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A review by madis95
Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall
3.0
**3.5/5**
Biggest complaint - it needs a self-harming TW.
This book wasn't bad by any stretch of the word. I've been on a small YA kick lately and this was a good scratch to that itch. It was a quick read, and I enjoyed the mental illness representation. It was done well, in my opinion, as I suffer from all the things that Norah does.
I don't like how Luke tries to like downplay Norah's mental illness as if it's on the same 'weird' level as him liking applesauce and mayo sandwiches. And then it's never really acknowledged that he was shitty about it (real shitty) and was selfish and ignorant, then just stopped putting in effort because she was clearly overwhelmed. The whole romance dynamic was problematic.
Some parts just seemed...a bit...off. Unrealistic to a point as well. I liked the individual focus on Norah 90% of the time, but that entire growth felt linked to Luke, and that idea really bugs me in these YA novels that address disabilities. It shouldn't be romantic love that makes you 'change', you should grow because you want to.
Luke was also...interesting. I can grasp the concept that he probably wanted to give her space, but the fact/idea that he just stopped because she didn't respond bothered me a tiny bit. And that's because they're young like this shouldn't be that 'we're going to be together forever' kind of love, but that's how YA treats these relationships.
And Norah projecting her insecurities onto him just to get that negative validation her anxiety craves is very emotionally manipulative and isn't okay. Disability or not.
It also got a tad boring as it went on, and overall the book was quick but also slow. There was only one big moment that wasn't really given...I'm not sure. This book is a really 'surface book' in that lots of things aren't given lots of detail (Norah's dad gets a small explanation; how she came to have her disability, where the hell Luke came from).
It was good, but a typical YA book that's just eh for me. I'm sure a lot of other people will enjoy this, though!
Biggest complaint - it needs a self-harming TW.
This book wasn't bad by any stretch of the word. I've been on a small YA kick lately and this was a good scratch to that itch. It was a quick read, and I enjoyed the mental illness representation. It was done well, in my opinion, as I suffer from all the things that Norah does.
I don't like how Luke tries to like downplay Norah's mental illness as if it's on the same 'weird' level as him liking applesauce and mayo sandwiches. And then it's never really acknowledged that he was shitty about it (real shitty) and was selfish and ignorant, then just stopped putting in effort because she was clearly overwhelmed. The whole romance dynamic was problematic.
Some parts just seemed...a bit...off. Unrealistic to a point as well. I liked the individual focus on Norah 90% of the time, but that entire growth felt linked to Luke, and that idea really bugs me in these YA novels that address disabilities. It shouldn't be romantic love that makes you 'change', you should grow because you want to.
Luke was also...interesting. I can grasp the concept that he probably wanted to give her space, but the fact/idea that he just stopped because she didn't respond bothered me a tiny bit. And that's because they're young like this shouldn't be that 'we're going to be together forever' kind of love, but that's how YA treats these relationships.
And Norah projecting her insecurities onto him just to get that negative validation her anxiety craves is very emotionally manipulative and isn't okay. Disability or not.
It also got a tad boring as it went on, and overall the book was quick but also slow. There was only one big moment that wasn't really given...I'm not sure. This book is a really 'surface book' in that lots of things aren't given lots of detail (Norah's dad gets a small explanation; how she came to have her disability, where the hell Luke came from).
It was good, but a typical YA book that's just eh for me. I'm sure a lot of other people will enjoy this, though!