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A review by bethhthelibrarian
We Were Restless Things by Cole Nagamatsu
4.0
This book fascinated me. I was immediately intrigued by the plot...a boy seemingly drowns on dry land in the mysterious woods, leaving his friends wondering what happened. Meanwhile, the girl he was interested in starts getting text from "Unknown," a mysterious entity claiming to be the drowned boy. In this small town, and in the woods near the town, nothing is as it seems.
First of all, this book is just the kind of thing I like, but I'm not sure how teen readers will respond to it. It's very, very slow moving, which is something I love. I love getting to know the setting and the characters. But it did almost feel a little too slow, and the book seemed a little too long.
The writing was gorgeous. The setting was stunningly drawn, and the characters were gorgeously well rounded. But the whole thing did feel a little avant-garde. The teens in this book are all quirky in a way that didn't feel quite realistic. I loved them, anyway. I love the way they interacted, and I loved the way they understood each other. (Though I was a little bit weirded out by Noemi and Jonah's relationship, but eh.)
This is one of those niche YA titles that will definitely need to find the right reader.
First of all, this book is just the kind of thing I like, but I'm not sure how teen readers will respond to it. It's very, very slow moving, which is something I love. I love getting to know the setting and the characters. But it did almost feel a little too slow, and the book seemed a little too long.
The writing was gorgeous. The setting was stunningly drawn, and the characters were gorgeously well rounded. But the whole thing did feel a little avant-garde. The teens in this book are all quirky in a way that didn't feel quite realistic. I loved them, anyway. I love the way they interacted, and I loved the way they understood each other. (Though I was a little bit weirded out by Noemi and Jonah's relationship, but eh.)
This is one of those niche YA titles that will definitely need to find the right reader.