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The title reminding me of the song by Nine Days was probably the biggest motivator in picking up this book. The title got dropped early on, but rather than referencing the main character, Deanna, it talked about this wave-rider girl she was writing about in her journal. This is a plot device that’s been used many times over, but it came in with such inconsistent timing that I rather it had been dropped from the story altogether. The story should’ve been featured more prominently rather than just in times when Deanna needed to seem like a teenager with the power of introspection (which was never quite successful).
All of the characters we’re pretty flat, but I actually prefer it that way since they were playing a part in Deanna’s narrative. They existed, not as people, but to serve a purpose. Still, I didn’t love how some characters (like her parents!) embodied this horrible mindset and were detrimental to Deanna, but it was just sort of accepted by her. Even if current day Deanna was numb to it, I would’ve liked some deeper thoughts from her past self (or really just more time) spent on what their offense at Deanna did to her emotionally over the two years between when her incident happened and when the book took place.
The best thing about this book was how immature Deanna was without being naive or annoying. It was based in solid 16-year-old logic where the audience saw how she was wrong, but understood how she thought herself in the right. It was a delicate balance to strike and saved this book from being over the top. It wasn’t enough to save the story from it’s fake-deep feeling, though. I’m glad it was a quick read, because any more time spent on it would have been a waste for me.
All of the characters we’re pretty flat, but I actually prefer it that way since they were playing a part in Deanna’s narrative. They existed, not as people, but to serve a purpose. Still, I didn’t love how some characters (like her parents!) embodied this horrible mindset and were detrimental to Deanna, but it was just sort of accepted by her. Even if current day Deanna was numb to it, I would’ve liked some deeper thoughts from her past self (or really just more time) spent on what their offense at Deanna did to her emotionally over the two years between when her incident happened and when the book took place.
The best thing about this book was how immature Deanna was without being naive or annoying. It was based in solid 16-year-old logic where the audience saw how she was wrong, but understood how she thought herself in the right. It was a delicate balance to strike and saved this book from being over the top. It wasn’t enough to save the story from it’s fake-deep feeling, though. I’m glad it was a quick read, because any more time spent on it would have been a waste for me.
BINGE was definitely written how I would expect Tyler Oakley to write. In fact, there were tons of throw-away lines that I could clearly hear the EXACT way he would say it - complete with appropriate gestures - despite having never met him. It was both enjoyable because Tyler’s way of speaking is so fun, and irritating because people generally don’t write books like how we speak. (Even this post isn’t a good speech-to-text translation.)
The major road bump I ran into while reading BINGE was how it wasn’t in chronological order. Granted, I haven’t read a lot of memoirs, so maybe it’s more common than I think. It was just a little jarring to go from college hijinx to childhood incidents with the turn of a page. Maybe it was just the ordering of the chapters that needed to be smoothed over. Still, it felt like I was reading an anthology written by the same person; it was different stories about the same cast, not meant to be read cover to cover.
Tyler covered a LOT. More topics than I thought he would in a single book. Some of these chapters had me laughing and others had me teary-eyed. That kind of variety is good in a book, but I wish it was better distributed. I loved the chaotic story of the wicker basket in his Michelle Obama interview, and was enthralled by his retelling of the fangirl hoard that terrified him by singing “Happy Birthday” while surrounding his cab at VidCon. Then, it bopped around again and went back to talking about how he ruined another pair of underwear.
The major road bump I ran into while reading BINGE was how it wasn’t in chronological order. Granted, I haven’t read a lot of memoirs, so maybe it’s more common than I think. It was just a little jarring to go from college hijinx to childhood incidents with the turn of a page. Maybe it was just the ordering of the chapters that needed to be smoothed over. Still, it felt like I was reading an anthology written by the same person; it was different stories about the same cast, not meant to be read cover to cover.
Tyler covered a LOT. More topics than I thought he would in a single book. Some of these chapters had me laughing and others had me teary-eyed. That kind of variety is good in a book, but I wish it was better distributed. I loved the chaotic story of the wicker basket in his Michelle Obama interview, and was enthralled by his retelling of the fangirl hoard that terrified him by singing “Happy Birthday” while surrounding his cab at VidCon. Then, it bopped around again and went back to talking about how he ruined another pair of underwear.
Hex Hall had the usual markers for a story that’d be up my alley: a magic society living among humans and a school for their magical (delinquent) teens. That also meant I was in danger of cliches so I entered the series with caution - and anticipation of not caring enough to continue the series afterwards if I’m being honest.
I was most taken with Sophie’s vampire roommate, Jenna. In a world full of fairies and witches, she was the most realistic character. She had a solid backstory that contributed to her actions and worldview. She was also hilarious and the only LGBT character, so there’s that. Our main character Sophie began the story a bit like a Mary Sue, but she showed a more developed worldview as the story went on. I can’t say the same for Archer, the classic bad-boy love interest, who I did NOT have any fondness for through the entire story.
Rachel Hawkins writes with humor similar to Rick Riordan and Cassandra Clare, and how the story was written kept me engaged more than the plot. Still, I found Hex Hall thoroughly enjoyable. The world building was a little rocky at times, but the first book gave me enough to be curious about in the coming books that I kept on reading them.
I was most taken with Sophie’s vampire roommate, Jenna. In a world full of fairies and witches, she was the most realistic character. She had a solid backstory that contributed to her actions and worldview. She was also hilarious and the only LGBT character, so there’s that. Our main character Sophie began the story a bit like a Mary Sue, but she showed a more developed worldview as the story went on. I can’t say the same for Archer, the classic bad-boy love interest, who I did NOT have any fondness for through the entire story.
Rachel Hawkins writes with humor similar to Rick Riordan and Cassandra Clare, and how the story was written kept me engaged more than the plot. Still, I found Hex Hall thoroughly enjoyable. The world building was a little rocky at times, but the first book gave me enough to be curious about in the coming books that I kept on reading them.