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A review by epeolatrist
Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
I was so disappointed in Holding Up the Universe. Especially due to the fact that I absolutely adored All the Bright Places. I think that Jennifer Niven is a phenomenal writer, but she did not hit a home run with this novel. I wanted to love it. Especially since I bought a signed hardcover copy (hey, I'm a financially unstable college student and I CANNOT afford signed hardcovers...).
The story was too predictable for me. Obviously, Jack and Libby were destined to fall in love. I mean, as soon as they have their first encounter, it's plain to see that they will "find theirselves in each other." It's a trope in YA romance novels, but there are many authors that have written the trope exceptionally.
In addition, the book focused completely on Libby and Jack's issues (obesity and prosopagnosia - AKA face blindness) instead of the two characters as PEOPLE. It's all they ever talked about???? I understand that the entire point of the book was the idea of two people with "issues" finding a place in the world, but a little bit of depth would have been nice.
My last critique that I'm going to talk about is the stereotypical high school scenario. I mean, honestly, does everyone have to be so awful?? This sort of writing never failed to anger me when I was actually IN high school and it still irritates me now. Jack is "popular" (sort of?), but he's also so self-absorbed and obsessed with himself and his illness. In a way, Libby is the same way. She's obsessed with her weight and yet she wants to rid herself of the title "America's Fattest Teen," yet she brings it up nearly every time that she speaks. When I had reached page 200, I was overwhelmingly tired of it. It took me WEEKS to trek through the rest of this book. I actually read other books while reading Holding Up the Universe to distract myself from how much I didn't like it.
I did enjoy a few things, however. I really liked learning a bit about prosopagnosia. I had never heard of it before. When Jack went to the doctor, it was cool to learn some facts about the condition. Other than that... there wasn't much that impressed me. Also, Jack's little brother carried a purse to school and it was pretty cool.
All in all, the book was a total miss for me. I really wanted to love this story. Honestly. Much love to Jennifer Niven because I love her, but this one was not my favorite and I'm sad to say that I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.
The story was too predictable for me. Obviously, Jack and Libby were destined to fall in love. I mean, as soon as they have their first encounter, it's plain to see that they will "find theirselves in each other." It's a trope in YA romance novels, but there are many authors that have written the trope exceptionally.
In addition, the book focused completely on Libby and Jack's issues (obesity and prosopagnosia - AKA face blindness) instead of the two characters as PEOPLE. It's all they ever talked about???? I understand that the entire point of the book was the idea of two people with "issues" finding a place in the world, but a little bit of depth would have been nice.
My last critique that I'm going to talk about is the stereotypical high school scenario. I mean, honestly, does everyone have to be so awful?? This sort of writing never failed to anger me when I was actually IN high school and it still irritates me now. Jack is "popular" (sort of?), but he's also so self-absorbed and obsessed with himself and his illness. In a way, Libby is the same way. She's obsessed with her weight and yet she wants to rid herself of the title "America's Fattest Teen," yet she brings it up nearly every time that she speaks. When I had reached page 200, I was overwhelmingly tired of it. It took me WEEKS to trek through the rest of this book. I actually read other books while reading Holding Up the Universe to distract myself from how much I didn't like it.
I did enjoy a few things, however. I really liked learning a bit about prosopagnosia. I had never heard of it before. When Jack went to the doctor, it was cool to learn some facts about the condition. Other than that... there wasn't much that impressed me. Also, Jack's little brother carried a purse to school and it was pretty cool.
All in all, the book was a total miss for me. I really wanted to love this story. Honestly. Much love to Jennifer Niven because I love her, but this one was not my favorite and I'm sad to say that I wouldn't recommend it to anyone else.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Cancer, Eating disorder, and Death of parent