alouette's Reviews (258)

god. this book made me emotional for sure, but not in all positive ways. some character decisions, especially near the end, just made me angry and felt like a regression. however! i can respect that the author sucked me so far in with their world-building and character's connections that me feeling so intensely about this was a product of fantastic writing. the imagery used to describe this colombian-inspired world was stunning, the magic and history of the world was fascinating, and the questions of morals were thought-provoking. i'm quite excited to see where the story goes from here!

a realistic amount of angst with a gay and happy ending! wasn't too into it at the beginning, but will and ollie made it a fun ride!! hit me right in the heart with some of the themes, so three cheers for an emotional rollarcoaster

it's not some life-changing story, it's just very very fricking cute. made me laugh and tear up and empathize and turn to mush. the dialogue was really good and it felt natural, as did the plot where the angst came from external problems and not some dumb miscommunication like you usually find in high school romances. three cheers for happy endings!

a simple but effectively built world lends itself to a thrilling adventure. this book had so many tense scenes, as well as fitting emotional beats. i thought some parts of the plot were too convenient or contrived, even if they were effective in moving the story along. i also wasn't very taken by the sapphic romance, nor how it turned out in the end. still, i'm excited for the sequel and the dani is a lovely character trying to balance the intriguing political stage.

a beautiful, lyrical, swimmingly fantastic novel. you can tell the author poured their heart into this book, into the achingly real and complex characters, into their relationships, and into the journey they undergo. it was difficult for me to read at first, painful and hitting too close to home, but that's the beauty of it, i suppose. i feel like a better person, more self-aware and more resilient, for the adventure this book took me on. even if the first half was painful and confusing, the second half was comforting and lovely.

i loved the intertwining of physics and philosophy, and the author's musings on these two topics. i would not say that it was accessible as the blurb made it out to be, as there was still lots of scientific jargon that could have been replaced, but i still really enjoyed it.

a nice and fun read, don't try and take this one seriously- even if the subject matter seems serious, the writing style does not fit with it, and even if the author should've taken that into consideration while writing, i still don't mind. the beginning was a bit stilted (especially the dialogue) but i think the plot was good (if predictable) and very fast-paced (in a nice way), and i liked matt's inner monologue. i liked the ending before the epilogue a lot as well! sometimes there comes a time where instead of trying to fit in and fix the world around you, you accept that you belong somewhere else entirely, and i love how jason helped matt realize that. there definitely should have been more characters of colour, though, especially considering this book is set in the present day.

overall, this wasn't some life-changing adventure of a book, just an easy read that i personally enjoyed!

there's a limit to how much miscommunication i can handle in a book, and this book far surpassed it. larissa is an interesting enough character, and i liked her exploring her sexuality, but the writing style fully leaning into "stereotypical teenage girl headspace" was not my cup of tea at all. then there's the other characters who are all stereotypes as well, the underdeveloped sapphic romance, and the nonsensical character motivations. 

you're telling me that after one summer with a girl, jasmine left her loving mother and her home for the other 3 seasons to move in with a dad she said she doesn't feel cares about her, all because had fallen in love with said girl? not to mention she knew larissa had a super crush on chase, it was discussed, yet once she sees it in person suddenly her whole "i hate pretense lets just be honest with each other" stuff goes out the window and she spends the time causing a giant miscommunication

 this could have been a reflective book on finding one's sense of self in the demanding social scene of high school, and it kind of tried to be, but it came up well short. if it had only been about the summer of two girls rejecting labels, i think i would've liked it, but instead it fell into an unappealing mould.

another one of those dreamy books that takes me out of my head and into the woods with its whimsy. i didn't much understand what was happening or why, unfortunately, but i was still interested. i did not know this book was going to be poly but i was so happy about it, the love between the trio of mairwen, arthur, and rhun was beautiful. so was the love bonding the rest of the town, even if those characters were static and not so well rounded. i think the characters could have been built up more outside the main three and it would've made the adventure so much more emotional. 

proof that even subjects that are considered very complicated can be made accessible! i love how this book takes you on the journey of learning rather than just presenting the existing information- each new discovery feels like it's being built in front of your very eyes. some of the spelling mistakes irked me, but that's easily set aside.