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spruced 's review for:
This Train Is Being Held
by Ismée Williams
The romance was cute, but the rest of the book felt unresolved.
Despite the implication that Alex might eventually quit baseball, this is all kept extremely subconscious and he doesn’t acknowledge his dissatisfaction. For him to spend the whole book afraid of his dad finding out he’s a poet only for his dad to be disinterested was a huge let down. After all the emotional turmoil, it was anti-climactic and a boring way to “finish” that storyline.
As for Isa, aside from her meltdown at the train station and apologizing to Alex, she never really seems to comprehend that she shouldn’t stuff her feelings. I think this is partly due to Williams’ over reliance on summarizing rather than writing action. The scene directly after Alex’s arrest would have been a great time to showcase Isabelle’s mental state and instead we’re given a summarized flashback with no direct dialogue. Also, who in their right mind thinks it’s ok for a 15-16 year old to babysit her suicidal 20 year old brother? Even her therapist never mentions that this might not be good on Isa’s development? After Isa’s near death experience, her mom turns into the stereotypical YA mom with all of the trauma she caused Isa forgotten, and Isa seems to forget about it as well.
Another thing that drove me nuts was the summarizing. Williams often would summarize a conversation halfway through a scene, which is fine once and awhile. When it happens in almost every conversation, it feels lazy.
The concept was cute, but this book reminded me why I don’t usually like contemporary romance. Back to fantasy for me.
Despite the implication that Alex might eventually quit baseball, this is all kept extremely subconscious and he doesn’t acknowledge his dissatisfaction. For him to spend the whole book afraid of his dad finding out he’s a poet only for his dad to be disinterested was a huge let down. After all the emotional turmoil, it was anti-climactic and a boring way to “finish” that storyline.
As for Isa, aside from her meltdown at the train station and apologizing to Alex, she never really seems to comprehend that she shouldn’t stuff her feelings. I think this is partly due to Williams’ over reliance on summarizing rather than writing action. The scene directly after Alex’s arrest would have been a great time to showcase Isabelle’s mental state and instead we’re given a summarized flashback with no direct dialogue. Also, who in their right mind thinks it’s ok for a 15-16 year old to babysit her suicidal 20 year old brother? Even her therapist never mentions that this might not be good on Isa’s development? After Isa’s near death experience, her mom turns into the stereotypical YA mom with all of the trauma she caused Isa forgotten, and Isa seems to forget about it as well.
Another thing that drove me nuts was the summarizing. Williams often would summarize a conversation halfway through a scene, which is fine once and awhile. When it happens in almost every conversation, it feels lazy.
The concept was cute, but this book reminded me why I don’t usually like contemporary romance. Back to fantasy for me.