Chris or Cooper
An incredible depiction of depression, suicide, resilience and coping. I fully recommend it to everyone. It gives perspective and is an amazing story in its own right. A very quick read, but an important one.
This collection of essays was truly amazing. It bothered me, in the way that we should be bothered. It made me rethink some of my long held views and gave me a vocabulary to articulate some of my new ones. I love her perspective on everything from politics, to media, and of course to the idea that we cannot be perfect feminists and that is okay. Loved it all around. A must read for feminists or feminist-curious readers.
I'm giving this one 4 stars, but it's probably more like 3.5. I really enjoyed it. Especially the first half of the novel. A lot of people told me to give this series a chance, despite the title and description not sounding very appealing. They were right. It was a lot better than I would have expected. I enjoyed it greatly and was sulked in immediately.
I really enjoyed the diverse group of characters. I especially liked seeing two female best friends playing the leads. Their dynamic was terrific and I really enjoyed it. The characters were deeply flawed, which always makes for fascinating stories. The mystery and conspiracy behind the novel was also very good.
The author also tackled ideas of misogyny. Having the misogynistic principles in the society as a major plot point and obstacle for our characters. At times this was done really well and I loved it. The characters struggled with the roles they were put in and also showed the problems of internalizing other people's ideas of who they should be, which I loved. Despite that, sometimes the book fell into the trap of prompting stereotypes, which undermined what the author seemed to be trying for. At times it seemed to fall into the stereotype of girls as caddy and backstabbing. The book almost seemed to prompt both that stereotype and that behavior at times. Other times there seemed to be a glimmer of subverting the stereotype, but it never fully committed to this. I am curious to see whether there is growth in the next novel, but it was a frustrating point in this one. That aspect of the book, which was pretty glaring toward the middle portion, was frustrating and pulled me out of the story.
I still am curious where it will go, and I plan to try the next novel at least.
I found this little book at my favorite little book store in Staunton, and it being only two days after hearing about this book for the first time as recommended reading for young fledgling feminists. It was love at first page. I seriously cannot recommend this book enough. While I don't agree with everything single thing she says, the tone and the ideas are solid. She made me rethink things and I had many little ahha's or “YES! me too!” moments which always make up a terrific book. I devoured this in little over a day.
Well worth the price of admission.
I loved the characters and charm of this novel. It had me from page one and it was nearly impossible to put down. I did not like the ending as much as I wanted too, though I honestly can't tell you exactly why. There was just something that did not have the same emotional strength as the rest of the story.
I loved the characterization, and the fun of traveling Indiana. Who knew this book would make me want to visit Indiana! I always enjoy books where the characters get to travel.
I also thought this was an excellent depiction of bipolar disorder and handled the topic of suicidal thoughts brilliantly.
This was a wonderful graphic novel to give you a feel of the history. The art style was fascinating and captured the atmosphere of the time period perfectly. The ending was especially good. The last line hits like a punch to the gut, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it. It is definitely a good work for getting upset about what people went through to get us to where we are today.
My only real complaint is that the pacing was a bit hard. I often just wanted a bit more let in on what was happening, and it skipped frequently and at times confusingly.
This book was incredible. It moved me to tears more than any book lately has, and at other times it made me laugh. It really illuminated depression and how it affects every aspect of a person's life. The characters were deep, and the story was unpredictable.
Surprisingly, it is a book about suicide and depression that manages to be both emotional and fun. It is not a drag to read in any way.
Recommend wholeheartedly!
My opinion of this book is straight down the middle. On the cons side it is incredibly confusing and convoluted, if you can figure out what is happening without drawing a diagram you are a better detective than me. Personally, I was lost the entire time.
On the pros side: the art was gorgeous, slightly gothic feel that was mesmerizing. The exploration of earth 2's superman and Batman bestfriendship was the most adorable thing ever. I loved it. And the dialog was fabulous.
Fun but not one to go out of your way for
This collection of novellas with an overarching direction was very interesting. It gave a great deal of insight into Celaena's past. However, on it's own merit, it was not as good as the regular stories in the series. The writing and intensity were not up to par. Neither was the pacing. It dragged moments out in several places, especially with the ending that anyone who read the other books knows was coming. After having read Heir of Fire, this story by necessity does not feel as grand. Perhaps it lost some magic for that reason.
There were some great things and characters. Sam Cortland was fantastic. The silent assassins and the Mute Master were incredible (easily the best part). Overall, I just didn't love it as much.
I really enjoy what I've come to refer to as the scavenger hunt genre of YA. Books along the lines of Papertowns, 13 Little Blue Envelopes, and I am the Messenger, where one person sends another on a journey to do seemingly random things that have hidden meaning. It is sort of an emotional/coming of age National Treasure if you will (with less Nick Cage). This book is both a prime example and a wonderful addition to this genre. I loved it start to finish. It made me laugh, feel a range of emotions, and want to go out and do something new. It is a perfect summer novel!
I listened to the audiobook on my journeys to college, and I will say it is not a great audiobook. There are a lot of random pauses, just moments of dead air for no apparent reason. I kept imagining the page flipping on the audiobook script. The voice acting was pretty great though.
I really enjoyed this piece. She has a very positive outlook on life and a great sense of humor. It was fun hearing her thoughts on a variety of topics. It was not a challenging read, but it was an enjoyable one. My only complaint was that it was so short.
I read this one in English, obviously but the translated version isn't on this site for some reason. I loved the first novel in this trilogy so much. I found it creative and fascinating. This one sadly disappointed me. I still enjoyed a lot of the Liv and Henry stuff overall. But this really felt like a bridge book where very little actually happened. The ending was incredibly anticlimactic. I am still into enough that I will check out the third book once it comes out in English, but this left a lot to be desired
I read this book in little over a day, and I loved every page. Often short story collections that accompany series are just filler and fan service fun, but this one was a genuinely wonderful story in its own right. I loved it. I love Four/Tobias as a character in general, and this exploration of his life and thoughts added a great deal to my love of the series.
I love love Rainbow Rowell. She is one of the best writers I've ever read, easily in my top favorites list. This book is the best I've read from her so far. I love how life doesn't end after marriage in Rowell's world (like it so often does in other stories). The story begins with a marriage. The characters are so compelling and this book gave me all the emotions. As always with her books, everyone felt real and believable. I really and truly loved this novel. Just every single thing about it.
This book was flawless beginning to end! I love all the characters, especially Mark. He was simply hilarious! The science was incredibly done and interesting. It was a wonderful and captivating audiobook
I don't really have the right words to say how much I loved this book. People kept telling me it would be everything I wanted, and I seriously doubted that, but they were right. It was a very painful book, but in the end the pain was worth it for the pay off. The things that early on really bugged me were cleared up and explained by the end to the point that none of my original complaints held any merit. It was a wonderful book. So many things happened that I could never have guessed. The plot twists were incredible. The character development was mindblowing.
The author continually does things I didn't want her to do and then makes me love it, which I can't say has ever happened in any series I've read.
I would also add that Maas continues the new trend of adding new characters in this book and I loved them all yet again. How she makes me fall in love with new characters to the same extent as the original ones, I really can't say. Maas is a master.
On a personal note I will add that I'm going through a really hard time right now, and this book was exactly the kind of escapism I needed to help me cope.
Thank you Maas!
A heartbreaking and healing read, both hard and good. Some places touched so close to my own experience I felt deeply seen. Loved it through and through
A perfect summer read go say goodbye to the season. It was lovely and light, and did a good job of being unexpected. Whenever I thought I knew what was coming based on old chick flick tropes I was wrong. Well done.
I listened to this audiobook on my commute. The voice acting was terrific. The story was pretty decent. Nothing was too original but it was reasonably good. I had a bit of trouble keeping all the characters straight for some reason.
I was never able to predict this one. Start to finish it took me places I wouldn't have guessed. The characters were so delightfully fleshed out! The emotions were deep and layered. And the locations were magical. I loved getting to “see” them all with this book.
P.S. Excellent audiobook!
Lovely and moving. This book is my new manifesto. It will definitely become a frequent reread for me.
This book was pretty good. It did not, though, quite live up to the standard of the first two in the series. I continually wanted more from the scenes (more emotions, more scares, etc.). Some of the twists were really interesting, and I am definitely going to carry on with the series, but this one was easily my least enjoyed of the lot.
I loved this book! It was emotional and thrilling. The characters were really well rounded, wonderful in their flawed ways. The challenges built in intensity. I genuinely enjoyed this one and fully recommend. Go, read, enjoy!
The emotions this book made me feel: deep life alteringly strong laughter, genuine tears, and the sensation of wanting to scream “how are you still alive?” at a person. This book was an excellent psychological case study. It was a story of twisted and strange friendship. It was also the story of...art? Well, that may be debatable.
There were also moments when it felt like a thriller and I feared for the writers life, before reminding myself he must be alive because...he wrote it.
I fully recommend it, and one day when I teach psychology...it will be in the syllabus.
