eloise_bradbooks's Reviews (801)

Yaaaas! Asexual main characters is what I came for.
A really interesting fairie world is what I stayed for.

3.5/5 - It was a nice (very)short read that I recommend if you're looking for positive FtM trans characters where the plot isn't focused on the fact that they are trans.

It was fun and lighthearted, and the characters were very likeable.
I liked how we got a small insight on what it can be like for trans people in a new work environment.
I just didn't believe in the romance that much... I found Kieran extremely(too?) confident for a young coffee boy on his first few days in a big company - especially with regards to developping possible relationships with his seniors.
But hey, he's a confident trans man, and that is actually great to see.

Maybe my thoughts on this were muffled because I read this two days before starting my own internship and I'm freaking out a little.... arghhelpmeoutofit

4.5/5 - I'll add Shaun David Hutchinson to my list of favourite authors, I guess.
He always seems to write such powerful stories:
You laugh. You cry. You have no idea what's going on or what's going to happen, but you stay tuned all the way because he has a way of writing such beautiful, realisticly flawed but understandable characters living in worlds that are so cleverly created.

And this is exactly what this book did. I laughed and I cried and I was confused but I loved it.
I loved the little moments about physics (yeah, I miss not learning about physics...) and even philosophy. As expected there were beautiful metaphors about struggling to find yourself, drowning or breathing under water, moving forward and closing doors...
There was a whole bunch of diverse characters (the queer youth represented in here is great - gender-fluid, gay, bi and even asexual - thank you!). And a whole bunch of important issues too. Mental health, hurting yourself, sexual abuse, domestic violence, financial trouble and more.

Sometimes I thought there were a little TOO many important issues in this one book - maybe some could have been saved for a different story?
It seemed like really shitty things had to happen to every single character, which I don't think was necessary.
Especially as Ozzie, the main character, was going through all the issues over and over in his head so many times, sometimes I just wanted to say 'Okay, we know by now that this this and this is going on, move onto things we don't know'...
But in the end you can't complain for having an array of different people with a wide-range of problems.

I also read the author's note at the end about his own struggles with mental health, depression, cutting and suicide attempts, he urges people to ask for help and how his books show people dealing with mental health in ways that aren't always the best. They are realistic, but you should learn that they are not always the best ways to deal with stuff.
It was very moving.

So basically, I really enjoyed it.
I'm going to compare it to We Are The Ants because that was one of my favourite books of 2016, the reason I picked this one up and had such high expectations. And to be honest it wasn't as good as WATA. But by no means was it bad.
It was great and well worth the read.

So many aspects of this book were great - exactly my kind of story:
A lost girl with roses growing out of her wrists, a transgender boy struggling with his truth, but loving the girl so much he's been making glowing moons for her since the day they met. Their love for each other, their love for their families. The mean girls who were just as complex and interesting as our main characters. The talks of pumpkins, sorcery, moons and constellations and all things magical ... BEAUTIFUL.

Now, why did it take me so long to read ?
I think I have this love/hate relationship with magical realism. What I mean by that is that I love the ideas and themes and I can find the writing beautiful, but it can also become a little too weird for my brain to be able to comprehend exactly what is going on. I struggled to know for sure if what I was reading was actually happening or if it was just a pretty or metaphorical way of sayings things. That's why it took me a while to get through. Maybe I just need to read more magical realism to get used to this kind if writing, because I always want to love the books so much it seams a shame I can't get through them easier.

ALSO !!! The author's note at the end made me cry it was so beautiful. Extra points for that !

You know that feeling when you watch a movie based on a book; And you see how the book is probably great because the main plot and themes are great, but the movie just rushes things and doesn't take time to develop things enough for you to actually care? Yeah. That's what this felt like.
If it were a full length novel this could probably have been one of my favourite books of all time. I love the idea of a place helping kids that have come back from magical worlds, the LGBT+ rep is great (finally an asexual main character thank you!!), I loved that it was much darker than I expected, and the many themes quickly named that are great too.
But things just came and went by too fast, not developed enough (because of its length).
Also, not surprised much by the ending. That was disappointing.
I'm angry at how good this could have been if it were just developed more. IT COULD HAVE BEEN AMAZING !

There were times I rolled my eyes; times I realised I'm not the target of this book (I've already been through his, I've learnt these lessons already). But also times I understood that two years ago, this book would have struck me so hard I would have exploded with emotions.
Someone out there will read this and realise that, they too, deserve to shine.

I related to so many elements (or used to at some point in my life) like lack of confidence, social anxiety, reclusiveness, but also Kiko's relationships with people at school, with her one friend who is her rock, with that one parent, and with her siblings.
So many times I felt like the author was taking bits of my life and writing them out in someone else's lifestory. But they were mine.

I was scared this was going to be a girl-has-issues-but-the-guy-shows-her-how-to-live kind of story...but it wasn't. I'm so pleased about that.
This is a story about a girl who finally decides to take a break from her toxic family life to do something for herself for a change.
And it just so happens there's also a guy on the road. He's not the reason she takes off and he's not the glue holding her wings together... although he might have helped steer her in a nicer direction.

I felt like I could have loved Jaime. I say could have become ultimately, we don't get to know him much. Kiko already knew him, their love existed before this book, so their relationship doesn't evolve much in the writing. For that reason we don't get to fall over their relationship like we often do in other books. But at the same time it felt nice, not having a huge romance plot forced into a novel. This isn't about Jaime. It's not about Kiko and Jaime's relationship. So in the end I'm okay with his character not being as developed as Kiko's.

Kiko is finally deciding to spread her wings and see what the wind actually feels like. She's discovering the world and she's discovering herself. She's trying to unlearn how to feel the things she has been made to believe about herself, after having been told she's burden all her life.

This is a story about letting yourself shine. Realising you are worth the shine. Realising you can do it by yourself. You are worth it.

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Be aware that some earlier copies of this book, especially physical copies, may contain ableism. Kiko says/said that her abuser is 'a psycopath' or 'has a split-personality' when those are serious illnesses that the abuser doesn't actually have. The author is now aware that this is not right, has apologised, and has made sure that those parts of the book have been changed/removed.

As a whole, it was a nice book.
There was nothing bad about it but I just didn't seem as into it as I wanted to be.
The two main characters are good, I even grow to love Raleigh, however we get to know Raleigh a lot more than the other MC which makes their relationship unbalanced and difficult to completely get behind.

4.5
Kids standing up for themselves, being proud, making true friends and making sure they get the respect they deserve. Hell yeah!

If I had one small critique, it would be that I rolled my eyes at how stereotypical the mean girls were.
But other than that it was great.

I loved Liv's family (the moms are great, the dog is a dog, the brother is adorable and they all love each other so much it makes me want to cry), I ADORED his new friendships (JACOB JACOB JACOB <3), and of course his fight for being able to wear whatever people feel comfortable in is PERFECT.

Je viens de réaliser que je n'ai rien dit à propos de La Voleuse de Livres.
Ça fait trois ans depuis que je n'ai pas lu ce livre que je considère un coup de cœur. Il est temps de le rouvrir.

Fine, I'll let you destroy me over and over again.