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lsparrow's review against another edition
4.0
a short read - that takes you into the headspace of teenage hood. navigating others and oneself pulled by motivations that you don't quite understand or are able to analyse.
i also loved the illustrations
i also loved the illustrations
mbrilliant's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
michellethebookcritic's review against another edition
4.0
For a debut novel, this is certainly something.
Highly recommended. 4/5!
Highly recommended. 4/5!
booksaremypeople's review
5.0
Justine is a unique coming of age novel. In this story, Ali lives with her Days-of-our-Lives obsessed grandmother. When Ali gets a job working at the Stop & Shop she is drawn to her fellow coworker, Justine, who is a free-spirited enigma. The late nineties references were pitch perfect and Ali’s voice is so fresh Harmon’s writing is so sharp and her descriptions so creative, I was in awe of her writing down to the word level. In addition to this story about a young woman so wanting to be like someone she idolizes, Justine also includes delightful drawings that breakup the narrative. Seemingly mundane objects such as tweezers, powerlines and pizza slices take on import as the meaningful things that fill Ali’s life. Thank you to Tin House and NetGalley for the advanced review copy.
shiloniz's review
4.0
"I watched our feet cross the black-and-white-checkered tile, matching my step to hers. It made me feel like I was with her--like I almost was her--"
A compulsive read, paired with delicate artwork, that captures the acute sensation that can happen between teenage girls where one acts as a doll, a sort of plaything to the other. Meanwhile the doll, obsessed with being the perfect replica of the other, spirals out of control. When Ali sees the enigmatic Justine working at the local stop and shop she immediately applies for a job to work there. What follows is the haunting story of the insipid nature of a culture that is obsessed with thinness and physical attractiveness over all else.
A compulsive read, paired with delicate artwork, that captures the acute sensation that can happen between teenage girls where one acts as a doll, a sort of plaything to the other. Meanwhile the doll, obsessed with being the perfect replica of the other, spirals out of control. When Ali sees the enigmatic Justine working at the local stop and shop she immediately applies for a job to work there. What follows is the haunting story of the insipid nature of a culture that is obsessed with thinness and physical attractiveness over all else.
lilslothy's review
1.0
I like the illustrations in the book. add this to the list of novels where: privileged girl hates herself for no apparent reason & her (spoiler!) pet dies
the characters are under-developed & if you have any issues with eating or being thin, DO NOT ATTEMPT
the characters are under-developed & if you have any issues with eating or being thin, DO NOT ATTEMPT
katiesendlesstbr's review
2.0
This just was NOT it. While the drawings in this book seemed fun, it was not a good enough gimmick to make up for the... lack in this book. I say lack because truly there was just so much missing in this. I can get behind clinical, sparse writing, and I can also enjoy something that is more character study than plot, but when combined like they are in this book, it's like I'm reading... nothing. A few sentences here and there would pack a punch, but usually this book just really showed me why english teachers tell you to use different words at the start of sentences, it was so repetitive. Nothing felt important at all; even the big surprises at the end passed over me because there was no build up in the story or writing. All of this to say, there are a million books about coming of age, young women obsessed with each other, slice of life, etc. and, in my opinion, I'd rather pick up a different one.
wdianasheppard's review
3.0
A mean little novella about the dark side of female friendship. A lot of the final twenty pages were telegraphed pretty hard early on, but I enjoyed the ride anyway (as much as one can enjoy a tale about hero worship, drug use, shoplifting, and flourishing eating disorders).
andtheitoldyousos's review
4.0
Ali is bored, lonely, and smitten. Justine is bold, aloof, and irresistible. The girls meet in a Long Island Stop & Shop in the summer of 1999. I've been quoting from this song a lot lately, but as John Darnielle said so perfectly in "Old College Try":
Things will shortly get completely out of hand
There is something visceral about peeking back into the mind of a suburban tri-state-area teen. This book stuck with me like the frequently mentioned feeling of bare thighs sticking to vinyl car seats. I was immediately transported back to my own shoreline summers of loitering in parking lots and sneaking about in the modern ruins of empty hospitals. I was pummeled by recognition while Ali assessed the boys who were assessing her.
Ali, like so many teenagers before her and so many others to come, is fascinated. The fascination will grow to obsession. The obsession will flower into compulsion. Be warned: Ali and Justine are spiraling down through patterns of disordered eating, substance abuse, and risky sex. If you find these situations painful, then this is may not the book (or the review) for you. Harmon treats these situations with care. She is sensitive to the perils and pressures of being a teenage girl, and while her details - especially around disordered eating- are precise and unflinching, she gives the characters and the situations an air of respect that keeps Justine from being either a lurid train-wreck or a heavy-handed afterschool special. Ali and Justine are both acolytes at the altar of fashion magazines. They know all of the models. They know exactly what they weigh. They tape their photos to every available surface. Justine is more serious in her worship. Ali can't stop herself from seeing Justine as a model as well.
Harmon has crafted a crushing little slice of life in Justine. Her words are few and meticulously chosen. She is the tour guide cursed with visions of the future, carefully spilling out facts while Ali careens into driveways in various states of intoxication. Her prose is accented throughout by her illustrations; Harmon scatters careful drawings throughout the pages, making the novel feel even more like a diary. Hands, cassette tapes, handfuls of potato chips, and crumpled roaches adorn the pages in the same way that the girls decorate themselves with black eyeliner, dark nail polish, and overplucked pencil-thin eyebrows.
It would be impossible to leave this book feeling good; but you will feel something. It may or may not be familiar, but it will be immediate and deep.
I received this ARC from the Tin House in exchange for a fair and honest review
Things will shortly get completely out of hand
There is something visceral about peeking back into the mind of a suburban tri-state-area teen. This book stuck with me like the frequently mentioned feeling of bare thighs sticking to vinyl car seats. I was immediately transported back to my own shoreline summers of loitering in parking lots and sneaking about in the modern ruins of empty hospitals. I was pummeled by recognition while Ali assessed the boys who were assessing her.
Ryan lifted his chin a little, judging me. His freckles shifted with his expression, and I could tell he disapproved. Yes, hated me, and I hated myself, which created an unexpected point of agreement between us.
Ali, like so many teenagers before her and so many others to come, is fascinated. The fascination will grow to obsession. The obsession will flower into compulsion. Be warned: Ali and Justine are spiraling down through patterns of disordered eating, substance abuse, and risky sex. If you find these situations painful, then this is may not the book (or the review) for you. Harmon treats these situations with care. She is sensitive to the perils and pressures of being a teenage girl, and while her details - especially around disordered eating- are precise and unflinching, she gives the characters and the situations an air of respect that keeps Justine from being either a lurid train-wreck or a heavy-handed afterschool special. Ali and Justine are both acolytes at the altar of fashion magazines. They know all of the models. They know exactly what they weigh. They tape their photos to every available surface. Justine is more serious in her worship. Ali can't stop herself from seeing Justine as a model as well.
I didn't want look too long. I felt a little sick. I sat down on the bed and the sickness mutated into a kind of nervous arousal.
Harmon has crafted a crushing little slice of life in Justine. Her words are few and meticulously chosen. She is the tour guide cursed with visions of the future, carefully spilling out facts while Ali careens into driveways in various states of intoxication. Her prose is accented throughout by her illustrations; Harmon scatters careful drawings throughout the pages, making the novel feel even more like a diary. Hands, cassette tapes, handfuls of potato chips, and crumpled roaches adorn the pages in the same way that the girls decorate themselves with black eyeliner, dark nail polish, and overplucked pencil-thin eyebrows.
It would be impossible to leave this book feeling good; but you will feel something. It may or may not be familiar, but it will be immediate and deep.
I received this ARC from the Tin House in exchange for a fair and honest review