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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Such a heartwrenching book, and so well done. I didn't expect the reveal at the end at all. An excellent book about grief, discovering flaws in others, and the hard task of moving forward.
Words and Their Meanings is a novel narrated by sixteen year old Anna. The novel starts on the one year "deadaversary" of her brother/uncle Joe. She promised her friends, parents, and therapist that her period of grief and mourning would end on this day. However, as events unfold, she learns that her brother/uncle Joe, whom she loved and idolized, wasn't the person that her and her family thought he was. As she looks for answers, she deals with her grief, deals with more family loss, finds love, and finds her way back to writing and herself.
This novel was beautiful. I came across it by accident but thought it sounded interesting so I decided to give it a try. I have never read a book that portrays grief and loss in this way, and in a way that is so real and relatable. Anna's journey in this novel is one that someone can relate to if they have experienced deep loss in their lives. The way that words play into her story, whether it be with the losses and upheaval in her family, or in her finding love, is beautiful. The way she expresses her thoughts and feelings is interesting and beautiful. Overall, this novel had so many beautiful elements and I would highly recommend it to other readers and I look forward to reading it again.
This novel was beautiful. I came across it by accident but thought it sounded interesting so I decided to give it a try. I have never read a book that portrays grief and loss in this way, and in a way that is so real and relatable. Anna's journey in this novel is one that someone can relate to if they have experienced deep loss in their lives. The way that words play into her story, whether it be with the losses and upheaval in her family, or in her finding love, is beautiful. The way she expresses her thoughts and feelings is interesting and beautiful. Overall, this novel had so many beautiful elements and I would highly recommend it to other readers and I look forward to reading it again.
Every so often, a book comes along that has writing so beautifully wrought and a story so poignant that it leaves you aching and breathless. Words and Their Meanings was that kind of book for me.
Kate Bassett's story of Anna, a girl still grieving the loss of her uncle (who was more like a brother to her) left me in awe. Anna's voice is so beautifully written and so compelling, but Bassett's treatment of the story's themes of loss, discovery, regret and disillusionment, hope and rebirth were even more wonderful. It's such an absolutely true and honest book--even in its darkest moments. It's the kind of book that stays with you for hours and days later. I'm so, so glad that I had the privilege to read it.
Kate Bassett's story of Anna, a girl still grieving the loss of her uncle (who was more like a brother to her) left me in awe. Anna's voice is so beautifully written and so compelling, but Bassett's treatment of the story's themes of loss, discovery, regret and disillusionment, hope and rebirth were even more wonderful. It's such an absolutely true and honest book--even in its darkest moments. It's the kind of book that stays with you for hours and days later. I'm so, so glad that I had the privilege to read it.
Words and Their Meanings is a story of grief. It is the story of a young girl who loses one of her favourite people unexpectedly, and the dysfunctional way in which she tries to mourn him and punish herself.
But it is also a story of words. It is the story of their power over a life, and the story of how tragedy can make them dry up.
I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I had expected. I thought it was a very different take on the normal grieving teenager trope – very unique, and a completely different tone. Anna is so different from the other main characters in these kinds of books. Very unique and vivid.
Unfortunately, I struggled to connect with her. Despite her distinct personality, she didn’t feel real to me. She felt, somehow, missing. And I do like to connect with a character to seem degree. However, having suffered loss myself before, I do realise that grief has the propensity to detach the mourner, to make them distant and unreachable.
The other thing is… THERE WAS INSTA-LOVE. Ooooooh I didn’t like it. I mean, Matteo is nice and all, I don’t have any problems with him specifically, but that insta-love was just so… insta-lovey!
I have the same relationship with words as Anna does, and I know the darkness when words leave you. I thought that was well done – and again pretty unique for YA. I just felt that it lacked a certain element of depth. I felt the role of words could have been more thoroughly explored and utilized for the purposes of this novel.
Although, I loved this:
“It’s the loving, more than the talent, that’s the rarest gift.”
The family members are incredible. I loved the depth that they had, and I grew fond of each of them. The family is a bit dysfunctional, but they are all PRESENT.
“I make sure she knows I’ll always find her. I’ll see her, no matter how many times she tried to be erased.”
In terms of an “issues book” dealing with grief, this was very well done. It was not at all preachy, and illustrated the process of grieving in an incredibly real way. I enjoyed that. I would highly suggest this book to high school students and YA readers.
“Everyone gets one last line. But first lines, stories of love and loss and hope floating on backs of paper cranes? We choose how many of those we get to tell.”
I RECEIVED AN E-GALLEY OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.
But it is also a story of words. It is the story of their power over a life, and the story of how tragedy can make them dry up.
I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I had expected. I thought it was a very different take on the normal grieving teenager trope – very unique, and a completely different tone. Anna is so different from the other main characters in these kinds of books. Very unique and vivid.
Unfortunately, I struggled to connect with her. Despite her distinct personality, she didn’t feel real to me. She felt, somehow, missing. And I do like to connect with a character to seem degree. However, having suffered loss myself before, I do realise that grief has the propensity to detach the mourner, to make them distant and unreachable.
The other thing is… THERE WAS INSTA-LOVE. Ooooooh I didn’t like it. I mean, Matteo is nice and all, I don’t have any problems with him specifically, but that insta-love was just so… insta-lovey!
I have the same relationship with words as Anna does, and I know the darkness when words leave you. I thought that was well done – and again pretty unique for YA. I just felt that it lacked a certain element of depth. I felt the role of words could have been more thoroughly explored and utilized for the purposes of this novel.
Although, I loved this:
“It’s the loving, more than the talent, that’s the rarest gift.”
The family members are incredible. I loved the depth that they had, and I grew fond of each of them. The family is a bit dysfunctional, but they are all PRESENT.
“I make sure she knows I’ll always find her. I’ll see her, no matter how many times she tried to be erased.”
In terms of an “issues book” dealing with grief, this was very well done. It was not at all preachy, and illustrated the process of grieving in an incredibly real way. I enjoyed that. I would highly suggest this book to high school students and YA readers.
“Everyone gets one last line. But first lines, stories of love and loss and hope floating on backs of paper cranes? We choose how many of those we get to tell.”
I RECEIVED AN E-GALLEY OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was a solid 3 ⭐for most of the book just due to the high quality of writing, but the ending was just not for me and too convenient after such a dark book.
I got within 100 pages of the end, but I just couldn't finish this book, nor could I in good conscience recommend it to my readers.
Still, regards to NetGalley and Flux for the advance copy.
Still, regards to NetGalley and Flux for the advance copy.
I loved this book. Anna is a super quirky and related character, even when her way of processing the world doesn't make sense to the reader. A book about processing grief and coming of age, and the difficulty of doing both at the same time. I wish I had read it in the 16-18 age range, as I think I would have resonated even stronger with the text. Definitely work your time.
Not a bad book, just not my favorite. The plot never got super exciting or interesting, but still some had some emotional aspects to it.
Anna had an uncle who was raised as a brother to her, and she idolized him. In the year since his death, for which she blames herself, she has practiced “coffin yoga” by lying still every morning and by turning herself into Patti Smith. There is a mystery aspect to the story as she realizes that she didn’t know everything about her cousin, and there is a nice romance (that I did not totally buy even though the character was sweet). I enjoyed the story until the end, when something is revealed about her cousin’s actions that I found to be totally jarring and unbelievable. I also raised an eyebrow at the idea that Anna spent all this time on Patti Smith’s words but hadn’t read Just Kids, which turned out to be part of the resolution. There were a lot of vivid and interesting things about this book, but the end fell flat for me.