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desiree930 's review for:
Before We Go Extinct
by Karen Rivers
I purchased this book several months ago on book outlet. After it arrived, I promptly shelved and forgot about it in favor of all the exciting new releases that were coming out. Yesterday, I was looking for a book to start near the end of the night. I picked this up because it was short and the title was intriguing. I had absolutely no recollection of what the book what actually about. This led to one of the bigger surprises I’ve had in quite awhile.
Before We Go Extinct will not be for everyone. I totally understand it’s relatively low average rating. For one, it tackles very heavy topics like suicide and grief, which may be triggering to some people. For another thing, the writing style will most likely turn some people off. But for me, I found it really beautiful and sad and evocative.
What I liked:
1. The writing style. Again, this will not be for everyone. Prose and dialogue are written in a frenetic manner. It almost reads as stream of consciousness at times. At first it was a little jarring. There are paragraphs of short, choppy sentences followed by entire paragraphs consisting of one long, run-on sentence. Then there are passages that only contain partial sentences with no punctuation. It’s strange and unique and very deliberate. I really thought it conveyed J.C.’s emotions very well. Once I got used to the structure, I had no problems at all in following what was going on.
Aside from the structure, the author also used metaphor quite a bit in this book. There are some books that do this better than others. For example, I felt like it was overdone in books like I’ll Give You the Sun and Wild Beauty (I know, I know. Those books are beloved and I’m evil for saying anything negative about them), but there’s just enough of it in here that it was interesting without being overly flowery.
Also, when the author writes about the boys’ parkour stunts, I honestly felt anxious. Even thinking about it now is making me a little nauseated. She does a great job in painting the picture.
2. The setting. The majority of this book is set in the Pacific Northwest of Canada. As someone who was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest (Washington and Alaska) it was obvious that the author knows this area very well. I was not surprised at all to learn that she grew up in Victoria, B.C. I love his reaction to seeing this place for the first time. One line in particular that struck me was: “It’s almost ridiculous how pretty it is. It’s pretend. It can’t be real. But I know that it is because the air smells green and alive and salty and like forever would smell if it had a scent.” Now, I am not usually someone who likes when intangible things are described as colors (example: Caraval) but for some reason, this totally made sense to me. And maybe that’s only because I grew up on an island in Southeast Alaska with trees everywhere and the salty sea air, but so be it.
3. The depiction of grief. Now, I know that not everyone experiences grief the same way. And J.C.’s expression of his grief may seem over the top to some. After his friend’s passing he completely stops speaking, only texts his only other friend in French, and continues to send texts and pictures to his friend who has passed away. But it all felt authentic to me, especially when you consider the fact that he saw his friend die in front of him in a very gruesome way. I can’t imagine how that would affect a person.
What I didn’t like:
1.Using sexuality as a plot device/twist. This is difficult because I do think that there are seeds planted throughout the text that suggest that The King is gay or possibly bisexual (he confirms that he is gay in his letter to J.C.), but the revelation that he was gay and was in love with J.C. felt too much like using his sexuality as this big GOTCHA! moment and I could see people being very upset by that. Sexuality should not be a twist. However, if him being gay had something to do with the reason he died by suicide, then I guess it makes sense that it wasn’t known beforehand.
I can see both sides of the issue, and while it didn’t hinder my appreciation of the book I can see why some may not like it.
2. Kelby. Maybe it’s because we were only seeing her from J.C.’s perspective, but I didn’t feel like Kelby was a well-developed character. I liked her little brother, but I don’t feel like I know that much about her, even though all she did was talk.
3. I wish the end wasn’t quite so up in the air. I would’ve liked to see J.C. back in his life. Because at the end of the day, I’m worried about him. I don’t trust that he’s anywhere close to finding his way out of his grief, especially after reading the letter. But the last chapter is written as a hypothetical in second person and I don’t quite feel satisfied. And I’m sure that was completely intentional on the author’s part. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting him to have a HEA with his own well-being.
This book is by turns candid and heartbreaking. Iya strange to say that I enjoyed reading it, especially when it dealt with such heavy topics, but I did enjoy it. I enjoyed it, and I appreciate it.
Before We Go Extinct will not be for everyone. I totally understand it’s relatively low average rating. For one, it tackles very heavy topics like suicide and grief, which may be triggering to some people. For another thing, the writing style will most likely turn some people off. But for me, I found it really beautiful and sad and evocative.
What I liked:
1. The writing style. Again, this will not be for everyone. Prose and dialogue are written in a frenetic manner. It almost reads as stream of consciousness at times. At first it was a little jarring. There are paragraphs of short, choppy sentences followed by entire paragraphs consisting of one long, run-on sentence. Then there are passages that only contain partial sentences with no punctuation. It’s strange and unique and very deliberate. I really thought it conveyed J.C.’s emotions very well. Once I got used to the structure, I had no problems at all in following what was going on.
Aside from the structure, the author also used metaphor quite a bit in this book. There are some books that do this better than others. For example, I felt like it was overdone in books like I’ll Give You the Sun and Wild Beauty (I know, I know. Those books are beloved and I’m evil for saying anything negative about them), but there’s just enough of it in here that it was interesting without being overly flowery.
Also, when the author writes about the boys’ parkour stunts, I honestly felt anxious. Even thinking about it now is making me a little nauseated. She does a great job in painting the picture.
2. The setting. The majority of this book is set in the Pacific Northwest of Canada. As someone who was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest (Washington and Alaska) it was obvious that the author knows this area very well. I was not surprised at all to learn that she grew up in Victoria, B.C. I love his reaction to seeing this place for the first time. One line in particular that struck me was: “It’s almost ridiculous how pretty it is. It’s pretend. It can’t be real. But I know that it is because the air smells green and alive and salty and like forever would smell if it had a scent.” Now, I am not usually someone who likes when intangible things are described as colors (example: Caraval) but for some reason, this totally made sense to me. And maybe that’s only because I grew up on an island in Southeast Alaska with trees everywhere and the salty sea air, but so be it.
3. The depiction of grief. Now, I know that not everyone experiences grief the same way. And J.C.’s expression of his grief may seem over the top to some. After his friend’s passing he completely stops speaking, only texts his only other friend in French, and continues to send texts and pictures to his friend who has passed away. But it all felt authentic to me, especially when you consider the fact that he saw his friend die in front of him in a very gruesome way. I can’t imagine how that would affect a person.
What I didn’t like:
1.Using sexuality as a plot device/twist. This is difficult because I do think that there are seeds planted throughout the text that suggest that The King is gay or possibly bisexual (he confirms that he is gay in his letter to J.C.), but the revelation that he was gay and was in love with J.C. felt too much like using his sexuality as this big GOTCHA! moment and I could see people being very upset by that. Sexuality should not be a twist. However, if him being gay had something to do with the reason he died by suicide, then I guess it makes sense that it wasn’t known beforehand.
I can see both sides of the issue, and while it didn’t hinder my appreciation of the book I can see why some may not like it.
2. Kelby. Maybe it’s because we were only seeing her from J.C.’s perspective, but I didn’t feel like Kelby was a well-developed character. I liked her little brother, but I don’t feel like I know that much about her, even though all she did was talk.
3. I wish the end wasn’t quite so up in the air. I would’ve liked to see J.C. back in his life. Because at the end of the day, I’m worried about him. I don’t trust that he’s anywhere close to finding his way out of his grief, especially after reading the letter. But the last chapter is written as a hypothetical in second person and I don’t quite feel satisfied. And I’m sure that was completely intentional on the author’s part. But it doesn’t stop me from wanting him to have a HEA with his own well-being.
This book is by turns candid and heartbreaking. Iya strange to say that I enjoyed reading it, especially when it dealt with such heavy topics, but I did enjoy it. I enjoyed it, and I appreciate it.