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A review by pomochi
Goldfish by Nat Luurtsema
3.0
DISCLAIMER: I received a free eARC via NetGalley. This doesn't affect my opinions in any way.
3 stars.
I'm not too sure how I feel about this book or how to organize this review, so I'm just going to talk about what I liked and disliked about the characters and the plot.
CHARACTERS: Lou was hard for me to connect to, and I feel like we saw a lot of her personality which I enjoyed. However, I really disliked how she sort of just ignored Hannah at certain points in the book because she was jealous when Hannah was so obviously in distress. Other than Lou, we never really got to know any of the characters, and in a way, I feel like I only knew Lou at face level. Most of the characters were described with one or two characteristics, so they all felt very 2D. They felt like real people, but like people that you may hear about from the friends of your friends at school. It was a little distant, especially considering how present most of the side characters (especially the boys) were. I feel like all the characters besides Lou were just used as plot devices to further the story and provide minor conflicts for the main character. However, Lou's dad was definitely my favorite character, I thought he brought a lot of humor and personality to the story.
PLOT: I really liked the premise of this book, it was very bizarre and refreshing to read a book about synchronized swimming. I thought the pacing was pretty consistent up until maybe 85% of the way through because suddenly the plot just ended and all the characters lived happily ever after. I think that this book could've been extended a bit more to have a solid resolution. I didn't feel the chemistry between the two characters that began dating at the end, and their relationship just felt very sudden and random. I honestly don't think the romance was necessary because it was never really a part of the book.
Overall, this was a fun, quick read, but there wasn't much substance and fell flat for me.
3 stars.
I'm not too sure how I feel about this book or how to organize this review, so I'm just going to talk about what I liked and disliked about the characters and the plot.
CHARACTERS: Lou was hard for me to connect to, and I feel like we saw a lot of her personality which I enjoyed. However, I really disliked how she sort of just ignored Hannah at certain points in the book because she was jealous when Hannah was so obviously in distress. Other than Lou, we never really got to know any of the characters, and in a way, I feel like I only knew Lou at face level. Most of the characters were described with one or two characteristics, so they all felt very 2D. They felt like real people, but like people that you may hear about from the friends of your friends at school. It was a little distant, especially considering how present most of the side characters (especially the boys) were. I feel like all the characters besides Lou were just used as plot devices to further the story and provide minor conflicts for the main character. However, Lou's dad was definitely my favorite character, I thought he brought a lot of humor and personality to the story.
PLOT: I really liked the premise of this book, it was very bizarre and refreshing to read a book about synchronized swimming. I thought the pacing was pretty consistent up until maybe 85% of the way through because suddenly the plot just ended and all the characters lived happily ever after. I think that this book could've been extended a bit more to have a solid resolution. I didn't feel the chemistry between the two characters that began dating at the end, and their relationship just felt very sudden and random. I honestly don't think the romance was necessary because it was never really a part of the book.
Overall, this was a fun, quick read, but there wasn't much substance and fell flat for me.