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chronicallybookish's Reviews (1.53k)
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 15+
Overall: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 5/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
TW: grief, death, hospitals, surgery, gore, car crash
Thank you so much to Penguin Teen for sending me a copy of this book!
I read this book in one sitting, in like two hours, and cried my way through at least 75% of it—and I don’t cry very easily.
When I was in 7th grade, all the girls (and one boy) in my class were obsessed with this book. They all read it and talked about it. But, at the time, I only read fantasy, so I didn’t read it. I think it’s probably a good thing that I waited until I was older to read it, because I don’t think I would have loved it then as much as I do now. There are a lot of hard-hitting moments in this book that 12-year-old Kaley would have glossed over.
This book was so good. I don’t really know what I was expecting going into it, but it wasn’t this. This is the first book by Gayle Forman I’ve read, but it won’t be the last. I can’t wait to read Where She Went, but I think I need to emotionally recover a little more before I jump in to that.
This book did use the r-slur in one instance, which was disappointing. Especially since the copy I read was a brand new printing. I get that when the book was written in like, 2008, that wasn’t considered bad, but it could easily have been taken out of this most recent printing in 2021.
You should also be aware that there is gory descriptions of a car accident scene, including brain matter smeared across pavement, and gory descriptions of the surgery Mia undergoes, as well as, obviously, a lot of death and grief.
I really enjoyed Mia as a character, and I liked every other character we got to meet.
All in all, I quite enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a good cry.
Age Rating: 15+
Overall: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 5/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
TW: grief, death, hospitals, surgery, gore, car crash
Thank you so much to Penguin Teen for sending me a copy of this book!
I read this book in one sitting, in like two hours, and cried my way through at least 75% of it—and I don’t cry very easily.
When I was in 7th grade, all the girls (and one boy) in my class were obsessed with this book. They all read it and talked about it. But, at the time, I only read fantasy, so I didn’t read it. I think it’s probably a good thing that I waited until I was older to read it, because I don’t think I would have loved it then as much as I do now. There are a lot of hard-hitting moments in this book that 12-year-old Kaley would have glossed over.
This book was so good. I don’t really know what I was expecting going into it, but it wasn’t this. This is the first book by Gayle Forman I’ve read, but it won’t be the last. I can’t wait to read Where She Went, but I think I need to emotionally recover a little more before I jump in to that.
This book did use the r-slur in one instance, which was disappointing. Especially since the copy I read was a brand new printing. I get that when the book was written in like, 2008, that wasn’t considered bad, but it could easily have been taken out of this most recent printing in 2021.
You should also be aware that there is gory descriptions of a car accident scene, including brain matter smeared across pavement, and gory descriptions of the surgery Mia undergoes, as well as, obviously, a lot of death and grief.
I really enjoyed Mia as a character, and I liked every other character we got to meet.
All in all, I quite enjoyed this book, and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a good cry.
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 12+
Overall: 2.5 stars
Characters: 2/5
Plot: 2/5
Setting: 3/5
Writing: 2.5/5
TW: death and a dead body.
Two pages in, Amelia stumbles across a dead body. Weird way to start a lighthearted summer romance novel, but okay.
Honestly I don’t know how to review this book. There was nothing overtly wrong with it. I simply did not care one iota about anything or anyone in it. Amelia was as bland as a wattpad y/n, possibly even more so. There was no chemistry between her in the love interest. I thought they broke up at one point—apparently they didn’t, I don’t think??—and honestly couldn’t have cared less one way or the other. I wanted the stand to succeed because I did actually care about Molly, but I still didn’t care enough to be invested in the story.
Cate drove me crazy. I really didn’t like her, and her motivations were lacking.
The book was also written in third person present tense, which I was not a fan of. I didn’t know that was a thing. It just felt awkward.
All in all? So not worth it.
Age Rating: 12+
Overall: 2.5 stars
Characters: 2/5
Plot: 2/5
Setting: 3/5
Writing: 2.5/5
TW: death and a dead body.
Two pages in, Amelia stumbles across a dead body. Weird way to start a lighthearted summer romance novel, but okay.
Honestly I don’t know how to review this book. There was nothing overtly wrong with it. I simply did not care one iota about anything or anyone in it. Amelia was as bland as a wattpad y/n, possibly even more so. There was no chemistry between her in the love interest. I thought they broke up at one point—apparently they didn’t, I don’t think??—and honestly couldn’t have cared less one way or the other. I wanted the stand to succeed because I did actually care about Molly, but I still didn’t care enough to be invested in the story.
Cate drove me crazy. I really didn’t like her, and her motivations were lacking.
The book was also written in third person present tense, which I was not a fan of. I didn’t know that was a thing. It just felt awkward.
All in all? So not worth it.
Quick Stats
Age Rating: 14+
Overall: 4 stars
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Representation: 5/5
TWs: anxiety, panic attack, anger issues, racism, some instances prejudice against the biracial main characters
Special thanks to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for an early eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
I loved this book. Was it perfect by any means? No. It was incredibly cheesy, and the writing, while decent, was sometimes lacking, but it was so sweet. This book is the perfect romcom with a whole lot of heart and tackles some really important issues—like race and the identity struggles that come with being bi/multiracial, family, mental health, and the stigmas around mental health and LGBTQ people in Asian communities. I believe the author herself is biracial, lending this book the touch that only an own voices author can.
I loved Rika, and though she sometimes drove me crazy, I saw a lot of myself in her. I’ve also struggled with a nasty temper for most of my life, and I also—especially when I was younger—thought of it as a monster. Rika is different from a lot of YA heroines, and sometimes it does come off a little “I’m not like other girls”-esque, but I really loved seeing such a rough-around-the-edges, hot-tempered girl as the main character.
Henry, too was amazing. I loved his character, and the depiction of his anxiety was really accurate. He was able to be a swoon-worthy love interest without being a cardboard cutout of a character. Their whole romance was definitely insta-love, but it didn’t bother me too much. I was swept up in the chemistry and romance, which I was especially craving since the last book I read was a huge let-down on that front.
Aunt Suzy and Belle felt like pretty two-dimensional characters, and sometimes got on my nerves, and yet I found myself loving them anyway. I adored Auntie Och and Rory—especially Rory—and Eliza too, though I’d have liked to see more of her. Craig was probably the weakest character, and felt wholly unnecessary to the story. He had no real motivation behind his actions, and nothing he said or did felt realistic because of that.
The book was definitely suffocatingly cheesy at parts, but honestly, I kind of loved that about it. I cannot emphasize how much I recommend this book!
Age Rating: 14+
Overall: 4 stars
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Representation: 5/5
TWs: anxiety, panic attack, anger issues, racism, some instances prejudice against the biracial main characters
Special thanks to Netgalley and Delacorte Press for an early eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own.
I loved this book. Was it perfect by any means? No. It was incredibly cheesy, and the writing, while decent, was sometimes lacking, but it was so sweet. This book is the perfect romcom with a whole lot of heart and tackles some really important issues—like race and the identity struggles that come with being bi/multiracial, family, mental health, and the stigmas around mental health and LGBTQ people in Asian communities. I believe the author herself is biracial, lending this book the touch that only an own voices author can.
I loved Rika, and though she sometimes drove me crazy, I saw a lot of myself in her. I’ve also struggled with a nasty temper for most of my life, and I also—especially when I was younger—thought of it as a monster. Rika is different from a lot of YA heroines, and sometimes it does come off a little “I’m not like other girls”-esque, but I really loved seeing such a rough-around-the-edges, hot-tempered girl as the main character.
Henry, too was amazing. I loved his character, and the depiction of his anxiety was really accurate. He was able to be a swoon-worthy love interest without being a cardboard cutout of a character. Their whole romance was definitely insta-love, but it didn’t bother me too much. I was swept up in the chemistry and romance, which I was especially craving since the last book I read was a huge let-down on that front.
Aunt Suzy and Belle felt like pretty two-dimensional characters, and sometimes got on my nerves, and yet I found myself loving them anyway. I adored Auntie Och and Rory—especially Rory—and Eliza too, though I’d have liked to see more of her. Craig was probably the weakest character, and felt wholly unnecessary to the story. He had no real motivation behind his actions, and nothing he said or did felt realistic because of that.
The book was definitely suffocatingly cheesy at parts, but honestly, I kind of loved that about it. I cannot emphasize how much I recommend this book!
3.5 stars
14+
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did
14+
I wanted to like this book a lot more than I did
I SAW THE BA PLOT TWIST COMING FROM THE LITERAL PROLOGUE BUT IM STILL FREAKING OBSESSED