god i feel so angry that I wasted so much time reading this book
it was an interesting concept and the beginning was fine but it took a rly fucked up tgod i feel so angry that I wasted so much time reading this book
it was an interesting concept and the beginning was fine but it took a rly fucked up turn and then just kept getting really fucked up. I absolutely hated Milo he was such an insufferable person no matter what life he was in and the entire book we're supposed to like feel bad for or empathize with this asshole? He never actually took responsibility for being wrong and his entire love affair with Suzie (death) was so trite and one dimensional.
Also the entire subplot where he goes to a prison and gets FUCKING RAPED REPEATEDLY as a plot point was disgusting of the author. That entire chapter was horrible from the initial misogynistic and wildly fucked up "boy gets falsely accused of rape and gets sent to prison by crazy older schoolgirl" I wish there was a trigger warning or that I read some of these reviews sooner but I completely agree with all the 1 and 2 star reviews. And the rest of the book just gets more and more fucked up.
The Buddhism subplot was insanely diminishing and also just disrespectful, painting the Buddha as just a senile old man and Milo as some wise savior learning some tidbits from him naturally just by following him?? Like it makes a fucking joke out of Buddhism and reduces it down to "oh just meditate and be wise and useful teehee" like ??? Maybe someone else can explain why this part sucked so much better than I can but something about it did not sit right with me.
And then finally, I FOUND OUT FROM THE REVIEWS THAT THE AUTHOR (a white guy in 2017) just casually drops this insane plot filled with white saviorism, racism, and the fucking casual use of the n word??? In a futuristic society fiction plot by a white man idk if there's much left for me to say about this but it's just wrong and I DNFd once I found out about that and read some of these other parts.
Save yourself the time and read something better!! ...more
Overall a cute and heart warming story about grief, self acceptance, and love. I will say it was very insta love-y and the romance aspect wasn't reallOverall a cute and heart warming story about grief, self acceptance, and love. I will say it was very insta love-y and the romance aspect wasn't really my favorite part plus I'm not really the biggest fan of magical realism. It was definitely a little over the top sometimes but if you just let go and enjoy the ride instead of nitpicking it's ok lol. I loved the main character and although I initially didn't love Flynn or his chapters because he was such an asshole at first I grew to like him and didn't mind his chapters as much (though I do wish it had just been Blythe's POV). It definitely wrapped up a little too quickly for the issues it dealt with and the ending was predictable but still pretty sweet. That said this would totally make a cute Hallmark movie. I'm glad I kept reading through to the end though I did kinda wanna dnf abt 100 pages in at first...more
the main character was deeply flawed and had a lot of trauma and could be a real bitch at times but her growth throughoui binge read this one fast lol
the main character was deeply flawed and had a lot of trauma and could be a real bitch at times but her growth throughout the novel was amazing. i really related to her a lot and i feel like the author did a good job with some heavy topics and there was a lot of nuance. this was a really good representation of depression and alcoholism i felt like, which is hard to find honestly. and the helicopter parent immigrant mom was TOO FUCKING REAL LMAO. also i loved Cliff so much and they had so much chemistry ahhhh omg. by the end i was so happy for jolene i felt like i knew her irl lol. all the side characters had rly fleshed out lives and stories and it was awesome to see their growth alongside Jolene's. overall i loved this book a lot and highly recommend ...more
enjoyable and cute and also super relatable people pleaser FMC but i feel like the story just wrapped up so quickly and simply and the way they go bacenjoyable and cute and also super relatable people pleaser FMC but i feel like the story just wrapped up so quickly and simply and the way they go back and forth between hatred and love so fast ended up not being my favorite. also i wasn't super interested in it after a certain point, maybe that's just me being fed up with romance in general or not reading much YA anymore but yeah still enjoyed this overall i think...more
**spoiler alert** it was alright and i stayed interested throughout but i had some problems with it:
-the ending was terrible and also how tf did margo**spoiler alert** it was alright and i stayed interested throughout but i had some problems with it:
-the ending was terrible and also how tf did margot piece that together from the detail abt the baby blanket?? it was so abrupt and then it just ended -the writing wasn't that good a lot of telling instead of showing and also a lot of repetitive stuff abt her uncle -margot's investigation was all based on hunches without lots of like actual evidence and also she just got so lucky all the time and lots of things were too convenient -idk i was just feeling super unsatisfied with the end result of who the murderer was ...more
A definitely engaging crime thriller story that i went thru fast but i remember why i stopped reading YA so honestly I wish i read this when i was youA definitely engaging crime thriller story that i went thru fast but i remember why i stopped reading YA so honestly I wish i read this when i was younger lol. Not fond of the romance aspect or the white saviorism or the main character Pip at all. I found her very annoying and couldn't connect with her much at all. She seemed smart and kind, yes, but like such a know it all, not like other girls person whose job was just to save everyone. She also did a lot of really unethical things and put herself in danger and used a lot of guesswork and jumping to conclusions, plus people often offered up wayyy more info than I think was realistic. It was hard to suspend my disbelief sometimes but I tried to lol. The story itself was twisty and had lots of details, suspects, and nuance and kept me reading so overall I think I enjoyed it despite this!...more
**spoiler alert** 3.5 stars!! overall this was pretty good just very dragged out and the middle felt way too long lol but i loved the side characters **spoiler alert** 3.5 stars!! overall this was pretty good just very dragged out and the middle felt way too long lol but i loved the side characters and the thriller bits (liked them more toward the beginning) plus the like cozy feeling some of it had in the vermont parts
here r my notes app notes lol: -LORDDDDD this book is soooooo fucking long and the middle is dragged out as hell from when she gets to vermont--i'm like do i rly need to know every. single. detail. of this woman's life!! like it went on for an eternity way longer than needed and so much fluff--i get it's supposed to be like slice of life, she's rebuilding her roots and her life, but there needs to be a middle ground btwn the fast paced beginning and the slooooow middle -morgan a bit of a mary sue tbh like she's just perfect at everything and as the story went on i liked her less tbh -sometimes hard to tell who is talking in dialogue scenes -did love the side characters and it all felt very like cozy and warm for some parts + the thriller bit was rly scary at first and i loved like getting inside the serial killers head it was interesting !! it kind of just starts to feel comical and repetitive after so many switches tho and less ominous and scary and thrilling--this book just felt like it needed a HUGE edit where like half was trimmed -i did like the vermont portions wayyy more than the beginning portions tbh the beginning felt weird and dreary and i was like damn this poor girl her life is rough lol but when she gets to vermont and has this sick gig working for this great family and lives in a beautiful house with her loving mother and grandma and has a hot man it's just very like idk? happy? but then the pacing there SUCKED -miles kind of an asshole--he just grunts and is lowkey a lil sexist half the time and the grumpiness is just not cute he's kind of an dick tbh LMAO lowkey he talks like how my ex bf used to text me! he's also kind of boring tbh -the sex scenes were kinda weird like either it sort of faded to black or just like described it with rly like flowery over the top language that made no fucking sense like bruh bffr where's the smut -idk i think i prefer the rom com types more this just felt a little off -bruh they haven't even been dating for that long tbh they never even like made it official official bruh wtf lol...more
beautiful immersive prose and inspiring story abt complex women helping (and sometimes also hurting) other women, deeply flawed and human main charactbeautiful immersive prose and inspiring story abt complex women helping (and sometimes also hurting) other women, deeply flawed and human main character that truly grows as the story progresses through her entire life, lots of rich detail and descriptions u can tell author did a lot of research/is very knowledgeable abt imperial china (and the embedded misogyny of the time period eg desire of sons over daughters etc but still manages to tell the story of multiple strong and remarkable women esp lady tan) and also traditional chinese medicine
some quotes:
pg 310 - "In visiting death I've found the inner strength grandmother said I have. Just as she once told me to speak if I wanted to be heard, I finally understand that I must act in ways I haven't had the courage to do in the past and resolve some of the issues and problems that have existed in my life."
pg 323 - "But nothing is guaranteed. An unblemished face will grow wrinkles in time and the white petals of the azalea will turn brown and fall. It is a never ending cycle that will continue through eternity."
pg 331 - "Friendship is a contract between two hearts. With hearts united, women can laugh and cry, live and die together."
pg 334 - "Never force an illness to fit an existing formula. What matters is to find balance between the body, emotions, and the world."...more
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