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erin_reads_boooks's review
2.0
I didn't really like this book, but I finished it so there's that. Not bad, per se, but not my cup of tea.
girlygirlbookworm's review
2.0
Eh I was just not a fan of this book. I wanted to like it so bad and I just couldn't. The main message of the book was a good one, but overall I just found it to be a snooze fest. The first 100 pages were a huge struggle for me. I was literally falling asleep. The main character just annoyed me to no one. What 16 year old acts like this. He started trying to kill himself at like 10 or 11 claiming it was calling him. I just felt like a lot of this book just kinda talked in circles. It would go back and forth between past and present almost with no warning. I also didn't get the deal with the dead cow, Jodi or Violet. I kinda felt like they didn't add to the story or didn't make any sense. My favorite character was Maddy. She was probably the only good part other than the whole message of the book. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone really, which I'm really bummed to say.
lbolesta's review
4.0
A bit aimless. Hard not to hold it up against As Simple as Snow, which is amzing.
pumpkinghost24's review
3.0
The only reason this even got three stars was because it made me think. It was beyond depressing, very boring, it jumped around with the past and future so much that it was confusing, and gave me more questions to think than answering them, such as why Adam doesn't die. I wanted this book to just be over and for me that's pretty bad. It was almost a punishment finishing this book. Adam reminds me a lot of Holden from The Catcher in the Rye, which is not a good thing since I hated Holden. Both are whiny and do nothing to help better themselves. Only difference is, Adam likes to kill himself. I'm sorry but I personally would not recommend this book, as I did not enjoy it in the least bit.
atperez's review
3.0
The story didn't live up to the premise but I ended up being less disappointed by this than I originally thought I would be. It starts off slow and is very repetitive, mostly filled with thoughts that are perhaps meant to be deep takes of the existentially nihilistic approach but just sound whiny and angsty.
But then the main character starts interacting with more interesting people than his one-dimensional friends -namely a very smart young lady and a kind, religious older man- and the story gets more interesting. It even manages to end on a somewhat uplifting note, though that might just be in comparison to the rest of the book.
I don't regret reading this but I'm not sure I can recommend it, either.
But then the main character starts interacting with more interesting people than his one-dimensional friends -namely a very smart young lady and a kind, religious older man- and the story gets more interesting. It even manages to end on a somewhat uplifting note, though that might just be in comparison to the rest of the book.
I don't regret reading this but I'm not sure I can recommend it, either.
sarahjsnider's review
1.0
I thought this would be a good choice for book club, but I wouldn't want to make anyone else read this. Reading about how bored someone else is is not interesting, and teenagers who are bored yet say they don't want to grow up...I can't relate.
djblock99's review
2.0
Adam lives in an economically depressed town on the Mississippi River in Southeastern Iowa, and yeah, he dies a lot and them comes back from the dead. He's especially fond of jumping off the old bridge that spans the river, but has also attempted many other suicide methods.
The story meanders slowly along, moving back and forth as much as it moves forward, as Adam wastes his days on the river's edge with his friends, drinking and watching a dead cow decompose. He certainly got the feel of small town life right.
I think the author suffers from a terminal case of Trying Too Hard as he works discussions of Camus and Kafka into the story by giving Adam various mentors who try to help him. He's also helped by a precocious ten-year-old with another mysterious illness.
The narrative is repetitive and very slippery in regards to time. After slogging through the first three quarters at a slug's pace, everything was resolved too suddenly.
The story meanders slowly along, moving back and forth as much as it moves forward, as Adam wastes his days on the river's edge with his friends, drinking and watching a dead cow decompose. He certainly got the feel of small town life right.
I think the author suffers from a terminal case of Trying Too Hard as he works discussions of Camus and Kafka into the story by giving Adam various mentors who try to help him. He's also helped by a precocious ten-year-old with another mysterious illness.
The narrative is repetitive and very slippery in regards to time. After slogging through the first three quarters at a slug's pace, everything was resolved too suddenly.
natverse's review
2.0
Great writing and style, but too many things left unanswered and confused. One or two mysteries are fine, but this feels unfinished and unrefined because of it.
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