Scan barcode
A review by crownedaimee
When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao
emotional
sad
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
I just want to start off by saying that I love Dustin Thao's debut novel You've Reached Sam, therefore making me so excited for this book. However, it seemed that Thao was capitalising on his success and said let's copy and paste regarding the themes, only this time it just felt flat.
The characters had no development and had zero plot progression. I felt like I was reading a book full of repetition of how Eric was going out and just seeing Haru wherever he went. How could a book feel so rushed but at the same time nothing happen? There was a twist at the end that should've been obvious with the little hints of foreshadowing but I kinda feel like it was unnecessary. It just seemed like a last attempt to get the readers to feel something for these characters. I wished that the book had been more focused on this, rather than the Haru storyline.
Speaking of the characters, there was a huge disconnect with me feeling anything towards them. We know that Haru was a figment of Eric's imagination to help him cope with the grief but at least can he have some personality? Also surely it would've been better to have Daniel that he's imagining, rather than some guy he had known for two seconds? I feel like the book would've benefited from another chapter or so to actually explore Eric and Haru's relationship more, because how do we know what the real Haru is like when he's just been Eric's imagination throughout the book. Additionally, I know that Daniel was Eric's best friend but why he was so hung up on a guy that kissed him on a whim then Daniel becomes awkward with Eric and decides to just flaunted his relationships in front of him.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The characters had no development and had zero plot progression. I felt like I was reading a book full of repetition of how Eric was going out and just seeing Haru wherever he went. How could a book feel so rushed but at the same time nothing happen? There was a twist at the end that should've been obvious with the little hints of foreshadowing but I kinda feel like it was unnecessary. It just seemed like a last attempt to get the readers to feel something for these characters. I wished that the book had been more focused on this, rather than the Haru storyline.
Speaking of the characters, there was a huge disconnect with me feeling anything towards them. We know that Haru was a figment of Eric's imagination to help him cope with the grief but at least can he have some personality? Also surely it would've been better to have Daniel that he's imagining, rather than some guy he had known for two seconds? I feel like the book would've benefited from another chapter or so to actually explore Eric and Haru's relationship more, because how do we know what the real Haru is like when he's just been Eric's imagination throughout the book. Additionally, I know that Daniel was Eric's best friend but why he was so hung up on a guy that kissed him on a whim then Daniel becomes awkward with Eric and decides to just flaunted his relationships in front of him.
Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Grief, and Car accident