emmareadstoomuch's reviews
2051 reviews

I REALLY LIKE SARAH DESSEN.

Sometimes, I forget that. Even as I’ve been rereading her books this year. Sometimes, you get That Summer or Dreamland or The Truth about Forever. A disappointment.

But then! Then! Sometimes you get Just Listen. Actually...up until this point that was the only definitively fun one out of this reread so far.

UNTIL THIS POINT. Because What Happened to Goodbye is another Sarah-Dessen-at-her-best type of deal.

Summery vibe. Cute love interest. Family drama that comes to a Disney-esque happily-ever-after comforting solution. A group of friends featuring strong female friendships. And, as always, a sort of meh teenage girl protagonist who goes through a lot and comes out the other side character developed, like a factory but with emotional breakdowns and crying jags instead of mysterious machines.

A lot of the fun of Dessen books comes down to the details. Parents’ jobs; particulars of the familial drama; whether the book takes place in Dessen’s beach town or Dessen’s town town; quirks of the cast of characters who will become the protagonist’s friends; exactly how boring the love interest is (it’s always somewhat boring); whether the main character is kind, brave, or smart (those are the only options).

This one comes down pretty well. McLean’s dad is a restaurant consultant, which is SO FUN. The family drama is that McLean’s mom cheated on her dad with his hero, which is a tad too messy but still comes out all right in the end. The book is set in the non-beach town, which I usually like less but it works this time. The characters aren’t overly quirky, but they banter well, which is better. The love interest is pretty unboring, by Dessen standards. McLean is kind, which is good, because she’s sweet to characters that are sometimes laughed off by other Dessen teen girls.

Bottom line: Sarah Dessen always writes by a formula. This time, the formula works! Hurray!

I FORGOT TO MENTION THE MOST IMPORTANT DETAIL: the characters in this book are nonstop throwing small pieces of food at each other. it's unreal. popcorn kernels, chocolate-covered raisins, sour patch kids - these children cannot ingest small foodstuffs without tossing them in the general direction of one another.

i'm at a loss.

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here is a phenomenon that i hate:

when a book is really popular, and you hate it, and then other books start copying that book and you hate the books that copy it because you hated the original, and really all these books that follow are pale imitations of something bad. like a watercolor painting of a garbage can by someone who does Not know how to paint.

anyway.

i hated The Upside of Unrequited, and this book is The Upside of Unrequited. sans happy romantic don't we all just love each other ending.

our main character, Aden, whose name i just completely forgot even though i finished the book under two minutes ago, has a whole hell of a lot in common with Molly, our horrendous protagonist from The Upside of Unrequited. they are both fat, they both have never been kissed, they both embark on ill-advised quests to get that kiss that end up in their leading-on of boys they're not interested in. they both have cooler versions of themselves in their life who they constantly compare themselves to (Molly's sister; Aden's best friend Marissa; literally every other female character). they both have body image issues so debilitating that they are unable to see themselves as beings worthy of attention, except for random moments when they can, and at the end, when they are magically healed.

the major differences? The Upside of Unrequited is diverse, and this isn't. also, Aden decides she's in love with a boy with a girlfriend, and, in the process:
- repeatedly touches him (despite knowing he has a girlfriend)
- sh*t talks said girlfriend, who is so. nice. to. her.
- enables cheating behavior in herself while condemning it in others
- declares her love multiple times to said boy-in-relationship, who says repeatedly that he can't be with her, due to the fact that he's IN A RELATIONSHIP
- and, in the grand finale, makes out with and sleeps in the bed of this boy with a girlfriend

also, none of this is resolved. Aden just says "i can't be your friend anymore, Tate!!!" and Tate is so physically jarred by this information that he's ejected from the remainder of the story. (which is like 15 pages but still.)

a lot of social issues are just dumped in here without regard. Marissa, the best friend, is a vehicle for: an emotionally abusive parent with addiction issues; an absentee parent; a relationship with a teacher; slut-shaming; and

Spoiler

teen pregnancy

, none of which is given the attention it deserves.

also, at one point, Aden is (TW sexual assault)

Spoiler

extremely drunk at a party, goes upstairs with a boy, and repeatedly says no as he puts his fingers in her without her consent. she narrowly avoids being raped.

this is never addressed after the morning after the party.

cool!

bottom line: girl hate, poor handling of social issues, unlikable protagonist, and sooooo muuuuuch moooooore!!

thanks to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Clarion Books for the review copy.

if you hate:
- girl hate
- judgmental characters
- slut shaming
- gender expectations

then this is a book that will really annoy you for the first 2/3 or so before character development solves it all!!

also, if you like:
- football
- jane austen
- misunderstood jocks

then this is for you. i only like one of those things and i managed to survive.

this was mainly just okay, but look what it managed to tackle!! wow. all wrapped up in that cover. (i am a heart eyes emoji right now.)

bottom line: UNDERNEATH THE DUST JACKET OF THIS HARDCOVER THERE'S ANOTHER DESIGN. (the thing i feel most passionate about when it comes to this book is its exterior aesthetic so i'm running with that.

Reading this book was an extremely weird experience.

When the synopsis of a book is “thrillerish contemporary in which a girl who just lost her virginity wakes up to a wildfire evacuation and the story expands from there, growing into an ever-darker web of lies and abuse and darkness,” you don’t exactly wanna be like…“Relatable.”

But as a wise group of extremely wealthy British men once sang-said: You can’t always get what you want.

This book follows Audrey, a teenage girl who, as mentioned, wakes up the morning after she lost her virginity to some extremely annoying loud knocking on her door. It’s firefighters, it’s a wildfire evacuation, she’s gotta get the hell out of dodge.

You (the reader) at first don’t know anything except that.

The story expands from there, alternating chapters between past and present, slowly giving you more and more answers until you reach a Big Reveal that has, at that point, become overwhelmingly obvious.

This is pretty much made up for, though, by the themes covered along the way. Themes like young love, and the nuances of emotional abuse, and the damage that can be wreaked by loving boys who think they’re damaged.

There are problems, too. Like the aforementioned bonkers obvious alleged “twist,” and a forced romance plotline, and the fact that sometimes it’s so boring you want to join a volunteer fire department in California because at least fighting wildfires would be more interesting.

But overall: the plot construction was SO COOL. You start out knowing absolutely nothing, and then gain more information as the story moves back and forth and the whole thing feels like being dropped in at the center of a spiral and then slowly looping outward.

Also, I really do think the exploration of young relationships and just what qualifies as emotionally abusive = dope.

And I read it in a day! Even though I was reading it on my phone, which I hate doing and firmly believe is the absolute worst way to consume any work of literature whatsoever! A true testament to the quality of this read!

Bottom line: Weird book? Not for everyone. Not perfect. But pretty rad all the same.

Thanks to Penguin First to Read for the ARC <3<3

This is your friendly reminder that I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH.

This series ranks among cookies and coffee and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland for things in this world that I purely love, without complication or exception.

Also, I now understand why I am the way that I am. Clearly, nine-year-old me (who wasn't allowed to read Harry Potter past a certain point in the evening because if I did I'd get nightmares) was NOT equipped to handle this book, wherein a fourteen year old girl is drugged for the sake of surgical decapitation.

THEY TRY TO CHOP VIOLET BAUDELAIRE'S HEAD OFF.

Who can blame me for being slightly damaged? That sh*t is scarring - and not just for Violet. (Buh dum ch.)

This particular installment is amazing even among the thirteen amazing installments that make up the series it is in, for the following reasons:
- the Snicket file, one of many mysterious mysteries to be researched
- the Library of Records, which is one of the top places I'd want to visit if I were in this world

Spoiler

too bad it burnt to the ground

- the continuing quest to discover what V.F.D. is
- the Last Chance General Store, just a great setting
- the character of Hal, a real misguided sweetheart (aren't they all)
- Esmé Squalor's stiletto heels, the heels of which are ACTUAL STILETTOS
- the internal quest in the Baudelaire orphans to decide just what makes a villain - is it the lying and stealing and tricking? Or is it what motivates that?

Okay. I'm done ranting. Maybe.

Bottom line: This book is dopedopedopedope.

can't stop reading contemporaries / won't stop reading contemporaries.

this is a pretty good one! it's about this couple of beautiful teens with a ~complicated past~ (facebook relationship status: it's complicated) who witness something terrible and then embark on A Quest to do some random acts of kindness. pretty cool.

the upsides:
- kendall (who i almost just called "auburn" because of how often her hair is described as being auburn WE GET IT SHE'S A REDHEAD) can be kind of cool
- there are fun families in this book (i just love literally any mention of families in contemporaries because it NEVER HAPPENS)
- new york setting!!!
- new year's!!!!!
- multiple perspectives and it Worked For Me

the downsides:
- love triangle (and an especially ????? one)
- the romance was so bleh for me
- when kendall wasn't cool she was a tad manic pixie dream-y
- max (guy love interest) is boring
- both max and kendall's recent pasts (max's semi-catastrophic ex-girlfriend; kendall's study abroad) felt thrown together??
- honestly everything that didn't take place immediately within the narrative of this book (like 5 days) felt nonexistent

bottom line: not amazing, not terrible. i should have read this around new year's rather than the beginning of summer but what, do i plan things now??? i think ahead all of the sudden?? as if.

sure whatever i didn't need the remaining scraps of my heart to be operational a n y w a y

this, like the other ruta sepetys book i've read, Salt to the Sea, focuses on an extremely tragic historical event that is semi-forgotten, or at least not discussed often enough. in this case, it's Stalin's mid-twentieth century deportation of millions of people in the Baltic states.

this book is sad, sad, sad, impressive, well-written, and extremely important. and also so sad.

if historical fiction isn't your cup of tea but you're open to giving it a shot, this is a great book to try.

there were some flaws, sure. for one thing, i'm sorry (kinda) but romantic plotlines just detract more often than they add for me. the ending also felt kind of abrupt and inconclusive, and huge swaths of time were skipped, which was v confusing for a book that really follows a historical timeline. but overall this book is pretty crucial.

bottom line: a great great great great great example of how important and worthwhile and impressive YA historical fiction can be.

Going to artsy college is weird.

The school reading I’m used to is, like, white dudes with sharp writing styles from the mid-twentieth century. Or white dudes with clunky writing styles from the nineteenth century. Or the occasional lyrical white dude from ancient Greece.

There’s some of that at artsy college. But there’s also this.

Yes. I read this book, about bloggers in a zombie apocalypse, for a real, human class. For credit. This book got me that one extra step toward graduation.

Does it seem like I lead a legitimate existence to you? Because I question it sometimes myself.

Unfortunately, I didn’t like blogger zombie book. It’s crazy long, for one thing. 599 pages!!!

Those six hundred minus one pages are mostly made up of the same descriptions over and over, which makes for a notoriously fun reading experience. Not that many zombies, but I definitely heard about the protagonist’s need for light-blocking sunglasses 599 times. (Once per page. Like clockwork.)

I have also never, in my whole life, read worldbuilding quite like this. This is what the entire book was:

Little bit of plot -> dialogue -> 10-15 pages of worldbuilding -> continuation of presumed-dead conversation -> little bit more plot -> 20 pages of worldbuilding -> Emma just punching herself in the face to feel alive.

This went on for 600 pages.

Minus one.

Just, like. The most unlikable characters of all time. Plot holes that looked like someone drove a semi truck through the climax. (Probably me! I would love to drive a tractor-trailer through this book please!!!) Not a lot of zombies but a whole lot of explanation of the pseudo-science that allowed curing the cold and cancer to create a zombie virus.

Fun!

Bottom line: The previous word is a LIE.

adghsahjdgsahj UGH. the cover of this is so cute???? i just assumed the insides would match but apparently you're not supposed to judge books by their covers, or something ridiculous like that.

this wasn't overwhelmingly bad, but it wasn't for me. truly it was a wildly flat version of Match Made in Manhattan. which i wasn't a huge fan of anyway.

i enjoy the occasional chick lit, and i like online dating a lot as a trope. so. i expected to like this. what i do not like:
- grammatical errors so constant that i would take on copyediting this manuscript pro bono
- repetitive plotline
- sh*t-talking women, online dating,
- inconsistent characterization
- a woman largely defined by her inability to find a man

i did like what the author was trying to do with the ending, and i think she was trying to subvert the whiney-sad-single-lady trope. but she didn't really. she actually made the assumption several times that every single woman in the world is unhappy about it and actively looking for a (male) partner.

traditionalized arbitrary gender roles central.

bottom line: none of this was abrasively terrible. but HOW WAS IT ONLY 156 PAGES LONG.

thanks 2 goodreads giveaways for the ebook. x's and o's

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PRE-REVIEW

i don't want to alarm anyone, but...

I'VE WON FIVE GIVEAWAYS IN TEN DAYS.

man oh man there is nothing better than a good sarah dessen binge read in the summer.

this book is Especially good, because it's pret-ty different from the typical dessen. it's a kinda bad girl protagonist!!! who knew that was even possible?? didn't we all think that the female main characters that populate sarah dessen books just came in barely-varying flavors of Vanilla.

remy is a bit o' a badass - she dates around, she smokes sometimes, she drinks underage (gasp!). basically she's a much more normal and interesting specimen. a pleasant surprise.

the group of friends in this is pretty fun too. the ever-present family drama is dramatic as ever. the unfortunately the equally-unavoidable romance is the most boring, uninteresting plotline in the history of the universe, but you win some you lose some you know?

bottom line: WHY DIDN'T I DO THIS SARAH DESSEN REREAD YEARS AGO. my god, what a blast.