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stuckinafictionaluniverse's review against another edition
4.0
4.5
The living always think that monsters roar and gnash at their teeth. But i’ve seen that real monsters can be friendly; they can smile, and they can say please and thank you like everyone else. Real monsters can appear to be kind. Sometimes they can be inside us.
Probably the first time I love a book that isn't already surrounded by praise. This has an average rating of 3.45, which is alright but nothing that makes you rush to buy it. The vanishing season is not for every reader out there. It's a slow-paced story focusing on very few people with barely any plot. Why is it so good then, you ask?
In case you didn’t know, Jodi Lynn Anderson specializes in beautiful writing and creating amazing realistic characters. Then she makes them suffer and puts the reader through a lot of stress because they've grown so attached to the story. It's frustrating and sad and makes for one of the most unique writing styles and plot structures I've read.
This story follows two girls and one boy; Maggie, Pauline and Liam. It’s a very simple story that I can’t explain for the life of me. Maggie has just moved to a small town and is struggling to fit in. Just as she's starting to make new friends, girls mysteriously vanish in the fall.
That's all I'll tell you, and that's all you need to know.
Authors, take note! This is how you write a love triangle. I avoid them like the plague, but in this book it's well done for once.
Anderson writes about young love in a way that tugs at your heartstrings. It’s not pretentious, intangible or simple. There's no over dramatized problem to avoid the characters from getting together. It’s complex and feels like something much more than a connection between - in this case, three people.
I love Maggie who is a quiet artist feeling lost. I love Pauline and her over to the top energy and how she doesn’t understand how privileged she is, her naiveté and her childishness.
I love Liam, the boy in between the two, who works hard on secret projects just to see the people he loves smile when he reveals it to them. Who everyone thinks is as weird as his father.
If a love triangle happened in real life (which is pretty rare, if you ask me), maybe this is what it would look like.
It reminded me a little of the relationships in The infernal devices, two friends in love with the same person without the intense rivalry or clichés. This is better, though. No angst, just feelings and reactions that feel completely real. These three people all deeply care for each other but can't be with who they love without hurting the other friend. There's so much respect between them but they can't turn off their emotions,, and that's what got to me. To be so close and so far away at the same time. Bittersweet stories are my favorite, and this sure has its fair share of both happy moments and incredibly tragic ones.
Calling this book a mystery would be lying. There’s a murderer in town, but that is much more of a backdrop rather than the main plot.
Don’t pick it up if you’re expecting a spooky read and it’s your first time with this author. The UK title [b:The Moment Collector|20658345|The Moment Collector|Jodi Lynn Anderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396544284s/20658345.jpg|26430985] suits much better, and makes more sense.
There's a paranormal element to it, but you should read this if you want a highly character-driven book with stunning prose, not a murder mystery with twists and turns, or you'll end up disappointed.
If you enjoyed [b:Tiger Lily|7514925|Tiger Lily|Jodi Lynn Anderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329681513s/7514925.jpg|9720811], I can’t see what’s stopping you from picking this up. It has the same lonely tone, same close look at a few characters who make their way into your heart and stay there.
Both these books broke my heart into a million pieces. That's how you know it's good.
I’ll definitely give Tiger Lily a reread sometime, because I went into it with such high expectations the first time and didn’t understand it was supposed to be character-driven.
P.S: Listen to Youth, Landfill or Still by Daughter and I guarantee you’ll be a mess when you finish the book. Jodi Lynn Anderson, stop breaking my heart. It takes far too long to repair and I’m not ready for that. Everytime I keep waiting for yet dreading a new book of hers, because it will inevitably affect me so much I can't think of anything else to read for a while.
The living always think that monsters roar and gnash at their teeth. But i’ve seen that real monsters can be friendly; they can smile, and they can say please and thank you like everyone else. Real monsters can appear to be kind. Sometimes they can be inside us.
Probably the first time I love a book that isn't already surrounded by praise. This has an average rating of 3.45, which is alright but nothing that makes you rush to buy it. The vanishing season is not for every reader out there. It's a slow-paced story focusing on very few people with barely any plot. Why is it so good then, you ask?
In case you didn’t know, Jodi Lynn Anderson specializes in beautiful writing and creating amazing realistic characters. Then she makes them suffer and puts the reader through a lot of stress because they've grown so attached to the story. It's frustrating and sad and makes for one of the most unique writing styles and plot structures I've read.
This story follows two girls and one boy; Maggie, Pauline and Liam. It’s a very simple story that I can’t explain for the life of me. Maggie has just moved to a small town and is struggling to fit in. Just as she's starting to make new friends, girls mysteriously vanish in the fall.
That's all I'll tell you, and that's all you need to know.
Authors, take note! This is how you write a love triangle. I avoid them like the plague, but in this book it's well done for once.
Anderson writes about young love in a way that tugs at your heartstrings. It’s not pretentious, intangible or simple. There's no over dramatized problem to avoid the characters from getting together. It’s complex and feels like something much more than a connection between - in this case, three people.
I love Maggie who is a quiet artist feeling lost. I love Pauline and her over to the top energy and how she doesn’t understand how privileged she is, her naiveté and her childishness.
I love Liam, the boy in between the two, who works hard on secret projects just to see the people he loves smile when he reveals it to them. Who everyone thinks is as weird as his father.
If a love triangle happened in real life (which is pretty rare, if you ask me), maybe this is what it would look like.
It reminded me a little of the relationships in The infernal devices, two friends in love with the same person without the intense rivalry or clichés. This is better, though. No angst, just feelings and reactions that feel completely real. These three people all deeply care for each other but can't be with who they love without hurting the other friend. There's so much respect between them but they can't turn off their emotions,, and that's what got to me. To be so close and so far away at the same time. Bittersweet stories are my favorite, and this sure has its fair share of both happy moments and incredibly tragic ones.
Calling this book a mystery would be lying. There’s a murderer in town, but that is much more of a backdrop rather than the main plot.
Don’t pick it up if you’re expecting a spooky read and it’s your first time with this author. The UK title [b:The Moment Collector|20658345|The Moment Collector|Jodi Lynn Anderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1396544284s/20658345.jpg|26430985] suits much better, and makes more sense.
There's a paranormal element to it, but you should read this if you want a highly character-driven book with stunning prose, not a murder mystery with twists and turns, or you'll end up disappointed.
If you enjoyed [b:Tiger Lily|7514925|Tiger Lily|Jodi Lynn Anderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1329681513s/7514925.jpg|9720811], I can’t see what’s stopping you from picking this up. It has the same lonely tone, same close look at a few characters who make their way into your heart and stay there.
Both these books broke my heart into a million pieces. That's how you know it's good.
I’ll definitely give Tiger Lily a reread sometime, because I went into it with such high expectations the first time and didn’t understand it was supposed to be character-driven.
P.S: Listen to Youth, Landfill or Still by Daughter and I guarantee you’ll be a mess when you finish the book. Jodi Lynn Anderson, stop breaking my heart. It takes far too long to repair and I’m not ready for that. Everytime I keep waiting for yet dreading a new book of hers, because it will inevitably affect me so much I can't think of anything else to read for a while.
cmitchell2781's review
5.0
Wonderful
This book caught me off guard. I felt like I knew what was going to happen, and its completely NOT what happened. Beautifully written, the story was captivating to read. It was a quick story as the book is kind of short, but I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from this author.
This book caught me off guard. I felt like I knew what was going to happen, and its completely NOT what happened. Beautifully written, the story was captivating to read. It was a quick story as the book is kind of short, but I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more from this author.
kaeliwolf's review against another edition
The last chapter made me want to cry, WHY DID THAT HAVE TO HAPPEN??? I really just wanted her and the guy (I forget his name) to get together, and then the dumb Pauline chic came back and stole him. I have no idea how she forgave them or WHY SHE WENT OUT ON THE LAKE, (by herself) IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT FOLLOWING A NOISE!! Like, duh, horror movie much. I'm surprised it didn't plot twist with her killing them both on the weekend that her parents were gone.
izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition
1.0
1/5
I felt the book was very underwhelming
I felt the book was very underwhelming
smorrison4's review against another edition
fast-paced
5.0
The ending was bittersweet but it did a great job of tying the story together. I liked the story, Pauline was an interesting character and she seemed to have a healthy case of FOMO when it came to Liam. I was disappointed by Liam's choice but I was not surprised.
Looking forward to reading more of Jodi Lynn Anderson's work in the future.
Looking forward to reading more of Jodi Lynn Anderson's work in the future.
ladytiara's review against another edition
4.0
The Vanishing Season is a lovely little book that's classified as YA, but will likely appeal to older readers as well. At first, it feels like a mystery because there are young girls going missing in a small Wisconsin town, but the disappearances are really just a backdrop for the story of three teenagers coming of age.
Maggie and her family have moved to the small town of Gill Creek because of financial difficulties. She isn't thrilled about the move at first, but then she becomes friends with the beautiful but flighty Pauline and the solid Liam. There's love, friendship, angst, and betrayal, and there's a spirit or ghost (the spirit isn't sure what he/she is or what role he/she is there to play) watching over the trio, seeing the things they can't see and trying to piece together the story.
The author really succeeds at portraying life in a small town. Gill Creek is both beautiful and stifling. The sense of claustrophobia is well done, and although the teenagers seems to live in their own bubble of invincibility, not nearly as scared about the murders as they should be, the nerves of everyone else in town are fraying thin, leading to paranoia and ugliness. The novel is heavy on atmosphere.
The ending was a bit unexpected, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I like that the author didn't try to wrap everything up in a nice neat package (which is unusual for YA), but I'm still processing the ending even a couple of days later. Even with my ambivalence about the ending, this book is staying with me, and I highly recommend it.
I received an ARC from Amazon Vine.
Maggie and her family have moved to the small town of Gill Creek because of financial difficulties. She isn't thrilled about the move at first, but then she becomes friends with the beautiful but flighty Pauline and the solid Liam. There's love, friendship, angst, and betrayal, and there's a spirit or ghost (the spirit isn't sure what he/she is or what role he/she is there to play) watching over the trio, seeing the things they can't see and trying to piece together the story.
The author really succeeds at portraying life in a small town. Gill Creek is both beautiful and stifling. The sense of claustrophobia is well done, and although the teenagers seems to live in their own bubble of invincibility, not nearly as scared about the murders as they should be, the nerves of everyone else in town are fraying thin, leading to paranoia and ugliness. The novel is heavy on atmosphere.
The ending was a bit unexpected, and I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I like that the author didn't try to wrap everything up in a nice neat package (which is unusual for YA), but I'm still processing the ending even a couple of days later. Even with my ambivalence about the ending, this book is staying with me, and I highly recommend it.
I received an ARC from Amazon Vine.
beastreader's review against another edition
1.0
I read Tiger Lily but this author and just absolutely fell in love with that book. So I know this author can write and weave a great story. I was looking forward to reading this book. It sounded haunting in a ghost like type of story but I was curious how it would all play out. Sadly, I could not wait to see how the story would all play out in the end. This is because the story was painstakingly long and drawn out. It was only after I was about a third of the way in that I realized just how slow and that this was the pacing for the whole book. I could not go any further and put the book down. There was not much happening for me to grab onto to stick with the book. The three characters or love triangle just meshed together like a dream swirl. Which in essence the characters were uninteresting to me.
manoncremers's review against another edition
1.0
More reviews on my blog, Exploring Pages.
Thanks to Hachette Children's Books and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book!
I'm still trying to put the pieces together. As in what I actually just read. I'm looking at the misleading synopsis when I say it does not fit in the catagory of a murder-mystery novel, a ghost story even less. It was something I never saw coming, and I'm not talking positively here.
The only light-hearted thing that was to be found in The Moment Collector, was a tiny bit of the romance. I enjoyed seeing Maggie's and Liam's relationship develop into something more. Despite what everyone says about him and Pauline, Maggie still believed they could have something. Something special. Something he and Pauline would never have. It was so obvious what was going to happen. Secretly I had been crossing my finger throughout the book and wait until the author would surprise me with a lovely plot twist. I hope the people who've read the book understand me when I say I'm not all to pleased about how it turned out. It's a special love-triangle all right, but not the only I enjoyed reading about. It was all too messy and did nothing good to the characters themselves.
Talking about the characters, I feel like I can go ahead and say I didn't care for every one of them. They didn't feel special to me in any way, and none of them managed to grab my attention. Maggie was an okay protagonist, if only she didn't bore me to death. Don't get me wrong, out of them all, I understood her actions. Her little crush on Liam and her actions following up to that are what every young girl would do. She was new in town and didn't feel comfortable with it all. She would rather go home, to where everything was fine the way it was. On the other hand, she could fit into the very same catagory as Liam, Pauline and everyone else; characters who're flat, poorly executed with little to no character development. Liam was a weak character with no self-esteem and Pauline frustrated with every word that stumbled out of her little perfect mouth. One day she's ready to go and explore the world and be happy. She doesn't need Liam. She doesn't love him and wants to meet other boys. Then, she realises she already had everything but threw it all away. I hope the point I'm trying to make is clear. This girl has more mood-swings than anyone out there. She's always changing her mind and always gets exactly what she wants, even though she messed it all up. I just really don't like that girl.
There's nothing much of a plot going on. If one would actually call those messy storylines a real plot. They didn't connect in any way and all felt like loose strings. Suddenly there's this happening and we get nothing close to a conclusion because there's already something new to fill up the pages. It was all way too focused on the romance for anything else to happen. I'm being honest here when I say this could have been an excellent murder-mystery novel if there actually was more attention paid to that aspect of the book. What we have now is close to nothing. The same goes for the supposed ghost story. Having your ghost tell something at the end of some chapters, which isn't anything new or exciting, isn't going to turn your book into a ghost story. Both could have been done so much better, and I'm really sad they didn't turn out to be what I expected.
The pace was utterly slow. I had to force myself to keep reading because it is an advanced reading copy and I had to be able to write a proper review about it. I don't know whether I'm glad I read that ending. Not only didn't it manage to leave a satisfied I actually finished it, it made me even more confused and left me with a ton of questions I don't care about. It was so tragic, I felt like Shakespeare almost had to step aside. When I say tragic, I mean overly-tragic. Where did that come from? It was rushed in a way I've never read before. Like the author didn't know what to write anymore so she threw something in she hoped would surprise her readers. I'm surprised all right, but not the kind I think she hoped for.
Overall, The Moment Collector was boring and didn't succeed in making me enjoy it. It's a sad book with flat characters and an overly-tragic ending which still doesn't make any sense. Disappointment of the year.
"This is no place for anyone with a heart."
- Jodi Lynn Anderson, The Moment Collector
Thanks to Hachette Children's Books and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book!
I'm still trying to put the pieces together. As in what I actually just read. I'm looking at the misleading synopsis when I say it does not fit in the catagory of a murder-mystery novel, a ghost story even less. It was something I never saw coming, and I'm not talking positively here.
The only light-hearted thing that was to be found in The Moment Collector, was a tiny bit of the romance. I enjoyed seeing Maggie's and Liam's relationship develop into something more. Despite what everyone says about him and Pauline, Maggie still believed they could have something. Something special. Something he and Pauline would never have. It was so obvious what was going to happen. Secretly I had been crossing my finger throughout the book and wait until the author would surprise me with a lovely plot twist. I hope the people who've read the book understand me when I say I'm not all to pleased about how it turned out. It's a special love-triangle all right, but not the only I enjoyed reading about. It was all too messy and did nothing good to the characters themselves.
Talking about the characters, I feel like I can go ahead and say I didn't care for every one of them. They didn't feel special to me in any way, and none of them managed to grab my attention. Maggie was an okay protagonist, if only she didn't bore me to death. Don't get me wrong, out of them all, I understood her actions. Her little crush on Liam and her actions following up to that are what every young girl would do. She was new in town and didn't feel comfortable with it all. She would rather go home, to where everything was fine the way it was. On the other hand, she could fit into the very same catagory as Liam, Pauline and everyone else; characters who're flat, poorly executed with little to no character development. Liam was a weak character with no self-esteem and Pauline frustrated with every word that stumbled out of her little perfect mouth. One day she's ready to go and explore the world and be happy. She doesn't need Liam. She doesn't love him and wants to meet other boys. Then, she realises she already had everything but threw it all away. I hope the point I'm trying to make is clear. This girl has more mood-swings than anyone out there. She's always changing her mind and always gets exactly what she wants, even though she messed it all up. I just really don't like that girl.
There's nothing much of a plot going on. If one would actually call those messy storylines a real plot. They didn't connect in any way and all felt like loose strings. Suddenly there's this happening and we get nothing close to a conclusion because there's already something new to fill up the pages. It was all way too focused on the romance for anything else to happen. I'm being honest here when I say this could have been an excellent murder-mystery novel if there actually was more attention paid to that aspect of the book. What we have now is close to nothing. The same goes for the supposed ghost story. Having your ghost tell something at the end of some chapters, which isn't anything new or exciting, isn't going to turn your book into a ghost story. Both could have been done so much better, and I'm really sad they didn't turn out to be what I expected.
The pace was utterly slow. I had to force myself to keep reading because it is an advanced reading copy and I had to be able to write a proper review about it. I don't know whether I'm glad I read that ending. Not only didn't it manage to leave a satisfied I actually finished it, it made me even more confused and left me with a ton of questions I don't care about. It was so tragic, I felt like Shakespeare almost had to step aside. When I say tragic, I mean overly-tragic. Where did that come from? It was rushed in a way I've never read before. Like the author didn't know what to write anymore so she threw something in she hoped would surprise her readers. I'm surprised all right, but not the kind I think she hoped for.
Overall, The Moment Collector was boring and didn't succeed in making me enjoy it. It's a sad book with flat characters and an overly-tragic ending which still doesn't make any sense. Disappointment of the year.
cupoladoro's review against another edition
3.0
Whilst this definitely wasn't my type of book I thought that it was an okay read. I did find it hard to get into at the start but once I had started reading it went better, but it still wasn't a page turner. It was more like a no-commitment friend, ready to pick up when you were.