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jbarr5's review
5.0
The beautiful lost by Luanne Rice
Starts out with the teen daughter, her mother gone, her father married a new woman Astra.
Love treasures I find in this book: whale room and all the associations with her mother.
She would see Billy Gorham standing at the window-his mother was murdered by his father...
Celestrial navagation and the sextant, another treasure! Mia sees a therapist but she feels bad for others who have to wait.
Hearing about the cairns brought tears to my eyes as we seek them out.
The plan is in motion and she takes Billy with her and he knows how to do things. Loved being on the Morgan again and learning more about the decks below.
Love the journey of where her plan will take them on, enjoying the journey so much.
Love personal message from the author, so touching. Resources listed at the end.
Starts out with the teen daughter, her mother gone, her father married a new woman Astra.
Love treasures I find in this book: whale room and all the associations with her mother.
She would see Billy Gorham standing at the window-his mother was murdered by his father...
Celestrial navagation and the sextant, another treasure! Mia sees a therapist but she feels bad for others who have to wait.
Hearing about the cairns brought tears to my eyes as we seek them out.
The plan is in motion and she takes Billy with her and he knows how to do things. Loved being on the Morgan again and learning more about the decks below.
Love the journey of where her plan will take them on, enjoying the journey so much.
Love personal message from the author, so touching. Resources listed at the end.
perilous1's review against another edition
3.0
Originally reviewed for YA Books Central: http://www.yabookscentral.com/yafiction/21683-the-beautiful-lost
A first-person past-tense telling exclusively from the perspective of Maia, a depressed high school sophomore with some ambitious—if half-formed—plans for running away from home just before summer break. (She doesn’t seem to see it as running away so much as setting out to find her reclusive whale scientist mother.)
What I liked:
The prose itself was solid, and there were even a few quotable moments. The consistent incorporation of information on whales added a charmingly ethereal quality that suited the main character’s vaguely fantastical mindset.
It was refreshing to see the external cause tied to the main character’s depression as something a little more subtle than some of the traumatic and/or gratuitous possibilities common to YA lit. (Granted, being willfully abandoned by a parent is a terrible thing to endure.) Because it can be too easily lumped together with the oh-so-commonplace event of divorce, it’s something that peers tend to overlook or not think to empathize with.
I deeply appreciate how much care the author took with her personal note at the end of the book, regarding her own struggle with depression and anxiety (which was tied directly to a dysfunctional homelife.) And props to her for being so responsible as to include a page of information on where one can seek mental health and suicide prevention assistance.
What Didn’t Work For Me:
-Maia is a fairly unreliable narrator. (Which isn’t unfitting for a book addressing mental illness. But some readers may find this aspect difficult to cope with, as Maia is also our only narrator.) We discover early on that she’s been battling mental health issues ever since the mother she idolized left their family, and her father remarried.
She has been hospitalized previously for depression over an incident she insists wasn’t a suicide attempt. She was only intending on listening to the radio in the car her mother left her… by sitting inside it with the engine on… in a closed garage. >.> Yeah. Totally not a suicide attempt. So, how dare her dad and stepmom be vigilantly assessing her every move and abnormal behavior?
In this, as well as in her choice of unvetted road trip companionship, dodging legal passage into Canada, and hunting down her bio-mom without an address or any money of her own with which to execute this venture… there is much belief that readers will have to suspend.
-Unfortunately, the story suffers from at least one case of insta-love. Before they are anything more than passing school acquaintances, Maia has been engaging in some borderline voyeuristic obsession, and thinks of Billy as the “love of my life.” But even with them thrown together and relying on each other amid their travels, the chemistry between them never quite comes through as compelling or believable. (If they’d already had an established relationship, or simply a friendship, before this story takes place, I suspect this aspect would have felt far less contrived.)
-Billy himself is pretty erratic in behavior for the first half of their road trip. Not only is he concerningly volatile in the emotional department, he’s also pretty hot-and-cold on the romantic side of things. After we learn his backstory and get a taste for his law-evasion skills, I spent a good while wondering if the plot was about to go violently sideways. Maia, on the other hand, seemed distressingly naive about the vulnerable position she’d placed herself in with a boy she barely knows. In short—not exactly a recipe for “swoon-worthy.”
-Though she had previously decided to try quitting her psych meds cold turkey and admits she suffered hugely from withdrawal, Maia at one point gets it into her head that doing the same thing will be okay this time—because she has a boyfriend now, and she’s definitely (maybe) going to be reunited with her mom. (While this is yet another mark against her having common sense, the natural consequences of this are at least made evident.)
-At one point we’re given a séance scene that throws in a sense of magical realism, but ultimately didn’t seem to amount to anything.
A first-person past-tense telling exclusively from the perspective of Maia, a depressed high school sophomore with some ambitious—if half-formed—plans for running away from home just before summer break. (She doesn’t seem to see it as running away so much as setting out to find her reclusive whale scientist mother.)
What I liked:
The prose itself was solid, and there were even a few quotable moments. The consistent incorporation of information on whales added a charmingly ethereal quality that suited the main character’s vaguely fantastical mindset.
It was refreshing to see the external cause tied to the main character’s depression as something a little more subtle than some of the traumatic and/or gratuitous possibilities common to YA lit. (Granted, being willfully abandoned by a parent is a terrible thing to endure.) Because it can be too easily lumped together with the oh-so-commonplace event of divorce, it’s something that peers tend to overlook or not think to empathize with.
I deeply appreciate how much care the author took with her personal note at the end of the book, regarding her own struggle with depression and anxiety (which was tied directly to a dysfunctional homelife.) And props to her for being so responsible as to include a page of information on where one can seek mental health and suicide prevention assistance.
What Didn’t Work For Me:
-Maia is a fairly unreliable narrator. (Which isn’t unfitting for a book addressing mental illness. But some readers may find this aspect difficult to cope with, as Maia is also our only narrator.) We discover early on that she’s been battling mental health issues ever since the mother she idolized left their family, and her father remarried.
She has been hospitalized previously for depression over an incident she insists wasn’t a suicide attempt. She was only intending on listening to the radio in the car her mother left her… by sitting inside it with the engine on… in a closed garage. >.> Yeah. Totally not a suicide attempt. So, how dare her dad and stepmom be vigilantly assessing her every move and abnormal behavior?
In this, as well as in her choice of unvetted road trip companionship, dodging legal passage into Canada, and hunting down her bio-mom without an address or any money of her own with which to execute this venture… there is much belief that readers will have to suspend.
-Unfortunately, the story suffers from at least one case of insta-love. Before they are anything more than passing school acquaintances, Maia has been engaging in some borderline voyeuristic obsession, and thinks of Billy as the “love of my life.” But even with them thrown together and relying on each other amid their travels, the chemistry between them never quite comes through as compelling or believable. (If they’d already had an established relationship, or simply a friendship, before this story takes place, I suspect this aspect would have felt far less contrived.)
-Billy himself is pretty erratic in behavior for the first half of their road trip. Not only is he concerningly volatile in the emotional department, he’s also pretty hot-and-cold on the romantic side of things. After we learn his backstory and get a taste for his law-evasion skills, I spent a good while wondering if the plot was about to go violently sideways. Maia, on the other hand, seemed distressingly naive about the vulnerable position she’d placed herself in with a boy she barely knows. In short—not exactly a recipe for “swoon-worthy.”
-Though she had previously decided to try quitting her psych meds cold turkey and admits she suffered hugely from withdrawal, Maia at one point gets it into her head that doing the same thing will be okay this time—because she has a boyfriend now, and she’s definitely (maybe) going to be reunited with her mom. (While this is yet another mark against her having common sense, the natural consequences of this are at least made evident.)
-At one point we’re given a séance scene that throws in a sense of magical realism, but ultimately didn’t seem to amount to anything.
skylarmarie2213's review against another edition
1.0
Honestly just not very good and a basic, incorrect depiction of mental health issues
the_3bs's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
syndi3's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A story about a depress girl having a road trip, with a cute boy in tow? I am in. And i do not disappoint. This book is cute. It has minimum drama. Focusing on finding urself during the road trip and overcome ur fear.
Maia the despress girl, runs away from home to find her mother. Just based on snippet email she get from her mother, she is set in adventure. Billy is a boy in the tow. He too also wants to escape from his group home. And as result their journey is one of a kind. Throw in a mild romance, then u have a wonderful book.
The healing journey not only come from the romance but also wisdoms from people they met during their journey. Also sone whales.
I feel like i want to grab my bag and just run. Run away with or without boy in tow and explore the world.
Maia the despress girl, runs away from home to find her mother. Just based on snippet email she get from her mother, she is set in adventure. Billy is a boy in the tow. He too also wants to escape from his group home. And as result their journey is one of a kind. Throw in a mild romance, then u have a wonderful book.
The healing journey not only come from the romance but also wisdoms from people they met during their journey. Also sone whales.
I feel like i want to grab my bag and just run. Run away with or without boy in tow and explore the world.
jazzyjan94's review
3.0
I liked the first few chapters and I loved getting to know the main characters, Maia and Billy. However after the first few chapters, I didn’t really enjoy this book, even though I was curious enough to finish it just so I could see what happened. I felt like there were several main characters that could have also been better developed such as Astrid (Maia’s step-mom) and Gillian (Maia’s mom), especially since these two characters seemed to be foils to each other. I did like how the author dealt with mental illness throughout the entirety of the novel, however I felt like it was dwarfed with all the different issues/themes she tried to tackle which really did not have much to do with the main plot – I felt like these things detracted from everything else. 2.5/5 Stars.
willowshelter's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
francescaelizabeth's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
gladysreads's review against another edition
4.0
I really liked this book because Luanne Rice really shows how depression is present all the time. After she stopped taking her meds, Maia felt like she was on Cloud 9 because she was with the new found love of her life and she was really happy but she also had a few episodes of her illness seeping through. I'm really happy it wasn't one of those "they meet a person and their depression suddenly disappeared" kind of stories. Although I was kind of upset Billy left her near the end he did it because she was unstable. At that moment I felt like Maia and I were one. During that point of the story I honestly wanted to yell at Maia's parents that if they didn't leave her alone she'd kill herself even though it was irrational I felt very strong emotions at that moment. I honestly got really mad when I say that she got back to the institution but it seemed to have made her a better person.
A little thing I liked was that she talked well about French Canadians, I like the historical story about Innus (expect she wrote ta coeur instead of ton coeur, a typical mistake for English speakers). Also when black people appeared in the story she deliberately said "black people" instead of African American because 1. they were in Canada and 2. people always think it's racist or bad to call black people black but as a member of the black community we have no problem with that. At all.
In conclusion, it's a great story over all and now I have a love for whales. This is a great piece of literature.
A little thing I liked was that she talked well about French Canadians, I like the historical story about Innus (expect she wrote ta coeur instead of ton coeur, a typical mistake for English speakers). Also when black people appeared in the story she deliberately said "black people" instead of African American because 1. they were in Canada and 2. people always think it's racist or bad to call black people black but as a member of the black community we have no problem with that. At all.
In conclusion, it's a great story over all and now I have a love for whales. This is a great piece of literature.