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A review by djkirsikirs
Tyler Johnson Was Here by Jay Coles
2.0
If I had a dollar for every time a character in this book says some version of "What the fuck?" or "What the hell?" I'd have a good amount of money. If I had another dollar for every time the main character talks about wanting to cry and throw up at the same time, I'd have enough to buy a different book.
I really like Jay Coles as an author and was excited to finally read his first novel after reading all his others. After finally doing so however, I was so disappointed. A lot of the dialog was bland and/or repetitive and I kept finding myself wishing that the narrator was showing rather than telling how he and the other characters in the book felt. Marvin would think about how he felt upset, but you couldn't really see that in his actions or words. Maybe part of that was because the reader doesn't really ever get to know Marvin at all.
No one in the book, not even Marvin, was really fleshed out at all. His best friends didn't really have personalities and neither did his brother, which left me feeling less invested once Tyler died.
I also was really put off by the letters that the main character receives from his father. They read more like the father's journal entries rather than letters to his son.
I think the subject matter that this story is exploring is so important, I just wish that it was a little more engaging. Maybe I'm just not the target audience for this book.
I really like Jay Coles as an author and was excited to finally read his first novel after reading all his others. After finally doing so however, I was so disappointed. A lot of the dialog was bland and/or repetitive and I kept finding myself wishing that the narrator was showing rather than telling how he and the other characters in the book felt. Marvin would think about how he felt upset, but you couldn't really see that in his actions or words. Maybe part of that was because the reader doesn't really ever get to know Marvin at all.
No one in the book, not even Marvin, was really fleshed out at all. His best friends didn't really have personalities and neither did his brother, which left me feeling less invested once Tyler died.
I also was really put off by the letters that the main character receives from his father. They read more like the father's journal entries rather than letters to his son.
I think the subject matter that this story is exploring is so important, I just wish that it was a little more engaging. Maybe I'm just not the target audience for this book.