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atlantabelle's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book. The characters are believable and I could relate to them. The search for love and your soulmate is universal. Everybody wants to find the person meant for them. Rachel just needs to figure out how far she is willing to go to find hers
rigel's review against another edition
2.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
I took maybe two or three weeks to get through this book. Partially because April is exam season for those of us in university, but mainly because I was just very bored.
We went round and round in circles with Rachel being obsessed with finding a soul mate to the point where she absolutely disrespects her love interests' (Jay, who by the way has Asperger's, a high-functioning form of Autism, meaning social interactions can be very difficult for him) boundaries, gets mad at him for setting boundaries, making up with him, and then starting the cycle all over again.
She's also so hell-bent on "belonging" to/with and "being loved" by her mother and her lightning strike support group that she actively seeks out being struck by lightning despite knowing the extent of the consequences. When her best friend (Serena) gets struck and nearly killed (because the lightning, surprise, interrupts the electrical systems of the body, namely the heart), she is more concerned with the fact that Jay is giving Serena mouth to mouth to resuscitate her than the fact that, oh I don't know, Serena's heart has stopped beating. Then she's JEALOUS that Serena has been struck by lightning and is now part of this group of people who have suffered great pain and will continue to experience side effects of the event for the rest of their lives.
Rachel is just not a likable character, which I'm usually fine with, but this time around whether it be because I read this book during a very stressful time in my life (yes I'm writing this review instead of finishing my final neuroscience essays that will be worth 40% of my grade) or because I just can't stand people who want to be/make themselves sick or injured or whatever to belong to a certain group. In the end, Rachel did see the error of her ways and figured out that her mother and the support group love and will always love her even if she isn't a victim of the same tragedy they have suffered, but it's too little too late.
I took maybe two or three weeks to get through this book. Partially because April is exam season for those of us in university, but mainly because I was just very bored.
We went round and round in circles with Rachel being obsessed with finding a soul mate to the point where she absolutely disrespects her love interests' (Jay, who by the way has Asperger's, a high-functioning form of Autism, meaning social interactions can be very difficult for him) boundaries, gets mad at him for setting boundaries, making up with him, and then starting the cycle all over again.
She's also so hell-bent on "belonging" to/with and "being loved" by her mother and her lightning strike support group that she actively seeks out being struck by lightning despite knowing the extent of the consequences. When her best friend (Serena) gets struck and nearly killed (because the lightning, surprise, interrupts the electrical systems of the body, namely the heart), she is more concerned with the fact that Jay is giving Serena mouth to mouth to resuscitate her than the fact that, oh I don't know, Serena's heart has stopped beating. Then she's JEALOUS that Serena has been struck by lightning and is now part of this group of people who have suffered great pain and will continue to experience side effects of the event for the rest of their lives.
Rachel is just not a likable character, which I'm usually fine with, but this time around whether it be because I read this book during a very stressful time in my life (yes I'm writing this review instead of finishing my final neuroscience essays that will be worth 40% of my grade) or because I just can't stand people who want to be/make themselves sick or injured or whatever to belong to a certain group. In the end, Rachel did see the error of her ways and figured out that her mother and the support group love and will always love her even if she isn't a victim of the same tragedy they have suffered, but it's too little too late.
elizabethbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jilljemmett's review against another edition
5.0
Before reading this book, I had no idea what an impact getting struck by lightning has on a person. Of course, I know it could kill a person, but I didn't realize that it causes lifelong health problems and that you need to constantly get checked for symptoms for the rest of your life. There are even support groups like the one in this book, which I had never thought about before. I learned a lot in this book.
I loved Rachel. She was very real. She had ups and downs, like a real person. I could feel her pain, both when dealing with her mom and her boyfriends. I even had tears in my eyes at the end. It was emotional but powerful.
I liked how not all of the information was given right at the beginning of the book. It takes a while to learn about Rachel's past, including what her injury was that caused the scars on her legs. Since this information was held back, it made me want to keep reading.
One thing that was a little confusing was that the first few chapters alternated between the present and the past, during Rachel's relationship with Reed. It would have been helpful if there was a signal at the beginning of the chapters to show that it was flashing back in time or returning to the present. Once the flashbacks caught up to the present, it continues in the present, so that was only for a few chapters at the beginning.
I loved this book! I'll be recommending it for a while.
I received a copy of this book from the distributor, Thomas Allen & Son.
I loved Rachel. She was very real. She had ups and downs, like a real person. I could feel her pain, both when dealing with her mom and her boyfriends. I even had tears in my eyes at the end. It was emotional but powerful.
I liked how not all of the information was given right at the beginning of the book. It takes a while to learn about Rachel's past, including what her injury was that caused the scars on her legs. Since this information was held back, it made me want to keep reading.
One thing that was a little confusing was that the first few chapters alternated between the present and the past, during Rachel's relationship with Reed. It would have been helpful if there was a signal at the beginning of the chapters to show that it was flashing back in time or returning to the present. Once the flashbacks caught up to the present, it continues in the present, so that was only for a few chapters at the beginning.
I loved this book! I'll be recommending it for a while.
I received a copy of this book from the distributor, Thomas Allen & Son.
bookishgeek's review against another edition
1.0
I am a big lover of the “sleepy, summertime beach romance” YA literature genre, so I snapped up Soulstruck when it was available on Netgalley in order to get a jump on the warm weather – and as a Georgia native, summertime comes pretty darn quick here. Unfortunately, this was not a book I could sink my teeth into like I can with many of the other more established “summertime romance” YA veterans – this was an interesting concept, but it ultimately fell flat to me.
How I’d Describe This Book to My Friends
We follow Rachel, a young lady in her early teenage years who lives with her mother near Cape Cod. We see this sleepy island town as the off season begins, the tourists are packing it in, and the rain starts coming. This in and of itself sets the stage for a quaint story, but Rachel herself has an intrinsic eccentricity: she wants desperately to get struck by lightning.
Apparently at one point, Rachel’s mother was struck by lightning. She now possesses the unique ability to determine who everyone’s soulmate is, and spearheads a support group for people who’ve been struck by lightning. She and Rachel have moved all over the place during Rachel’s formative years, and so now they are excited to settle down and put in some roots for Rachel’s high school season of life.
Rachel has two best friends: Serena, and Jay. The three of them are thick as thieves, BFFs! Besties! Nothing can eeeeeeeeeever go wrong!
You can probably see where this is going a mile away, but just in case you can’t … girl, it’s a love triangle and some broken, bruised friendships and fee-fees. Rachel was spurned by the boy she fell in love with when she had an accident, and has been trying desperately to get struck by lightning ever since, hoping it will bring her some romantic luck. She doesn’t know her father, but is positive her mother is keeping it from her because of a delightfully romantic backstory that she is just not privy to.
What follows is a 200+ page romp through the late summer months here, near beautiful Cape Cod, where our tragic heroine runs after lightning strikes and deals with having a crush on Every Boy. Unfortunately, what could be an interesting premise is mired and bogged down by clunky writing, and a plot with more drama than a high school theater production.
Bottom Line
Soulstruck is a neat concept, and it made me want to visit Cape Cod in the off season. But other than the few facts I learned about lightning strikes … I didn’t really get much here. It makes me sad, because this was clearly a labor of love, but it just didn’t hit the mark for me. If you want a deeper, more satisfyingly fluffy YA beach read, check out Huntley Fitzpatrick or the good ol’ standby, Sarah Dessen.
How I’d Describe This Book to My Friends
We follow Rachel, a young lady in her early teenage years who lives with her mother near Cape Cod. We see this sleepy island town as the off season begins, the tourists are packing it in, and the rain starts coming. This in and of itself sets the stage for a quaint story, but Rachel herself has an intrinsic eccentricity: she wants desperately to get struck by lightning.
Apparently at one point, Rachel’s mother was struck by lightning. She now possesses the unique ability to determine who everyone’s soulmate is, and spearheads a support group for people who’ve been struck by lightning. She and Rachel have moved all over the place during Rachel’s formative years, and so now they are excited to settle down and put in some roots for Rachel’s high school season of life.
Rachel has two best friends: Serena, and Jay. The three of them are thick as thieves, BFFs! Besties! Nothing can eeeeeeeeeever go wrong!
You can probably see where this is going a mile away, but just in case you can’t … girl, it’s a love triangle and some broken, bruised friendships and fee-fees. Rachel was spurned by the boy she fell in love with when she had an accident, and has been trying desperately to get struck by lightning ever since, hoping it will bring her some romantic luck. She doesn’t know her father, but is positive her mother is keeping it from her because of a delightfully romantic backstory that she is just not privy to.
What follows is a 200+ page romp through the late summer months here, near beautiful Cape Cod, where our tragic heroine runs after lightning strikes and deals with having a crush on Every Boy. Unfortunately, what could be an interesting premise is mired and bogged down by clunky writing, and a plot with more drama than a high school theater production.
Bottom Line
Soulstruck is a neat concept, and it made me want to visit Cape Cod in the off season. But other than the few facts I learned about lightning strikes … I didn’t really get much here. It makes me sad, because this was clearly a labor of love, but it just didn’t hit the mark for me. If you want a deeper, more satisfyingly fluffy YA beach read, check out Huntley Fitzpatrick or the good ol’ standby, Sarah Dessen.
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