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A review by giulay
Famous in a Small Town by Emma Mills
2.0
"But everyone changes. The way you feel about people changes. Same goes for places, I guess."
TW: talk of suicide, mention of drugs
Actual rating: 2.5 ⭐️
Unpopular Opinion Time 🐸☕️
Well, this was boring.
I mean, I’m gonna keep this Rather Random Review™️ short because I simply don’t have the energy right now, and also because there’s very little to say.
The cast of characters was just unremarkable.
Their personalities did not shine through; they fell flat and tedious and they were not really memorable, in my opinion.
I liked how close and supportive they all were (their dynamics were lovely and their inside jokes were funny), and how caring and kind Sophie was. But apart from that, I found them not fully developed. Their pasts, problems and relationships were just mentioned in passing and they weren’t really elaborated. And it was just a pity. I wanted to know more about them so to actually (maybe?) care about them, but alas, that was not the case.
Moreover, I would have loved the topic of family to be more present. Sophie’s family was clearly very important to her; August’s family, too, was something that could have been interesting to analyse a bit more in depth. Brit’s relationship with her brother; Flora’s parents; Dash's new relation. And yet we don’t really see all that or get to know about their relations and it felt a bit like a missed opportunity.
The romance was laughable.
There was no chemistry whatsoever between the two characters, not even if you were to actually actively look for it. Let the scavenge hunt begin - and good luck finding chemistry here, because it was completely missing.
And it also kinda felt like insta-love. The girl sees the guy and she’s immediately thinking “woah, good-looking. I could date that” mmmmm…yeah, okay.
And how many times did the new kid “grinned”? I swear to god, make it stop 😩
Also I didn’t really like the whole miscommunication thing. Just talk and be honest, for crying out loud - especially after you got to know each other. Stop keeping useless secrets and thinking you know everything about the other person.
The plot itself was boring.
There were elements of mystery (as in: what’s August’s past and why is this singer not in Arcadia anymore) but they weren’t gripping. Yet again, these elements didn’t really deliver, and thus made the book boring. There’s no other way to say it: the plot was not thrilling.
It centered pretty heavily around marching bad and music - and that questionable love story. The first two weren’t bad topics per se but they were the only particularity that set this book aside from any other YA contemporary, and that simply was not enough.
Even if the ending was darker than I anticipated and took a turn I did not expect, I still wasn’t a fan of how the story developed, and I didn't like the tropes that were used to wrap things up.
Main - and only - thing I liked about Famous in a Small Town was the writing style. It was pleasant and flowed effortlessly. The dialogues were funny and made me chuckle from time to time. But that’s Emma Mills for you right there.
I will still read her next novel, because they are just like candy, tbh. Fluffy and easy to read contemporaries with great friendship dynamics.
Unfortunately Famous in a Small Town didn’t really deliver, in my opinion, and fell short.
This book didn’t even come close to the awesomeness that was This Adventure Ends (go read that, btw!) and disappointed me a little.
This was indeed an easy read, and it was not bad. But I just thought it was nothing special :/
"Given the chance, people will tell you exactly how they feel. You just have to be willing to listen."
TW: talk of suicide, mention of drugs
Actual rating: 2.5 ⭐️
Unpopular Opinion Time 🐸☕️
Well, this was boring.
I mean, I’m gonna keep this Rather Random Review™️ short because I simply don’t have the energy right now, and also because there’s very little to say.
The cast of characters was just unremarkable.
Their personalities did not shine through; they fell flat and tedious and they were not really memorable, in my opinion.
I liked how close and supportive they all were (their dynamics were lovely and their inside jokes were funny), and how caring and kind Sophie was. But apart from that, I found them not fully developed. Their pasts, problems and relationships were just mentioned in passing and they weren’t really elaborated. And it was just a pity. I wanted to know more about them so to actually (maybe?) care about them, but alas, that was not the case.
Moreover, I would have loved the topic of family to be more present. Sophie’s family was clearly very important to her; August’s family, too, was something that could have been interesting to analyse a bit more in depth. Brit’s relationship with her brother; Flora’s parents; Dash's new relation. And yet we don’t really see all that or get to know about their relations and it felt a bit like a missed opportunity.
The romance was laughable.
There was no chemistry whatsoever between the two characters, not even if you were to actually actively look for it. Let the scavenge hunt begin - and good luck finding chemistry here, because it was completely missing.
And it also kinda felt like insta-love. The girl sees the guy and she’s immediately thinking “woah, good-looking. I could date that” mmmmm…yeah, okay.
And how many times did the new kid “grinned”? I swear to god, make it stop 😩
Also I didn’t really like the whole miscommunication thing. Just talk and be honest, for crying out loud - especially after you got to know each other. Stop keeping useless secrets and thinking you know everything about the other person.
The plot itself was boring.
There were elements of mystery (as in: what’s August’s past and why is this singer not in Arcadia anymore) but they weren’t gripping. Yet again, these elements didn’t really deliver, and thus made the book boring. There’s no other way to say it: the plot was not thrilling.
It centered pretty heavily around marching bad and music - and that questionable love story. The first two weren’t bad topics per se but they were the only particularity that set this book aside from any other YA contemporary, and that simply was not enough.
Even if the ending was darker than I anticipated and took a turn I did not expect, I still wasn’t a fan of how the story developed, and I didn't like the tropes that were used to wrap things up.
Main - and only - thing I liked about Famous in a Small Town was the writing style. It was pleasant and flowed effortlessly. The dialogues were funny and made me chuckle from time to time. But that’s Emma Mills for you right there.
I will still read her next novel, because they are just like candy, tbh. Fluffy and easy to read contemporaries with great friendship dynamics.
Unfortunately Famous in a Small Town didn’t really deliver, in my opinion, and fell short.
This book didn’t even come close to the awesomeness that was This Adventure Ends (go read that, btw!) and disappointed me a little.
This was indeed an easy read, and it was not bad. But I just thought it was nothing special :/
"Given the chance, people will tell you exactly how they feel. You just have to be willing to listen."