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A review by celia_thebookishhufflepuff
The Hectic Headspace of Abigail Squall by Scott O'Neill
4.0
This was a lot more than I was expecting. 3.5 stars overall but 4 for Goodreads.
I put off reading [b:The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|42103418|The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|Scott O'Neill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538320772l/42103418._SX50_.jpg|65672132], which I got from a Goodreads giveaway quite a few years ago, because I didn't love the cover, and I wasn't sure how I felt about the premise.
I started off thinking [b:The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|42103418|The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|Scott O'Neill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538320772l/42103418._SX50_.jpg|65672132] would be a young adult soft sci-fi, and that I've read things like it before. Let me tell you now, I've never read anything quite like this before.
This was a small town young adult contemporary realistic soft sci-fi amateur detective murder mystery ghost story family drama romance, and I'm not even sure if I got all the genres in there. It turns so much about genre writing on its head and comes at everything from every angle.
[b:The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|42103418|The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|Scott O'Neill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538320772l/42103418._SX50_.jpg|65672132] might be one of the first books I really enjoyed that doesn't have amazing characters or character development. Despite Abigail Squall being the title character, she gets about half the POV time in the book, and for part of the rest of that time she's unconscious. On the other hand, her brother Tom is probably the most interesting character in the book. His motivations are a lot less straightforward than Abigail's, and I love that he keeps trying. Other characters are interesting, and lead to the question of an unreliable narrator somewhere, but you're never quite sure where.
[b:The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|42103418|The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|Scott O'Neill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538320772l/42103418._SX50_.jpg|65672132] is definitely not a book for everyone. It has a lot going on, so much so that you're never really sure what's happening. I had to go back and reread quite a few pages or passages that didn't make sense. For genre readers of any particular genre, it may be too much. On top of that, it was also a little difficult to read because the UK grammar conventions are very different from US grammar conventions, especially the commas. I've never noticed this as much in books from the UK as I did in [b:The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|42103418|The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|Scott O'Neill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538320772l/42103418._SX50_.jpg|65672132]. It's also a bit dated, with the plot not really working in modern times, and there are a lot of dated stereotypes and casual use of the r word.
I'm not sure whether I want to hang onto this one. It could make for an interesting reread, but I might also be done with it. I read it with the intention of it being a "read it and weed it" book, but now I'm not so sure.
I put off reading [b:The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|42103418|The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|Scott O'Neill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538320772l/42103418._SX50_.jpg|65672132], which I got from a Goodreads giveaway quite a few years ago, because I didn't love the cover, and I wasn't sure how I felt about the premise.
I started off thinking [b:The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|42103418|The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|Scott O'Neill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538320772l/42103418._SX50_.jpg|65672132] would be a young adult soft sci-fi, and that I've read things like it before. Let me tell you now, I've never read anything quite like this before.
This was a small town young adult contemporary realistic soft sci-fi amateur detective murder mystery ghost story family drama romance, and I'm not even sure if I got all the genres in there. It turns so much about genre writing on its head and comes at everything from every angle.
[b:The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|42103418|The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|Scott O'Neill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538320772l/42103418._SX50_.jpg|65672132] might be one of the first books I really enjoyed that doesn't have amazing characters or character development. Despite Abigail Squall being the title character, she gets about half the POV time in the book, and for part of the rest of that time she's unconscious. On the other hand, her brother Tom is probably the most interesting character in the book. His motivations are a lot less straightforward than Abigail's, and I love that he keeps trying. Other characters are interesting, and lead to the question of an unreliable narrator somewhere, but you're never quite sure where.
[b:The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|42103418|The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|Scott O'Neill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538320772l/42103418._SX50_.jpg|65672132] is definitely not a book for everyone. It has a lot going on, so much so that you're never really sure what's happening. I had to go back and reread quite a few pages or passages that didn't make sense. For genre readers of any particular genre, it may be too much. On top of that, it was also a little difficult to read because the UK grammar conventions are very different from US grammar conventions, especially the commas. I've never noticed this as much in books from the UK as I did in [b:The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|42103418|The Hectic Headspace Of Abigail Squall|Scott O'Neill|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1538320772l/42103418._SX50_.jpg|65672132]. It's also a bit dated, with the plot not really working in modern times, and there are a lot of dated stereotypes and casual use of the r word.
I'm not sure whether I want to hang onto this one. It could make for an interesting reread, but I might also be done with it. I read it with the intention of it being a "read it and weed it" book, but now I'm not so sure.