bumblemee's Reviews (258)

It's soooo beautiful to look at, I loved it a lot!! It also gave me a lot of creative energy, which was really nice. I'll definitely read the other ones.

Finally read this book after having it on my tbr for years. It took me a while to get into Charlies way of writing and into the story. He uses very simple language and sentence structure, which sometimes makes him seem younger than he is. Sometimes this makes his observations or learnings hit a little harder, which I liked.
I think everyone who relates to being lonely as a teenager will see themselves on some level in Charlie. At least that is the part of him I related with the most.

Somehow I expected to love this more than I did, probably because back when I was a teenager and the movie came out everyone was loving it so so so much. I still liked it a lot though and I will think of Charlie from time to time. I'll also watch the movie again soon, I think.

Dieses Buch ließ sich unfassbar schnell lesen - der Schreibstil ist sehr unkompliziert und ich bin nur so durch die Seiten geflogen.

Ich empfand dieses Buch als gut durchdacht, die Art, wie Pat erzählt zum Beispiel. Er fügt vielen Beobachtungen oder Handlungserzählungen seine Begründung hinzu. Das zeigt irgendwie gleichzeitig sehr deutlich, wie eingefärbt seine Wahrnehmung ist und lässt ihn manchmal erscheinen wie einen kleinen Jungen, der sich an Regeln und "weise Erwachsene" hält. 
Ich muss zugeben, dass ich manchmal ein bisschen Angst vor ihm hatte, weil man so deutlich mitbekommt, wie er sich seine eigene Nikki-Realität spinnt. Ansonsten ist er mir aber irgendwie ans Herz gewachsen

auch wenn es irgendwie schlimm ist, darüber nachzudenken, wie er wahrscheinlich in der Beziehung zu Nikki agiert hat. Ich habe zwar nie angenommen, dass sie tatsächlich Briefe mit ihm gewechselt hat, aber ich bin auch sehr froh darum, dass sie die nie zu hören bekommen musste, denn an ihrer Stelle hätten sie mir sehr viel Angst gemacht. Manchmal habe ich mich aber auch gefragt, ob Nikki selbst wirklich so eine weiße Weste hat.

Dieses Buch hat mich aus Gründen, die ich gar nicht so gut erklären kann, total an sich gefesselt und mich emotional teils wirklich berührt, vor allem die Familienkonstellation und Pats Bemühungen, sich zu verändern.

Das Ende mochte ich allerdings nicht so gern, auch wenn ich es als Spoiler empfinde, das hier zu erläutern.

Hatte das Gefühl, es baut sich viel um den Gedanken, dass romantische Beziehungen sehr wichtig sind, um glücklich zu werden - und auf der letzten Seite fand ich es irgendwie weird, dass Pat so klang, als sehe er es als etwas positives, eine Frau im Arm zu halten, die jemanden braucht, der sie "wieder aufbaut". So als fände er es gut, da als toller Hecht in ihrem Leben aufzutauchen ... auch wenn man das auch definitiv sehr anders interpretieren kann. Daher nur ein kleines "meh".

Ich habe bereits in mehreren Rezensionen gelesen, dass das Buch scheinbar sehr anders ist als der Film, was mir sinnvoll erscheint, da der Fokus von dem Buch super anders ist als der des Film-Trailers. Dennoch freue ich mich darauf, den Film bald mal zu schauen und zu gucken, wie er mir gefällt.

first of all: i love the cover! it's has great colors, it's dynamic and very fun to look at, love it! <3

other than that, i have mixed feelings on this one. i liked how funny it was and how there's some rep for asian american superheroines that are quite badass - very cool! i also enjoyed the romance aspect, i think they are very cute together and i felt the chemistry between them. 
the writing style was fitting for a superhero story, it felt like the novel version of a comic. 
still, this book didn't grip my attention enough. maybe i expected the wrong things from it. for example, i thought it would feel more fast paced. but while there's certainly something happening all of the time, it still felt weirdly slowed down, which made it drag on for too long for my taste. also because of the focus put on the character relationships, i felt like the plot suffered a bit. the tension didn't get through to me, i simply accepted everything that was happening and didn't feel surprised by the plot twists, even though i didn't see everything coming. that was a weird experience and i can't really explain it. maybe it had something to do with me feeling like the way they figured things out wasn't done in an exciting way, which might be because the author already tried to handle a lot of character development for a lot of people at the same time. 

oh, and there were things that i found a weird choice - for example i was confused why they thought that "anger shatters field" was evie? because why on earth wouldn't her stone have something to do with fire? eventhough she uses emotions to fuel the fire, the fire is the most obvious thing about her powers and they probably had a lot of stones they couldn't tie to a person since it was explained that there were a lot of people with minor powers. idk, this isn't a big thing, but somehow it still threw me off a bit.

the character arcs made sense to me, especially evie and aveda and i think they were well done. however, other characters like bea felt soooo random. yes, she is a teenager, but some of her decisions were too bad even for a teenage girl, my god. 
oh, and i liked nate a lot, but for his role of being the smart one he sometimes wasn't that smart?

like .. he's the son of a demon princess, but he can't piece together that some of the stones resemble the powers of people, despite it being quite obvious? especially the gps tracking thing? he explained it with his extreme attention to detail, but still ... idk man

 

all in all i would recommend this book since it does have a lot of fun things going for it, even if it wasn't really my jam.. but honestly, i could imagine that i would've liked it better if i listened to it via audiobook, since the parts i thought of as dragging probably woudn't have felt as dragging.

Zunächst einmal: Während des Lesens habe ich mitbekommen, dass Meredith Russo anscheinend emotional stark missbräuchlich ihrer Ex-Beziehungsperson gegenüber war. Daher evtl. darüber nachdenken, dieses Buch aus einer Bibliothek auszuleihen oder secondhand zu kaufen, sollte man es lesen wollen.

Das Buch selbst mochte ich gern, es ist eine größtenteils hoffnungsvolle Geschichte, allerdings sind auch einige recht heftige Szenen dabei, die von den Content Warnungen abgedeckt werden. 
Ich war irritiert davon, dass durchgehend Begrifflichkeiten verwendet werden, bei denen sich heutzutage die meisten Mühe geben, sie auszumerzen. Z.B. "transsexuell" statt "Transidentität" oder "transgender" und "Geschlechtsumwandlung" statt "Geschlechtsangleichung". Keine Ahnung, wie das auf Englisch gehandhabt wurde und ob diese Begriffe an der Übersetzung liegen. Vllt liegt es auch daran, dass das Buch von 2016/17 ist, aber ich dachte eigentlich, da wäre es auch bereits so gewesen, dass diese Begriffe als veraltet galten. Nun ja.

Mir gingen manche Sachen ein bisschen schnell, wie z.B. die Entwicklung der Liebesgeschichte zwischen Grant und Amanda, aber ich verstehe auch, dass das der Geschichte an sich zuträglich war, weil es eben um Amanda geht und nicht nur um diese Liebesgeschichte.

Ich kann außerdem nur empfehlen, das Nachwort zu lesen, da die Autorin dort ein paar Dinge aufgreift, über die ich mich gewundert habe - z.B. dass Amanda in ihrem jungen Alter bereits auf legalem Wege eine Hormontherapie begonnen und Operationen hinter sich gebracht hat. Es ist außerdem aufgeteilt in einen Part an cis Lesende und einen an trans* Lesende und ich finde, die Autorin hat mit ihren Worten in diesem Nachwort die Geschichte gut abgerundet.

This book broke me a little, but also did an okay job of picking up the pieces. Please check the content warnings before reading this book, I think there are a lot of people who will have a harder time reading this book than I did.
This book felt very real, which might sound vague, but I don't know how to describe it better. Morgan and Eric are great characters and their friendship - or rather their journey from friends to lovers - was heartwarming to read. (Eric reminded me of Samwise Gamgee btw, which made me like him even more.) Reading Morgans chapters was very hard sometimes, I wanted to enter the book and be there for her so bad sometimes. If you want to read a book that contains a lot of trans joy, this one is not the right pick for you, even though the ending is hopeful. There is a lot of transphobia, internalized and otherwise and a lot of self-hatred and suffering.

Quick note: Since first writing this review, it came to my attention that there apparently is controvercy around Meredith Russo and her being abusive towards her ex partner. So if you decide to read this, maybe think about getting it from a library or buying it secondhand or something.

Kurze Anmerkung: Es werden teilweise suboptimale Worte verwendet, wie z.B. Geschlechtsumwandlung statt Geschlechtsangleichung. Idk wie das auf Englisch gehändelt wurde, daher dieser Zusatz auf Deutsch. Weiß nicht, warum diese Entscheidung so getroffen wurde, eventuell weil das beim Übersetzungsprozess nicht aufgefallen ist oder vllt auch einfach, weil das ein Wort ist, das zu der Zeit passt, in der das Buch spielt. So oder so finde ich, das hätte so nicht passieren sollen.

Very beautifully written and very immersive.
I loved to get to know these women and their relationship, especially through Miris eyes. All these little details she thinks of while trying to find her Leah in the Leah that returned. It was hurtful to read, but also endearing. (My favourite was when Miri said that Leah used to pedal Miris legs when she was upset and chant "tour de france, tour de france" until Miri had to laugh. Idk, it was just so cute.) Miris voice was very clear, every obersvation and comment she made fit her perfectly. Same for Leah, but we don't get to see that much of her compared to Miri. 
I liked how the book was seperated into the different stages of the ocean and everything Leah told us about it and the ways to travel and research it. Her fascination for the ocean is everywhere and as someone who is a little fascinated by the deep as well, I liked that a lot.

Even though there's not that much happening, a lot of suspense builds up over the course of the novel. I couldn't put it down after a certain point. - And I get why we don't get all the answers, this book isn't about the plot, and I think it was the right choice, because solving every mystery would've taken away from the point ... but I can't help but want to know the answers. Someone please rewrite this in another genre? So we got both? 

I bought this book a few years back, because I wanted to read something with a winter sports setting - and honestly: that was the only redeeming quality of this book. I liked it a lot, the training, the race, everything cool.

Everything else was a little infuriating. We got Roxie, the protagonist, who is one of the most "not like other girls" girl I read about in a long time. (I should've known when the blurb said that not even the boys can keep up with her on her home mountain... which is fine of course, but having to mention it when describing a book should've been a sign that I wouldn't like it that much.) Of course she doesn't care that much about guys and of course she doesn't care that much about her looks. All of these traits are, as said, completly fine, but the way these things were phrased made it seem like this was supposed to differentiate her from other girls, which made it annoying.
I liked that Roxie wasn't easily intimidated, instead she makes quite a point of not letting others dictate what she does. She also confronts Ryker about the shit he does, which is a good thing in itself, but it is never effective. Roxie never has any actual power, because in the end she still lets him do whatever he wants, without any consequences for him - not that she has many chances to change that, but it was very frustrating to watch her agreeing with everything he expects of her, while she tells herself that she isn't afraid of him. (tbh this might be realistic in that situation for someone like her, but then this book should not be a romance book and rather something like the tale of a toxic relationship and how the protagonist hopefully overcomes it in the end.)
I get that this was supposed to be this "bad boy with a soft spot for this one girl", but the way it was executed didn't work for me at all. They don't even have any wholesome redeeming scenes, mostly they're arguing with the result of Ryker not chaning anything at all and behaving like a controlling asshat. I can't. The power imbalance is soooo drastic, he literally has the power to get her expelled. This doesn't make anything more thrilling, just more unhealthy. (Not helped by how even adults shake in fear because of this 18 y/o guy who started running a business empire as a teenager??????????? I get it, I get it, you gotta just buy into a story like this a little to find it enjoyable, but this one wanted you to do that way to much.) Roxie literally thinks at one point that she tries to make him "see her as a real person". What the fuck.
Ryker never explains anything about himself (with little exceptions), why he does anything or what he does in general. This is how he remains in complete control and it was sooooo infuriating to read. At the same time he does everything to make Roxie feel like she's the problem, she's being difficult and she can be happy about every little bone he throws her - and she is, of course.

Aside from this "love story" (not deserving that title in my opinion), the book is so short that we miss out on getting to know anyone aside from Roxie. In the beginning there are a few scenes that are probably supposed to make us bond with Monica and Ingrid, but after that we don't get to see them much, making these efforts ineffective. We don't even see Roxie bond with them that much, sometimtes we're just told about scenes that would be nice to see. (Like Monica and Roxie dancing together in their dorm.) Still, this book doesn't hold back at introducing a ton of different people, which is sad, because I personally didn't care about a single one of them, especially because we don't get to know them at all.

I'm really sorry that I don't have to say anything nice about this book. I knew that it wouldn't be a book that is right up my alley, but I did see myself liking a sports romance with a bit of a ridiculous plot and love interest. I do also think that there would've been a way to tell the same story without the relationship be that problematic. Sadly, I can't recommend this at all. (But if you're someone who gets wrapped up in power imbalances and bad boys, you might like it, or course. It felt a little like a soft launch for becoming a dark romance enthusiast.)

At last, I'll conclude this review with a few spoilers - if you read this book or never plan to read it but are interested in my rage, feel free to read 'em.

- it turns out that Ryker was the one who decided that Roxie would get the scholarship (of course he was) and he says in the end that he "wanted her since he first saw her race 2 years ago" ... which makes everything even worse, because he literally got her to come to his school to kind of make her his property, I can't
-  "i've been wanting to kiss you again since i let you stop me on thursday night" ... ew. really? good thing you stopped, bc it would've been assault to not stop if the person you're kissing does not want to be kissed anymore, my dude. 
- Roxie kisses him and then stops it, because she realizes she doesn't want to do this if Ryker doesn't want to be exclusive. Which is a good boundary to set if you're not comforable with that. Ryker reacts by saying she's teasing him. I wanted to scream.
- Roxie has a male best friend who's very protective of her. Ryker and him get in a fight over her. Ryker wants Roxie to not be close with Brad - her best friend - anymore, because he thinks Brad wants in her pants (wouldn't give Ryker the right to have a say in this). Roxie denies that. It turns out later that Ryker was right, because of course he was. Why would one ever write a strong friendship between a girl and a boy that stays platonic? No value in that.
-  "and i should never have to explain myself to you, roxanne" yes, you should have to, asshat, because that is how communication and healthy relationships work
- two mean girls decide to trick Roxie into going night skiing with them, but they're just dropping her off in the dark, leaving her with no cell phone service and a dying headlamp right before a serious snow storm. they later tell her that ryker ordered for this to happen. as it turns out, he didn't. when roxie and ryker talk about this, he seemed a little shaken that she believed these girls. why would she not???? she has no reason to trust you, ryker, because you never gave her any reason to think you actually care about her and would not treat her as she knows you treat others if she disagrees with you too much</

ok i'm done now.spoiler>

So much fun to listen to! - I read the first one as a physical book, which was fine, but I enjoyed myself way more while listening to this hilarious absurdity of a story. I sometimes struggle with a writing style like this one, because it contains a lot of unnecessary sentences and words to enhance the humor. It works of course, but I get frustrated when I feel like nothing is going anywhere when I physically have to read the words. As an audio book, I was simply amazingly entertained. And it is narrated by Martin Freeman, how cool!!

In my opinion, it also includes a lot of clever observations about people in an entertaining way, even if I can't tell how much of it was written to be what i saw in it. 
My favourite quote was "reality is frequently inaccurate" by the way. Love it. I'll remember that for the next time I want to deny obvious cicumstances. 
(Which is one of the little observations I mentioned: humans are amazing at denying the obvious, simply because it would imply that their previous believes were wrong - and nobody enjoys being wrong. I know that this isn't an amazing revelation, but I liked how this was hilariously handled in this book.)