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A review by michelle_pink_polka_dot
It Wasn't Always Like This by Joy Preble
4.0
Super fun to read!! I really liked the love lost through time story & the idea of immortal teenagers.
I don't read a lot of books like this, so it was really entertaining for me. I loved the idea of 100-year-old teenagers running around!! I mean, living forever and not aging didn't seem all that great, but if you were gonna do it-- I don't think late teens would be a bad age to pick.
Hands down the best part of this book was the "love lost through time" storyline. Emma and Charlie were soulmates separated by tragedy trying to make it back to one another without knowing if the other one was still alive. I adored going through history with Charlie and seeing where the journey took him. I wish there was more of that and a whole lot more of Emma's long life explained.
The thing about Emma was: She is a 100-year-old teenager, yet somehow is NOT wise. I get that she still has 17-year-old hormones and all that, but she has 100 years of life experience!!! She should've been way more knowledgeable and interesting than the 50-something cop she teamed up with, but that just wasn't the case. I know she's been busy looking for Charlie & dodging the church, but you would think after 100 years she would be the bomb dot com at SOMETHING. She was just existing.
The biggest problem with this book was the big bad guy. It was a cult-like church that believed hunting down the "evil immortals" would somehow get them closer to Heaven-- and okay, so far so good. But where it lost credibility was when it got passed down through generations. At this point, The Church of Light have no idea what Charlie and Emma look like, so you have to believe that this church went around killing girls that they felt COULD be Emma based on ???? Basically, they were picking out teenage girls with brown hair who didn't have parents and may have connections to Florida. Do you know how many of those there are??? They would never find her that way. Also, why was she going around using her real name if there are crazies after her?? Girl was not 100 years old, there's just no way.
Plausibility aside, this book was a fun read. It's short and has a cool premise, and I just had to know if Emma and Charlie would ever find each other-- which says something because I don't like romancey stuff!!
OVERALL: A quick read that has a cool teenage immortality premise. I loved the love lost through time & historical parts, but I wished Emma showed more of the 100-year-old soul she supposedly was living with.
My Blog:
Pink Polka Dot Books
I don't read a lot of books like this, so it was really entertaining for me. I loved the idea of 100-year-old teenagers running around!! I mean, living forever and not aging didn't seem all that great, but if you were gonna do it-- I don't think late teens would be a bad age to pick.
Hands down the best part of this book was the "love lost through time" storyline. Emma and Charlie were soulmates separated by tragedy trying to make it back to one another without knowing if the other one was still alive. I adored going through history with Charlie and seeing where the journey took him. I wish there was more of that and a whole lot more of Emma's long life explained.
The thing about Emma was: She is a 100-year-old teenager, yet somehow is NOT wise. I get that she still has 17-year-old hormones and all that, but she has 100 years of life experience!!! She should've been way more knowledgeable and interesting than the 50-something cop she teamed up with, but that just wasn't the case. I know she's been busy looking for Charlie & dodging the church, but you would think after 100 years she would be the bomb dot com at SOMETHING. She was just existing.
The biggest problem with this book was the big bad guy. It was a cult-like church that believed hunting down the "evil immortals" would somehow get them closer to Heaven-- and okay, so far so good. But where it lost credibility was when it got passed down through generations. At this point, The Church of Light have no idea what Charlie and Emma look like, so you have to believe that this church went around killing girls that they felt COULD be Emma based on ???? Basically, they were picking out teenage girls with brown hair who didn't have parents and may have connections to Florida. Do you know how many of those there are??? They would never find her that way. Also, why was she going around using her real name if there are crazies after her?? Girl was not 100 years old, there's just no way.
Plausibility aside, this book was a fun read. It's short and has a cool premise, and I just had to know if Emma and Charlie would ever find each other-- which says something because I don't like romancey stuff!!
OVERALL: A quick read that has a cool teenage immortality premise. I loved the love lost through time & historical parts, but I wished Emma showed more of the 100-year-old soul she supposedly was living with.
My Blog:
Pink Polka Dot Books