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3.27 AVERAGE
3.27 AVERAGE
"What hits home for me about this book is that there is not separation of online and offline life – it is all just life. That’s what it’s like for Gena and Finn, and that’s what it’s like for millennials. There is no separation, no “real” life. We just happen to live on the internet."
read the rest of my review on my blog at https://libtastic.wordpress.com/2016/04/20/review-genafinn-by-kat-helgeson-hannah-moskowit/
read the rest of my review on my blog at https://libtastic.wordpress.com/2016/04/20/review-genafinn-by-kat-helgeson-hannah-moskowit/
emotional
medium-paced
Things I Find While Shelving
I received a free ARC via NetGalley
I feel like something is missing in this book.
The first half was. Well it was a giant ball of nerdy wonderfulness. It reminded me of the days when fandom on LJ was hopping. Ah I miss those days. *pauses for a moment of nerdy recollecitons*
*cough*
Ahem
The second half was. It was heartbreaking and beautiful and hard to read and so well done.
But in between. I felt like the shift between them didn't work. What we were expected to believe about Finn's reaction to what happened, Charlie's reaction...It felt lacking somehow, that shift. Like there is the first half, and there is the second half and in between...
I don't know.
I liked it. I really did. It's fandomy and nerdy and so well written for the most part. But that shift just doesn't work for me as well as it's supposed to.
I received a free ARC via NetGalley
I feel like something is missing in this book.
The first half was. Well it was a giant ball of nerdy wonderfulness. It reminded me of the days when fandom on LJ was hopping. Ah I miss those days. *pauses for a moment of nerdy recollecitons*
*cough*
Ahem
The second half was. It was heartbreaking and beautiful and hard to read and so well done.
But in between. I felt like the shift between them didn't work. What we were expected to believe about Finn's reaction to what happened, Charlie's reaction...It felt lacking somehow, that shift. Like there is the first half, and there is the second half and in between...
I don't know.
I liked it. I really did. It's fandomy and nerdy and so well written for the most part. But that shift just doesn't work for me as well as it's supposed to.
I reread this on ebook through hoopla and unfortunately most of the formatting is lost from the print version. I would definitely not recommend someone try reading for the first time as an ebook based on this experience, but as a print book I like it!
It's no surprise that when I started Gena/Finn, I was hooked. With the plot revolving around going to a convention, fangirling about common interests, it's hard to NOT think of our book blogging community.
Gena and Finn come to know each other through a TV show called Up Below. Along with talking about the show, they also open up to each other (because let's be honest, talking to strangers is so much easier than talking to real life people. Looking at you Shannon, Holly, & Amber). Through emails and texts, we find that the both of them are struggling in real life, and turning to each other for support.
I'm sure that many of us book bloggers will find the start of Gena/Finn incredibly easy to connect to. I open up so much more online, and I love how tightly connected the book blogging community is. The same can be said with the Up Below fandom, which is why it's not a problem to get tickets and room with your friends at an Up Below convention. Just like BEA and ALA! Just reading about Gena and Finn bonding over this TV show made me think of all the friend I have made due to book blogging. Also, the quote below has crossed my mind multiple times, when it came to other book bloggers.
(Pretty sure that was my roommates' exact line of questioning in regards to BEA last year, ha)
Unfortunately, the pros end there. The last third of the book was shocking, unexpected, and not well explained.
Just going to go straight to the point, but what is with Gena getting caught up in the accident while filming? Like, I get it, it could have happened. But unexpected much? I'm kind of at a loss for words.
And to follow up on that, what exactly happened to Gena? I know she had a mental illness, but it was never really described fully. Like what happened to her during the accident? did she suffer tons of burns? Was she just in shock, and her mental illness made it worse? Literally all that was said in the novel was that she went to the hospital, and Finn picked her up after she was discharged.
Lastly, the...relationship. At what point did Finn and Gena fall in love? Or was this not a romance? Because I am so confused. Was Charlie just jealous because Finn spent a lot of time with Gena, and thought about her a lot? Or was he jealous because he noticed that Finn loved Gena, and Gena loved her back. And if that is the case, WHEN did that happen? I feel like I didn't see the transition from being friends to being in love.
How is Finn even allowed to take Gena to her house after the hospital? And then, does Charlie fall in love with Gena too? There were some weird scenes I feel like. Or does he also grow attached to her too?
That was....a lot. Honestly, I would still recommend this book because I'm sure all of us can connect to it. However, the ending definitely threw me off a ton. There was definitely a shock factor, and for me, it wasn't a good one.
I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes taken from ARC may or may not be in the published edition.
Gena and Finn come to know each other through a TV show called Up Below. Along with talking about the show, they also open up to each other (because let's be honest, talking to strangers is so much easier than talking to real life people. Looking at you Shannon, Holly, & Amber). Through emails and texts, we find that the both of them are struggling in real life, and turning to each other for support.
I'm sure that many of us book bloggers will find the start of Gena/Finn incredibly easy to connect to. I open up so much more online, and I love how tightly connected the book blogging community is. The same can be said with the Up Below fandom, which is why it's not a problem to get tickets and room with your friends at an Up Below convention. Just like BEA and ALA! Just reading about Gena and Finn bonding over this TV show made me think of all the friend I have made due to book blogging. Also, the quote below has crossed my mind multiple times, when it came to other book bloggers.
"So anyways, I said I was thinking about going with some people I knew online, and he got SO judgmental. How did I know these people? Why did I want to go on vacation with random internet people? What if they were actually fifty-year-old rapists?"
(Pretty sure that was my roommates' exact line of questioning in regards to BEA last year, ha)
Unfortunately, the pros end there. The last third of the book was shocking, unexpected, and not well explained.
Just going to go straight to the point, but what is with
And to follow up on that, what exactly
Lastly, the...relationship. At what point
How is Finn even allowed to
That was....a lot. Honestly, I would still recommend this book because I'm sure all of us can connect to it. However, the ending definitely threw me off a ton. There was definitely a shock factor, and for me, it wasn't a good one.
I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Quotes taken from ARC may or may not be in the published edition.
I loved loved loved the first half of the book! The fandom-ness and the online friendship, it was really relatable. I liked how they became closer over time and really talked to eachother about eveyrthing. The Charlie thing wasn't the best, but it added something to the story.
But then THE THING happened and it all went to shit.
I mean yeah, things like that happen in real life, and I tried to read through it with the same mindset as the first half, but I just really didn't like it at all. The horrible poetry, and the weird journal letter thing, and then the weird living situation, like no, this is not what I wanted.
The first half is definitely 5/5 stars, but the second half was like not even 1 star, so all in all I think a 3 star rating is okay.
I also really hoped to see more of a romance-y aspect between Gena/Finn, and expected to see more of that, but then the stupid thing happened and ugh, I just really really hate the second half.
But then THE THING happened and it all went to shit.
I mean yeah, things like that happen in real life, and I tried to read through it with the same mindset as the first half, but I just really didn't like it at all. The horrible poetry, and the weird journal letter thing, and then the weird living situation, like no, this is not what I wanted.
The first half is definitely 5/5 stars, but the second half was like not even 1 star, so all in all I think a 3 star rating is okay.
I also really hoped to see more of a romance-y aspect between Gena/Finn, and expected to see more of that, but then the stupid thing happened and ugh, I just really really hate the second half.
Holy shit, I loved this book. I loved Gena and Finn and everything and I just need more books like this in my life.
Full review here
Full review here
This was a celebration of fandom, which I really appreciated. I liked the way it was told - through messages and emails and blog posts. I've been in fandom for several years and I recognize the style of how fic is written, I recognize the slang used - it's all very authentic. It's clear that the authors have had the same experience in fandom and it made me very happy to see fandom and the good - and the bad - that comes with it.
Gena and Finn were very real characters in the way that they communicated with each other. The messages felt like they'd been ripped out of actual chat logs and they were both well-rounded characters. It validates internet friendships, which is nice, and problems show up that don't consume the story - the book revolves around the relationship between Gena and Finn.Finn and her relationship with Charlie was nice to see because it's a struggle I guess a lot of young adults have, and so is Gena's mental illness. It felt very much like two people with hectic lives trying to live it out the best they could.
It's so cool, in fact, that you get a sense of all these characters from just online correspondences. I didn't like Charlie at first, but he got better and I became more sympathetic towards him. It was funny how they always talked about TylerGirl93 because, yeah, that happens in fandom too. I just wish we got more of the backstory about Zack because it seemed really shallow.I also didn't like how sudden it was that the accident happened and Zack died. I felt like that was a totally unprecedented plot twist and I really wish that it went on with a happy ending to fandom because that was really kind of disappointing. I enjoyed the book up until then; after that, it got fuzzy about Gena and Finn's relationship.
A lot of other things could have been cleared up - why didn't Gena's parents care more about her, why exactly was Charlie so jealous of Gena. I feel like this book could have gone another way or been longer, because I feel like I was left hanging. I also wish that we got more about the fandom itself - look, I don't dabble in TV fandom but Fangirl had a fandom that was clearly based off something and I think how a fictional fandom was shown could have been dealt with better.
Gena and Finn were very real characters in the way that they communicated with each other. The messages felt like they'd been ripped out of actual chat logs and they were both well-rounded characters. It validates internet friendships, which is nice, and problems show up that don't consume the story - the book revolves around the relationship between Gena and Finn.
It's so cool, in fact, that you get a sense of all these characters from just online correspondences. I didn't like Charlie at first, but he got better and I became more sympathetic towards him. It was funny how they always talked about TylerGirl93 because, yeah, that happens in fandom too. I just wish we got more of the backstory about Zack because it seemed really shallow.
A lot of other things could have been cleared up - why didn't Gena's parents care more about her, why exactly was Charlie so jealous of Gena. I feel like this book could have gone another way or been longer, because I feel like I was left hanging. I also wish that we got more about the fandom itself - look, I don't dabble in TV fandom but Fangirl had a fandom that was clearly based off something and I think how a fictional fandom was shown could have been dealt with better.
The first half was so AMAZING but then drama appeard and ruined everything for me, but I still liked it a lot that's why I give it three stars.