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3.21 AVERAGE
3.21 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
3.5? I'm feeling really split about this one. The first chapter is absolute perfection, but then the rest of the book isn't as tight. I liked the character of Althea.
(2.5 stars) The curious case of a talented novelist writing a mediocre book. The prose is great, the characters realistic, and the ending is pretty much perfect and yet overall the book was just ok. I tried to put my finger on what was stopping me from liking the novel more, particularly with all the things it had going for it. I think it was that neither Althea nor Oliver had anything really driving them. Neither character wanted anything enough, which kept me from rooting for or connecting with them. But Moracho is a writer to watch as this is her first novel and it had so much virtue, despite my lukewarm feelings for it.
I want a boy best friend who I can fall in and they will fall in love with me and if we argued I would drive up the coast to save our friendship. I'm actually enraged over the fact that they don't really resolve their relationship. Like I get that they kind of get together at the end but then they go their separate ways and all of a sudden they start talking about how they don't know when they will see each other again and what will they tell their future girlfriend/boyfriend when they ask about each other. Like that's not how true love works. You get together with that person. You don't just leave them.
I would have liked this book if there wasn't a rape that was glossed over. Althea rapes Oliver and even though Oliver acknowledges this, he won't call her a rapist. His friend asks if she is ugly by way of excusing it completely. Like it could only be rape if she wasn't beautiful but she is. So what's his problem? The author had a real chance to talk about something that happens to men too and she wasted that chance. Gross doesn't even cover it. If the roles had been reversed, this would not have happened.
Kind of a mess. The present-tense narration doesn't work so well, neither Althea nor Oliver comes across as a sympathetic character, and Althea's "big mistake" at Oliver's expense boggled my mind-- and not in a good way. I liked the idea behind the story, but the execution fell short.
I absolutely loved this book. I wanted to read it slowly to savour its beauty, but at the same time I had to find out how it ended.
Although I don't agree with the terrible decision Althea made, it was necessary for the plot-line.
I loved the style of writing. It was very descriptive, but it wasn't overdone.
Despite the fact that the ending wasn't what I thought it would be, there's a chance for readers to make their own conclusions about the future of the characters.
Although I don't agree with the terrible decision Althea made, it was necessary for the plot-line.
I loved the style of writing. It was very descriptive, but it wasn't overdone.
Despite the fact that the ending wasn't what I thought it would be, there's a chance for readers to make their own conclusions about the future of the characters.
Great! Loved the writing style and that the story did not go into a predictable obvious way. Was not expecting that much. Was pleasently surprised.