This Adventure Ends

2.5/5 stars Dreams don't have to be realistic- that's why they're dreams. You have to work to make them happen. Or else they would be realities.
So hi. You don't remember me, but my name's Emi and I used to write reviews all the time on this site. I loved it, and am proud of every review I have ever written, but things happened and I ended up in a slump that lasted about a year and a half. Quite tragic, really, but like some person once said, you gotta learn from your past. Was it Mufasa who said that? I think it was Mufasa.

Anyways, I am pleased to announce that 2019 is the year that I write reviews once again. I also said that about 2018, but 2018 me was a effing liar.

Also, sorry, but no gifs. I'm typing this entire thing up on my mother's computer, and she just doesn't have a vast library of them on her desktop for some strange reason.

And so, in this year of Emi posting reviews again, we are gonna start with this book. As you can probably read, I mean, if you are on this website, I am assuming you can read this book is called This Adventure Ends, alternatively titled Omieffingod When Will This Book End?

Nothing against this book. I understand why so many people have thrown 5 stars reviews at it and claim that Emma Mills is Shakespeare reincarnated. But as I grow into the ripe old age of my twenties, I'm starting to not believe in love and instead in artificial insemination. Not that I'm gonna give up my ya contemporary novels anytime soon, you'll have to pry those from my cold, dead hand. In fact, my future artificially inseminated children are gonna be named Morgan Matson and Eliza (and her Monsters).

No, instead I'm officially a cynic™. Contemporary books aren't gonna be holding the same power they used to have over me. Love at first sight and kissing in the rain aren't gonna woo me like they used to. I'm not gonna go around falling for every cute contemporary boy with long eyelashes and a dark mysterious past. No, I'm cutting myself off. From now on, only about 90% of those boys will I fall for instead of the usual all of them. And Gabe Whatever-His-last-Name-Was is not gonna be one of them. To be honest, I don't think he would have been one if I hadn't become a cynic™ because Gabe was a boring af male love interest. But we'll get to that later.

First, lets talk about the girl behind the book. Miss Sloane Finch. Who is so funny and so cute and so effing annoying. She's a singer, and supposedly really good, but she only sings like twice in the entire book and mostly as a way to convenience the plot. Because why else would she be in New York at the same time as the oh so important painting that we'll also get to later?

Now, Sloane is suppose to be this hilarious character, who hides her true emotions behind her humor. And like, same, but that's not the point here. The point is that, none of Sloane's jokes, much like my own tbh, made me laugh. Instead, I rolled my eyes and tried to pretend that she didn't say anything at all. Almost everything that came out of her fictional mouth was like 2014 try hard tumblr had said it instead. Part of my soul just completely died out after the third starburst candy joke.

Well, try hard Sloane just moved to Florida from New York and this is supposedly important to the plot but isn't bc I honestly forgot all about this detail until just this moment. She never talked about New York once. I don't even know if New York means the city or the state. Like most things about Sloane, her living in New York was important to the plot only once and quickly disregarded after that. But anyways, she moves to Florida and her dad is Nicholas Sparks and they moved to Florida for his books or some shit like that.

Oh yeah, her dad is Nicholas Sparks obsessed with Teen Wolf. Obviously, he and the show he liked had a different name, but I'm not gonna go look through the book for it. Even though he was literally the best character in the entire book, that's really the only important thing to mention about him.

Well, two weeks into her new school in Florida, Sloane gets invited to a party. Which is one more party then I was ever invited to my entire four years of high school. There, she gets into a fight with some stereotypical jock who really only appears in the book during this scene because plot device. And because she gets into this fight, this girl named Vera decides that her and Sloane are gonna instantly be best friends forever until the end of time.

Now, Vera is cool and all. I didn't hate her. But she's also the most unrealistic character I've ever read. She supposedly has enough social media followers to fill up a stadium or two, but lives the life of an average American high schooler. Idk, this could be realistic and I could be wrong, but I'm sure if you had as many followers as the book suggested Vera did, school wouldn't be your first priority. You'd probably be missing a class or two attending Vidcon or some shit with other popular social media scarlets.

But anyways, Vera introduces Sloane to her not internet famous friend group and Sloane immediately becomes friends with them too. Despite the fact she's suppose to have a hard time making friends as she didn't have any in New York (or so I assume bc she literally never talks about New York). Now, if you are like me and have read the masterpiece that is Six of Crows, you get overly excited for any group of teenagers. But, unfortunately, this friend group has the chemistry of a brick. I'd write more about them, but to be honest, I think writing about that brick would probably be more interesting. Besides, the entire group was only together like three times the entire novel. There's not much to talk about.

Now, Vera also had a twin brother called Gabe who serves as Love Interest. And the entire book, all he does is be moody, be sad over a painting that was lost but he didn't put away in a safe place, date some girl named Alice, then at the very end he asks Sloane out. That's all. I literally don't recall one conversation between Sloane and Gabe that made me swoon and believe in love again.

Oh, that painting that I mentioned, Sloane decides after knowing Gabe for an entire 3 hours, that she's gonna track down this painting and literally goes all over the country looking for it and her parents are just like, “okay, have fun sweety.” She's 17. I couldn't care less about that painting, but it's important bc Vera and Gabe's mom painted it for them before she died, so the search for it is dragged out about one book too long. Luckily, there was a book written about Vera and Gabe's mom to help Sloane on the search.

That's right. Singer extraordinaire Sloane, daughter of Nicholas Sparks, moves to Florida where she meets social media star Vera, who's mother is famous enough to have a book written about her and her paintings. Totally believable.

I think it's about time I wrap up my first review of 2019, mostly because the more I'm writing about this book, the more I hate it. Anyways, thsi review probably sucked bc I'm a little rusty. But have a great New Year everyone and I hope it's filled with books that are much better than this shit hole and with that, This Review Ends.

uh oh i think i've outgrown ya contemporary...

It's Sloane's senior year, and her family has just moved across the country. A confrontation at a party embeds her in a tightknit group of childhood friends. Problem is, Sloane puts walls up, deflecting with humor before things get too earnest. That might sound cliché, but instead of brooding, she throws herself into a scheme (her words) to relocate a painting with her lab partner, who is a) going through a crisis of faith and b) calls himself DJ Smooth. Meanwhile, her father, a famous author, contends with a combination of writer's block and depression by diving deep into Were School (think Teen Wolf) fanfiction. It's all stupid and hilarious and sweet. With both Sloane and Claudia in [b:Foolish Hearts 33275690 Foolish Hearts Emma Mills https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1487081647l/33275690.SY75.jpg 53998283], Mills portrays vulnerability issues in a way that feels authentic instead of tedious, encompassing both romance and friendship. I also like how she emphasizes the artistic value of both paintings that sell for thousands and NSFW fic. I like more that the character vehemently arguing the value of fandom is a middle-aged acclaimed male author. This Adventure Ends is funny and refreshing, but it taps into bigger questions—what does it mean to care about people? More to the point, why don't we let ourselves? And the cover, of course, is gorgeous. Thick swirls of paint in hues evoking both sloshing water and melancholy. Stars representing everything from dead reckoning to Laney's love of constellations to engagement on social media. If you like [a:Alice Oseman 7789423 Alice Oseman https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1515091539p2/7789423.jpg], [b:Eliza and Her Monsters 31931941 Eliza and Her Monsters Francesca Zappia https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476994065l/31931941.SY75.jpg 52586056], [b:Nice Try, Jane Sinner 33413915 Nice Try, Jane Sinner Lianne Oelke https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1500554660l/33413915.SX50.jpg 49155351], or even the movie Ingrid Goes West, try this (adventure ends).

3.5 stars. This was good, not great. I've tried to describe the plot of this book a couple times and keep failing because honestly, nothing really happens? It is really just centered around a quirky girl and her quirky group of friends and quirky dad. It was cute and wholesome and I didn't really dislike anything about it but it didn't do anything crazy for me.

5 stars This made me laugh, it made me cry. Perfect combo. It's just such a wholesome, heartwarming story. I absolutely love this group of friends <3

I love contemporary books, mostly because there's something about them that makes me bubble up with all the fuzzy-happy feels. Which is exactly what happened with this book. (And it's beautiful cover. God, I could stare at it for hours on end.)

I think cute contemporary reads are kind of my thing now, and this definitely delivered on all accounts. I loved our main character, Sloane, right from the very beginning. She has such a fantastically introspective character voice, which I absolutely adored. Sloane had such a unique personality and a very quiet sort of strength & dependability about her that literally radiated pure awesome. She's definitely an interesting character with lots of complex feelings, especially concerning her relationships with others. In fact, this aspect really made up the crux of the book for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. (Whoo, go “deeply-emotional-I-would-straight-up-kill-for-you” friendships!)

All in all, while a lot of the reasons why I enjoyed this book were deeply personal, This Adventure Ends is a beautifully executed, absolutely lovely story about the power of friendship and familial bonds. It was a wonderful way to finish up my reading for the month — hello, final exams, I did not miss you at all — and basically reinforced my love of everything Emma Mills.