Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
love the movie als well
I bought this book on the recommendation of some friends that this book changed their life and gave them "strength" and "hope".
I didn't find that in this book. It angered me to no end. At the very end of the book, I turned the page expecting more and was met with white pages. I was left baffled. I angrily mumbled "THAT'S the ending?!" out loud as I closed the book.
Plus, I was uncomfortable nearly the entire time. Maybe it has something to do with my own personal existential fears but this book really made it hard for me to not be uncomfortable. A is a person who switches lives every single day and never really knows who they are. At first, A is adamant about not interfering in the lives of those he?she?it? inhabits because of the fear of ruining the life of the person, or seriously interrupting it. But, as the story progresses, A cares less and less about interfering and begins to travel long distances and lying to family members and generally doing bad things. This book was difficult for me to stomach and literally made me feel guilty for the things A was doing to the people that become inhabited.
Overall, I loved David Levithan's writing and his beautiful prose, but the story lacked so much for me and made me angry and uncomfortable throughout the entire story.
I didn't find that in this book. It angered me to no end. At the very end of the book, I turned the page expecting more and was met with white pages. I was left baffled. I angrily mumbled "THAT'S the ending?!" out loud as I closed the book.
Plus, I was uncomfortable nearly the entire time. Maybe it has something to do with my own personal existential fears but this book really made it hard for me to not be uncomfortable. A is a person who switches lives every single day and never really knows who they are. At first, A is adamant about not interfering in the lives of those he?she?it? inhabits because of the fear of ruining the life of the person, or seriously interrupting it. But, as the story progresses, A cares less and less about interfering and begins to travel long distances and lying to family members and generally doing bad things. This book was difficult for me to stomach and literally made me feel guilty for the things A was doing to the people that become inhabited.
Overall, I loved David Levithan's writing and his beautiful prose, but the story lacked so much for me and made me angry and uncomfortable throughout the entire story.
This book was only okay to me. It dragged on and on, and I just wanted to be done with it.
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
VERY interesting premise, but very mid execution.
I first started reading this book when I was in high school, and decided to pick it up again since I just loaned a copy from a classmate. Off the bat, the writing is very obviously targeted toward a young adult audience in the 2010’s: full of corny lines and crazy romantic promises. The characters are typical, seemingly shy and withdrawn girl that doesn’t know her worth and another person who’s ready to show her how amazing she is and give her the love that she “truly” deserves. A, the body-switcher and one of the main characters of the story, isn’t very likable. Much like all other characters, A possesses a very flat and one-dimensional personality. They’re all about Rhiannon, a girl that A falls in love with in just a day.
Half of the book circles around A obsessing over Rhiannon, and them trying to make their relationship work. The main characters have an affair, which is just horrible! Rhiannon was obviously not ready to commit yet and was not given a good chance to decide for herself because A kept on pestering her about wanting to be with her. The author is quite preachy about the concept of love. I get it, we’re supposed to love people for who they are and not for what they look like, but it’s just insane to me that Rhiannon is being forced to just ignore her preferences. So what if she prefers guys or is attracted to a certain physique? You can’t exactly fault her for that. In the end,A sets Rhiannon up with a guy that’s apparently very similar to them. What gives? I get that they’re 16 year-olds, but Rhiannon not being given any chance to make choices that are actually her own is INCREDIBLY frustrating.
The plot twists and the world-building and subplot of the book is interesting to say the least, and it is what kept me reading. Even though it’s a good plot twist and interesting lore, the way the author just drags everything doesn’t make it worth it. The chapters being one day each is interesting and is on theme with the book, but it proved to be something that hindered the story. I have no interest in reading the rest of the books because of how one-dimensional, obsessive, and unlikable A is and how drawn out the story is already. The first impression is just bad… I refuse to invest more time on this series.
I first started reading this book when I was in high school, and decided to pick it up again since I just loaned a copy from a classmate. Off the bat, the writing is very obviously targeted toward a young adult audience in the 2010’s: full of corny lines and crazy romantic promises. The characters are typical, seemingly shy and withdrawn girl that doesn’t know her worth and another person who’s ready to show her how amazing she is and give her the love that she “truly” deserves. A, the body-switcher and one of the main characters of the story, isn’t very likable. Much like all other characters, A possesses a very flat and one-dimensional personality. They’re all about Rhiannon, a girl that A falls in love with in just a day.
Half of the book circles around A obsessing over Rhiannon, and them trying to make their relationship work. The main characters have an affair, which is just horrible! Rhiannon was obviously not ready to commit yet and was not given a good chance to decide for herself because A kept on pestering her about wanting to be with her. The author is quite preachy about the concept of love. I get it, we’re supposed to love people for who they are and not for what they look like, but it’s just insane to me that Rhiannon is being forced to just ignore her preferences. So what if she prefers guys or is attracted to a certain physique? You can’t exactly fault her for that. In the end,
The plot twists and the world-building and subplot of the book is interesting to say the least, and it is what kept me reading. Even though it’s a good plot twist and interesting lore, the way the author just drags everything doesn’t make it worth it. The chapters being one day each is interesting and is on theme with the book, but it proved to be something that hindered the story. I have no interest in reading the rest of the books because of how one-dimensional, obsessive, and unlikable A is and how drawn out the story is already. The first impression is just bad… I refuse to invest more time on this series.
Content Warnings
Minor: Fatphobia
3.8 stars. i commend this novel for its simplicity. i do believe this concept could’ve been expanded on to a much greater extent, however a’s story had me hooked from start to finish. david levithan is a wonderful storyteller, and uses beautiful language. i thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it for those who are ever in a book slump and would like something interesting, new, and pretty easy to read.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Just what I've suspected, David Levithan never fails to play with emotions.
:)
:)
Quantum Leaps for teens. Skip it kids and read The Time Travellers Wife instead!
Great premise but I think Leviathan diverged too much from what I felt was the plot. I can understand the temptation to explore and meditate on other ways of being, though. On how individuals live their lives.