this is not a very high 4 stars, but i couldn't possibly rate it less than that

i was expecting this to be a really dense read but was actually pleasantly surprised by how much i enjoyed it! there's a lot of dialogue which i loved, especially because that meant we got to know the world of arrakis through conversations instead of long paragraphs of info-dumping. i can honestly say i didn't feel like there was any info-dumping throughout the whole story, which of course means the first 100 pages or so are absolute chaos to understand and follow, but once you get used to everything it gets really exciting

dune is divided into 3 parts, with the last one taking place 2 years after the previous events. this is where the story lost me a bit, i felt like the excitement i'd had before to keep reading was suddenly gone. way too many chapters that you could take out and it wouldn't make a difference to the overall story. the ending was really anti-climactic as well, it is way too fast-paced which does not match the rest of the book, and it ends so abruptly just when things were finally starting to get interesting for part 3

if it weren't for the filler chapters and the lackluster part 3, this would probably have been a 5 stars. i'm so hyped for the movie now you wouldn't believe, i've watched the trailer like 100 times

Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

i really thought i would love this because i adore books that are mainly character-driven and don’t really have a plot, but this didn’t do it for me

i was painfully bored the whole time and couldn’t get over how insufferable the main character is. i don’t mind unlikeable characters but there is literally nothing redeemable about ava and the fact that she keeps reflecting on that herself but makes absolutely no effort to become a better person just makes it more frustrating

i also don’t think either of the side characters were that interesting, and julian might actually be the worst love interest i’ve ever read about

don’t really understand what sort of commentary there is supposed to be here, it might just be too irish for me but there sure is a lot of commentary on british people. everything else just feels like a bunch of random thoughts thrown together without actual thought-provoking commentary

anyway i was pretty disappointed

Normal People by Sally Rooney

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i was debating whether to give this a 4.5 or 5 stars but eh what the hell i'll just go with 5 stars, because i can't really find a reason to not give it the full rating. this is shocking to me because picking up this book was very much a random spur of the moment decision, after many months of really refusing to read it because i truly believed i wasn't going to like it

so here's your reminder to sometimes read books you think you're not going to like just to see if all the negative reviews are right

here's the thing. this book is definitely not for everyone (aren't they all - no, but really). if you like books that explore people, relationships and life at their best and worst in a very real way, you might love this. if you like a clear plot and generally feeling like you know where it's going, you'll hate this.

normal people is not a perfect book nor will it give you positive feelings all throughout reading it (quite the opposite). but i can honestly say, much to my surprise, i was hooked the whole time. i practically read this in 2 sittings and my frustration when i had to put it down to do other things was bigger than the frustration with what was happening

i'm not a big romance reader because i'm much too cynical about love to enjoy the things that typically come with romance books, like a meet-cute, cliche tropes, unrealistic flirty dialogue, etc etc. i feel like normal people is very much a romance for cynical people??

when people say this book is basically one big miscommunication trope, although it's technically true, i really think it's a huge disservice to everything that's explored here. "if they just told each other how they feel!!!" yeah sure. look, i'm someone who loathes this trope, because usually it's used in completely ridiculous circumstances, like for example:

character A overhears character B talking on the phone about something but only hears a very specific part out of context that seems really bad and, instead of confronting character B about it right away to clear it up, character A runs away and provokes a falling out that lasts for 15 chapters before they finally resolve it

that's not what happens in normal people at all!!!!

this is a story about two people who have known each other from a very young age, who have been romantically interested in each other for a long time, and who have a lot of difficulty expressing their feelings to one another. it sounds so simple when you put it like that but really, when was the last time you walked up to someone you have a serious crush on and just outright said how you feel? when was the last time you were in the early stages of a relationship and felt absolutely no anxiety about telling the other person you really like them? are you always honest and open about your feelings when someone you love hurts you?

if you're someone who can just casually "tell other people how you feel", congratulations, good for you! however, i'd bet for most people in the world, clearly expressing your feelings (especially if romantic) is incredibly hard to do, especially if you're already dealing with so many other things (in this case, feeling lost in school, feeling like your life is going nowhere, dealing with the loss of friends, bullying, abusive relationships, self-loathing, etc etc).

so obviously not everyone wants to read about depressing things like that, which i totally get so, again, i understand why a lot of people hate this. personally, normal people really surprised me positively. there's a lot to reflect on here, not just in the sense of human connection, but also how romance is inevitably intertwined with class, money, studies and childhood traumas.

i found myself relating to both the main characters connell and marienne at different points, and also really wanting to shake them in other instances. i cared about them from the beginning but sally rooney makes it hard to care for them at times, which i loved because it gave a lot of insight into what the characters were feeling when they turned away from each other. oh yeah, that's another thing, this is one of those books where it's not always written out word for word what the characters are feeling, but sally rooney makes it really easy for you to piece it together because you get to know connell and marienne so well that their motivations just naturally shine through.

ahhh i could really go on forever, i think this book will stay with me for a long time because there's really a lot to unpack here. i wish i had more big brain energy right now to fully explore my thoughts on how problems of class and trauma are handled, but i have to reflect more on that

anyway, give normal people a chance please

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andreia's reviews 114 reviews

andreia's reviews
114 reviews