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lbatch's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Ehhh. I liked things about it but the tonal shift was very strange and the editing was kinda subpar, like email headers that were incorrect and such, and other weird formatting things that made it hard to follow in spots.
maya_b's review against another edition
4.0
I really really liked this book. Didn't actually think I would, with the mix of Chats and Mails and Letters and everything like that but no "actual" scenes but only reading about what happened, but the characters were really likable and felt very alive, and I could absolutely understand how everyone acted and why. I also liked how even though it was "just" an internet friendship, there were very real problems and issues, even from the beginning, and I just really liked it a lot. The first 200 pages I laughed a lot, and then the last 100 I did the exact opposite. It's not really just a feel good book, because of what happens and then there's a lot of drama and sadness and stuff, so it really doesn't end the way it starts, but I personally liked how it was handled and where everything ended up. (And funnily enough, just a few days before I was talking to a friend about what kind of relationship I would love to see more in books, and then this book had exactly that, so that was pretty great.)
Could it have been better? Yes, probably, and also the change in tone could have gotten more warning, so it didn't come out of nowhere if you didn't expect it, but also I still enjoyed it so much, and was really in love with the story.
Could it have been better? Yes, probably, and also the change in tone could have gotten more warning, so it didn't come out of nowhere if you didn't expect it, but also I still enjoyed it so much, and was really in love with the story.
hall852's review against another edition
4.0
Such an amazing book!!! I loved how it was told through notes, webpages, texts and e-mails. This book had a really strong plot line that I loved and had a twist that I didn't see coming. But I didn't like the ending, it didn't feel like an ending, the story just stopped.
pumpkinspiciest's review against another edition
3.0
So this book was a fast read! I was not expecting to finish this book in one day. I think it’s mainly because of the way the story is presented, it’s told through online journals, emails, text messages, etc. There actually is never a normal story form set up in this book. Which worked really well for the first half of the book. For the last half, I think that’s part of why this story just didn’t feel like I was connecting to it. I felt like I was connecting so well with the characters in the beginning. But in the last part, I think that it really should have switched to a more normal story telling mode because the journal writing was so strange. Gena was writing for someone to read in the future. But just the fact that she was actually writing while doing something else? I was like, yeah, that’s basically impossible.
It really made me disconnect with the story because all I was thinking during the journal writing was, just tell us the story from a normal perspective. Just let it play out, you don’t need to keep this “screen” between the story anymore, this isn’t adding anything like it was earlier. So that was kind of disappointing because I was totally on board for this story and then I just became so disconnected.
The other part that really disconnected me from the story was Gena’s relationship with Charlie. The relationship you have with a significant other is so tender there in the beginning. The way Gena was treating Charlie was just bad. It was not the way you treat someone. Like I wanted Charlie to get away from her because she obviously was NEVER going to be ready for what he wanted. Ever. She had too much she needed to figure out about herself and good on her for seeing that she needed to do that. But not good on her for stringing him along. It was also a problem for me with how wonderful Charlie was. There are great guys in the world. A lot of them. I made so many cringe faces reading the parts when he was interacting with Gena and Finn. It was just overkill.
Also, sorry. I didn’t expect to start this off so negative. I DID enjoy the layout of the book in the first half. It made it feel more real than telling the story in a normal story mode would have done. Because I see this play out all day on the internet. It’s one of the things I love most about the internet! I loved how the fandom worked out in the pages. Their relationship with TylerGirl was hilarious. All throughout the book. Because there’s always someone like that.
I really liked the way they talked about fandoms and how it can help you connect to people. I grew up right as the internet was coming into our daily lives. I was a pre-teen when this was happening. I remember having a group of friends online where we played characters from A League of Their Own. I was Betty Spaghetti. Haha! But it was awesome! I also made great friends on various message boards, people I’ve gone on to meet in real life. My husband has a whole group of friends he’s met through Twitter and they get to meet up sometimes at GenCon. I love it and I think it’s wonderful when a book handles this as well as this book did. I think the first half of this book is what Scarlett Epstein Hates it Here was hoping to be. Because Gena/Finn handled this beautifully.
Gena’s thoughts after a fan Con they went to perfectly describes every Con I’ve ever been to. You get to be with your PEOPLE. When I leave book cons or when I’ve left various fan cons, you so get that down after that rush of being around other people who get what you feel. So yeah, that whole part really stood out to me.
Overall, this wasn’t a bad book and it was a really fast read. I think if they had broken their “this has to be told through writing and not from first or third perspective”, this book would’ve been solid all the way through. I borrowed this from the library and I’m glad I did. It was a nice, fast read.
It really made me disconnect with the story because all I was thinking during the journal writing was, just tell us the story from a normal perspective. Just let it play out, you don’t need to keep this “screen” between the story anymore, this isn’t adding anything like it was earlier. So that was kind of disappointing because I was totally on board for this story and then I just became so disconnected.
The other part that really disconnected me from the story was Gena’s relationship with Charlie. The relationship you have with a significant other is so tender there in the beginning. The way Gena was treating Charlie was just bad. It was not the way you treat someone. Like I wanted Charlie to get away from her because she obviously was NEVER going to be ready for what he wanted. Ever. She had too much she needed to figure out about herself and good on her for seeing that she needed to do that. But not good on her for stringing him along. It was also a problem for me with how wonderful Charlie was. There are great guys in the world. A lot of them. I made so many cringe faces reading the parts when he was interacting with Gena and Finn. It was just overkill.
Also, sorry. I didn’t expect to start this off so negative. I DID enjoy the layout of the book in the first half. It made it feel more real than telling the story in a normal story mode would have done. Because I see this play out all day on the internet. It’s one of the things I love most about the internet! I loved how the fandom worked out in the pages. Their relationship with TylerGirl was hilarious. All throughout the book. Because there’s always someone like that.
I really liked the way they talked about fandoms and how it can help you connect to people. I grew up right as the internet was coming into our daily lives. I was a pre-teen when this was happening. I remember having a group of friends online where we played characters from A League of Their Own. I was Betty Spaghetti. Haha! But it was awesome! I also made great friends on various message boards, people I’ve gone on to meet in real life. My husband has a whole group of friends he’s met through Twitter and they get to meet up sometimes at GenCon. I love it and I think it’s wonderful when a book handles this as well as this book did. I think the first half of this book is what Scarlett Epstein Hates it Here was hoping to be. Because Gena/Finn handled this beautifully.
Gena’s thoughts after a fan Con they went to perfectly describes every Con I’ve ever been to. You get to be with your PEOPLE. When I leave book cons or when I’ve left various fan cons, you so get that down after that rush of being around other people who get what you feel. So yeah, that whole part really stood out to me.
Overall, this wasn’t a bad book and it was a really fast read. I think if they had broken their “this has to be told through writing and not from first or third perspective”, this book would’ve been solid all the way through. I borrowed this from the library and I’m glad I did. It was a nice, fast read.
charlie_x's review against another edition
3.0
3.5
The first half of this book for me was 5 stars. I loved it and found it super relatable. Up Below reminded me a lot of Supernatural (and considering the authors' included Sam Winchester and Castiel in their favourite characters lists in the back of the book, I'm guessing this was a big influence) and I think they really nailed the tone and voice of people writing about fandom. I've read so many books that try to write teen-style blogs and completely fail at making it sound realistic, so I was really glad this book managed to do it successfully.
However, the second part of the book felt like a total 180 for me. This gets spoiler-y, so I'll hide it:
So overall, I really enjoyed it, but feel like the second half kind of let it down for me.
The first half of this book for me was 5 stars. I loved it and found it super relatable. Up Below reminded me a lot of Supernatural (and considering the authors' included Sam Winchester and Castiel in their favourite characters lists in the back of the book, I'm guessing this was a big influence) and I think they really nailed the tone and voice of people writing about fandom. I've read so many books that try to write teen-style blogs and completely fail at making it sound realistic, so I was really glad this book managed to do it successfully.
However, the second part of the book felt like a total 180 for me. This gets spoiler-y, so I'll hide it:
Spoiler
I felt like that accident came out of no where, and suddenly the whole tone of the book changed. I guess I should have realised more serious themes were going to crop up seeing as Gena's childhood hallucinations were a plot point, but it felt so sudden. And I really feet left hanging with that ending - I feel like Gena's last post (the fic) was meant to be some kind of closure, but it felt kind of abrupt to me. All I'm thinking is, what happened after? Did Gena get better? What happened with this Gena-Finn-Charlie situation they've got going on? I'm a little disappointed that the story didn't end with Gena and Finn getting together, but that's probably just because I like a good happy ending haha.So overall, I really enjoyed it, but feel like the second half kind of let it down for me.
carolynaugustyn's review against another edition
3.0
*2.5 stars*
Since I cruised through this and ended up reading it in one sitting, I obviously didn't hate this book. But really I didn't love it either. The book starts off nicely, showing how two people from the same fandom online can connect and become great friends. That all felt realistic and had the appropriate amount of interesting drama without being too silly or out there. But then about halfway through, the book got REALLY dark and deep. I can't reveal too much without spoiling the book, but I felt that the events and the aftermath felt so dramatic that the story was no longer realistic. Things were just kind of crazy and I started rolling my eyes more and more. So I guess in the end this was an pretty ok book for me, as the first half was very cute and fun, but I didn't love the entire story.
Since I cruised through this and ended up reading it in one sitting, I obviously didn't hate this book. But really I didn't love it either. The book starts off nicely, showing how two people from the same fandom online can connect and become great friends. That all felt realistic and had the appropriate amount of interesting drama without being too silly or out there. But then about halfway through, the book got REALLY dark and deep. I can't reveal too much without spoiling the book, but I felt that the events and the aftermath felt so dramatic that the story was no longer realistic. Things were just kind of crazy and I started rolling my eyes more and more. So I guess in the end this was an pretty ok book for me, as the first half was very cute and fun, but I didn't love the entire story.
katebol's review against another edition
3.0
Sharp turn. Dark turn. The format isn’t suitable for kindle.
Still enjoyed it.
Still enjoyed it.
anahhs's review against another edition
5.0
ALL THE STARS!!!
Adorei, adorei este livro. Muito provavelmente por me identificar com as personagens principais. As interações entre elas no início da história são, sem dúvida, muito semelhantes às interações que ocorrem entre pessoas na internet que partilham do mesmo tv show ou fictional characters; parecia que estava a olhar para algo que outrora disse acerca das minhas personagens preferidas.
Recomendo a todos os fanboys e fangirls por aí.
Mas não foi só por este aspeto que o livro leva 5 estrelas da minha parte.
A história lida, também, com assuntos mais sérios o que contribuiu não só para o enriquecimento da história, mas também das próprias personagens.
No fundo, mostra que uma simples relação iniciada pela internet pode tornar-se tão verdadeira como qualquer relação na vida real. No final do dia, pessoas são pessoas quer estejam à nossa frente, fisicamente ou atrás de um ecrã.
« "I can't keep going", he says, tamping down the quiet, just for a minute.
He breathes, accidentally, and keeps going. »
Adorei, adorei este livro. Muito provavelmente por me identificar com as personagens principais. As interações entre elas no início da história são, sem dúvida, muito semelhantes às interações que ocorrem entre pessoas na internet que partilham do mesmo tv show ou fictional characters; parecia que estava a olhar para algo que outrora disse acerca das minhas personagens preferidas.
Recomendo a todos os fanboys e fangirls por aí.
Mas não foi só por este aspeto que o livro leva 5 estrelas da minha parte.
A história lida, também, com assuntos mais sérios o que contribuiu não só para o enriquecimento da história, mas também das próprias personagens.
No fundo, mostra que uma simples relação iniciada pela internet pode tornar-se tão verdadeira como qualquer relação na vida real. No final do dia, pessoas são pessoas quer estejam à nossa frente, fisicamente ou atrás de um ecrã.
« "I can't keep going", he says, tamping down the quiet, just for a minute.
He breathes, accidentally, and keeps going. »
blakehalsey's review against another edition
5.0
Holy shit I loved this. So unique and lovely. Fandom and internet friendships, love story and grief and mental illness--this book touches on so many messy things and touches on them so damn well. I just really, really loved this.
oceaninsanity1's review against another edition
3.0
It was okay, I don't really have that many options about it to be honest.
Blog post here: http://kaylasbookinsanity.blogspot.com/2016/05/genafinn.html
Blog post here: http://kaylasbookinsanity.blogspot.com/2016/05/genafinn.html