i read 200 pages of this and i have no idea why i did. it dragged a lot and the characters are just!! ugh. bleh. i don't know. not that good. there's i read 200 pages of this and i have no idea why i did. it dragged a lot and the characters are just!! ugh. bleh. i don't know. not that good. there's definitely promise but im going to give up for now because there's nothing making me want to pick this up and finish and i doubt it ever will....more
the writing is just so awkward. i feel like there was no flow to the story, and that i was pushing myself to keep reading because the codnf @ page 120
the writing is just so awkward. i feel like there was no flow to the story, and that i was pushing myself to keep reading because the context / plot is really important. and it *is* important.
i just don’t want to read a story that feels like it‘s not even a story but a tangent after another tangent....more
this book is somehow removed enough from my life that i can’t relate to ariel’s struggles in high school and yet somehow NOT removed enough where i stthis book is somehow removed enough from my life that i can’t relate to ariel’s struggles in high school and yet somehow NOT removed enough where i started to feel the anxiety and pressure about grades that he was feeling. it wasn’t a good experience. i hope one day, when i am a settled adult, I can discuss the pressures our society puts on kids in high school without feeling those pressures themselves. until then, i cannot read this.
(also i am sorry but the writing style was also pretty mediocre and very straightforward. the biggest thing is that it didn’t motivate me to suffer through the anxiety i was feeling, because at least the way it was written would have been appealing enough to keep reading, you know?
I’m giving up. lord, is this book dull. maybe my brain can’t focus on this rn with exams coming up but the book doesn’t even TRY to be easy to read. sI’m giving up. lord, is this book dull. maybe my brain can’t focus on this rn with exams coming up but the book doesn’t even TRY to be easy to read. so no thank u. i did like the girls but the WRITING? not for me...more
Yikes. Could not even finish it. It normalizes sex and everything but like...every single page?! And he’s cheating on girls & sleeping with one like eYikes. Could not even finish it. It normalizes sex and everything but like...every single page?! And he’s cheating on girls & sleeping with one like every single page and of course he doesn’t get called out for it, just told in a side conversation that people think he’s being sleazy. If a girl did this, she’d be slutshamed to hell and back???
And that’s why this book isn’t important. It’s not necessary. Sex is already seen as natural and a thing guys seek and that’s considered normal but never for girls. If this was written in the POV of a girl, I think I would’ve kept going. Even if she was describing sucking a dick every single day, I would be right there with her going “Yes baby!!! Defy those gender expectations!!! You do what you want!” But frankly, I do not care about this dude. He genuinely acts like all girls are good for is sex. I mean, really, I don’t even mean that as a joke. He literally says that? Every time he mentions a girl, it’s in relation to the pleasure he feels. So, bye.
P.S. I wrote this at 2am thoroughly disgusted so ignore the grammar issues ...more
DNF @ Page 84. I don’t know. I’m not an artist, so pretty much all of the eighty four pages I read went over my head? She would describe brush strokesDNF @ Page 84. I don’t know. I’m not an artist, so pretty much all of the eighty four pages I read went over my head? She would describe brush strokes and I’m like “Okay, sure...umm, okay.” I don’t know. I don’t think I’m in the right mood for this. I don’t know if I ever will be in the right set of mood for this. The thing that made me want to pick this up was the gay girl rep, but then I found out that it never ends up going anywhere.
So like, if I’m not going to get girls in love, then what am I going to keep reading for? Artistic metaphors that I, clearly a peasant human, don’t understand? I mean, I read 84 pages of this book and it made me feel so meh. And the side characters and the story felt so choppy. There were little tidbits of memories and then we’d be abruptly pulled into the present, where Mercedes is sad again. God. I don’t know.
This wasn’t for me. I’m sad to admit it, though....more
Ok. So it's that time of my life where I kind of realized that I'm tired of making myself finish books that simply don't deserve it. I stuck it througOk. So it's that time of my life where I kind of realized that I'm tired of making myself finish books that simply don't deserve it. I stuck it through until they came to Amsterdam, okay? page 137. i really tried. first of all, let's start with the fact that this is one of THE whitest shit i have read lately.
she goes to london, and like, a man talks to them, and he has a british accent, and our brilliant main character goes "oh my god, i wonder if he knows mary poppins"?? what? what does that mean? are you ok? this is a love story with travelling on the side, which sucks because i wanted travelling with love on the side. tell me more about the things you're seeing - you're literally on a different continent!! don't tell me abt boys and how hot they are and just urghh. it's like, 1 paragraph of things they do and then more context about her family and her bestfriend. i JUST- they were in LONDON! IN LONDON!! AND SHE DOESN'T WANT TO TALK MORE ABOUT THAT??
they're in amsterdam rn and she's focussed on getting high and hooking up with a guy and im so tired like yall have time to hookup in your own town. i could read about high school relationship drama literally anywhere, but yall spent thousands of dollars going abroad and focus on posting instagram pictures so ur ex bf comes and u can hook up ? ? ?? no. sorry. bye...more
This book is a character-driven story about a black girl growing up and dealing with all the problems adolescence offers (and we all know it's a lot oThis book is a character-driven story about a black girl growing up and dealing with all the problems adolescence offers (and we all know it's a lot of problems). I have to admit that the main reason I picked this up was because of the cover, I think it's so BEAUTIFUL. However, the writing just wasn't for me. I really appreciate some little moments of it, but I got to like page 120 and all the side characters were flat and underdeveloped. Page 120, and I had NO idea as to how any of the characters looked, which was so ??? weird?
The only description we got with her family were part of longer thought dumps, like when she's thinking about the thing she loves and says she likes lying on her dad's belly. I don't know, I just didn't find her compelling. In every situation, she just felt the opposite of whatever was being presented if that makes sense? She's told about an opinion - she feels the opposite way. Her character's main personality was being different than everyone else. This just wasn't for me. But I did like the writing! It's good writing.
I should also mention that when I read character based books, I need to feel some sort of connection to the characters. I don't need them to be likable but I do have to get some sort of attachment to keep going, because there's no other plot. And she just wasn't that compelling. I also felt so disconnected every time she brought up her religion. I understand that it's just her life, she doesn't know any other way of living (I grew up in a religious household too - but a different religion). So whenever she mentioned Sunday church I just couldn't relate and so it further distanced me for the characters. It was as if she was telling me I couldn't understand her. So!! Yeah. I didn't really like this. But that's okay. I know some people will, and that's enough....more
Listen. I really tried to get into this, but I can't. I really enjoyed the Macbeth elements - as someone who had to write like 3 essaysDNF @ page 140.
Listen. I really tried to get into this, but I can't. I really enjoyed the Macbeth elements - as someone who had to write like 3 essays on it, I saw the little details Robin Talley added. That was cool. I just didn't like -- well, everything else.
This book has such a bad transitioning problem. It doesn't feel like there is a beginning and an end, just random scenes put in. Like, I'd turn the page and it would be a few days later, but we don't even know which day, it's just later. We don't know if it's closer to the day Maria's going to do the thing or not. It was just confusing and muddly and I just ... sigh. am tired. i really wanted to stick this through because gays but like the writing style just isn't for me.
P.S. has anyone noticed that there's so many YA authors named Robin? isnt that weird?? robin benway, robin talley, robin roe, etc......more
dnfing bc contemporary is NOT my genre!! but I'd actually pick this up again. like, I would. That why I waited like 5 months to DNF this bc I was waitdnfing bc contemporary is NOT my genre!! but I'd actually pick this up again. like, I would. That why I waited like 5 months to DNF this bc I was waiting ... but we'll see. Page 100 for future Ellie's reference :)...more
DNF at like 15%, cannot deal with the language style. I like how well developed the show is, after watching it Claire seems self-obsessed when I read DNF at like 15%, cannot deal with the language style. I like how well developed the show is, after watching it Claire seems self-obsessed when I read this LOL ...more
There are few books that I decide I just do not want to even think about again. Im sorry but Lola is a ridiculous character. StephDNF - 40% (page 156)
There are few books that I decide I just do not want to even think about again. Im sorry but Lola is a ridiculous character. Stephanie Perkins was trying to be ~cool~ but seriously a girl who wears her own duvet cover to school and dresses up as Cleopatra???? Ok??? U put more effort in what you wear for 8 hours than what you're studying? WTF? And every few minutes she would be complaining about how a) she felt different b) how lonely she was c) freak out about something d) mention how ~diverse!!~ her family and her friend are e) talk about the age difference f) have a flash back
That's literally it. It's not even cute because she just. Keeps. Whining. I gotta go so fast.
ALSO WHAT KIND OF NAME IS CRICKET I HATE CRICKETS THEYRE DISGUSTING
** I am actually from the San Francisco Bay Area and I am proud to say that young girls dress up to go to to DECA (business organization for young students) or to Mock Trial or Debate or even go work and start saving up and being independent. They do not spend all their time making costumes. What the fuck.
I am ..I don't even know. there are a million ways she could've written a teenage girl as different and cool but seriously? I don't think I will ever meet a girl like this. it's like Perkins tried to put all the quirkiness!!! she could think of into one girl (ft some Nicki Minaj 2012 wigs action) I just. It's so unnecessary.
Even if she was focussing on her fashion interests, she could be selling clothing or even working at an internship, not spray paining boots for one costume idea I mean are you kidding me you will literally wear that item once you just said that I .. Am done™
Will I pick this up again? Possibly. When I have more time and feel like I won't be that cynical at all...more
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