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A review by dbguide2
Furious by Rebecca Podos, Jamie Pacton
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was such a cute read and I really need to finish watching all the Fast and Furious movies (so I can then rewatch them ). If you’re not a fan there are a lot of references and talk of the movies and characters, so, sorry if you’re one of those who dislike constant pop culture references. I don’t, I really like them and I don’t think they spoil or date the book (I love the older references, especially with technology).
I was drawn to the book because a) Jamie Pacton and b) Fast and Furious. And I’m glad to say it delivered! I haven’t read anything from Podos and I’ve only read Pacton’s fantasies – but I’m pretty sure I could see Pacton in the characters. JoJo and El were so cute – alone and with each other. I thought it was cute that they would both go on tangents about bikes and cars respectively and you could feel the other girl is like “Yeah, I have no idea what you mean but you’re cute!”.
I appreciated JoJo’s grief storyline. Her mom had passed away recently and grief is such a difficult thing to work through. I liked that it wasn’t so well-managed here but there’s hope that it would and sometimes, that’s all that’s needed. El doesn’t have grief per se, but she’s working through her sister’s disappearance, which is sort of grief because it’s about losing a loved one (albeit not actually).
It’s a very fast-paced book, which is always nice. You could easily read this in one sitting or throughout a day. The plot is fairly simple and because it’s so fast-paced the plot flies through too. I now and then wanted the plot to be more – more twists, characters having to choose a different path – but this is contemporary, not fantasy! Contemporary’s allowed to be straight-forward and plain. Just like a sprint in a race (all my knowledge is from Need for Speed games haha). The characters did occasionally make stupid decisions or say things without thinking but they’re teenagers!! Let teens do these things!! I think of this often when people complain about teen characters being annoying – like teens… are annoying. And they should be allowed to be annoying!
I was drawn to the book because a) Jamie Pacton and b) Fast and Furious. And I’m glad to say it delivered! I haven’t read anything from Podos and I’ve only read Pacton’s fantasies – but I’m pretty sure I could see Pacton in the characters. JoJo and El were so cute – alone and with each other. I thought it was cute that they would both go on tangents about bikes and cars respectively and you could feel the other girl is like “Yeah, I have no idea what you mean but you’re cute!”.
I appreciated JoJo’s grief storyline. Her mom had passed away recently and grief is such a difficult thing to work through. I liked that it wasn’t so well-managed here but there’s hope that it would and sometimes, that’s all that’s needed. El doesn’t have grief per se, but she’s working through her sister’s disappearance, which is sort of grief because it’s about losing a loved one (albeit not actually).
It’s a very fast-paced book, which is always nice. You could easily read this in one sitting or throughout a day. The plot is fairly simple and because it’s so fast-paced the plot flies through too. I now and then wanted the plot to be more – more twists, characters having to choose a different path – but this is contemporary, not fantasy! Contemporary’s allowed to be straight-forward and plain. Just like a sprint in a race (all my knowledge is from Need for Speed games haha). The characters did occasionally make stupid decisions or say things without thinking but they’re teenagers!! Let teens do these things!! I think of this often when people complain about teen characters being annoying – like teens… are annoying. And they should be allowed to be annoying!