Reviews

I was really underwhelmed by this book. I can't even pick out for sure what was wrong with it.... it just took me forever to read and almost became a chore to pick back up. Maybe it's that I think Naomi should have come to grips earlier that Ely is gay and will always be gay and won't run off and marry her. I like books that switch narrators and POV, but it didn't seem like there was much point in it at times in this book. All of the sudden one of the Robins would narrate and I coiuldn't care less about what they had to say. Anyways, I definitely wouldn't read it again and I'm not sure I know anyone who I would recommend it to.

thatotherlisa's review against another edition

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4.0

i haven't had a can't-stop-reading-book moment in a long time, so this book was really refreshing. fun and smart and warm - one of the better ya books i've read in a long time.

roces's review

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4.0

IT WAS TOO SHORT. Why do I feel empty after reading this?

jackiehorne's review against another edition

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4.0

Wonderful to read a book that focuses on boy-girl friendship, rather than boy-girl romance (although there's some of that here, too, as well as boy-boy romance). I was really moved by the depiction of the relationship between Naomi and Ely; although both characters were unappealing in many ways (self-absorbed NYC-ishness), their love for each other, and the pain they feel when they're finally forced to give up the illusions they've been holding about each other, is convincingly portrayed.

sandeeisreading's review against another edition

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2.0

“Life tells you to take the elevator, but love tells you to take the stairs.”

I actually thought this book was going to be good.

I was so damned disappointed. And I felt this way before I finished the book. Not only did I not care about any of the characters and their inflated egos, I also did not care about what happened to them. There were so many things that bothered me about this book. And let me tell you right now that the LGBT themes in this book was not one of them.

So how do I start talking about this shit? Right. Let's first talk about Naomi. Who was...

Try and guess.

Try to guess what Naomi was like. Come on. You know you wanna guess. Okay. Fine. Let me tell you.

"It’s spooky how beautiful she is—it’s like her hazel eyes have gotten deeper and more alluring from all the crying they’ve obviously experienced lately. All eyes are on her beauty as she stands up from our table"

Yes. She's pretty.
Yes. Everyone wanted her.
Yes. Everyone looks at her with desire.
But... She wasn't exactly a nice person.
Actually Naomi's a bitch. A really annoying bitch.
She was a whiny girl who things she could get anything she wanted just because she's beautiful. Wtf. I don't really like girls who think that the whole world is theirs just because they look like Helen of Troy.

Nooo.
Noooo.
Noooooo.

I mean okay, she does have her issues which I like. I love my characters flawed and conflicted. But Naomi wasn't an easy character to like and relate to. She does so many things that just made me roll my eyes. I get flaws and mistakes, but there was something about how she was written which felt so wrong. All I know is that Naomi has got to be one of my most, if not my most, hated character ever. There was very little of her that is redeemable. The way she thinks of getting revenge against Ely is totally... disturbing. To think this girl is a teenager.

Okay, you pussy-teasing faggot, do you know what I’m going to do to you? I am going to take back that boy whose lips you are currently fellating, and I am going to "send" you pictures of him doing things to me that he’d never, ever be able to do to your Every time you step out of the elevator, I’m going to make sure that he and I are jammed together on the other side of the wall, releasing moans that are going to make you scramble to find some porn. I will take him by the and lead him away from you, and I will make you watch every. fucking. moment.

See my problem right there? Naomi. Naomi. Naomi. Why do you have to be that kind of girl?

Ely on the other hand is a different story.

Ely is Naomi's best friend. And she loves him. But... He's gay. He has been very open to Naomi about this from the start. He tells her everything, even the stuff that he does with his boyfriend. And I was okay with it. The way the author wrote him was much more believable and relatable. I loved Ely's confidence and maturity (for the most part). Ely wasn't perfect, but you slowly see what a good head he has on his shoulder.

So what really happened to Ely and Naomi?

They decided they need to have a No Kiss List where they put guys they should not kiss so they don't fight over guys. What set Naomi off was that Ely kissed a guy that wasn't on the Kiss List but was her boyfriend. So technically, he wasn't on the list but was still considered off-limits by Naomi (which I sort of had to agree).

Shit happens.
Things were said.
Things were done.
Their friendship that they worked so hard over the years was destroyed because of a boy.
I just couldn't believe it.

I didn't like this book. But I didn't hate it. There were things here that I liked.

What I loved

THE WRITING STYLE

The writing style was unique. There were sentences in this book that had pictures instead of words. That was cute. It was witty and entertaining at times. Each characters has their own personality in the way each of their chapters were written. Naomi has her own quirky way of telling her story. And then there's Gabriel and his music inspired one. And yeah, you get my point right?

There were quite a lot of lines in this book that I really, really liked. And I'll include some of them towards the end of this review.

THE NAMES

I think the names authors used were pretty cool. One example is Bruce the First and Bruce the Second. Then then there's Robin (girl) and Robin (boy). Haha It's pretty cute. I could imagine some people not sharing the same thoughts about it though because it could get a bit confusing.

THE BOOK COVER

It looked fun and simple. At least the one that I got.

GABRIEL

I actually ended up liking Gabriel more than anyone in this book. I think it's because of his love for music. I never really connected to anyone else in the book aside from Gabriel.

What I didn't love

THE ROMANCE

Let me start with that. I hated the romance in this book. First of all, Naomi's love for Ely was totally ridiculous. I did not feel at all that Naomi loved Ely as much as she said she did. If that is what she calls love then her love must have been pretty shallow.

And as for Ely, why would you do that to your best friend??? Seriously.

Then there's the third party on both sides. How could it have been that easy?

I don't get it. Naomi and Ely, were never a couple. But they were the best of friends and that ought to count for something. Ely should have taken Naomi's feeling into account before he did something. I have no problem that he fell in love with the other guy, but he should really have taken into consideration what it would feel to Naomi. And Naomi and her infatuation with Ely… I don't buy that either. This book has so much relationship problems that I couldn't really focus on any of them. It was a disaster.

And then the person they end up with towards the end???? I did not buy it either.

THE CHARACTERS

Oh man. These characters had no appeal to me whatsoever. I hated them. Okay let me correct myself, most of them. I hated MOST of them. Most especially, Naomi. I could not relate to her character at all. She is, possibily, the whiniest characters I have ever read. She only thinks about herself and not the people around her.

Ely is not exactly too different, but at least he wasn't as whiny as Naomi. And I liked that I got to know him a bit more than just the guy who stole his best friend's boyfriend. He grew on me as I was reading the book.

The minor characters were actually a bit more fun to read about. I liked Bruce the Second's POV. How he is slowly realizing what his preference really is and dealing with his feelings. I liked that.

But overall, I felt the characters were shallow and inconsistent.

ALTERNATING POV

I'm usually a fan of alternating POVs, but this book had so much of that it hurt my head. There were far too many POVs. It's probably because the authors wanted us to see Ely and Naomi's character outside their own heads, but it didn't work that way for me. Like I said earlier, I actually preferred reading the secondary POVs but only if it works. Only if I get to know more about these characters. Only if it draws me closer to them and not away from them.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Wait there was character development in this book? There was, but it wasn't really too well done. The revelation about Ely and how he figured out he liked boys that girls was a bit unrealistic to me. You don't realize something like that. You realize things through experience and not just a random thing you think of after seeing something. Eeeh… Not going into spoilers here. Sorry.

As for Naomi… I don't think she matured in this book at all. I did not think there was any development in her part. That sour attitude she had towards the beginning of the book radiated until the end of it. When I finished, I was just so glad I finished it. That I didn't have to endure any more of Naomi's complaining and whining and all that crap.

GABRIEL

Okay. Gabriel is one of the characters I liked in this book, but I also felt his character was inappropriately used. I didn't like how he was the reason things got better for Naomi. I don't use this word often, but he was the Deus Ex Machina of this story and I didn't like that at all. A guy, no matter how gorgeous or hot or mouthwatering, shouldn't be the reason why someone gets over someone. No. Just no.

THE PLOT

What plot?!

finalthoughts

This book could have been so much better to be honest. I loved David Levithan's The Love Dictionary. I thought it was brilliantly written. I loved the story and the manner on how it was delivered. I saw his writing in this book, but the story itself was really a let down. I didn't think the story was planned out really well. There were a lot of things in this book that could have been cut out and end up not affecting the entire story.

I think Rachel and David also co-wrote Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist which I thought was good. It wasn't my favorite, but it was way better than this one. The characters, the events, the plot development were far more superior than this book which is a shame.

I didn't really have the intention of picking this book up until I saw the movie trailer which I thought looked pretty. I haven't watched the movie because I've always been the type to want to read the book first before watching the movie. But here I am, wishing I haven't read the book because it was a real waste of time.

There were however, some good take-aways from this book that I would like to share.

“We always see our worst selves. Our most vulnerable selves. We need someone else to get close enough to tell us we’re wrong. Someone we trust.”

“Maybe your history just repeats and repeats until it batters you enough to snap the seams that hold you together”

missbookiverse's review against another edition

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5.0

I loved this book almost as much as Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by the same authors. It felt like so many part of the story were taken straight from my own life. Naomi and Ely are both such unique and lovable characters that felt familiar to me right from the beginning. The relationship between the two makes so much sense to me and made me sympathize with both of them. This book has way more narrators than NANIP had which stops the flow of the story at some points for me (and also gets a little confusing with all the Bruces) but also adds a new dimension. I loved details like the pictograms Naomi uses in her parts or the never-ending mention of that silver belt.
All in all very worth reading. It has a lot of things that remind me of Nick and Norah but still enough new ideas to turn it into a unique story. To be honest I can't wait for another collaboration by Rachel and David.

unipinkglitter's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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