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desiree930's review against another edition
3.0
I do not know what to say about this book. It’s actually really difficult for me to rate it review this, but here goes.
TW: abusive relationship
What I liked:
1. Shakespeare references/metaphors. I love Shakespeare, so this was really fun.
2. The cover. 10/10
3. Unreliable narrator. I don’t read a lot of mysteries or thrillers (this is the former, not the latter), but I do enjoy an unreliable narrator when it’s done well. This book was a total mind f&$@ from beginning to end, and I was never quite sure what to believe.
When I started the book, I felt very sorry for Jaye and everything she’s gone through, but as I began to learn the truth of certain events and see her character develop, my feelings for her began to change quite a bit. I still felt sympathy for the fact that she had gone through this accident and was losing time. That would be scary for anyone. But she ends up being a very selfish person. I actually liked the way the author was able to unpack Jaye and make her a three-dimensional character even in the middle of all of the fantastical things she’s seemingly experiencing.
What I didn’t like:
1. The pacing. This book should’ve been about 50 pages shorter. It became quite repetitive in the middle.
2. The ending. I don’t necessarily need a super polished ending where every single loose end is tied up. And I understand that the author was using Shakespeare’s works to inspire her ending. But I am still not sure about what the heck happened.
3. While I personally liked the Shakespeare references, I don’t know how realistic this would be in real life, as far as a head injury causing these elaborate hallucinations. There is a point where we are led to believe that there may be some paranormal aspect to the story (she sees ‘Romeo’ before she ever meets Rob; she randomly knows lengthy monologues from Shakespeare plays she hasn’t studied, etc.) but it is never actually explained or even explored.
I think this book is going to be unhauled, because I know I’ll never read it again, but I could see recommending this to someone who likes slightly confusing, dreamlike stories with unreliable narrators.
TW: abusive relationship
What I liked:
1. Shakespeare references/metaphors. I love Shakespeare, so this was really fun.
2. The cover. 10/10
3. Unreliable narrator. I don’t read a lot of mysteries or thrillers (this is the former, not the latter), but I do enjoy an unreliable narrator when it’s done well. This book was a total mind f&$@ from beginning to end, and I was never quite sure what to believe.
When I started the book, I felt very sorry for Jaye and everything she’s gone through, but as I began to learn the truth of certain events and see her character develop, my feelings for her began to change quite a bit. I still felt sympathy for the fact that she had gone through this accident and was losing time. That would be scary for anyone. But she ends up being a very selfish person. I actually liked the way the author was able to unpack Jaye and make her a three-dimensional character even in the middle of all of the fantastical things she’s seemingly experiencing.
What I didn’t like:
1. The pacing. This book should’ve been about 50 pages shorter. It became quite repetitive in the middle.
2. The ending. I don’t necessarily need a super polished ending where every single loose end is tied up. And I understand that the author was using Shakespeare’s works to inspire her ending. But I am still not sure about what the heck happened.
3. While I personally liked the Shakespeare references, I don’t know how realistic this would be in real life, as far as a head injury causing these elaborate hallucinations. There is a point where we are led to believe that there may be some paranormal aspect to the story (she sees ‘Romeo’ before she ever meets Rob; she randomly knows lengthy monologues from Shakespeare plays she hasn’t studied, etc.) but it is never actually explained or even explored.
I think this book is going to be unhauled, because I know I’ll never read it again, but I could see recommending this to someone who likes slightly confusing, dreamlike stories with unreliable narrators.
booksarelife's review
4.0
I really liked this book, devoured it, really. I loved the story possibilities that a head injury brought in and how the author used them, although I kind of wish it had more twists of reality with imagined, but then maybe the plot would have never come out.
mikolee's review
3.0
YA Shakespeare mash up. A white Minnesota high school junior drama nerd wakes up after a skiing accident and sees Shakespeare and some of his characters talking to her. Desperate to get back to the school production of Midsummer Nights Dream to play Titania, she doesn’t tell her family about the hallucinations. Plus a large dose of R and J and Hamlet. Fun popcorn read that I devoured in one sitting.
writerinthedark's review
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
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