This was such a gorgeous book.
It explored extremely important themes about the modern justice system and the problems it has, and I fell totally in love with Amber and Orianna. There were some surreal parts where I wasn't quite sure what was happening, but it was such a gorgeously-written book I couldn't bring myself to object too much.
If you're looking for a beautiful and thought-provoking (yet not thick or dense) read, I definitely recommend this book.
This book, to me, was definitely overhyped.
Multiple friends recommended it, and all the quotes on the back of the book seemed to hail it as one of the best of the decade. It was given multiple awards, as I recall, and so I was definitely expecting more than I got.
What I got was an okay book. It was not a horrible book. But it was not a book that in any way lived up to anyone's praise, in my opinion.
First - the portrayal of depression. The book seemed to be saying that because Craig didn't eat or sleep every single night, he was therefore depressed. I realize that lost appetite and lack of sleep are symptoms of depression, but the book seemed to be saying that if I were to get to bed a few hours late and skip dinner one night because I was finishing up homework and had a late lunch, I must be severely depressed. Perhaps this is not what it meant to imply, but it's certainly the impression I got. I'm afraid that those who didn't know much about depression prior to reading this book might have gotten a similar impression and might now be walking around with mistaken ideas about what it means and how it feels to be depressed.
There were also major transphobic undertones, with Craig refusing to use a transgender person's preferred pronouns, instead saying "he/she/it". This is absolutely not okay.
ALSO, THE INSTA-LOVE. WHY WAS IT THERE. BURN IT, PLEASE.
That being said, the mapmaking aspect of the book was really unique, and I liked seeing Aaron's character development. It also, while not terribly gripping, was not terribly boring either.
An all right book, but not a great one.
I picked this book up because of how much I'd loved the Bartimaeus series, and I was not disappointed.
True - this book and I started off rocky. The first hundred pages or so were very slow - I debated DNFing it - but then I remembered that The Amulet of Samarkand had started out in the same way and it's now one of my favorite books. So I decided to persevere (I refuse to give up that easily on the soul who created Bartimaeus), and I'm so glad I did.
The characters are stunning in this book - George is amazing and takes no crap, Lockwood is a brilliant hero it's hard to not fall a little bit in love with, and Lucy is different from the average female protagonist. She's not beautiful, and she's not a special snowflake. She gets in trouble and makes tons of mistakes. And so does everyone else in this book. (Well, except George, because he's pretty perfect tbh.) Once the story got going this book was incredible, and I'm very excited to pick up the next installment.
Ahhh, thank you! You absolutely must; it's fantastic. I hope you enjoy!
I love your reviews! And the ratings . . . too funny!
The transphobic aspect of It's Kind Of A Funny Story sounds horrible. I've seen loads of mentions of the book online, but I'm glad I've not picked it up.
These books seem interesting but definitely not my type. And insta-love? NOPE.