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2.26k reviews by:
taliaissmart
DNF @ p. 70
I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with this book, but it's not for me. I haven't been able to get hooked or connect with the characters.
I don't think there's necessarily anything wrong with this book, but it's not for me. I haven't been able to get hooked or connect with the characters.
Frustrating and fascinating story of a relationship between a young writer and her obtuse housekeeper Emerence. There’s so much substance here, but I can’t say that I really enjoyed it.
3.5 stars
Prinstein eloquently and accessibly provides a wealth of information and examples demonstrating the roles two kinds of popularity—status and likability—play in your mental and physical health & wellbeing. Very interesting!
I didn’t always feel like the information was especially surprising, but I enjoyed learning about the psychological studies and evidence that back up the loose notions of popularity that I already had. There are also not a lot of practical suggestions here, but it doesn’t claim to be a self-help book. Still, I feel like it could attract that audience, so just know going in that you’ll be getting info rather than advice.
Prinstein eloquently and accessibly provides a wealth of information and examples demonstrating the roles two kinds of popularity—status and likability—play in your mental and physical health & wellbeing. Very interesting!
I didn’t always feel like the information was especially surprising, but I enjoyed learning about the psychological studies and evidence that back up the loose notions of popularity that I already had. There are also not a lot of practical suggestions here, but it doesn’t claim to be a self-help book. Still, I feel like it could attract that audience, so just know going in that you’ll be getting info rather than advice.
Jason Reynolds once again (seemingly) effortlessly conveys the trials big and small of middle school, family, and teamwork. So real. So funny. So good.
2.5 stars!
Stella is an econometrician who loves her job but resists promotion because she feels that her interpersonal skills are inadequate for management. She has Asperger's syndrome, and she's never been in a relationship. All of her sexual experiences have been cringeworthy, to say the least, and now her mom is pressuring her to find a boyfriend. To overcome her ineptitude, Stella decides that she needs to learn about sex and dating...from a professional. She hires Michael, an escort, with lessons in mind—lessons that quickly fall by the wayside as feelings take over.
There were some things that I really enjoyed about this book. I love the nuanced representation of someone on the autism spectrum, and I think it's so important to see an Asian male protagonist in a romance novel as well! The love scenes were SUPER steamy, and I enjoyed watching the progression of Stella and Michael's relationship.
Unfortunately, I had a difficult time with the writing style, which struck me as a bit stilted. There's a lot of telling rather than showing, and the characters' inner monologues come across as rather obvious as they have over-the-top realizations about the simplest of things. I was also frustrated by the nature of Stella and Michael's major relationship issue, which is insecurity and misunderstanding borne out of a lack of communication. So much could have been resolved easily if they had just TALKED to each other.
Nevertheless, I breezed through this novel and enjoyed it as a light, summery read.
Stella is an econometrician who loves her job but resists promotion because she feels that her interpersonal skills are inadequate for management. She has Asperger's syndrome, and she's never been in a relationship. All of her sexual experiences have been cringeworthy, to say the least, and now her mom is pressuring her to find a boyfriend. To overcome her ineptitude, Stella decides that she needs to learn about sex and dating...from a professional. She hires Michael, an escort, with lessons in mind—lessons that quickly fall by the wayside as feelings take over.
There were some things that I really enjoyed about this book. I love the nuanced representation of someone on the autism spectrum, and I think it's so important to see an Asian male protagonist in a romance novel as well! The love scenes were SUPER steamy, and I enjoyed watching the progression of Stella and Michael's relationship.
Unfortunately, I had a difficult time with the writing style, which struck me as a bit stilted. There's a lot of telling rather than showing, and the characters' inner monologues come across as rather obvious as they have over-the-top realizations about the simplest of things. I was also frustrated by the nature of Stella and Michael's major relationship issue, which is insecurity and misunderstanding borne out of a lack of communication. So much could have been resolved easily if they had just TALKED to each other.
Nevertheless, I breezed through this novel and enjoyed it as a light, summery read.
Extremely bizarre but brilliant, I think?
It dragged a little bit toward the middle, but I think that would be difficult to avoid with subject matter that involves, primarily, sleep.
It dragged a little bit toward the middle, but I think that would be difficult to avoid with subject matter that involves, primarily, sleep.
3.5 stars
A sweet, enjoyable story of a small village in Canada and how it is impacted by the arrival of an ultra-talkative orphan girl. I loved watching Anne's relationships with her adoptive parents develop, and Gilbert Blythe won my heart. I was a little disappointed by the inconsistency of the pacing, though—hundreds of pages describe the minutiae of Anne's first couple of years in Avonlea, and then the next four years race by. While we are told that Anne is maturing, we don't really get to see it happening.
A sweet, enjoyable story of a small village in Canada and how it is impacted by the arrival of an ultra-talkative orphan girl. I loved watching Anne's relationships with her adoptive parents develop, and Gilbert Blythe won my heart. I was a little disappointed by the inconsistency of the pacing, though—hundreds of pages describe the minutiae of Anne's first couple of years in Avonlea, and then the next four years race by. While we are told that Anne is maturing, we don't really get to see it happening.
DNF @ p.82
I wanted to like this, and I could feel myself getting pulled in a little at the start, but the feeling just didn’t last. Twinkle is a frustratingly oblivious MC, the story is bland (and the dialogues re: movies just made me sort of cringe a little), and it all just came off as unrealistic and so juvenile.
I wanted to like this, and I could feel myself getting pulled in a little at the start, but the feeling just didn’t last. Twinkle is a frustratingly oblivious MC, the story is bland (and the dialogues re: movies just made me sort of cringe a little), and it all just came off as unrealistic and so juvenile.
*RECOMMENDED BY CONNOR WARREN
Withholding judgment until I discuss w friends at book club
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I didn’t NOT enjoy reading this book. I was frustrated by the pacing, and I think there’s a lot that’s not great about it (although it’s so hard to tell what is and isn’t intentional), but I liked the prose and it was an interesting concept!
Withholding judgment until I discuss w friends at book club
—
I didn’t NOT enjoy reading this book. I was frustrated by the pacing, and I think there’s a lot that’s not great about it (although it’s so hard to tell what is and isn’t intentional), but I liked the prose and it was an interesting concept!
DNF @ 268
Well, that's disappointing. I thought I'd love this one, but it's not clicking at all for me.
The three narrators sound EXACTLY the same, the magic system isn't fleshed out at all, the worldbuilding is poor (according to many Nigerian own-voices reviewers who know a lot better than I do), there's some kind of ridiculous romance brewing, it's full of gratuitous violence and death, the pacing is off (some scenes way too fast and some that absolutely drag), the prose is just FINE, and the plot is generic.
I can say that it's very cinematic, though, and I certainly welcome the forthcoming movie adaptation. And of course, if this is the book that makes reading feel accessible to you or that allows you to see yourself represented in the YA fantasy canon, that's wonderful. It just didn't work for me.
Well, that's disappointing. I thought I'd love this one, but it's not clicking at all for me.
The three narrators sound EXACTLY the same, the magic system isn't fleshed out at all, the worldbuilding is poor (according to many Nigerian own-voices reviewers who know a lot better than I do), there's some kind of ridiculous romance brewing, it's full of gratuitous violence and death, the pacing is off (some scenes way too fast and some that absolutely drag), the prose is just FINE, and the plot is generic.
I can say that it's very cinematic, though, and I certainly welcome the forthcoming movie adaptation. And of course, if this is the book that makes reading feel accessible to you or that allows you to see yourself represented in the YA fantasy canon, that's wonderful. It just didn't work for me.