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roseleaf24's review against another edition
3.0
This is exactly the type of book I would expect to win awards (Printz Honor 2002) and have a 2.86 rating on Goodreads. Brilliant use of language and the second person. A deep dive into grief and mental illness and some of the ways our current system fails in those situations. Deep, but brief, and thus so, so intense. It is also never completely clear; plot is foggy, setting is foggy except for one or two that are eerily focused. This is a character driven book, but the character is unreliable and confused and struggling himself. Brilliant. But I didn't enjoy it a bit. This was not an easy read, or a fun read, or a clear read. I read it quickly, but I'm not altogether sure whether I was engaged, or afraid of what might happen, or just wanted to be done.
aholeistodig's review against another edition
2.0
I know the whole thing about the protagonist is his disaffectation, but geez, I went for pages at a time not really understanding what was going on. It's a cool sort of writing experiment (2nd person narrative), but a little too minimalist for me, which made it not very fun or interesting.
libreroaming's review against another edition
2.0
2.5
Freewill is a Printz honor and one of those books that you appreciate what the book is trying to do more than enjoy the execution.
Told in the second person, in a sparse and almost repetitive cadence, the story is about Will, who is disconnected from life and whose only outlet seems to be strange woodwork projects that he doesn't even particularly enjoy. When the wood totems show up in a series of suicides, unwanted attention is drawn to him and he must decide if he should speak up or let himself become part of the nothing he feels he has to live for.
I think Lynch made a lot of smart choices in framing. While many people would find the "you" off-putting, it helps reinforce the reader's own questions. However, Will is still so much a nonentity and passive character that he is neither a proper cypher for the reader to insert their own desires into nor interesting enough to carry the story's odd and morbid tone the way the narrators of Silver Linings Playbook or Perks of Being a Wallflower manage.
The other characters don't work as complex or lively characters either, partially from the remoteness of Will's relationship with them. This leaves most of their discussions feeling like talking points of the plot, anti-suicide PSAs rather than their own motivations.
This novel is not without compelling moments. While the choice to make the prose simple and sparse, Lynch has passages that are vivid. One example that made me take notice was when Will was taking a shower after forgetting clean himself for three days and remarks on the wonderful feeling of scrubbing skin, reminding himself to remember it because it's a nice small pleasure that is easily forgotten.
Unfortunately, the sparseness and the vagueness work against the story more than help it. The mystery of the totems and the suicides are left unresolved or even commented it on, as the story winds off into a palatable non-ending where Will finally makes a choice not to be so passive. I do like an open-endedness to my stories, but there's not enough to structure to make the suggestion of possibilities. On the bright side, the story is a brisk novella more than anything else and there are some passages that create a thoughtful starting point for the weighty topic.
And perhaps that is all that Freewill wanted to do, was to present the reader with a choice to do so...
Freewill is a Printz honor and one of those books that you appreciate what the book is trying to do more than enjoy the execution.
Told in the second person, in a sparse and almost repetitive cadence, the story is about Will, who is disconnected from life and whose only outlet seems to be strange woodwork projects that he doesn't even particularly enjoy. When the wood totems show up in a series of suicides, unwanted attention is drawn to him and he must decide if he should speak up or let himself become part of the nothing he feels he has to live for.
I think Lynch made a lot of smart choices in framing. While many people would find the "you" off-putting, it helps reinforce the reader's own questions. However, Will is still so much a nonentity and passive character that he is neither a proper cypher for the reader to insert their own desires into nor interesting enough to carry the story's odd and morbid tone the way the narrators of Silver Linings Playbook or Perks of Being a Wallflower manage.
The other characters don't work as complex or lively characters either, partially from the remoteness of Will's relationship with them. This leaves most of their discussions feeling like talking points of the plot, anti-suicide PSAs rather than their own motivations.
This novel is not without compelling moments. While the choice to make the prose simple and sparse, Lynch has passages that are vivid. One example that made me take notice was when Will was taking a shower after forgetting clean himself for three days and remarks on the wonderful feeling of scrubbing skin, reminding himself to remember it because it's a nice small pleasure that is easily forgotten.
Unfortunately, the sparseness and the vagueness work against the story more than help it. The mystery of the totems and the suicides are left unresolved or even commented it on, as the story winds off into a palatable non-ending where Will finally makes a choice not to be so passive. I do like an open-endedness to my stories, but there's not enough to structure to make the suggestion of possibilities. On the bright side, the story is a brisk novella more than anything else and there are some passages that create a thoughtful starting point for the weighty topic.
And perhaps that is all that Freewill wanted to do, was to present the reader with a choice to do so...
shinesalot's review against another edition
1.0
Ugh. How and why did this book get a Printz honor? Written in the 2nd person - weird - devoid of setting and lacking in any overall cohesiveness. So many unanswered questions at the end. Completely unsatisfying AND confusing.
Would not recommend.
Would not recommend.
sc104906's review against another edition
1.0
This is a weird psychological thriller that I had an extremely difficult time getting through. Will believes he is meant to be a pilot, but he is really good at woodworking. Only he isn't consciously aware he is making wooden sculptures..(weird)? Somehow his sculptures predict suicides of his fellow classmates. It was not for me.
amandabock's review against another edition
1.0
Will is a tormented teen dealing with the deaths of his father, stepmother, and several classmates in this obtuse story. I remember hearing people talking about this book when it came out, and figured it was worth a read, since it won a Printz honor, and I've liked his other books. When I finished, I had to look at the reviews to figure out what the hell anyone liked about it. The PW review summed up my feelings precisely: "this airless novel does not reward the effort required to penetrate it."
I found the second-person narrative to be a bit off-putting in the beginning, but not insurmountable. The main question posed by the novel, can you ever know what's in the mind of another person, is potentially profound, but the probing here is clumsy and unsatisfying. I found myself hoping that he was a serial killer. THAT would have been much more satisfying; a perfect picture of a truly disturbed individual.
I found the second-person narrative to be a bit off-putting in the beginning, but not insurmountable. The main question posed by the novel, can you ever know what's in the mind of another person, is potentially profound, but the probing here is clumsy and unsatisfying. I found myself hoping that he was a serial killer. THAT would have been much more satisfying; a perfect picture of a truly disturbed individual.
lemon_drop's review
3.0
This was not an easy book....
A mystery/grief story told in 2nd person.
It's one that needs to 'sit' awhile with you.
A mystery/grief story told in 2nd person.
It's one that needs to 'sit' awhile with you.
keyanaw's review
I liked that Lynch let the reader get inside Will's head. And I loved the double meaning of his name. I couldn't get past the plot holes though. I wish the author would have focused on Will's internal conflict more than the suicides. I couldn't really understand what the significance of the suicides was or the point of the other character Angela. It seemed like Will was in a fight for himself against himself. If the book had been all about that I think it would've been five stars
pagesforages's review
3.0
It's strange, I can't decide if I liked this book or not. I can only be certain that I didn't dislike it.
It takes a few pages to get used to the narrative, but once you do it's easier to read. There were times when I really enjoyed it and times I didn't however it was more about the style than the content, that seemed to be flat, dry and dead. There wasn't enough emotion or description, maybe that was on purpose given the subject matter but, for whatever reason, I just can't decide with this book.
It takes a few pages to get used to the narrative, but once you do it's easier to read. There were times when I really enjoyed it and times I didn't however it was more about the style than the content, that seemed to be flat, dry and dead. There wasn't enough emotion or description, maybe that was on purpose given the subject matter but, for whatever reason, I just can't decide with this book.
beksicles's review
3.0
I understand the things people say about this book and how they don't get how it won an award. I acted the same when I first started to read it but after a while, the confusing style of writing and the conflicts he faced became relatable. The thoughts that I read kind of became my thoughts and it wasn't so difficult to follow. I really enjoyed this book.