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leahbrarian 's review for:
The Pursuit of Miss Heartbreak Hotel
by Moe Bonneau
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.
While the book did technically have a plotline - mainly the situation with Lu's grandmother and her relationship with Eve - the abbreviated pacing made it difficult to become emotionally invested in any of the characters or storylines. (For example, the intense crush on teacher storyline, which was somewhat uncomfortable, nevertheless disappears entirely after the first third or so, predicting the emotional staying power of the rest of the work.) However, I wouldn't have necessarily wanted to read any more because the strange slang made the text distracting and at times unbearable. I kept looking for an explanation (was the book was taking place in the 1920s or the future?) but it just seemed to have been a misguided narrative choice. I was glad that everyone used it rather than just Lucy, but the use of such odd language made her narration even harder to connect with.
Overall, this feels like several adult gimmicks stuffed into the skin of a YA work.
While the book did technically have a plotline - mainly the situation with Lu's grandmother and her relationship with Eve - the abbreviated pacing made it difficult to become emotionally invested in any of the characters or storylines. (For example, the intense crush on teacher storyline, which was somewhat uncomfortable, nevertheless disappears entirely after the first third or so, predicting the emotional staying power of the rest of the work.) However, I wouldn't have necessarily wanted to read any more because the strange slang made the text distracting and at times unbearable. I kept looking for an explanation (was the book was taking place in the 1920s or the future?) but it just seemed to have been a misguided narrative choice. I was glad that everyone used it rather than just Lucy, but the use of such odd language made her narration even harder to connect with.
Overall, this feels like several adult gimmicks stuffed into the skin of a YA work.