mrsara 's review for:

Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick

2.0

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REREAD: I definitely did not love it as much the second time around. After reading some reviews for this book, I've come to the conclusion that it's somewhat an alienating novel; people generally either love it or hate it; they either find Nanette to be relatable or unbearable. And with me, it seems that the first time I read it, I was with the former and now having read it again a year and a half later, I'm with the latter. I didn't like the characters much at all, and the plot seemed to drag out to essentially nowhere. I never felt like the book had any sense of purpose, like it didn't seem to know where it was going or what the story was trying to accomplish. I still enjoyed the writing, but that wasn't enough to save it. 2 stars.

ORIGINAL: I don't know if a rating will ever truly apply to this book for me. It is so painfully relatable throughout the entire narrative. It is defining, wonderful, and heartbreaking, yet so beautiful it its message of coming of age. The writing style was never flowery and pretentious, but still so deep and moving. Yes, I am choosing to give it four stars but it's only because this book was so strong in its character assessment that I didn't always relate to the main character and her choices. I realize that doesn't make a whole lot of sense but I promise that I truly loved it. 4 stars.