Scan barcode
A review by cityofstarlight_library
Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger
4.0
4.5 stars!
REVIEW IS ALSO POSTED AT THE HONEST BOOKCLUB
--
One of my favourite books is The DUFF by Kody Keplinger, so when I heard that there was a companion novel to this one...well, I was darn well excited. Although, doubt that can be had for authors writing more from a well-loved story, as in the past, it has backfired.
Not this time, however.
I really really enjoyed this book. It's common knowledge to people who know my reading habits that I'm quite a slow reader, I tend to take a long time to finish even the shortest books. This one, I started yesterday. That just goes to show how invested into this story and these characters I was.
Before reading, I expected this book to actually be about Amy's love life but it wasn't. Her best friend, Sonny, a new character introduced into this book and a long-time friend of the Rush family, actually got the love story. Having a not-so simple and silver spoon-fed life, she takes refuge at Amy's house without the parents knowledge, and things start to dramatically happen between the two girls and a certain young man named Ryder Cross.
Ryder is the new boy in school and pretty much everyone hates him. Mostly because as soon as he showed up, he's been pretty vocal about his distaste for Hamilton. Not how you make friends, Ryder. But with modern technology and the fact that Sonny is actually huge liar, things start to get a bit complicated.
Although I did really enjoy this story, the thing that bothered me was the main character, Sonny (real name Sonya). I know she has to make bad decisions for this to be decent sized book, and yes the decisions were annoying and not even necessary, it was also just her. So much of the things that happened in the book, like hurt and heartache, could have been easily avoided had she been, well, honest. I know this book is called 'Lying Out Loud' but there's lying and then there's being a bit of a bitch. I found her to be quite dismissive of her best friends feelings,, and the fact that they'd been friends for so long that they were practically family, she could't even tell how she was treating her. Amy has done a lot for her and let Sonny get away with so much stuff. Disappointing behavior at times, Sonny. It was painfully obvious, too, that she was upsetting Amy and I found it annoying that she was so oblivious to it. Not only that, but every lie she told were all for herself. It all benefited her, which was quite selfish.
Kody is good at character development though, so I was pleased that I didn't dislike Sonny as much as I had at the start, as she became more grown up and knowledgeable of other people's feelings. It was worth all of that to see her finally appreciate the things she had and the people around her.
But although things did look up, the ending was a bit too abrupt for my liking, but that might be just me being greedy and wanting a laundry list-type ending. Who doesn't? I am a sucker for epilogues. Cheesy one's. No shame!
Anyway, getting the negatives out the way, everything else about this book was wonderful! Ryder was a great new character; kind hearted, fiery and intelligent. The word 'hipster' was mentioned a few times, which is always fun, and his banter with Sonny is really cute to read. They had good chemistry.
It's also interesting to see Amy Rush in more detail, as in the first book, we only got a short glimpse of her. She's still the shy, smart and pretty girl as she was before, but we get more insight to her life and her relationships with her family and friends. Nice to see her coming out of her shell a bit more, too.
And speaking of family...
Yes.
Yes.
You guessed it, and you saw this one coming - Wesley Rush is in this book. Wesley. Rush.
Hot damn! I missed you, my darling Wesley.
I got very excited seeing his name on the page. It was bloody fantastic to see my bb again, and he's still his charming and handsome self, but with a little difference. Bianca was with him! Yay! It was goo to see her again too. They're still together and going strong, still cute and very much in love. My heart exploded with joy! He gives the characters in the book some great insight, some advice and heartwarming support during some tough times, and his character is very much needed and well inserted into the story. I feel like the first book aswell as his time away in college really changed him but for the good. He has an even bigger heart and he seems to have developed into a lovely young man. And I now sound old saying this, so I'll just..continue..
Thank you for giving us more Wesley, Kody!
A good continuation from The DUFF, fans of the first book won't be disappointed with this, and it's a book you could gobble down in one go. Funny, heartwarming, emotional and , quite honestly, a bloody good read. I'd highly recommend this if you enjoy these kind of books.
REVIEW IS ALSO POSTED AT THE HONEST BOOKCLUB
--
One of my favourite books is The DUFF by Kody Keplinger, so when I heard that there was a companion novel to this one...well, I was darn well excited. Although, doubt that can be had for authors writing more from a well-loved story, as in the past, it has backfired.
Not this time, however.
I really really enjoyed this book. It's common knowledge to people who know my reading habits that I'm quite a slow reader, I tend to take a long time to finish even the shortest books. This one, I started yesterday. That just goes to show how invested into this story and these characters I was.
Before reading, I expected this book to actually be about Amy's love life but it wasn't. Her best friend, Sonny, a new character introduced into this book and a long-time friend of the Rush family, actually got the love story. Having a not-so simple and silver spoon-fed life, she takes refuge at Amy's house without the parents knowledge, and things start to dramatically happen between the two girls and a certain young man named Ryder Cross.
Ryder is the new boy in school and pretty much everyone hates him. Mostly because as soon as he showed up, he's been pretty vocal about his distaste for Hamilton. Not how you make friends, Ryder. But with modern technology and the fact that Sonny is actually huge liar, things start to get a bit complicated.
Although I did really enjoy this story, the thing that bothered me was the main character, Sonny (real name Sonya). I know she has to make bad decisions for this to be decent sized book, and yes the decisions were annoying and not even necessary, it was also just her. So much of the things that happened in the book, like hurt and heartache, could have been easily avoided had she been, well, honest. I know this book is called 'Lying Out Loud' but there's lying and then there's being a bit of a bitch. I found her to be quite dismissive of her best friends feelings,, and the fact that they'd been friends for so long that they were practically family, she could't even tell how she was treating her. Amy has done a lot for her and let Sonny get away with so much stuff. Disappointing behavior at times, Sonny. It was painfully obvious, too, that she was upsetting Amy and I found it annoying that she was so oblivious to it. Not only that, but every lie she told were all for herself. It all benefited her, which was quite selfish.
Kody is good at character development though, so I was pleased that I didn't dislike Sonny as much as I had at the start, as she became more grown up and knowledgeable of other people's feelings. It was worth all of that to see her finally appreciate the things she had and the people around her.
But although things did look up, the ending was a bit too abrupt for my liking, but that might be just me being greedy and wanting a laundry list-type ending. Who doesn't? I am a sucker for epilogues. Cheesy one's. No shame!
Anyway, getting the negatives out the way, everything else about this book was wonderful! Ryder was a great new character; kind hearted, fiery and intelligent. The word 'hipster' was mentioned a few times, which is always fun, and his banter with Sonny is really cute to read. They had good chemistry.
It's also interesting to see Amy Rush in more detail, as in the first book, we only got a short glimpse of her. She's still the shy, smart and pretty girl as she was before, but we get more insight to her life and her relationships with her family and friends. Nice to see her coming out of her shell a bit more, too.
And speaking of family...
Yes.
Yes.
You guessed it, and you saw this one coming - Wesley Rush is in this book. Wesley. Rush.
Hot damn! I missed you, my darling Wesley.
I got very excited seeing his name on the page. It was bloody fantastic to see my bb again, and he's still his charming and handsome self, but with a little difference. Bianca was with him! Yay! It was goo to see her again too. They're still together and going strong, still cute and very much in love. My heart exploded with joy! He gives the characters in the book some great insight, some advice and heartwarming support during some tough times, and his character is very much needed and well inserted into the story. I feel like the first book aswell as his time away in college really changed him but for the good. He has an even bigger heart and he seems to have developed into a lovely young man. And I now sound old saying this, so I'll just..continue..
Thank you for giving us more Wesley, Kody!
A good continuation from The DUFF, fans of the first book won't be disappointed with this, and it's a book you could gobble down in one go. Funny, heartwarming, emotional and , quite honestly, a bloody good read. I'd highly recommend this if you enjoy these kind of books.