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A review by jce
The Breakup Lists by Adib Khorram
hopeful
reflective
3.0
I've loved everything else by this author, so I'm disappointed to say The Breakup Lists was just okay for me. I really loved the main character, and the love interest, and the best friend. I loved all the stuff about the stage production. But I could not stand Jasmine, the main character's sister. Her being so completely selfish and unlikable really hurt the story for me. I think I would have felt much more conflicted and emotionally invested if her character was actually someone I cared about, since she's such a big part of the story. Everyone here is messy and making mistakes, but while I felt I could so easily understand the choices most of the characters make, Jasmine's whole attitude and her actions are just plain awful.
I also kind of felt like there was too much going on in the story, to the point that I didn't connect with much and felt less invested than I would have liked. I think that the sweet moments between the MCs were really well done, and those, along with the moments between Jackson and his best friend, were my favorite part for sure. I also felt the pacing was somewhat off, especially toward the end. I did appreciate that an MC seeks out therapy and that we are shown young people in love can break up and still move on with their lives and find new interests and joys.
So yeah, this was a mixed bag for me because there was a lot to like, but also some aspects that didn't quite work for me. I wish I'd felt happier and more invested overall while reading but it was kind of 50/50 on the parts I enjoyed and the parts I just wanted to be over with. \
*ARC provided by NetGally
I also kind of felt like there was too much going on in the story, to the point that I didn't connect with much and felt less invested than I would have liked. I think that the sweet moments between the MCs were really well done, and those, along with the moments between Jackson and his best friend, were my favorite part for sure. I also felt the pacing was somewhat off, especially toward the end. I did appreciate that an MC seeks out therapy and that we are shown young people in love can break up and still move on with their lives and find new interests and joys.
So yeah, this was a mixed bag for me because there was a lot to like, but also some aspects that didn't quite work for me. I wish I'd felt happier and more invested overall while reading but it was kind of 50/50 on the parts I enjoyed and the parts I just wanted to be over with. \
*ARC provided by NetGally