Scan barcode
leahbrarian's review against another edition
2.0
The book's focus on how relationships make the jump from high school to college (or don't) is fine, and somewhat relatable. I suppose so is Lu's tendency to procrastinate or find herself unable to get work done. However, as the book went on, she became less and less sympathetic. If this book had been told from Pete's perspective, I would have been yelling at him to get out of that friendship. If Iris had been the narrator, she should have been calling the cops: a "reporter" who extremely purposefully eavesdrops on a dramatic part of her life, lightly stalks and then befriends her in order to write about her relationship, (then tries to kiss her boyfriend?!) and then lies a lot about writing the column that was the alleged purpose of this whole thing doesn't come off as understandable, it comes off as borderline dangerous. And if Lu's boss had been telling the story, it would have been about a frustrating employee who was a terrible communicator and took advantage of offered extensions.
I was glad that Lu wasn't rewarded with a new relationship and her scholarship after her behavior, but reading through the story with her, none of the things she did or learned felt worthwhile and it didn't seem that she was particularly heartbroken over the things she lost due to her summer adventures.
And although "show, don't tell" is something of a writing motto, I think most of the examples of Lu's writing might have been better told about rather than shown. The articles neither shed particular light or poignancy on the relationship with Leo that apparently led Lu to have basically a slow-motion breakdown, nor made Lu's talent so apparent that I understood why she would be hired so easily or given such significant leeway in her job.
While it might be slightly realistic in a portrayal of teenage selfishness and shortsightedness, I felt that this leaned too far into the worst aspects of a character and I found that somewhat insufferable.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
I was glad that Lu wasn't rewarded with a new relationship and her scholarship after her behavior, but reading through the story with her, none of the things she did or learned felt worthwhile and it didn't seem that she was particularly heartbroken over the things she lost due to her summer adventures.
And although "show, don't tell" is something of a writing motto, I think most of the examples of Lu's writing might have been better told about rather than shown. The articles neither shed particular light or poignancy on the relationship with Leo that apparently led Lu to have basically a slow-motion breakdown, nor made Lu's talent so apparent that I understood why she would be hired so easily or given such significant leeway in her job.
While it might be slightly realistic in a portrayal of teenage selfishness and shortsightedness, I felt that this leaned too far into the worst aspects of a character and I found that somewhat insufferable.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
acommonclare's review against another edition
4.0
Hello first finished book of October :)
When I bought this book, I thought it would be a super easy, quick read. But it was actually, at times, hard for me to read. The main character, Lu, struggles with writer's block after breaking up with her boyfriend and misses a deadline for her job several times through this book. It made me feel anxious to read about her ignoring what she had to do even though she knew better, deep down. It bothered me because I do the exact same thing, all the time! And I know how much pain it causes. I also relates to the theme of heartbreak in this book and agonizing over getting back together with an ex. All things that I've been thinking of and dwelling on recently. So at some points, this book was just too real for me
When I bought this book, I thought it would be a super easy, quick read. But it was actually, at times, hard for me to read. The main character, Lu, struggles with writer's block after breaking up with her boyfriend and misses a deadline for her job several times through this book. It made me feel anxious to read about her ignoring what she had to do even though she knew better, deep down. It bothered me because I do the exact same thing, all the time! And I know how much pain it causes. I also relates to the theme of heartbreak in this book and agonizing over getting back together with an ex. All things that I've been thinking of and dwelling on recently. So at some points, this book was just too real for me
vickleanne's review
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lourdes_chapters_we_love's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to love this book and I had high expectations but I have to say I found the story to be repetitive and it took 50% of the book for me to even be like oh ok something great will happened but sadly it didn't. I did like the characters but they were lacking for me. I'm not saying this was a bad book it just wasn't for me.
Will have full review on blog near publication date.
Will have full review on blog near publication date.
allenfarm's review against another edition
3.0
I love a good YA romance when I come across one. This one was good. Not great. But good. Having never read Alsaid's previous work, I came into this story with zero expectations. Lu writes a column for a popular teen magazine. She has just graduated high school and has a scholarship to college contingent on her being a staff member of the magazine. But Lu was recently dumped and is having a hard time meeting her deadline. So Lue does the next best thing and latches on to another couple who has "the perfect relationship". Queue some dumb decisions and mishaps that move the story along.
Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak checks all of the boxes of a great YA novel: romance and heart ache, adventure, humor, and most importantly, characters who are relatable and believable. What I wanted to see, though, was more character growth. In great YA novels it is present, but more often than not, true development of the character is lacking in YA novels and I feel like it was lacking in Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak. Lu makes some pretty dumb decisions, as do all girls her age, but she doesn't seem to come to the realization of all the dumb decisions she's making, even at the end of the book.Therefore, this was a 3/5 star book for me.
Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak checks all of the boxes of a great YA novel: romance and heart ache, adventure, humor, and most importantly, characters who are relatable and believable. What I wanted to see, though, was more character growth. In great YA novels it is present, but more often than not, true development of the character is lacking in YA novels and I feel like it was lacking in Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak. Lu makes some pretty dumb decisions, as do all girls her age, but she doesn't seem to come to the realization of all the dumb decisions she's making, even at the end of the book.Therefore, this was a 3/5 star book for me.
enchantedtoreadyou's review against another edition
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Inkyard Press for a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is the first book by Adi Alsaid, but I know it will not be my last. I was instantly pulled into Lu’s story and couldn’t wait to see what happened.
In the beginning, and throughout the whole book, really, I wanted this weird relationship with Lu and the couple she eavesdropped on – Cal and Iris. I wanted Lu and Iris to become bffs. They seemed to instantly click and they jsut had a nice flow to their friendship. However, Lu met Cal before she met Iris. He sat beside her on a bench where they talked in fake French accents and helped French tourists find their way. They seemed to have instant chemistry and I really wanted Cal to be the one to mend Lu’s heart.
For a while, this weird situation seemed to work. Lu started hanging out with Cal and Iris together, then separate. When she and Cal were together, it seemed like a romantic connection. When Lu and Iris were together, they seemed like they had been friends forever.
Lu had a best friend before all this went down – Pete. He might have been my favorite. He was asexual and Lu described him as her wise old uncle, which he thought was pretty fitting. He was funny and smart and gave the best advice.
Lu was eavesdropping on Cal and Iris because she writes a love column. Since her boyfriend broke up with her, she had writer’s block. She was listening to what she thought was their breakup for inspiration. This is really the central plot of the book – Lu working through her heartbreak so she can write again. Besides, her whole future lies in this column. She has to keep it to get her scholarship to go to NYU for journalism.
Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak was such a quick, fun read. It made me laugh out loud at times. It also took me back to my past days of high school romance when a break up was totally the end of the world.
I would recommend this book if you like YA romance contemporaries – but the ending will surprise you! I want to say more thoughts about the ending, but I’m scared it’s spoilery so I will refrain.
This is the first book by Adi Alsaid, but I know it will not be my last. I was instantly pulled into Lu’s story and couldn’t wait to see what happened.
In the beginning, and throughout the whole book, really, I wanted this weird relationship with Lu and the couple she eavesdropped on – Cal and Iris. I wanted Lu and Iris to become bffs. They seemed to instantly click and they jsut had a nice flow to their friendship. However, Lu met Cal before she met Iris. He sat beside her on a bench where they talked in fake French accents and helped French tourists find their way. They seemed to have instant chemistry and I really wanted Cal to be the one to mend Lu’s heart.
For a while, this weird situation seemed to work. Lu started hanging out with Cal and Iris together, then separate. When she and Cal were together, it seemed like a romantic connection. When Lu and Iris were together, they seemed like they had been friends forever.
Lu had a best friend before all this went down – Pete. He might have been my favorite. He was asexual and Lu described him as her wise old uncle, which he thought was pretty fitting. He was funny and smart and gave the best advice.
Lu was eavesdropping on Cal and Iris because she writes a love column. Since her boyfriend broke up with her, she had writer’s block. She was listening to what she thought was their breakup for inspiration. This is really the central plot of the book – Lu working through her heartbreak so she can write again. Besides, her whole future lies in this column. She has to keep it to get her scholarship to go to NYU for journalism.
Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak was such a quick, fun read. It made me laugh out loud at times. It also took me back to my past days of high school romance when a break up was totally the end of the world.
I would recommend this book if you like YA romance contemporaries – but the ending will surprise you! I want to say more thoughts about the ending, but I’m scared it’s spoilery so I will refrain.
athenamangoes's review against another edition
2.0
2.5/5
My favorite necklace has a super thin chain that tangles without fail when I’m getting ready for work. The more I try to untangle it the more tangled it becomes. Right before I give up it’s magically untangled. And instead of being grateful I can continue my morning routine, I stew in pointless frustration because what did I spend the last five minutes doing? Put yourself in my shoes for a hot minute and you’ll understand how I felt while reading Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak. The difference is, no matter how frustrating the tangled chain of my favorite necklace is, it’s still my favorite necklace. I don’t think I liked this book enough to be worth the frustration.
Lu Charles is a romance columnist with a serious case of writer's block. After getting dumped by her high school sweetheart the summer after graduation, she can’t help but wallow in her heartbreak. Lu’s journalist instinct is more or less a bad eavesdropping habit, which is how she finds Iris and Cal, a couple in the exact same scenario. Only instead of breaking up right away, they’re waiting till the end of summer. Lu becomes convinced that Iris and Cal (or as her friend Pete calls them, the lovebirds) are the key to her writer's block.
Sounds like a cool story, right? I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this. This book is frustrating and exhausting and more often than not, I was skimming paragraphs. Every chapter felt structured: Lu is obsessed with Iris and Cal, Lu has writer’s block, Lu is ignoring advice from everyone, and Lu is heartbroken. The strongest point of this novel was the witty dialogue, but that couldn’t support the entire book.
The edition I read had over 300 pages, and I truly believe that if it had been cut down to a novella, I might’ve enjoyed it more. Unfortunately, the plot just doesn’t justify nearly 350 pages. At the end of the day, Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak was just okay ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
My favorite necklace has a super thin chain that tangles without fail when I’m getting ready for work. The more I try to untangle it the more tangled it becomes. Right before I give up it’s magically untangled. And instead of being grateful I can continue my morning routine, I stew in pointless frustration because what did I spend the last five minutes doing? Put yourself in my shoes for a hot minute and you’ll understand how I felt while reading Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak. The difference is, no matter how frustrating the tangled chain of my favorite necklace is, it’s still my favorite necklace. I don’t think I liked this book enough to be worth the frustration.
Lu Charles is a romance columnist with a serious case of writer's block. After getting dumped by her high school sweetheart the summer after graduation, she can’t help but wallow in her heartbreak. Lu’s journalist instinct is more or less a bad eavesdropping habit, which is how she finds Iris and Cal, a couple in the exact same scenario. Only instead of breaking up right away, they’re waiting till the end of summer. Lu becomes convinced that Iris and Cal (or as her friend Pete calls them, the lovebirds) are the key to her writer's block.
Sounds like a cool story, right? I’m not sure what I expected, but it wasn’t this. This book is frustrating and exhausting and more often than not, I was skimming paragraphs. Every chapter felt structured: Lu is obsessed with Iris and Cal, Lu has writer’s block, Lu is ignoring advice from everyone, and Lu is heartbroken. The strongest point of this novel was the witty dialogue, but that couldn’t support the entire book.
The edition I read had over 300 pages, and I truly believe that if it had been cut down to a novella, I might’ve enjoyed it more. Unfortunately, the plot just doesn’t justify nearly 350 pages. At the end of the day, Brief Chronicle of Another Stupid Heartbreak was just okay ¯\_(ツ)_/¯.
stacyroth's review against another edition
4.0
I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.
Lu Charles has had writer's block ever since her boyfriend Leo broke up with her at the beginning of the summer before they go off to college. Unfortunately for Lu, her scholarship is tied to her job writing for Misnomer. When she eavesdrops on Cal and Iris, who have decided to break up at the end of the summer before going to college themselves, Lu is convinced that they are the key to breaking through her writing drought. Cal and Iris increasingly become the focus of Lu's life.
Lu reminded me of a deer in the headlights every time she tried to sit down to write her article. I wanted to snap her out of it and get her to just move already, and it was frustrating at times not to reach into the book and help her snap out of it. I felt so bad for Pete, Lu's best friend, for the way she treated him, and I was glad when he finally stood up for himself. For me, this story had a dichotomy where I didn't want to read it because I was so frustrated with Lu, but I did want to read it because I enjoyed the story, especially when other characters were the focus.
Lu Charles has had writer's block ever since her boyfriend Leo broke up with her at the beginning of the summer before they go off to college. Unfortunately for Lu, her scholarship is tied to her job writing for Misnomer. When she eavesdrops on Cal and Iris, who have decided to break up at the end of the summer before going to college themselves, Lu is convinced that they are the key to breaking through her writing drought. Cal and Iris increasingly become the focus of Lu's life.
Lu reminded me of a deer in the headlights every time she tried to sit down to write her article. I wanted to snap her out of it and get her to just move already, and it was frustrating at times not to reach into the book and help her snap out of it.
Spoiler
I did appreciate that at the end of the book, there was no miracle where things turned out great despite her best efforts to sabotage everything; the ending was realistic.syntaxofthings's review
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
tabberz's review against another edition
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.