alouette's Reviews (258)

i was very excited for this wlw, Persian-inspired adventure- and it had those aspects for sure, but in a manner that left me a bit disappointed. it was written with a noticeable "tell, not show" style that had the same few points about each character being rehashed every chapter, making them all feel very flat. their often inexplicable actions prevented the plot from flowing smoothly. and the romance was there, but it wasn't quite fleshed out.

that said, i did enjoy the concept of soraya's curse, the general gist of the adventure, and the worldbuilding. i think there was a lot of potential there, and some of it was brought to life but much of it was wasted.

i loved this novel as much as i loved beartown, maybe even more if that's possible. it really made me feel the full spectrum of emotions. backman's prose crafts moral lessons, complex and morally-grey characters, and a twisting plot together into a very beautiful piece of literature. every character had a role to play and felt real, and the setting was so wonderfully built that i felt like i was living through everything that happened. maybe it's just because it hit so many personal notes for me, maybe it won't be such a rollarcoaster for most, but i will always highly recommend this novel anyways because it's so damn amazing and full of heart.

also, benji, i'm glad you're free :')

very introspective (sometimes repetitive in it, felt pretty slow when listening on audiobook) and a full spectrum of emotions. a complex narrative about exploring one's identity and opening one's heart. not much else to say except that it made me :))

a very sad novel, but a very necessary one. the descriptions and portrayals of grief were very gripping and well-written. the non-linear structure was also very interesting, it helped to develop the characters and make me feel connected to their experiences. the only thing that brings my rating down a little is that the ending was quite ambiguous to the point where I wasn't sure if there had really been changes in the characters by the end. as well developed as they were, they seemed static. a reflection of real life, I suppose, which is another beauty of this book in it's own way, how it addresses the truths that affect BIPOC immigrants and those in poverty, how pain is far too common but how our dreams persist. 
still, it's a little unnatural to me for a novel to be packed with so much emotion that seemed to never be resolved. or at least discussed- obviously what we feel is never resolved, but it would've been more interesting to me if the characters had unpacked what had happened. still pretty fantastic, though.

pretty great book- lots of research, memorable anecdotes (mcdavid lining up stuffed animals to cheer him on as he "won the stanley cup" was one my favourites), very informative, good flow and pace to the writing. my only problem was that to have that writing flow, some chapters had a nonlinear narrative, which was confusing in a book about how players grew up. 

while it took me a while to catch onto the plot and keep track of the characters, this was a charming read, if not the most memorable. each theme was important, but none felt fully explored- which seems like something I should’ve seen coming, since the author is still so young. 

but when I realized I’d already come to the end of the story, something was still missing, a key part of calling this a memoir. for example, when did she see *** again (“it would be years until I saw *** again...”)? what about L******, did she simply disappear from the narrative? the book wraps the ice skating up with a bow, but could’ve benefited from having a focus, or having ice skating remain the focus. 

I understand that the author’s note explains how this story became more than skating, but having an author’s note to explain why the book leaves so much unanswered (“I don’t need to understand my past to write a comic about”) seems shallow from a writing standpoint, a “what was the point” feeling, considering I went into this expecting a memoir as it is described. what I found was a collection of memories and nice art, but little retrospection and acknowledgement of what happened over the course of it. 

however, I’ll stop complaining, because again, I still think this was charming and I admire how strong a person Tillie is.

*imported from goodreads, includes spoilers*


decent read. I thought the premise was interesting, but the 2 protagonist’s personalities aren’t unique enough for me to care about reading this twice- the only part I would say I really liked was the introduction to Haven from Lyra’s perspective. the rest of the novel wasn’t very memorable, the romance made me bored (Gemma says it herself, how dumb it is that she’s worried about kissing Pete when their pursuers are twenty feet below and watching them, having the character point out how stupid that moment was doesnt make it any more interesting...)

anyways, that’s about the least rant-worthy moment, because there’s plenty more frustrating things. the plot conveniences and the characters being driven by nothing more than the author saying they decide to do that thing a lot of the time, for one. for another- Gemma’s infuriating “so much has changed over these few days” when I still can’t see any character progression and the events that “changed” her were, again, not memorable. I won't even get started on the microaggressions, which I understand are part of her flaws but then they were never addressed to it made me really uncomfortable.

maybe I’m being harsh and rambling in the process, but the more I think about this book, the more it annoys and frustrates me, because I think it could’ve been a good book when you look at the idea behind it. But one more big thing- the whole “the separate perspectives reveal new information” thing is almost a blatant lie. other than Harliss’ heroics (which were pretty unesscessary, like what was the point of the fire as a distraction if you’re going to walk right into those guys, was there no other way to get out?)... anyways, other than his heroics, there’s nothing one can’t piece together from one side, making it boring to go through the other perspective (if you can even call it the “other” perspective when it’s not first person, limited omniscenct still reveals too much here), and the book as a whole feels incomplete even for part of a series.

at the end of it, I was just left with a frustrating, “what was the point” feeling.

epic fantasy at its finest! while my entire review remains in my personal notes, i lovelovelove this book and its world and can’t wait to reread.

a solid, fascinating mystery! very well-thought out, plenty of red herrings to keep me engaged. this improves on One of Us is Lying, which didn’t having me doing nearly as much thinking with the fairly obvious ending and culprit. but this, I thought it was fantastic plot-wise. what took it down for me was that the character development was lacking in my opinion. the two protagonists got their endings, but there were quite a few other characters that started and sadly ended seeming quite flat to me. still, the mystery kept me reading it all in one go!