melissa_isreading 's review for:

This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

2.5

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I started reading this then transitioned to audiobook, because it was hard to get through, and I knew I wouldn’t finish otherwise. This would probably be a two star book, but I had to give it a little bit of extra credit because of Fitzgerald’s beautiful writing. Plus the fact that it contains one of my favorite lines of all time: “Why don’t you tell me if the girl had been worth having, she’d have waited for you? No, sir, the girl really worth having won’t wait for anybody.” That line was really the driving force behind me wanting to read this book, and the soft spot I have for it coupled with some other beautiful passages, was the saving grace of this book. No matter how beautiful the writing is, you need some kind of plot, a likeable character, or character growth (ideally at least two of those) for me to really enjoy a book. This book, unfortunately, had none of those things. I do look forward to reading more of Fitzgerald’s books, as I love his writing and I remember liking Gatsby when I read it in high school. Hopefully I will be able to chalk the disappointment of this one up to it being his first novel.