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A review by sarahj13
Again, but Better by Christine Riccio
Did not finish book.
I like Christine and her channel. I do. I enjoy her infectious energy and enthusiasm when she talks about books. But that in no way influences my review of this book, which I did not even finish.
I know I know. I should probably not judge it if I haven't finished it, but life is too short to spend time on books you can't get into. This is a contemporary YA novel (though the characters are in their 20s so, does this qualify as YA?) and it just reinforces the notion that, in most cases, you read one YA contemporary, you've read them all. I couldn't help but think about John Green's writing style mixed in with the story from Anna and the French Kiss when reading this. The author has stated that a lot of this book is inspired by her own life experiences and that it is very personal to her. So it follows the old adage of "write what you know." But there are some things that don't translate well on page, or if they do then they are written differently. Characters that are quirky and goofballs in real life might just come off as annoying on page if we are repeatedly being told how much of a goofball they are. This feels more like a rough draft of journal entries stitched together to form a book. The characters are insufferable, I was still confused about where the heck this story is going even after 7 chapters, and the writing is --- let's leave that for now. The boy's personality can be summed up by just this line:
"He’s got this chill-modest-cool-guy half smile on."
He basically does not function outside of smiling. And the clever way his smile is described numerous times in just a few pages, such as "the corner of his mouth kicked up." Gosh. And his name is Pilot Penn. I'm sorry but how do you have a "cool" persona with a name like that?
Everyone treats this girl like some special snowflake who has descended upon their dreary lives for their amusement. She wRitEs? LisTens to The BeaTLes?? Is cLumSy??? sets Her glAss down Too hArd???
Also, when will the whole girl-being-obsessed-with-a-rather-obnoxious-boy-for-the-entirety-of-the-novel-while-wishing-he-broke-up-with-his-girlfriend stories come to an end? After knowing the boy for only four hours, she immediately falls in love with him.
And finally, when I reached the infamous YA line, I knew I wasn't going to last:
“I expel the giant breath I’ve been very aware of holding for the past thirty seconds."
I know I know. I should probably not judge it if I haven't finished it, but life is too short to spend time on books you can't get into. This is a contemporary YA novel (though the characters are in their 20s so, does this qualify as YA?) and it just reinforces the notion that, in most cases, you read one YA contemporary, you've read them all. I couldn't help but think about John Green's writing style mixed in with the story from Anna and the French Kiss when reading this. The author has stated that a lot of this book is inspired by her own life experiences and that it is very personal to her. So it follows the old adage of "write what you know." But there are some things that don't translate well on page, or if they do then they are written differently. Characters that are quirky and goofballs in real life might just come off as annoying on page if we are repeatedly being told how much of a goofball they are. This feels more like a rough draft of journal entries stitched together to form a book. The characters are insufferable, I was still confused about where the heck this story is going even after 7 chapters, and the writing is --- let's leave that for now. The boy's personality can be summed up by just this line:
"He’s got this chill-modest-cool-guy half smile on."
He basically does not function outside of smiling. And the clever way his smile is described numerous times in just a few pages, such as "the corner of his mouth kicked up." Gosh. And his name is Pilot Penn. I'm sorry but how do you have a "cool" persona with a name like that?
Everyone treats this girl like some special snowflake who has descended upon their dreary lives for their amusement. She wRitEs? LisTens to The BeaTLes?? Is cLumSy??? sets Her glAss down Too hArd???
Also, when will the whole girl-being-obsessed-with-a-rather-obnoxious-boy-for-the-entirety-of-the-novel-while-wishing-he-broke-up-with-his-girlfriend stories come to an end? After knowing the boy for only four hours, she immediately falls in love with him.
And finally, when I reached the infamous YA line, I knew I wasn't going to last:
“I expel the giant breath I’ve been very aware of holding for the past thirty seconds."