You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
What really works for me here is the fact that this is one very well written, very original book. Never before had I read a well thought, well planned mystery that also involved lgbt+ characters on their journey to finding out who they really are.
I am extremely happy to have read this and I recommend it extensively! The mystery/crime part wasn't as predictable to me as it seems to have been to other readers, but that might be because I'm not too used to the genre.
The only thing I didn't like as much were the huge inner monologues that had me skimming through and sometimes skipping entire paragraphs of text.
I look forward to reading more from this author!
I am extremely happy to have read this and I recommend it extensively! The mystery/crime part wasn't as predictable to me as it seems to have been to other readers, but that might be because I'm not too used to the genre.
The only thing I didn't like as much were the huge inner monologues that had me skimming through and sometimes skipping entire paragraphs of text.
I look forward to reading more from this author!
So as of about seventeen hours later, I don't know how to review this book without just chucking out spoilers left and right because this was one of those books. Like. I can't talk about anything really without giving something away because there were three big storylines* going on: Flynn and his issues, the mystery of January missing, and then what lead to January going missing. Talking about any of these is really, really difficult because there was a lot to it all. So I'm going to tag everything below this as one giant spoiler, even though I did try to be vague and short about it. If you still want to read on, even with the risk of something getting spoiled because you can pretty much assume things and probably be spot on, then carry on. Just don't say I didn't warn you.
• Flynn and his issues: Flynn struggles with a lot of guilt and self-loathing throughout almost the whole book because of Things that happened leading up to January's disappearance. He's not in denial, per say, but he can't accept himself either so he takes on a lot as he tries to figure out what happened to his girlfriend and keeps finding pieces of her that he didn't even know had existed. In the grand scheme of things, Flynn was a good narrator. He was amusing, did and reacted to things in a reasonable and relatable way considering his circumstances, and pretty much needed a hug the entire time. His biggest downfall, though: his very extravagant voice. When there was dialogue, it was fine but Flynn is fifteen and in his monologue, he was using words that not even an adult would use normally. His sentences would be so extravagant that I'd have to reread them. If this book had been written in third person, I wouldn't have even thought twice about it because then that's different, but his voice was too elaborate. There's just no way. Really, Flynn's separate storyline could have been a whole other book. I didn't mind it because it did intertwine with everything else, but it was a whole line of drama.
• The mystery of January missing: As her boyfriend (which I much prefer the term 'best friend' instead), Flynn gets so overwhelmed with his emotions and trying to figure out what happened to January that he, of course, ends up trying to put the pieces of everything together himself. So a lot of things come into light that Flynn didn't know because a couple weeks prior to her disappearance, January was getting distant and strange, but Flynn is so caught up in his own shit that he doesn't even realize it until it's too late. So a lot of this stems Flynn's guilt and self-loathing.
• What lead to January going missing: This is a very, very complicated and gruesome storyline. I can't tell you what it is without spoiling the entire plotline, which will inevitably take away a good portion of the mystery for you if you choose to read this book, but because it made me severely uncomfortable and it was a very sudden thing, I'm choosing to warn you and if you hate spoilers, don't read it:
All in all though, this was a good mystery, it really was. The author did that typical "put suspicious here and then turn an entire 180 and SURPRISE" and I'm pretty used to that, so I wasn't surprised but I can safely say I didn't predict it ending the way that it did. Honestly, the rating ended up with three stars instead of four because of the whole 'intricate monologue' and certain character developments. I would still recommend this to anyone that wanted to pass the time with a mystery book though, because it did keep me pretty entertained for a few hours.
Spoiler
* STORYLINES• Flynn and his issues: Flynn struggles with a lot of guilt and self-loathing throughout almost the whole book because of Things that happened leading up to January's disappearance. He's not in denial, per say, but he can't accept himself either so he takes on a lot as he tries to figure out what happened to his girlfriend and keeps finding pieces of her that he didn't even know had existed. In the grand scheme of things, Flynn was a good narrator. He was amusing, did and reacted to things in a reasonable and relatable way considering his circumstances, and pretty much needed a hug the entire time. His biggest downfall, though: his very extravagant voice. When there was dialogue, it was fine but Flynn is fifteen and in his monologue, he was using words that not even an adult would use normally. His sentences would be so extravagant that I'd have to reread them. If this book had been written in third person, I wouldn't have even thought twice about it because then that's different, but his voice was too elaborate. There's just no way.
Spoiler
Also, I think the romance between him and Kaz happened very quickly. It started happening in the middle of everything and it was almost out of place. I thought, in the end, the romance was cute, but I thought how it came to be was like a whole different book of its own.• The mystery of January missing: As her boyfriend (which I much prefer the term 'best friend' instead), Flynn gets so overwhelmed with his emotions and trying to figure out what happened to January that he, of course, ends up trying to put the pieces of everything together himself. So a lot of things come into light that Flynn didn't know because a couple weeks prior to her disappearance, January was getting distant and strange, but Flynn is so caught up in his own shit that he doesn't even realize it until it's too late. So a lot of this stems Flynn's guilt and self-loathing.
• What lead to January going missing: This is a very, very complicated and gruesome storyline. I can't tell you what it is without spoiling the entire plotline, which will inevitably take away a good portion of the mystery for you if you choose to read this book, but because it made me severely uncomfortable and it was a very sudden thing, I'm choosing to warn you and if you hate spoilers, don't read it:
Spoiler
January was raped. She was drugged and raped, and a good 90% of the book shows how she coped with the trauma but you don't find out until the end and it's a very sudden drop. If you're anything like me, this made you uncomfortable the second it happened. Leading up to this, there are derogatory slurs thrown around, very sleazy and creepy as fuck language used in both a flashback and a moment between Flynn and January's step-brother, Anson. These things can be potentially harmful to someone so PLEASE be careful picking up this book.All in all though, this was a good mystery, it really was. The author did that typical "put suspicious here and then turn an entire 180 and SURPRISE" and I'm pretty used to that, so I wasn't surprised but I can safely say I didn't predict it ending the way that it did. Honestly, the rating ended up with three stars instead of four because of the whole 'intricate monologue' and certain character developments. I would still recommend this to anyone that wanted to pass the time with a mystery book though, because it did keep me pretty entertained for a few hours.
I liked this. It was a halfway decent YA thriller and I appreciated that the protagonist was gay, but overall it took most of the plot points I expected. There was a misdirection of the mystery halfway through, and overall it was enjoyable, but didn't really surprise me at all.
This book was ok. I didn't care for the author's writing style all that much. I'm a fan colorful, descriptive sentences, but sometimes, it seemed like he was trying too hard. I wanted to find out what happened to January, so am glad I finished the book.
Solid YA book! Good plotline and a good main character.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
"I was watching hope dissolve in real time."
Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.
I just finished this, and I just have to say how good it was. I laughed, I got stressed out, I got shook. This book was a strange but good mix of being predictable but surprising. I had somewhat guessed different elements of the book that did happen, but I would still end up being surprised that something else happened on top of that. Let's just say, this book always left me guessing, in the best way possible.
I was super pumped to read it, but the book was definitely a lot better than I expected.
The only major issue I had was the ages of the protagonists, because I feel like they seemed older than 15, and when I was reminded of January's and Flynn's age, I was thrown out of the realistic nature of the novel.
I loved the characters a lot, and I felt that even the smallest characters had a lot of depth.
Flynn: obviously we stan, because he was so funny, relatable but heroic
Micah: a poor little baby
Fucking Kaz: an absolute legend (even though I somewhat didn't trust him for a while)
January: see below
- seemed so sweet yet frustrating at times (although the reasoning was extremely understandable by the end)
- so strong and beautiful in the way she dealt with everything = very inspirational
- *spoiler* the ending. I thought it could happen because Flynn mentioned one too many times that "January would have left, although she was too smart to ruin her future." Even though we saw that her future had already been ruined, and it was an extremely realistic thing that January would have done to get away from the pain she felt. Although, after they found out it was Cedric, I didn't think it was a viable option anymore, because there was the assumption of murder, even though he never confirmed (only confirmed the rape)
And lastly, Cedric: was a creep the entire time, and was an obvious choice for me, although I'm not annoyed that he was in fact the person at fault, because it seemed realistic and devastating
The line, "It made my heart hurt, nostalgic for a time when cheap Halloween decorations were what girls feared the most," really affected me. It was such a strong line, one that conjured up so much pain at the thought of the passage of women.
Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow.
I just finished this, and I just have to say how good it was. I laughed, I got stressed out, I got shook. This book was a strange but good mix of being predictable but surprising. I had somewhat guessed different elements of the book that did happen, but I would still end up being surprised that something else happened on top of that. Let's just say, this book always left me guessing, in the best way possible.
I was super pumped to read it, but the book was definitely a lot better than I expected.
The only major issue I had was the ages of the protagonists, because I feel like they seemed older than 15, and when I was reminded of January's and Flynn's age, I was thrown out of the realistic nature of the novel.
I loved the characters a lot, and I felt that even the smallest characters had a lot of depth.
Flynn: obviously we stan, because he was so funny, relatable but heroic
Micah: a poor little baby
Fucking Kaz: an absolute legend (even though I somewhat didn't trust him for a while)
January: see below
- seemed so sweet yet frustrating at times (although the reasoning was extremely understandable by the end)
- so strong and beautiful in the way she dealt with everything = very inspirational
- *spoiler* the ending. I thought it could happen because Flynn mentioned one too many times that "January would have left, although she was too smart to ruin her future." Even though we saw that her future had already been ruined, and it was an extremely realistic thing that January would have done to get away from the pain she felt. Although, after they found out it was Cedric, I didn't think it was a viable option anymore, because there was the assumption of murder, even though he never confirmed (only confirmed the rape)
And lastly, Cedric: was a creep the entire time, and was an obvious choice for me, although I'm not annoyed that he was in fact the person at fault, because it seemed realistic and devastating
The line, "It made my heart hurt, nostalgic for a time when cheap Halloween decorations were what girls feared the most," really affected me. It was such a strong line, one that conjured up so much pain at the thought of the passage of women.
Really engaging read.
On the plus side, the story explores homosexuality in a positive and normalized way. The author handles the subject very well, and it's really refreshing to see the lead character placed in that role rather than have him relegated to being the quirky sidekick. The story itself is well-planned and moves along at a good clip; it's pieced together well enough that there's no confusion even though the author switches between flashbacks and the present often.
On the less positive side, some elements of the story could be upsetting to young readers (or particularly pearl-clutchy parents) or those individuals who have experienced sexual assault, and the number of social issues the author chose to tackle in one story might have been a bit onerous for a YA novel. It's certainly ambitious in that sense, because the author chose to tackle sexual assault, politics, abortion, teen pregnancy, classism, homophobia, dysfunctional families, and sexual identity all within the framework of a murder mystery. There's no sugar-coating any of the topics, either.
All that said, I have no complaints about the story. It was a very good book, and I enjoyed it. Definitely recommending it to friends. I'll be on the lookout for more books from Roehrig.
On the plus side, the story explores homosexuality in a positive and normalized way. The author handles the subject very well, and it's really refreshing to see the lead character placed in that role rather than have him relegated to being the quirky sidekick. The story itself is well-planned and moves along at a good clip; it's pieced together well enough that there's no confusion even though the author switches between flashbacks and the present often.
On the less positive side, some elements of the story could be upsetting to young readers (or particularly pearl-clutchy parents) or those individuals who have experienced sexual assault, and the number of social issues the author chose to tackle in one story might have been a bit onerous for a YA novel. It's certainly ambitious in that sense, because the author chose to tackle sexual assault, politics, abortion, teen pregnancy, classism, homophobia, dysfunctional families, and sexual identity all within the framework of a murder mystery. There's no sugar-coating any of the topics, either.
All that said, I have no complaints about the story. It was a very good book, and I enjoyed it. Definitely recommending it to friends. I'll be on the lookout for more books from Roehrig.
This was a short, breezy read. Did I enjoy it? Yes. Do I think I'll ever want to pick it up and read it again? No.
The mystery elements were pretty straight forward and nothing super cunning or interesting. I figured some of the twists out fairly early. That said, I did very much enjoy how through much of the first half of the book everyone was a suspect. You had no idea if you trusted anyone that Flynn was friends with. Especially not January.
So, yea, overall, I'd recommend this. It was a light, easy read that was fun while it lasted, and I'd definitely read more books by this author.
The mystery elements were pretty straight forward and nothing super cunning or interesting. I figured some of the twists out fairly early. That said, I did very much enjoy how through much of the first half of the book everyone was a suspect. You had no idea if you trusted anyone that Flynn was friends with. Especially not January.
So, yea, overall, I'd recommend this. It was a light, easy read that was fun while it lasted, and I'd definitely read more books by this author.