bites his lip. He always makes some animalistic noise. It is as though each occurrence of the two coming together was written by a 14 year old excited to share their first hook up.
I feel like I just wrote this same statement a week or so ago, YA is not for me. How I somehow end up with them on my kindle is beyond me.
lifeofaliterarynerd's review
2.0
2.5 Stars
I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
[b:We Thought We Were Invincible|34211216|We Thought We Were Invincible (Invincible, #1)|Michelle Lynn|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1486660717s/34211216.jpg|55258515] tells the story of Callie McCoy as she struggles with finding herself and navigating relationships and moving forward in life, when you don't know where you want to go.
PROS:
-Callie. I loved seeing Callie grow as a character. We are introduced to a young girl who is withdrawn and isolates herself after losing her mom at a young age. Through the story and challenges she faces, Callie grows more confident in herself and begins to rely on herself and overcomes her own fears.
-Creative Writing Class. I loved the creative writing class and the project was so fun. It was a great was to get the characters to do something they normally wouldn't and connect to themselves and examine their ouw lived. I wished we got more time there.
CONS:
-Cliches. I felt like the story moved from one cliche point to the next. We see a loner girl, a popular jock, an abusive father, a bullied teen, a school shooting, a family secret, a breakup, a military enlisting, and a secret child. It seemed like none of these serious issues were given the weight they deserved because there were so many and we needed to get to the next plot reveal in the story.
-Flow. I felt like we were often TOLD what was happening in a scene and didn't get to EXPERIENCE it alongside the characters. This could have been because I found the writing moved fairly fast without taking the time to address what was happening and let the character have moments of reflection or pause in the story. I feel like more detail would have immersed me into the story and helped me connect.
-Weak Reveals. I found some of the reveals to be weak. They didn't carry much weight to me - I wan't to feel what the characters and follow them as they process and grow. Because if found the story to move from one difficult topic to the next without fully fleshing them out, their initial reveals didn't have an impact because we moved to the next issue too soon.
Overall the story is not bad, just underdeveloped. I want MORE in the story and I want to care.
I received a copy of the book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
The waves roses up to shake our solid ground. Our peace torn away. What was once still raged like an angry storm. Destroying. Drowning. Dragging our refuge to the depths. Then all was calm once again, and we knew. We were never invincible.
[b:We Thought We Were Invincible|34211216|We Thought We Were Invincible (Invincible, #1)|Michelle Lynn|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1486660717s/34211216.jpg|55258515] tells the story of Callie McCoy as she struggles with finding herself and navigating relationships and moving forward in life, when you don't know where you want to go.
PROS:
-Callie. I loved seeing Callie grow as a character. We are introduced to a young girl who is withdrawn and isolates herself after losing her mom at a young age. Through the story and challenges she faces, Callie grows more confident in herself and begins to rely on herself and overcomes her own fears.
-Creative Writing Class. I loved the creative writing class and the project was so fun. It was a great was to get the characters to do something they normally wouldn't and connect to themselves and examine their ouw lived. I wished we got more time there.
CONS:
-Cliches. I felt like the story moved from one cliche point to the next. We see a loner girl, a popular jock, an abusive father, a bullied teen, a school shooting, a family secret, a breakup, a military enlisting, and a secret child. It seemed like none of these serious issues were given the weight they deserved because there were so many and we needed to get to the next plot reveal in the story.
-Flow. I felt like we were often TOLD what was happening in a scene and didn't get to EXPERIENCE it alongside the characters. This could have been because I found the writing moved fairly fast without taking the time to address what was happening and let the character have moments of reflection or pause in the story. I feel like more detail would have immersed me into the story and helped me connect.
-Weak Reveals. I found some of the reveals
Spoiler
Jay telling Callie about Jamie's adoption and abuse; Kat telling Callie and Colby about the dinner; Callie confronting her fatherOverall the story is not bad, just underdeveloped. I want MORE in the story and I want to care.
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