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labunnywtf 's review for:
Under Rose-Tainted Skies
by Louise Gornall
Read for Book Roast's Magical Readathon: NEWTs Exams. Subject: Charms, E Level. (Cover That Charms You)
Whether I like to admit it or not, anxiety has become my best friend. It's a crutch that helps me hobble through life. It's the brassy bitch at school that I don't like, but being her BFF makes me popular. Or the school bully that I don't really want to be around, but being his friend means I don't get beat up. I don't know how to be safe without it.
Hrm.
I think if I'd read this before I read [b: Turtles all the Way Down|35504431|Turtles All the Way Down|John Green|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1503002776s/35504431.jpg|21576687], I would've had a higher opinion of it. And I didn't even fall in love with TatWD, so...
This is a really fantastic mental illness story. The author writes from her own experience, which...if I don't slaughter the term, I believe is called Own Voices? Which YAY, more of that in lit, always. In it, we deal with OCD and agoraphobia, with all the myriad problems that arise from each.
The story of Norah alone is actually really great. She's trapped in her mind, not trapped in her house. Her house is safe. Her mom is safe. It's all the other factors that are not safe, and this book walks us through her experiences, and it feels so real as to be painful. I had such intense empathy for her, it was hard to read in some parts.
The lacking part is the romance. And yes, I am Bitter Bunny, hater of romance, but the romance in here is just annoying. I've read a lot of books where the Main Storyline is revolved around the romance plot, the author has a point to make and they slap two people together in the center to give a focus point. I don't think this is bad at all. Romantic encounters sell contemporaries, it's just a fact.
But the romance between Norah and Luke really doesn't work. We're told they spend hours talking and watching movies and having this deep connection but you really don't see it. Maybe The Hater of Romance just can't get it, but I don't get it. Enh.
Also, the thing I was worried about with TatWD, wherein the boy heals the mentally ill girl with his magical tongue? Well, that's not quite what happens here, but the ending is so frenetic and rushed, it might as well have been.
A really great read with just...a really bad angle on the romance part.
Whether I like to admit it or not, anxiety has become my best friend. It's a crutch that helps me hobble through life. It's the brassy bitch at school that I don't like, but being her BFF makes me popular. Or the school bully that I don't really want to be around, but being his friend means I don't get beat up. I don't know how to be safe without it.
Hrm.
I think if I'd read this before I read [b: Turtles all the Way Down|35504431|Turtles All the Way Down|John Green|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1503002776s/35504431.jpg|21576687], I would've had a higher opinion of it. And I didn't even fall in love with TatWD, so...
This is a really fantastic mental illness story. The author writes from her own experience, which...if I don't slaughter the term, I believe is called Own Voices? Which YAY, more of that in lit, always. In it, we deal with OCD and agoraphobia, with all the myriad problems that arise from each.
The story of Norah alone is actually really great. She's trapped in her mind, not trapped in her house. Her house is safe. Her mom is safe. It's all the other factors that are not safe, and this book walks us through her experiences, and it feels so real as to be painful. I had such intense empathy for her, it was hard to read in some parts.
The lacking part is the romance. And yes, I am Bitter Bunny, hater of romance, but the romance in here is just annoying. I've read a lot of books where the Main Storyline is revolved around the romance plot, the author has a point to make and they slap two people together in the center to give a focus point. I don't think this is bad at all. Romantic encounters sell contemporaries, it's just a fact.
But the romance between Norah and Luke really doesn't work. We're told they spend hours talking and watching movies and having this deep connection but you really don't see it. Maybe The Hater of Romance just can't get it, but I don't get it. Enh.
Also, the thing I was worried about with TatWD, wherein the boy heals the mentally ill girl with his magical tongue? Well, that's not quite what happens here, but the ending is so frenetic and rushed, it might as well have been.
A really great read with just...a really bad angle on the romance part.