ellemnope's Reviews (2.4k)

She's quirky and funny, but I just didn't love this one as much as her first book.

I always enjoy reading John Green's novels. They move quickly and feel comfortable. He's smart and witty, but still just quirky enough to keep things interesting without being crazy. I'd been wanting to read this one for quite a while. It was good, but nowhere near as powerfully impactful as The Fault in Our Stars. Just a light, easy read that was a darned good way to start my reading for 2017.

I was skeptical at first that I would like this one. Nonfiction is always hit or miss, especially when it comes to the "self-help" variety. But...I was pleasantly surprised. Gilbert is frank and honest without being condescending. She keeps things light, but she doesn't beat around the bush. It's a good balance.

As far as the message, it's a good one. She stresses that creativity is something we must partner with. It is not a burden, it is not a given. It is available from time to time and it is what we make of it. If we do not embrace it, it may temporarily disappear.

I had let my creative endeavors stagnate. This book helped me feel inspired to jump back on the horse once again. What I create doesn't have to change the world, it doesn't have to bring me a fortune, it doesn't have to make anyone happy but me. Just reading her words made it feel as if the burden of producing something special to the outside world had been removed. I don't need to impress anyone but myself. That is about a freeing a message as one can receive.

This one was a relaxing read with quirky characters that just worked. The premise seemed a bit over-the-too here and there, but in the end that just ended up contributing to the novel's charm. Not a terribly poignant read, but still enjoyable.

This book nearly ended up as a DNF when I tried to read it last summer. I think I just wasn't in a good reading mood. I picked it up again a few months later, started over, and it was a much better experience. It didn't hurt that I ended up taking an Asian history course shortly before I started reading it the second time. The story is very well-written and the characters develop really well over time. It's a beautiful story with plenty of heartbreak and realism. This is no fluff piece and does pull at the heart here and there. I'm very glad I gave it a second try. Well worth the read.

I VERY rarely give a low review on a book that I read all the way through. And I really wanted to like this one. But, ultimately, it just fell super flat for me. I was creeped out by part of the narrative and that alone may have tanked the book to at least a 2-star rating. But...then there was the ending. Just...nothing. I felt nothing. Unless you count the relief that the book was finally done. I felt like there was not enough resolution and the characters just stayed stagnant. It was disappointing.

I'm really giving this one 3.5. I liked the story and it read super duper fast, but in the beginning the book came off a little too juvenile in the narrative and that ending...ugh. I get that it's the first part in a trilogy, but that was just uncalled for. It also took me a bit to get used to the bouncing around timeline. Once I figured that out, then it worked. It was good enough that I want to read the rest of the trilogy, but I didn't love it enough to feel the need to pick up the second book right away.

Overall a very good book in terms of the skill behind the writing and the complexity of the plot. A different type of magic realism which reflects the myth present in Native cultures but also provides a good platform for a presentation of a widely impactful story. There is much to be gleaned from the pages of this novel in both personal reflection and perception of world politics. This speaks volumes to cultural imbalances and the many issues that come from social and racial prejudice.

Still a good Jenny Han read with an easy, breezy storyline and narrative, but the ending was just...meh. I'm sure that's partially because of the existing third book in the trilogy and the apparently necessary mediocre second book in a trilogy, but I wasn't impressed. The only saving grace was that I was able to breeze right into the third book...as if there really was never a semi-empty ending.