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cleothegreat's review against another edition
3.0
I seem to have read quite a few books about physical/mental illness and recovery lately, which I can't really complain about. This book was a nice break from all the fantasy I've been indulging in. Still, it does have it's issues and that's why it gets 3 1/2 stars. The extra half star was for the unbelievably good twist on the very last page.
Meet Theodora, an aspiring ballerina with a missing best friend. Meet the book you think you've heard before, and let it turn your world upside down because this is not your average YA. This book is something special because really, how often do we get a book featuring multiple poc characters and an eating disorder? Never.
The character development is well worth dragging your way through the first half of the book. The only real action is seen 50 pages before the end but being able to see Theo's journey and recovery is breathtaking.
While I loved this kick ass book, it got 3 1/2 stars because it was just so....slow. It really was. The whole Donathon mystery is something we've seen before (missing best friend trope anyone?) and even though the author makes it into something different, the real perpetrator is easy enough to single out before the author reveals it. Also the romance annoyed me until the end.
Overall though, Theo turned out to be such a badass protagonist and her struggles carry such an important message. Definitely an interesting read through and through.
Meet Theodora, an aspiring ballerina with a missing best friend. Meet the book you think you've heard before, and let it turn your world upside down because this is not your average YA. This book is something special because really, how often do we get a book featuring multiple poc characters and an eating disorder? Never.
The character development is well worth dragging your way through the first half of the book. The only real action is seen 50 pages before the end but being able to see Theo's journey and recovery is breathtaking.
While I loved this kick ass book, it got 3 1/2 stars because it was just so....slow. It really was. The whole Donathon mystery is something we've seen before (missing best friend trope anyone?) and even though the author makes it into something different, the real perpetrator is easy enough to single out before the author reveals it. Also the romance annoyed me until the end.
Overall though, Theo turned out to be such a badass protagonist and her struggles carry such an important message. Definitely an interesting read through and through.
goudaparanoia's review against another edition
4.0
Very disturbing, pretty much every trigger you can think of but so hard to put down.
letsbebookfriends's review against another edition
5.0
*4.5* stars
Dark, heartbreaking, and beautifully written.
Dark, heartbreaking, and beautifully written.
trapwomanistcyborgwitch's review
3.0
3.5 stars
Heartbreaking, but good story. Moved a bit too slow for me. But I liked that it was a different YA story with a black girl as the main character. The writing was pretty good, the plot kept my attention. I would recommend for young girls 15 and up. Looking forward to the author's next book.
Heartbreaking, but good story. Moved a bit too slow for me. But I liked that it was a different YA story with a black girl as the main character. The writing was pretty good, the plot kept my attention. I would recommend for young girls 15 and up. Looking forward to the author's next book.
stuckinafictionaluniverse's review against another edition
2.0
Books that make me uncomfortable are always the hardest to rate. This is one of them.
2015 is definitely the year of books that mess with my head and leave me conflicted.
Up until 75%, I absolutely hated this.
I was with Theo, watching her every wrong move and her mess-ups, as she spiraled further and further down.
This is an extremely frustrating book. I couldn't stand our MC, she was so annoying that I wanted to DNF.
Never has it been so difficult for me to care for a character. Theo is very flawed and unlikable.
Not Parker Fadley straight-up bitchy, with humor and a small lovable side to her, but the straight-up horrible person with few redeeming qualities.
Theo cheats, lies, pushes everyone away and is self-centered.
She makes a billion and one mistakes, hurts so many people, and I did not like her.
It’s easy if there’s a villain in a story, one you can just point fingers at and hate as much as everyone else. But when the most unlikable person in the book is the one who’s telling it, how do you make it work?
In the end Theo is the one who has been hurt, the one who has fucked up so many things because other people ruined her.
It wasn’t until the last 50 pages that our narrator felt human to me. What happened to her was horrible and sad and far too real. That’s when she grew immensely and gained my sympathy, but not enough for me to like the book.
This is not a mystery: it’s a contemporary story about the struggle of one girl who is afraid to speak up. It’s about what the silence means and how it can change things.
It’s about a girl who makes poor decisions and hurts people because she herself has been hurt. It was so frustrating that I sometimes felt like throwing it out the window.
Based on the cover and title Pointe appears to be a story of ballet.
Based on the blurb, it seems like a mystery dealing with kidnapping.
In reality, the main focus lies elsewhere.
What’s next is a big spoiler, but it’s something I honestly wish I’d known starting this book, and it can be very triggering for some people.
At its core, this deals with two very heavy topics at the same time, one that you know right from the start, and one that is later revealed: eating disorders and.
Pointe isn’t pitched as the story of a, it’s pitched as a kidnapping story and a mystery, and you will be very disappointed if you expect that.
These two themes are described rather graphically and it is gut-wrenching and heartbreaking. This author has some balls to write about it in such a convincing and detailed way, but I was personally disturbed by it rather than emotionally affected by it.
Please don’t read this if you don’t consider yourself mature enough or can be triggered by the topics I just stated. I haven’t experienced any of them, and I still felt very unsettled and shocked by the content.
It made me uncomfortable, scared, sad and most of all angry.
This wasn’t necessarily a bad book, but it was difficult to read and I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if I hadn’t been so surprised by the actual plot.
It messed with my head, because we have a TSTL heroine throughout most of the book, whose reasons I completely understood at the end. I can't tell if Theo's character was purposely written as unlikable so you'd be forced to sympathize with her despite her flaws. I just don't know.
2015 is definitely the year of books that mess with my head and leave me conflicted.
Up until 75%, I absolutely hated this.
I was with Theo, watching her every wrong move and her mess-ups, as she spiraled further and further down.
This is an extremely frustrating book. I couldn't stand our MC, she was so annoying that I wanted to DNF.
Never has it been so difficult for me to care for a character. Theo is very flawed and unlikable.
Not Parker Fadley straight-up bitchy, with humor and a small lovable side to her, but the straight-up horrible person with few redeeming qualities.
Theo cheats, lies, pushes everyone away and is self-centered.
She makes a billion and one mistakes, hurts so many people, and I did not like her.
It’s easy if there’s a villain in a story, one you can just point fingers at and hate as much as everyone else. But when the most unlikable person in the book is the one who’s telling it, how do you make it work?
In the end Theo is the one who has been hurt, the one who has fucked up so many things because other people ruined her.
It wasn’t until the last 50 pages that our narrator felt human to me. What happened to her was horrible and sad and far too real. That’s when she grew immensely and gained my sympathy, but not enough for me to like the book.
This is not a mystery: it’s a contemporary story about the struggle of one girl who is afraid to speak up. It’s about what the silence means and how it can change things.
It’s about a girl who makes poor decisions and hurts people because she herself has been hurt. It was so frustrating that I sometimes felt like throwing it out the window.
Based on the cover and title Pointe appears to be a story of ballet.
Based on the blurb, it seems like a mystery dealing with kidnapping.
In reality, the main focus lies elsewhere.
What’s next is a big spoiler, but it’s something I honestly wish I’d known starting this book, and it can be very triggering for some people.
At its core, this deals with two very heavy topics at the same time, one that you know right from the start, and one that is later revealed: eating disorders and
Spoiler
statutory rapePointe isn’t pitched as the story of a
Spoiler
rape survivor (who refused to believe she was raped. Theo she was too young to consent, but didn't know it. Side note: This made me damned concerned about the sex education in America, even though this is fiction) and someone struggling with an EDThese two themes are described rather graphically and it is gut-wrenching and heartbreaking. This author has some balls to write about it in such a convincing and detailed way, but I was personally disturbed by it rather than emotionally affected by it.
Please don’t read this if you don’t consider yourself mature enough or can be triggered by the topics I just stated. I haven’t experienced any of them, and I still felt very unsettled and shocked by the content.
It made me uncomfortable, scared, sad and most of all angry.
This wasn’t necessarily a bad book, but it was difficult to read and I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if I hadn’t been so surprised by the actual plot.
It messed with my head, because we have a TSTL heroine throughout most of the book, whose reasons I completely understood at the end. I can't tell if Theo's character was purposely written as unlikable so you'd be forced to sympathize with her despite her flaws. I just don't know.
ell_jay_em7's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, I loved this. It's rare that I get teary while reading but I did at the end. Brandy Colbert captures the agony of teenage secrets and trauma so pointedly (lol) it made my heart ache. I'm glad this book exists.
taylorlechat's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I wish they would have focused more on the trial and her eating habits, rather than her boytoy, but I liked the realistic yet optimistic ending.
hayleybeale's review against another edition
4.0
A complex, nuanced novel about a young Black woman whose life spins out of control when her best friend, who was abducted four years earlier, comes back. See my full review here.
sdb27's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. Heartbreaking but beautifully told. Everything that The Ice Cream Girls should have been.
natidelgadov's review against another edition
2.0
Este fue un libro que definitivamente no disfruté leer, toca diversos temas como la pedofilia, la infidelidad y trastornos alimenticios, los cuales me impactaron tanto que leía con mucha angustia. Lo que más rescato de este libro es el final, el cambio de Theo, los padres de la protagonista y el apoyo de su entrenadora.
A pesar de que sufrí mientras leía este libro, me parece que está muy bien escrito y que los temas que toca son importantes de leer.
A pesar de que sufrí mientras leía este libro, me parece que está muy bien escrito y que los temas que toca son importantes de leer.