Reviews

Definitely messier than the first book, but the mystery and action were much more compelling (probably because they weren't about highly specialised knowledge that was pretty much deliberately obscure). Usually not into multiple POVs but it worked for me - it built suspense and showed the narratives interweaving in a smart way. I thought the Book of Good Times was a really charming plot device, and the big take-away message at the end was a valuable one, if not particularly novel coming from Hank Green.

rosesandproses's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I had a hard time getting into this one. The multiple perspectives were frustrating for me (this is definitely a my preference thing; I wouldn't have read this book if it were not the sequel to the first one), and the book does take a while to pick up and get going, then the big stuff happens rapid fire in the last ~100pgs.

I love Hank Green and I appreciate his ability to get big ideas into a story that sort of hits on all the *gestures broadly to the dumpster fire world.* But I really preferred the first book, although I do agree that it needed a sequel.

The use of the articles at the beginning of many chapters was landing about 4/5 times. Enough that I think it needed to stay, but since every chapter did not start with a snippet like that, I personally would've cut a few more.

This sounds very bad for a book I gave 4 stars. I did enjoy it! It made me feel things and laugh, and I love the characters and their growth! I just feel like this needed one more edit to get over the finish line.

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