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readingnookreviews's review against another edition
2.0
Unfortunately, this was a DNF for me. I appreciate a good love story and a well-written YA novel, but this one just didn’t do it for me. I was bored from the beginning and couldn’t stop myself from rolling my eyes. The characters weren’t really enjoyable either and I wasn’t connected to the story at all. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this early in exchange for an honest review.
auburnedge's review against another edition
2.0
Thank you for allowing me to read an egalley of this book.
When I saw the cover for this book and then read the synopsis I figured it would be perfect for me. Who doesn't want to read about heartbreak and maybe what comes afterwards. It seemed light, fluffy, and uplifting. Sadly it wasn't. The MC Lu just complains about how awful it was to be broken up with and then continues to bring it up the whole book. I know it's tough but in the book it becomes almost annoying.
I wanted Cal and Iris to be together, more so there was a happy ending. It didn't seem right for Lu to be with him, that just feels forced.
Overall I think a plot idea was there the MC just got in the way with all the whining.
When I saw the cover for this book and then read the synopsis I figured it would be perfect for me. Who doesn't want to read about heartbreak and maybe what comes afterwards. It seemed light, fluffy, and uplifting. Sadly it wasn't. The MC Lu just complains about how awful it was to be broken up with and then continues to bring it up the whole book. I know it's tough but in the book it becomes almost annoying.
I wanted Cal and Iris to be together, more so there was a happy ending. It didn't seem right for Lu to be with him, that just feels forced.
Overall I think a plot idea was there the MC just got in the way with all the whining.
booklovewithmelanie's review against another edition
3.0
I received an e-ARC from Netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
This is a story about heartbreak but I just couldn't get into the main character. I loved the interactions with Starla and Pete, they were the voices of reason, but when it was just Lu I was taken out of the story. Her mind just had a singular focus when there was so much more that could have been explored. I did like the way that it ended and the article that Lu eventually ends up writing.
This is a story about heartbreak but I just couldn't get into the main character. I loved the interactions with Starla and Pete, they were the voices of reason, but when it was just Lu I was taken out of the story. Her mind just had a singular focus when there was so much more that could have been explored. I did like the way that it ended and the article that Lu eventually ends up writing.
cobiestandfield's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
rhappe13's review against another edition
2.0
I think this book could have been a lot better if the main character was more likeable. I got annoyed with her lack of motivation and her obsession with Cal and Iris. The concept was interesting but Lu (and most of the other characters, if I'm being honest) irritated me too much.
Full review: https://picturethisliteraturecom.wordpress.com/2020/05/14/brief-chronicle-of-another-stupid-heartbreak/
Full review: https://picturethisliteraturecom.wordpress.com/2020/05/14/brief-chronicle-of-another-stupid-heartbreak/
annakat's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Feeling a little conflicted over the rating on this one. Mostly I think it's well crafted, but I have one major complaint that is bringing my rating down (see the end of this review).
This book is good for writers and people who like writing, since the main character, Lu, is a writer and thinks like one.
Not a cute or fun read, exactly. First, it's about teenage heartbreak. Second, Lu makes lots and lots of bad decisions, repeatedly, and is very unlikable for a lot of the book. This is the point of the book, so it makes sense, but if you need to be able to like the main character, this is not your book. (Also I got MAJOR secondhand panic from reading about this girl procrastinating.)
Writing is forgettable in a good way. I've enjoyed Adi Alsaid's writing in the past. I appreciate that it doesn't distract from the story at all.
Having the best friend, Pete, be aro ace (I think) was a fun surprise since I didn't even seek out the aspec rep this time! It was kind of a weird choice, though, because the amatonormativity in this book is extreme (and really frustrating). I wish it had been talked about more because, being a book about love, there was this constant assumption that everyone experiences the same thing. Seriously, it was EVERYWHERE. Despite there being a character that supposedly doesn't experience all of this the same way, that perspective isn't explored at all, and that really hurts this book a lot imo. There were lots of interesting musings on love that would have been greatly enriched (and less grating) if aspec experiences were considered.
This book is good for writers and people who like writing, since the main character, Lu, is a writer and thinks like one.
Not a cute or fun read, exactly. First, it's about teenage heartbreak. Second, Lu makes lots and lots of bad decisions, repeatedly, and is very unlikable for a lot of the book. This is the point of the book, so it makes sense, but if you need to be able to like the main character, this is not your book. (Also I got MAJOR secondhand panic from reading about this girl procrastinating.)
Writing is forgettable in a good way. I've enjoyed Adi Alsaid's writing in the past. I appreciate that it doesn't distract from the story at all.
Having the best friend, Pete, be aro ace (I think) was a fun surprise since I didn't even seek out the aspec rep this time! It was kind of a weird choice, though, because the amatonormativity in this book is extreme (and really frustrating). I wish it had been talked about more because, being a book about love, there was this constant assumption that everyone experiences the same thing. Seriously, it was EVERYWHERE. Despite there being a character that supposedly doesn't experience all of this the same way, that perspective isn't explored at all, and that really hurts this book a lot imo. There were lots of interesting musings on love that would have been greatly enriched (and less grating) if aspec experiences were considered.
tabberz's review
4.0
Oh to be young again. Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak was the kind of book that made me remember what it was like to be young and also glad that I am not suffering in those young adolescent situations.
Author Adi Alsaid brings to life a young girl, Lu, on the verge of starting college. When we meet Lu, she's trying to win back her boyfriend Leo, who has broken up with her because he will be leaving for college. Still feeling like they belong together she calls him out to meet and talk. Unfortunately Leo stands her up. Fortunately though she meets Cal, though it's a brief yet refreshing interaction.
Lu is also a writer. She has a column for an online teen magazine, which is helping provide her scholarship to NYU. But right now she's got writer's block. With a deadline looming Lu overhears a breakup similar to hers and finds out it's Cal and his girlfriend (ex?), Iris. Lu finagles her way into their lives as she makes them her muse and ticket to making sure she keeps her scholarship.
Over the course of the book we meet a few great characters, including Pete, her best friend and her family. I love seeing an atypical Filipino family. And because I'm also Filipino it's great to see some representation in books. I love her mom's love for Italian food and that her ethnicity doesn't really come into play here. Besides when she talks about her family you don't feel like it's even part of the book, which I enjoyed.
Alsaid did a great job of joining together the angst of young love and heartbreak and the precipice that many young people on the verge of adulthood are learning to balance. I enjoyed the way Alsaid painted New York City. I love that this wasn't some crazy love story but a realistic and sometimes not, look at what happens when young couples reach that point in their relationship where you need to make the decision about whether to hold on or let go. There was definitely places and times when I wanted a bit more but overall I think that these characters were all likeable and somewhat relatable.
It's not some sweeping romance or some deep thinking novel but a great summer read.
Author Adi Alsaid brings to life a young girl, Lu, on the verge of starting college. When we meet Lu, she's trying to win back her boyfriend Leo, who has broken up with her because he will be leaving for college. Still feeling like they belong together she calls him out to meet and talk. Unfortunately Leo stands her up. Fortunately though she meets Cal, though it's a brief yet refreshing interaction.
Lu is also a writer. She has a column for an online teen magazine, which is helping provide her scholarship to NYU. But right now she's got writer's block. With a deadline looming Lu overhears a breakup similar to hers and finds out it's Cal and his girlfriend (ex?), Iris. Lu finagles her way into their lives as she makes them her muse and ticket to making sure she keeps her scholarship.
Over the course of the book we meet a few great characters, including Pete, her best friend and her family. I love seeing an atypical Filipino family. And because I'm also Filipino it's great to see some representation in books. I love her mom's love for Italian food and that her ethnicity doesn't really come into play here. Besides when she talks about her family you don't feel like it's even part of the book, which I enjoyed.
Alsaid did a great job of joining together the angst of young love and heartbreak and the precipice that many young people on the verge of adulthood are learning to balance. I enjoyed the way Alsaid painted New York City. I love that this wasn't some crazy love story but a realistic and sometimes not, look at what happens when young couples reach that point in their relationship where you need to make the decision about whether to hold on or let go. There was definitely places and times when I wanted a bit more but overall I think that these characters were all likeable and somewhat relatable.
It's not some sweeping romance or some deep thinking novel but a great summer read.
makenna's review
3.0
Huge thanks to Netgalley for providing an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
I feel like I was being set up to not enjoy this book since the beginning when I thought this books was going in a different direction than it was. I was really into the book for the first chapter, our main character Lu is at the park and she meets this boy Cal, and I loved the chemistry between them. Then it turned out he was half of the relationship that Lu was going to document over the summer while they were spending their last days together before breaking up because of college. I was setting myself up for Cal to be the love interest for Lu and than had to change gears, because Cal and his girlfriend Iris were VERY much in love, and I am not here to rout for Lu to steal Cal away from her. I don't think that that was a bad way for the book to go, because there is a lot that I liked about the ending that wouldn't have happened had the story not been set up like this, but when I am prepared for something that I think I am going to like and then turn out not to get it but something completely different I tend to not enjoy it.
The other thing that made me not enjoy this book as much was just how frustrated I was getting at Lu throughout this entire book. Apparently I have mom instincts somewhere deep in me, because they for sure were coming out in me and I wanted to just jump into this book and YELL at Lu so. many. times. Again, we would not have gotten a good arc at the end if it were not for that, but sometimes there is only so much I can take before I want to put a book down.
Speaking of the ending, I both loved things about it but hated things about it too. Not going to go into crazy amount of details because it would spoil the book, but there were diffidently things said about love and heartbreak in general that I really liked. That being said, the thing that made me most excited during the ENTIRE BOOK was the last two paragraphs and what they could have led to BUT THE BOOK ENDS AND WE DON'T SEE ANY OF IT. Like, ok, I get it, the point of this story is not for what happens after that, but it had me all excited and I wanted to read that more than I wanted to read about Lu following Cal and Iris around like a weird third wheel and me feeling awkward uncomfortable during all of that even though I was just a reader.
I feel like I was being set up to not enjoy this book since the beginning when I thought this books was going in a different direction than it was. I was really into the book for the first chapter, our main character Lu is at the park and she meets this boy Cal, and I loved the chemistry between them. Then it turned out he was half of the relationship that Lu was going to document over the summer while they were spending their last days together before breaking up because of college. I was setting myself up for Cal to be the love interest for Lu and than had to change gears, because Cal and his girlfriend Iris were VERY much in love, and I am not here to rout for Lu to steal Cal away from her. I don't think that that was a bad way for the book to go, because there is a lot that I liked about the ending that wouldn't have happened had the story not been set up like this, but when I am prepared for something that I think I am going to like and then turn out not to get it but something completely different I tend to not enjoy it.
The other thing that made me not enjoy this book as much was just how frustrated I was getting at Lu throughout this entire book. Apparently I have mom instincts somewhere deep in me, because they for sure were coming out in me and I wanted to just jump into this book and YELL at Lu so. many. times. Again, we would not have gotten a good arc at the end if it were not for that, but sometimes there is only so much I can take before I want to put a book down.
Speaking of the ending, I both loved things about it but hated things about it too. Not going to go into crazy amount of details because it would spoil the book, but there were diffidently things said about love and heartbreak in general that I really liked. That being said, the thing that made me most excited during the ENTIRE BOOK was the last two paragraphs and what they could have led to BUT THE BOOK ENDS AND WE DON'T SEE ANY OF IT. Like, ok, I get it, the point of this story is not for what happens after that, but it had me all excited and I wanted to read that more than I wanted to read about Lu following Cal and Iris around like a weird third wheel and me feeling awkward uncomfortable during all of that even though I was just a reader.
msnikkiwilks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Sweet story with a kind reminder that love lost doesn't mean love didn't exist. Here's to the next love!
lobrarian's review against another edition
3.0
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
It's the summer before Lu starts college, and she's just been dumped. Lu knows that her heartbreak from being dumped by Leo is only temporary, but she's having a really hard time shaking the sadness she's feeling. A chance encounter in the park leads her to meeting Cal and eventually his girlfriend Iris, and from that moment on Lu is single-mindedly obsessed with the couple.
Everything is on the line for Lu; her amazing job at the trendy online magazine Misnomer, the scholarship that comes with the job, and her own sanity. It take almost all summer for Lu to convince Iris and Cal to let her chronicle their relationship, but it intrigues Lu because they seem to have found what she and Leo couldn't; how to stay together before heading off the college. No matter what Lu does though, she is seemingly paralyzed with writer's block.
Will Lu be able to get it together and meet her deadlines? Is there more to things than what she can see?
I don't think I've ever been so frustrated by a protagonist! Time and again Lu put off writing her article, even with such high stakes. She literally could not see past her own selfish needs, even when everyone in her life was telling her to get her act together. I also found it frustrating that there were so many opportunities for her to reach out for help, to confide in her friends and adults about her writer's block and depression that she was feeling after her breakup. I was mentally exhausted after reading this novel. I would say pass on this one for now, maybe get as an additional purchase at best.
It's the summer before Lu starts college, and she's just been dumped. Lu knows that her heartbreak from being dumped by Leo is only temporary, but she's having a really hard time shaking the sadness she's feeling. A chance encounter in the park leads her to meeting Cal and eventually his girlfriend Iris, and from that moment on Lu is single-mindedly obsessed with the couple.
Everything is on the line for Lu; her amazing job at the trendy online magazine Misnomer, the scholarship that comes with the job, and her own sanity. It take almost all summer for Lu to convince Iris and Cal to let her chronicle their relationship, but it intrigues Lu because they seem to have found what she and Leo couldn't; how to stay together before heading off the college. No matter what Lu does though, she is seemingly paralyzed with writer's block.
Will Lu be able to get it together and meet her deadlines? Is there more to things than what she can see?
I don't think I've ever been so frustrated by a protagonist! Time and again Lu put off writing her article, even with such high stakes. She literally could not see past her own selfish needs, even when everyone in her life was telling her to get her act together. I also found it frustrating that there were so many opportunities for her to reach out for help, to confide in her friends and adults about her writer's block and depression that she was feeling after her breakup. I was mentally exhausted after reading this novel. I would say pass on this one for now, maybe get as an additional purchase at best.