I felt bad at first when I decided to DNF this, given how beloved it is and how much I admire the opinions and reviews of the friend who recommended it to me. Alas, not only was it not for me (I'm just not a lit-fic fan, and I have come to terms with that), but there was a scene in the narrator's early childhood with another young boy, revolving around him beginning to discover his sexuality, that made me awfully uncomfortable. I don't enjoy reading about small children and sexual acts in the same paragraph ever, much less the way it was written in this.

I didn't feel as bad about DNFing this, however, when I looked up the author and realized why his name had sounded so familiar to me. I'm not basing this DNF on who he is as a person or his other books, so I'm not going to go into that here, but if you're unaware, feel free to do a quick Google search or shoot me a DM. All I'm going to say is that I no longer have any remaining guilt about putting this one down, and I don't have any interest whatsoever in trying any of Boyne's other titles. 

 I don't usually like to DNF novellas since they're such quick reads, but I'm really not a fan of this writing or these characters, so I'm gonna go ahead and say this one isn't for me.
 

 I know, I know, that's really early to DNF a book, but this book has an audience who will adore it (deservedly so), and I'm afraid I'm not in that audience anymore. I've realized in the past few years that it's very rare that I enjoy a YA contemporary book anymore, and I've also reached the age (and the point in parenthood) where I'm no longer the fun, rebellious, spunky teen... but I'm now the grouchy, rule-abiding, "I do this because I care!" parent spoiling all of the aforementioned teen's fun.

Even this early in the book, Wendy is constantly griping about her parents not allowing her to go meet up with internet friends they're unfamiliar with, and she keeps tossing little barbs at them about how she's 17 and going off to college soon so they should lighten up... and all I keep thinking is, "But honey, they're right!"

I don't believe in rating books negatively when I know it's this much of an "it's not you, it's me" sort of thing, and I don't foresee my experience getting better based on the synopsis and other reviews (both positive & negative) that I've read, so I'm sadly going to cut my ties here and eagerly await K's next book instead. ♥

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own. 

 This was definitely one of those cases where I wasn't the target audience for this book and recognized that pretty quickly. I enjoy plenty of middle grade-aimed humor, but I don't think this sense of humor would have clicked with me even when I was a kid, and unfortunately, that's just how it goes with me and comedy books: it either works, or it doesn't (it usually doesn't), with no real in-between. 🤷‍♀️
 

 This is breaking my heart because this book was absolutely one of my most anticipated releases of the year and I was SO convinced I would adore it, but... after two months of trying my best and failing to trudge through, I'm finally setting it aside. I might give it another try someday when I'm feeling a bit more patient, but the plot isn't pulling me in at all, the writing is not quite there, and worst of all, these characters are wholly and painfully unlovable.
 

 

This was my second attempt at reading this because I know so many people adore this book and author, and the premise sounds so cute and fun, but even flying through the audiobook at 3x, I'm too bored to continue. :(

 

 I enjoy true crime and I'm especially fond of true crime told in a respectful way, so when I started this memoir, it felt like a perfect fit for me, as it's evident from the very first page that these cases mean a great deal to Steve Ryan and he carries these lost souls with him every day of his life. Unfortunately, the narrative style didn't work out for me and I ended up deciding not to finish this as I'm thinking The Ghosts That Haunt Me just isn't the right fit for this reader, but I highly recommend that other true crime lovers give it a try, especially if you're interested in hearing about the process from a detective's perspective.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own. 

This definitely feels like one of those "it's not you, it's me!" DNF situations. I love the setting, Eva's writing is fun, and the characters are interesting, but something about this isn't working for me right now. I might try it again another time, but will probably just settle on accepting that this one didn't work out for me the way I wanted it to.

Thank you to the publisher for the review copy! All thoughts are honest and my own. 

 Life is too short to read books that bore you... even when it's a book that you were so certain you would love. 😭

I've heard the audiobook is much better, so maybe I'll give this another try someday, but honestly, the writing isn't doing much for me and the characters are too abstract to connect to. I've heard people say this book feels like poetry without being poetry, and I can see that comparison, but not in a complimentary way, sadly.