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halefire's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
audioandereadergrrly's review against another edition
5.0
I finished this book on the day I started it. From the summary, it seems like an otherworldly adventure book. Upon reading it, it is discovered to be reality; seen as an otherworldly, adventurous perspective. It has many underlying themes that truly bring the book to life. The otherworldly perspective of mermaids and angels and vampires is just how Echo herself sees life.
Since the book is told from many different perspectives, remembering who the characters are and how they are related to each other is at first confusing. As I read, I mapped out the characters and their relations to one another and then it all clicked. From that point on, I realized how much of a masterpiece this book is.
It defines life in an abstract way, from living to dying, from drugs to sex to anorexia and finally to self-respect. What I first thought was a children's book turned out to be a book with many adult themes that I didn't know I needed to read. This book proves to the reader that magic doesn't die in adulthood.
Since the book is told from many different perspectives, remembering who the characters are and how they are related to each other is at first confusing. As I read, I mapped out the characters and their relations to one another and then it all clicked. From that point on, I realized how much of a masterpiece this book is.
It defines life in an abstract way, from living to dying, from drugs to sex to anorexia and finally to self-respect. What I first thought was a children's book turned out to be a book with many adult themes that I didn't know I needed to read. This book proves to the reader that magic doesn't die in adulthood.
serru's review against another edition
2.0
Block's writing is beautiful as always but I felt like this book was mostly a glitzy surface with not enough actual material underneath. There was a good story here, but rather than giving us that, Block chooses to only show us a few tiny fragments of it which are not substantial enough to carry a full story.
arveegomez's review against another edition
3.0
This book haunted me for years. I first read it back in highschool, a misfit among the classics, wedged between Twain and London. I fell in love with the image of a boy on a beach, who pasted wings on his back to ease the pain. With my second reading, I fell in love again with the vivid images of life, the details, the lives and times of Manhattan and Los Angeles.
emjay24's review against another edition
2.0
This book was really weird. it was more like a giant poem, even though it's not poetry. it's a bunch of kind of disjointed stories about a girl named echo, and people she meets in her life. some are from her point of view, some are from others points of view. the printing is quite large, and the book is short, so it was a fast read, but most of the time reading it, i was bored, or confused. id call this a magical realism book, and ive never liked that particular genre much. but if you do, you should read this book, you'd probably enjoy it. even though, sometimes her life, and the lives of the rest of the people in this book were just so real that it makes you feel depressed, and only the magical parts lighten it up a bit.
saguaros's review against another edition
1.0
I didn't even finish it.
While the prose was absolutely beautiful, I couldn't stand the glamorization of, well, everything from drug abuse to eating disorders, to feeling fragile and hopeless.
I didn't like that all the characters felt that their doom and salvation was in finding a boyfriend/girlfriend. That to feel whole and human and yourself you need someone to love you desperately.
I didn't like how being fragile and soft and breakable is made to sound like it's the prettiest state a girl can be in, how desirable and beautiful you are if the weight of the world seems to be about to crush you.
So many people I know love Francesca Lia Block, but for me it's often love or hate. I guess I picked the wrong book this time around.
I'll try another one, and we'll see.
While the prose was absolutely beautiful, I couldn't stand the glamorization of, well, everything from drug abuse to eating disorders, to feeling fragile and hopeless.
I didn't like that all the characters felt that their doom and salvation was in finding a boyfriend/girlfriend. That to feel whole and human and yourself you need someone to love you desperately.
I didn't like how being fragile and soft and breakable is made to sound like it's the prettiest state a girl can be in, how desirable and beautiful you are if the weight of the world seems to be about to crush you.
So many people I know love Francesca Lia Block, but for me it's often love or hate. I guess I picked the wrong book this time around.
I'll try another one, and we'll see.
brim010's review
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
skinnygetout's review against another edition
1.0
Hands down one of the worst books I've read. There is virtually no plot, character development is non existent, and the jumps in point of view are awkward and difficult to follow.
I disliked that their was no dialogue. It was a master class in telling not showing. The characters are flat and unlikable the whole way through. Plus, their names are Thorn, Smoke, Echo, Valentine, etc...It's supposed to be magical realism, but I'm not buying it.
I disliked that their was no dialogue. It was a master class in telling not showing. The characters are flat and unlikable the whole way through. Plus, their names are Thorn, Smoke, Echo, Valentine, etc...It's supposed to be magical realism, but I'm not buying it.
whitegirlwasteland's review against another edition
5.0
I like this book, but there were times when things didn't seem to make sense. It would go from Echo being the narrator, to someone else telling a story about someone else's life. It all ended up falling together, but it just annoyed me how it did that. The story itself was good though, even though it was really about nothing except for her life. There's really no sense of time in the novel. If you like the supernatural, this book is for you. It has a heavy emphasis on art and death. All in all, it's pretty decent.