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btwnprintedpgs's Reviews (1.3k)
As with many book I've read recently, this book was both hot and cold for me. While I enjoyed the plot (overall), as well as the characters, there were parts of the writing that just bothered me beyond reason. Maybe I'm being nit-picky, but there were a few things that Byrne repeated did throughout the novel that just grated at my nerves and made me want to bash my head on a desk.
The first was his excessive use of the word 'for'. I'm not talking about 'for', as in, "I need this for something," but, "This thing, for it cannot be that thing." Last I checked, seventeen year olds don't speak like that unless they're mocking Shakespeare, though even then it's questionable. Maybe I'll write it in an essay every now and then, but honestly, very few people use the word 'for' in that manner. And the fact that he used it at least twice in each chapter, I cried a little inside whenever I saw it. It struck a chord the first time, but by the end of the book, I just wanted to chuck my cell phone (which is what I read on) at a wall, I was just so done.
I might as well have been Voldemort, for my name was never spoken.
-Narration, page 5
We really didn't want to go back to our rooms, for the time we just spent together was the only chance of normalcy all of us have has since we were admitted.
-Narration, page 130
After sifting through the book just now, I found out that he used that about 76 times throughout the book. SEVENTY-SIX TIMES. Like this rant, it's a tad bit excessive, don't you think?
Another thing was the fact that it was very much a 'tell first' kind of book. I wouldn't get to see how what someone said affected him, instead, I'd get to hear about it as he broke it down for me in the narration. That's okay some times, but again, it was a little excessive. Like if they just said something that hit you hard, you could just say that it hit you hard. There is no need to re-hash everything they just said and tell me that it hit you hard. I got it the first time, thanks. In short, the narration was pretty repetitive, both repeating itself and the preceding dialogue.
Stepping away from those things though, the book was actually pretty good. I liked that, aside from the overuse of the word 'for,' the narration really made me feel like I was in the head of a guy. Each statement was short and sweet (even if the thought in itself wasn't) and the voice wasn't (overly) mushy. Oliver's voice was extremely clear and different from all the other male characters, and I liked getting into his head. I appreciated that each character was unique, and even if it wasn't mentioned outright, you could usually get a gist of who was talking or who Oliver was observing.
Two characters I particularly loved were Esther and Charles. They were fun and quirky characters, though I'm still wondering what they were in the ward for, they were a great addition to the story. Lacey also was a character that really grew on me. She was unique and her character wasn't totally compromised when her and Oliver became attracted to each other. While I would've liked to learn more about her family and her past, I really enjoyed getting to know her character.
This book's character development was something else that I thought was really well done. Throughout the novel, we got to see each character grow and change, moving past whatever mental obstacle they faced. It was great seeing the change in Oliver's thoughts and in the general demeanor of all the other characters. Byrne strung this part together really well, making the changes very gradual and almost unnoticeable within the story, and yet obvious by the end. Really well done.
Overall, while I felt that the end was a little abrupt and seriously unexpected (and again, over analyzed), but it somehow worked with the book, and I left surprised, yet satisfied with the story, I enjoyed this book. While the writing was a big obstacle for me to get over, I thought it was really well done and overall the plot and execution was extremely well done.
Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Writing: 3/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 3.5/5
GoodReads Rating: 3.45/5
eBook provided by Logan Byrne via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
-review by Between Printed Pages
The first was his excessive use of the word 'for'. I'm not talking about 'for', as in, "I need this for something," but, "This thing, for it cannot be that thing." Last I checked, seventeen year olds don't speak like that unless they're mocking Shakespeare, though even then it's questionable. Maybe I'll write it in an essay every now and then, but honestly, very few people use the word 'for' in that manner. And the fact that he used it at least twice in each chapter, I cried a little inside whenever I saw it. It struck a chord the first time, but by the end of the book, I just wanted to chuck my cell phone (which is what I read on) at a wall, I was just so done.
I might as well have been Voldemort, for my name was never spoken.
-Narration, page 5
We really didn't want to go back to our rooms, for the time we just spent together was the only chance of normalcy all of us have has since we were admitted.
-Narration, page 130
After sifting through the book just now, I found out that he used that about 76 times throughout the book. SEVENTY-SIX TIMES. Like this rant, it's a tad bit excessive, don't you think?
Another thing was the fact that it was very much a 'tell first' kind of book. I wouldn't get to see how what someone said affected him, instead, I'd get to hear about it as he broke it down for me in the narration. That's okay some times, but again, it was a little excessive. Like if they just said something that hit you hard, you could just say that it hit you hard. There is no need to re-hash everything they just said and tell me that it hit you hard. I got it the first time, thanks. In short, the narration was pretty repetitive, both repeating itself and the preceding dialogue.
Stepping away from those things though, the book was actually pretty good. I liked that, aside from the overuse of the word 'for,' the narration really made me feel like I was in the head of a guy. Each statement was short and sweet (even if the thought in itself wasn't) and the voice wasn't (overly) mushy. Oliver's voice was extremely clear and different from all the other male characters, and I liked getting into his head. I appreciated that each character was unique, and even if it wasn't mentioned outright, you could usually get a gist of who was talking or who Oliver was observing.
Two characters I particularly loved were Esther and Charles. They were fun and quirky characters, though I'm still wondering what they were in the ward for, they were a great addition to the story. Lacey also was a character that really grew on me. She was unique and her character wasn't totally compromised when her and Oliver became attracted to each other. While I would've liked to learn more about her family and her past, I really enjoyed getting to know her character.
This book's character development was something else that I thought was really well done. Throughout the novel, we got to see each character grow and change, moving past whatever mental obstacle they faced. It was great seeing the change in Oliver's thoughts and in the general demeanor of all the other characters. Byrne strung this part together really well, making the changes very gradual and almost unnoticeable within the story, and yet obvious by the end. Really well done.
Overall, while I felt that the end was a little abrupt and seriously unexpected (and again, over analyzed), but it somehow worked with the book, and I left surprised, yet satisfied with the story, I enjoyed this book. While the writing was a big obstacle for me to get over, I thought it was really well done and overall the plot and execution was extremely well done.
Plot: 4.5/5
Characters: 4.5/5
Writing: 3/5
Cover: 5/5
Overall: 3.5/5
GoodReads Rating: 3.45/5
eBook provided by Logan Byrne via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
-review by Between Printed Pages
This is one of those books where I’m on again, off again. I wanted to love it, I really did, especially after reading The Drake Equation, also by Heather Walsh, but I just couldn’t.
The beginning was great. I thought that the first chapter was a great hook. It really captured my attention and had me itching to find out more. However, as the book went on, it also started to go off rails, for me, and I found it hard to stick with it. The first half of the novel I could live with, for the most part. The MC was witty and sacastic at times, while at other times she complained about life way too much, but it wasn’t bad. I loved the character developement and the details that showed us the little quirks within her family. In all honestly, this novel probably depicted my family pretty well, which was interesting, and yet because of that I somehow found it just that much more irritating.
Hannah seems like this sarcastic teenager ready to get out of the tiny city she’s been trapped in since birth. I can’t blame her, in all honesty, ’cause that’s what I wanted to do, and I didn’t even live in a small city. I identified with her in that aspect. However, as the novel goes on, her hauty attitude and constant complaints grated on my nerves. She was just so ungrateful for everything her family’s given her. So what if they’re a little weird and argumentative? At one point, she implies that her mom has little to no brain in her head, doubting that her mother had a shred of intelligence. That was just rude beyond reason and absolutely disrespectful. Then, her parents plan this whole trip to Disney World and she acts like the experience was the worst thing that has ever happened to her. I just went to Disney last summer, and I’m 19. I loved it and I also know how much it cost my parents to get us all there. This girl was so focused on herself that she didn’t even care about anything else.While I’m usually okay with pessimistic characters, Hannah was so down in the dumps all the time that reading this book brought me down. It made me angry, and while I like being moved my books, I don’t want to become angrier, than I already am in real life, because of a book.
The one ray of sunshine throughout the novel was Ben. He was the cutest little thing, and Hannah gained a little bit of my respect just by the way she took care of him. She was always including him in games, and making sure he was okay with everything going on. She was also more confident in him than his parents were. I honestly don’t have much to say about it (because I liked him, and I can criticize a lot better than I can praise…), but he was probably the biggest reason that I kept reading the book.
Something else that stuck me at an odd angle, was that this giant secret that’s hinted at in the first chapter and then here and there throughout the book, was totally random. Sure, it explained a fair amount, but it also left me with giant black holes that I couldn’t fill. What happened to him? What was wrong with him? Those were my two biggest questions (if you read the book you’ll know what I mean). She could’ve added those little tibits in at the end and I would’ve been a lot more satisfied. Alas, the end was quite rushed, and not that informative, to be quite honest.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad book, but I definitely wasn’t satisfied with what I got. That being said, take my opinion with a grain of salt ’cause honestly, it might’ve been the parallels between my family and Hannah’s that just about drove me insane. Well, written, just not amazingly executed.
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
World Building: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall: 3/5
GoodReads: 3.36/5
eBook provided by the auhor in exchange for an honest review.
-review by Between Printed Pages
The beginning was great. I thought that the first chapter was a great hook. It really captured my attention and had me itching to find out more. However, as the book went on, it also started to go off rails, for me, and I found it hard to stick with it. The first half of the novel I could live with, for the most part. The MC was witty and sacastic at times, while at other times she complained about life way too much, but it wasn’t bad. I loved the character developement and the details that showed us the little quirks within her family. In all honestly, this novel probably depicted my family pretty well, which was interesting, and yet because of that I somehow found it just that much more irritating.
Hannah seems like this sarcastic teenager ready to get out of the tiny city she’s been trapped in since birth. I can’t blame her, in all honesty, ’cause that’s what I wanted to do, and I didn’t even live in a small city. I identified with her in that aspect. However, as the novel goes on, her hauty attitude and constant complaints grated on my nerves. She was just so ungrateful for everything her family’s given her. So what if they’re a little weird and argumentative? At one point, she implies that her mom has little to no brain in her head, doubting that her mother had a shred of intelligence. That was just rude beyond reason and absolutely disrespectful. Then, her parents plan this whole trip to Disney World and she acts like the experience was the worst thing that has ever happened to her. I just went to Disney last summer, and I’m 19. I loved it and I also know how much it cost my parents to get us all there. This girl was so focused on herself that she didn’t even care about anything else.While I’m usually okay with pessimistic characters, Hannah was so down in the dumps all the time that reading this book brought me down. It made me angry, and while I like being moved my books, I don’t want to become angrier, than I already am in real life, because of a book.
The one ray of sunshine throughout the novel was Ben. He was the cutest little thing, and Hannah gained a little bit of my respect just by the way she took care of him. She was always including him in games, and making sure he was okay with everything going on. She was also more confident in him than his parents were. I honestly don’t have much to say about it (because I liked him, and I can criticize a lot better than I can praise…), but he was probably the biggest reason that I kept reading the book.
Something else that stuck me at an odd angle, was that this giant secret that’s hinted at in the first chapter and then here and there throughout the book, was totally random. Sure, it explained a fair amount, but it also left me with giant black holes that I couldn’t fill. What happened to him? What was wrong with him? Those were my two biggest questions (if you read the book you’ll know what I mean). She could’ve added those little tibits in at the end and I would’ve been a lot more satisfied. Alas, the end was quite rushed, and not that informative, to be quite honest.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad book, but I definitely wasn’t satisfied with what I got. That being said, take my opinion with a grain of salt ’cause honestly, it might’ve been the parallels between my family and Hannah’s that just about drove me insane. Well, written, just not amazingly executed.
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
World Building: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall: 3/5
GoodReads: 3.36/5
eBook provided by the auhor in exchange for an honest review.
-review by Between Printed Pages
