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fantasynovel's review against another edition
1.0
I read this book months ago, and I'm still not over the part where Althea's "worst bad decision ever" is raping her best friend.
mehsi's review
5.0
Not a very long review, just a short/medium one to express my thoughts and feelings on this book.
Althea and Oliver, the cover didn't pull me in (I am still a cover lover), but the description and genres did pull me in. And I am really happy that, regardless of the ugly cover (though pretty colour), I loved the book. That doesn't happen often. :)
The book is written from two POVs. Althea and Oliver. Friends since childhood, however things are now changing. At least for Althea. Althea is slowly, but very surely, falling in love with Oliver. Sadly Oliver doesn't think of her in that way. Which causes lots of awkwardness between the two. Add to that that Oliver has a rare disease that causes him to fall asleep, not for a night, no for days, for weeks, sometimes for months. Causing him to wake up in a world that is quite different, events having happened and he missing those.
I loved Althea, sure she had quite a few things I didn't like (like her smoking or her taking advantage of Oliver (and sure at that event he also had a hand in it, but still not a good choice)), but other than the few things I didn't like, I loved her. She was interesting, kick-ass and I was just cheering for her to get the boy. Hoping she would be lucky, hoping she could be happy.
Like I said, she makes some stupid choices, does some stupid things and lies at times, but we can also see she feels terrible and sorry afterwards. She is not inhuman, she is just a teenager, a very confused teenager. Faced with the end of high school, seeing the love of your life being sick and not feeling the same way as you do, I can imagine one might do things wrong.
I loved her more during the later parts, during the New York time. You could see her glow, grow up and live her life more. She found a place she can call home, made friends and found something she wants to do.
Oliver, mm, I am still not entirely sure I liked him or not. At times I know I did, at times I felt sorry for him. But I think the fact that we barely saw him (after all he slept through quite a bit of the book), is the reason I couldn't connect to him that much. Also the fact that he was utterly confusing. Saying how he likes Althea, how beautiful he found her, and a few other things, yet not loving her in the way she does love him. It was a bit confusing and contradictory. Also his disease and what he did when he woke up in between stuff was a bit disturbing. Add to that, the fact he like to guilt trip people when he found out months has passed. Not like they can do anything about it!
I have also seen enough people talk about the ending and that people apparently didn't like it. I loved it. Sure it was open-ended, but I loved that it ended like that, not forced, but instead as expected. I hate it when an author would try to make something happen, something we as readers cannot see happening. I won't spoil much, but I can say I am really delighted by the ending. Of course this leaves open a space for maybe a few short novellas with some after stuff. What happened to Oliver (did he or did he not make a certain decision, and if he did, what happened to him?), how is it going with Althea (did she stay or did she find another place, did she go home, did she go and study)?
There were also various fun references and a lot of things that clearly showed the age the book was written in. I really loved that.
All in all this book is really highly recommended. A story about love, friendship, sickness and finding a place you belong in this wonderful world.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Althea and Oliver, the cover didn't pull me in (I am still a cover lover), but the description and genres did pull me in. And I am really happy that, regardless of the ugly cover (though pretty colour), I loved the book. That doesn't happen often. :)
The book is written from two POVs. Althea and Oliver. Friends since childhood, however things are now changing. At least for Althea. Althea is slowly, but very surely, falling in love with Oliver. Sadly Oliver doesn't think of her in that way. Which causes lots of awkwardness between the two. Add to that that Oliver has a rare disease that causes him to fall asleep, not for a night, no for days, for weeks, sometimes for months. Causing him to wake up in a world that is quite different, events having happened and he missing those.
I loved Althea, sure she had quite a few things I didn't like (like her smoking or her taking advantage of Oliver (and sure at that event he also had a hand in it, but still not a good choice)), but other than the few things I didn't like, I loved her. She was interesting, kick-ass and I was just cheering for her to get the boy. Hoping she would be lucky, hoping she could be happy.
Like I said, she makes some stupid choices, does some stupid things and lies at times, but we can also see she feels terrible and sorry afterwards. She is not inhuman, she is just a teenager, a very confused teenager. Faced with the end of high school, seeing the love of your life being sick and not feeling the same way as you do, I can imagine one might do things wrong.
I loved her more during the later parts, during the New York time. You could see her glow, grow up and live her life more. She found a place she can call home, made friends and found something she wants to do.
Oliver, mm, I am still not entirely sure I liked him or not. At times I know I did, at times I felt sorry for him. But I think the fact that we barely saw him (after all he slept through quite a bit of the book), is the reason I couldn't connect to him that much. Also the fact that he was utterly confusing. Saying how he likes Althea, how beautiful he found her, and a few other things, yet not loving her in the way she does love him. It was a bit confusing and contradictory. Also his disease and what he did when he woke up in between stuff was a bit disturbing. Add to that, the fact he like to guilt trip people when he found out months has passed. Not like they can do anything about it!
I have also seen enough people talk about the ending and that people apparently didn't like it. I loved it. Sure it was open-ended, but I loved that it ended like that, not forced, but instead as expected. I hate it when an author would try to make something happen, something we as readers cannot see happening. I won't spoil much, but I can say I am really delighted by the ending. Of course this leaves open a space for maybe a few short novellas with some after stuff. What happened to Oliver (did he or did he not make a certain decision, and if he did, what happened to him?), how is it going with Althea (did she stay or did she find another place, did she go home, did she go and study)?
There were also various fun references and a lot of things that clearly showed the age the book was written in. I really loved that.
All in all this book is really highly recommended. A story about love, friendship, sickness and finding a place you belong in this wonderful world.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
Not a very long review, just a short/medium one to express my thoughts and feelings on this book.
Althea and Oliver, the cover didn't pull me in (I am still a cover lover), but the description and genres did pull me in. And I am really happy that, regardless of the ugly cover (though pretty colour), I loved the book. That doesn't happen often. :)
The book is written from two POVs. Althea and Oliver. Friends since childhood, however things are now changing. At least for Althea. Althea is slowly, but very surely, falling in love with Oliver. Sadly Oliver doesn't think of her in that way. Which causes lots of awkwardness between the two. Add to that that Oliver has a rare disease that causes him to fall asleep, not for a night, no for days, for weeks, sometimes for months. Causing him to wake up in a world that is quite different, events having happened and he missing those.
I loved Althea, sure she had quite a few things I didn't like (like her smoking or her taking advantage of Oliver (and sure at that event he also had a hand in it, but still not a good choice)), but other than the few things I didn't like, I loved her. She was interesting, kick-ass and I was just cheering for her to get the boy. Hoping she would be lucky, hoping she could be happy.
Like I said, she makes some stupid choices, does some stupid things and lies at times, but we can also see she feels terrible and sorry afterwards. She is not inhuman, she is just a teenager, a very confused teenager. Faced with the end of high school, seeing the love of your life being sick and not feeling the same way as you do, I can imagine one might do things wrong.
I loved her more during the later parts, during the New York time. You could see her glow, grow up and live her life more. She found a place she can call home, made friends and found something she wants to do.
Oliver, mm, I am still not entirely sure I liked him or not. At times I know I did, at times I felt sorry for him. But I think the fact that we barely saw him (after all he slept through quite a bit of the book), is the reason I couldn't connect to him that much. Also the fact that he was utterly confusing. Saying how he likes Althea, how beautiful he found her, and a few other things, yet not loving her in the way she does love him. It was a bit confusing and contradictory. Also his disease and what he did when he woke up in between stuff was a bit disturbing. Add to that, the fact he like to guilt trip people when he found out months has passed. Not like they can do anything about it!
I have also seen enough people talk about the ending and that people apparently didn't like it. I loved it. Sure it was open-ended, but I loved that it ended like that, not forced, but instead as expected. I hate it when an author would try to make something happen, something we as readers cannot see happening. I won't spoil much, but I can say I am really delighted by the ending. Of course this leaves open a space for maybe a few short novellas with some after stuff. What happened to Oliver (did he or did he not make a certain decision, and if he did, what happened to him?), how is it going with Althea (did she stay or did she find another place, did she go home, did she go and study)?
There were also various fun references and a lot of things that clearly showed the age the book was written in. I really loved that.
All in all this book is really highly recommended. A story about love, friendship, sickness and finding a place you belong in this wonderful world.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Althea and Oliver, the cover didn't pull me in (I am still a cover lover), but the description and genres did pull me in. And I am really happy that, regardless of the ugly cover (though pretty colour), I loved the book. That doesn't happen often. :)
The book is written from two POVs. Althea and Oliver. Friends since childhood, however things are now changing. At least for Althea. Althea is slowly, but very surely, falling in love with Oliver. Sadly Oliver doesn't think of her in that way. Which causes lots of awkwardness between the two. Add to that that Oliver has a rare disease that causes him to fall asleep, not for a night, no for days, for weeks, sometimes for months. Causing him to wake up in a world that is quite different, events having happened and he missing those.
I loved Althea, sure she had quite a few things I didn't like (like her smoking or her taking advantage of Oliver (and sure at that event he also had a hand in it, but still not a good choice)), but other than the few things I didn't like, I loved her. She was interesting, kick-ass and I was just cheering for her to get the boy. Hoping she would be lucky, hoping she could be happy.
Like I said, she makes some stupid choices, does some stupid things and lies at times, but we can also see she feels terrible and sorry afterwards. She is not inhuman, she is just a teenager, a very confused teenager. Faced with the end of high school, seeing the love of your life being sick and not feeling the same way as you do, I can imagine one might do things wrong.
I loved her more during the later parts, during the New York time. You could see her glow, grow up and live her life more. She found a place she can call home, made friends and found something she wants to do.
Oliver, mm, I am still not entirely sure I liked him or not. At times I know I did, at times I felt sorry for him. But I think the fact that we barely saw him (after all he slept through quite a bit of the book), is the reason I couldn't connect to him that much. Also the fact that he was utterly confusing. Saying how he likes Althea, how beautiful he found her, and a few other things, yet not loving her in the way she does love him. It was a bit confusing and contradictory. Also his disease and what he did when he woke up in between stuff was a bit disturbing. Add to that, the fact he like to guilt trip people when he found out months has passed. Not like they can do anything about it!
I have also seen enough people talk about the ending and that people apparently didn't like it. I loved it. Sure it was open-ended, but I loved that it ended like that, not forced, but instead as expected. I hate it when an author would try to make something happen, something we as readers cannot see happening. I won't spoil much, but I can say I am really delighted by the ending. Of course this leaves open a space for maybe a few short novellas with some after stuff. What happened to Oliver (did he or did he not make a certain decision, and if he did, what happened to him?), how is it going with Althea (did she stay or did she find another place, did she go home, did she go and study)?
There were also various fun references and a lot of things that clearly showed the age the book was written in. I really loved that.
All in all this book is really highly recommended. A story about love, friendship, sickness and finding a place you belong in this wonderful world.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
toolittletime's review against another edition
The prose was beautiful, but I was honestly not enjoying the story. Then there is a scene where Althea SA's Oliver. That really upset me, but I first went to the reviews to see if it's handled well in the story. Every low rated review mentioned it was dismissed and ignored. Incredibly harmful way to handle it.
naomiiixo's review against another edition
1.0
Hated the characters and ridiculous story, didn't grab my attention an had to skim the last half so I could hurry and finish!!!!
towering_tbr's review against another edition
2.0
I felt like I had to slog through this. It started off okay but then Althea becomes completely unlikable which in turn, kinda ruins the story. I liked the Oliver half though.
alboyer6's review against another edition
Wow. Just wow. I really don't like anyone in this book. I'm being generous putting this in my "couldn't get into" shelf because it was more of Did not finish, would not finish kind of thing.
trinitynoel's review against another edition
2.0
The plot and writing are seriously the only things keeping me from giving this a one star rating. Althea’s character started out strong and I immediately loved her! But unfortunately before the book was over I had a burning hatred for her. I don’t suggest this book but give high regards to Cristina for her writing ability.
wkmcconnell's review against another edition
1.0
I picked this up on a whim from the library, and the author is a really good writer. I was engaged with the characters, and the story was interesting. But the sexual issues were not dealt with in a healthy way at all, and I fear for any young impressionable person who happens to read this book and somehow think that the attitudes and behaviors portrayed are okay or normal.
morethanthepages's review against another edition
1.0
Recommendation: If you're absolutely set on reading this book borrow it from the library because it's not worth spending money on.
Review: The story itself is really a combination of several different plot lines that don't really match. It's randomly chopped together. Truthfully could have been a good story if two of the plots had been separated into different books. Multiple plots aside, the author ignores the fact that a girl raping a guy (yes rape) is justifiable. Then the characters are able to magically move past it. It doesn't acknowledge that fact that it's actually horrific what happened and that suddenly the boy is okay with it and "move on". I say B.S. to that. There was potential for this book but it dropped off into a cavity of a unpromising story.
Review: The story itself is really a combination of several different plot lines that don't really match. It's randomly chopped together. Truthfully could have been a good story if two of the plots had been separated into different books. Multiple plots aside, the author ignores the fact that a girl raping a guy (yes rape) is justifiable. Then the characters are able to magically move past it. It doesn't acknowledge that fact that it's actually horrific what happened and that suddenly the boy is okay with it and "move on". I say B.S. to that. There was potential for this book but it dropped off into a cavity of a unpromising story.