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A review by talia_redhotink
Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire
1.0
DNF 80%
I'm sorry, so, so sorry I didn't finish it. And you may say, since I arrived at this point, I might as well have ended it. Truth is, I started pep-talking myself into not quitting it around page 10 and kept doing it untill now.
Now. I'm. Done.
I'm so furious with this book because eveything notwithstanding, I'd loved the first one and "Walking Disaster" ruined it for me. It almost offended me, as a reader and as a woman and as a damn human being. In hindsight, I would steer clear of this one.
Anyway, why did I hate with such a vengence?
1 - Abby. I know I should have probably started with Travis, but let me tell you that one of the biggest flaws in this book is Abby's character. She's like a ghost throughout the book. In the first half, all the memorable dialogues between the two of them are cut, neatly and simply. We don't even get to see their first meeting. No. Most of their scenes together are not showed, but told. Big, big mistake. No one wants to read things like: "and then we did this and this, and the told me this and that and then we came back home". Abby lacked of the slightest bit of personality we could at least accuse her of having in "Beautiful disaster". So, no surprise it's still inexplicable why Travis is so in love with her. Also, the whole Pigeon explenation was laughable.
2 - Travis. I though being inside his head would be interesting. That I'd finally get to know what was going on in that sick mind of his and understand why he acted so douch-ish and asshole-ish most of the time. I was starving for an explanation that would make my mind rest in peace. That would make me feel less guilty for falling in love with such an insane character in the first book. Guess what? That's just who he is. He's a douche-canoe, misoginous, disrespecful guy no girl in her right mind would ever find fascinating. Travis has no redeeming qualities.
3 - The world. It seems that the whole university lives to satisfy Travis Maddox. Boys fear him, girls (every frigging one of them) want to sleep with him. And in the midst of this crazy nonsense, a Pidge, a holier-than-thoug girl rises and steals the bad boy's heart, changing him. Take this for example: "Every head in the room turned when Abby walked in, even a few guys with their girlfriends were shamelessly breaking their necks or leaning back in their chairs to get a longer look." Who is she, effin' Megan Fox? And why before you started pining for her no one gave a shit about her?
To quote America, the only sane character here: "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little."
4 - The commentary. Travis' mind is filthy, gross and rude. He is rude, gross and okay, maybe not filthy, but the dude is not right in the head. Beside his complete lack of respect for whatever human being but his Pidge, his thoughts are a continuous stream of "baggable females" "whores" "sluts" "craps" "shits". It really unnerved me.
5 - The relationship. In "Beautiful Disaster" I found almost tragic and at the same time heart-stealing Travis desperate attempts to get Abby back or to keep her with him. I'd also managed to come to terms with his abusive jealousy. But now, after reading his POV? God save us! Everything he does for her, from simply apologizing, to buying her things, to cooking her breakfast and tattooing her lousy nickname on his skin, is always an attempt to fix things and to keep her with him after he's done terrible things to her or has acted like the jerk he is. He's scared as hell she's gonna up and leave him one day and he tries to bind her to him in every way possible. It brings dysnfunctional to a whole new level.
6 - Shapley and Travis. Their dialogues were the only original ones. Shapley is actually a nice guy and I liked the fact that he and America were kind of a normal couple. You know, just to show that not every one in this book has an absurd relationthip (Abby-Mick, Abby-Travis, Travis-the worlds). Anyway, even though Travis claims to care for Shapley, he treats him like crap every chance he gets. Not to talk about what he thinks of Shapley and America. That dude has no filter. Want an example?
"It’s going to crap everywhere, Travis. It’ll bark and whine and . . . I don’t know.” (They're talking about buying a dog.)
“So does America . . . minus the crapping". Now, put on your serious face and tell me this is something you'd say to your best friend/cousing/only person on earth who can stand your presence for more than a couple minutes.
Unfortunately, there are so many other things I could list that were so damn wrong in this book. Like the overall message that if you stick around long enough and endure all his crap, even the worst bad guy will turn out a loving boy scout. So, if "Beautiful Disaster" somehow managed to soften some of the sharper edges of Travis' personality and made for an interesting read, "Walking Disaster" was... just... a disaster. The swoon worthy moments were missing. The banter was always tinged in darker shades because if Abby managed to lighten the mood, Travis' mind was always so full of worry and violence it exhausted me.
The first flashback featuring Travis and his mother was poor of detail and unrealistic. His mother's last words made me cringe. What kind of a mother tells you to fight and keep fighting? What happened to "Live your life freely and make me proud?"
The only dialogue that made my heart throb a little was when Abby gets drunk and confesses her love to Travis, you know: "I could love you in another life." And Travis' answer: "I could love you in this one."
This was a genious thing that stole my breath away in the first book and surprised me in this one, since all the best moments were otherwise missing.
If you want an advice, don't read it.
I'm sorry, so, so sorry I didn't finish it. And you may say, since I arrived at this point, I might as well have ended it. Truth is, I started pep-talking myself into not quitting it around page 10 and kept doing it untill now.
Now. I'm. Done.
I'm so furious with this book because eveything notwithstanding, I'd loved the first one and "Walking Disaster" ruined it for me. It almost offended me, as a reader and as a woman and as a damn human being. In hindsight, I would steer clear of this one.
Anyway, why did I hate with such a vengence?
1 - Abby. I know I should have probably started with Travis, but let me tell you that one of the biggest flaws in this book is Abby's character. She's like a ghost throughout the book. In the first half, all the memorable dialogues between the two of them are cut, neatly and simply. We don't even get to see their first meeting. No. Most of their scenes together are not showed, but told. Big, big mistake. No one wants to read things like: "and then we did this and this, and the told me this and that and then we came back home". Abby lacked of the slightest bit of personality we could at least accuse her of having in "Beautiful disaster". So, no surprise it's still inexplicable why Travis is so in love with her. Also, the whole Pigeon explenation was laughable.
2 - Travis. I though being inside his head would be interesting. That I'd finally get to know what was going on in that sick mind of his and understand why he acted so douch-ish and asshole-ish most of the time. I was starving for an explanation that would make my mind rest in peace. That would make me feel less guilty for falling in love with such an insane character in the first book. Guess what? That's just who he is. He's a douche-canoe, misoginous, disrespecful guy no girl in her right mind would ever find fascinating. Travis has no redeeming qualities.
3 - The world. It seems that the whole university lives to satisfy Travis Maddox. Boys fear him, girls (every frigging one of them) want to sleep with him. And in the midst of this crazy nonsense, a Pidge, a holier-than-thoug girl rises and steals the bad boy's heart, changing him. Take this for example: "Every head in the room turned when Abby walked in, even a few guys with their girlfriends were shamelessly breaking their necks or leaning back in their chairs to get a longer look." Who is she, effin' Megan Fox? And why before you started pining for her no one gave a shit about her?
To quote America, the only sane character here: "I think I just threw up in my mouth a little."
4 - The commentary. Travis' mind is filthy, gross and rude. He is rude, gross and okay, maybe not filthy, but the dude is not right in the head. Beside his complete lack of respect for whatever human being but his Pidge, his thoughts are a continuous stream of "baggable females" "whores" "sluts" "craps" "shits". It really unnerved me.
5 - The relationship. In "Beautiful Disaster" I found almost tragic and at the same time heart-stealing Travis desperate attempts to get Abby back or to keep her with him. I'd also managed to come to terms with his abusive jealousy. But now, after reading his POV? God save us! Everything he does for her, from simply apologizing, to buying her things, to cooking her breakfast and tattooing her lousy nickname on his skin, is always an attempt to fix things and to keep her with him after he's done terrible things to her or has acted like the jerk he is. He's scared as hell she's gonna up and leave him one day and he tries to bind her to him in every way possible. It brings dysnfunctional to a whole new level.
6 - Shapley and Travis. Their dialogues were the only original ones. Shapley is actually a nice guy and I liked the fact that he and America were kind of a normal couple. You know, just to show that not every one in this book has an absurd relationthip (Abby-Mick, Abby-Travis, Travis-the worlds). Anyway, even though Travis claims to care for Shapley, he treats him like crap every chance he gets. Not to talk about what he thinks of Shapley and America. That dude has no filter. Want an example?
"It’s going to crap everywhere, Travis. It’ll bark and whine and . . . I don’t know.” (They're talking about buying a dog.)
“So does America . . . minus the crapping". Now, put on your serious face and tell me this is something you'd say to your best friend/cousing/only person on earth who can stand your presence for more than a couple minutes.
Unfortunately, there are so many other things I could list that were so damn wrong in this book. Like the overall message that if you stick around long enough and endure all his crap, even the worst bad guy will turn out a loving boy scout. So, if "Beautiful Disaster" somehow managed to soften some of the sharper edges of Travis' personality and made for an interesting read, "Walking Disaster" was... just... a disaster. The swoon worthy moments were missing. The banter was always tinged in darker shades because if Abby managed to lighten the mood, Travis' mind was always so full of worry and violence it exhausted me.
The first flashback featuring Travis and his mother was poor of detail and unrealistic. His mother's last words made me cringe. What kind of a mother tells you to fight and keep fighting? What happened to "Live your life freely and make me proud?"
The only dialogue that made my heart throb a little was when Abby gets drunk and confesses her love to Travis, you know: "I could love you in another life." And Travis' answer: "I could love you in this one."
This was a genious thing that stole my breath away in the first book and surprised me in this one, since all the best moments were otherwise missing.
If you want an advice, don't read it.