Well, this is awkward.
Why? Because, sadly, this is a case of “it’s totally you, not me.” I did my part. I went into this with an open mind, and a good mood. And in return, I received .. disappointment (to say the least) and a sufficiently soured mood (to say the .. most? Is that a thing? Please ignore me. I’m attempting to keep this light, to no avail). Yeah. I’m not happy.
The idea itself is fine, if a bit recycled. It’s one of those things that could go (with no doubt) one of two ways: really really well, or horrendously bad.
Guess which way this went? Yeah, exactly.
But I shall present my opinion (see what I said? Opinion. Meaning, you could have a different one, which would be totally fine) in an organized, list-ly manner. Because I’m nothing if not organized. And list-ly.
– The idea of two best friends on a long-distance relationship, corresponding via email and text messages, was fun .. for the first 10 pages. Afterward? It got repetitive. And tiresome. Because – and I don’t get whose idea it was to butcher a plotline this badly – if you don’t know how to properly write a book in a funky format (solely through emails and texts, in this case), DON’T DO IT. Not everyone is Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, okay? Not everyone. And that’s okay. But I believe this format, instead of enhancing the storyline, crippled the plot so horrendously that it limited the reader’s view of the unfolding events, not to mention bored me to tears.
– Neither Ava nor Gen was strong enough to carry the storyline forward. In fact, they were so not strong that they fumbled the plot, and it fell and burst into shards (ignore that weird metaphor(?), please). These girls aren’t interesting, okay? They’re really not. All Ava did for over half of the book was whine and overthink every interaction she had with a random boy (he was so random, possessing next to no chemistry with Ava, that I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when he showed up and stuck), that it was obvious he was pushed into this shindig against his will for the sole purpose of serving as Convenient Love Interest #1™. And Gen? Gen did nothing but get drunk or high (or simultaneously drunk AND high; what a talented young woman we have here, folks) and having a rather gross relationship with a (middle-aged, mind you) teacher. I don’t know about you, but does not interest me at all. It might mean the world to you, but not me. Sorry not sorry.
– The plot moved at a snail’s pace, but without the final destination in mind. I cannot stress the amount of NOTHING that took place for 150+ pages here. Well, let me try to convey that: take the stars in space. See all the black nothingness between them?
*remembers dark matter and dark energy exist, so it’s not technically “nothing”*
Well, this book is more NOTHING than the cold hard blackness of space. It was so very NOTHING, in fact, that I DNFed this torturous thingy at 44%, then skimmed to the end because I was feeling quite generous at the time. And even the ending was so very underwhelming, I thanked the heavens I made the right choice and just skimmed. Because I would’ve snoozed if I had continued.
That said, if any you read that synopsis and think the aspect is quite cool, or the issues I have so professionally addressed (ha) above do not sound like they might be of bother to you, then by all means, pick this book up. Seriously. You may like this more than I.
But for my part, I think I’ll just drop this and go find a better read.
Thank you, Wednesday Books, for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest review!
” if you don’t know how to properly write a book in a funky format (solely through emails and texts, in this case), DON’T DO IT. ”
LOVE this line! There are times that you want to write in a different style, but often times that is not the right thing to do.
Oh, I’m glad! 😀 And I get that authors want to experiment with different formats sometimes, but it takes experience to pull that off.