becandbooks's reviews
1118 reviews

Note: Actual rating is 3.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I love thrillers. And while Thomas kept me guessing throughout the entire book and did SO WELL with the red herrings I felt a little flat by the end.

There is a lot going on with these characters that you really only get glimpses of. The mix of contemporary YA and mystery I am finding leaves me slightly underwhelmed, because of the focus to build BOTH rather than having a full on mystery thriller. It makes the book enjoyable, sure, but it also leaves me wanting more from both angles.

The characters in this book? Oh boy. They are some doozies. The main three were not likeable characters. I personally loved this in a thriller sense though. And holy crap some of the internal dialogue - SHIVERS. This is the creep factor that I want to see more of in YA mysteries. I really wish I had some of this dialogue (just a wee hint) from riiight at the beginning though.

The ending, as everyone has said you won't see coming. You just won't.

I was a little bummed because I felt there weren't enough clues for the ending.

But maybe I'm just really upset that I never figured it out.

T H E T E A R S J U S T W O N T S T O P

This will be properly reviewed. Once I recover from shock and drowning in my own tears

(WHY DID THIS TAKE ME SO LONG TO READ?~!)

I should have realised this was going to be a typical white straight boy meets white straight girl at summer camp just from the cover. And yet, I gave it a shot and that is exactly what I found.

This book was fine but that's about it. The story line was fine, the romance was fine, the characters were so overwhelmingly average in the view of the white western society.

There was zero diversity in this book - white, hetero, American.

It passed the time, but I didn't gain anything from this read.

And the clean language in a book for teenagers? Pretty sure those over 15 don't censor themselves, saying ape-poop instead of ape-shit.

Note: I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Matthew Inman and Andrews McMeel Publishing!

I love The Oatmeal comics. So when I saw a new graphic novel created by the wonderful Matthew Inman OF COURSE I requested it.

And I was not disappointed in the slightest.

"...journeys require endpoints otherwise you're not Frodo, you're just a homeless guy wandering around with stolen jewelry"

Being happy is overrated and quite often unrealistic. This is Inman's discussion point, complete with rabid, eleven eyed bunnies, cats carrying anatomically sound hearts as balloons, and much expulsion of substances from both ends of the human form.

The blurb describes "another helping of thoughtful hilarity" which just about sums it up.

The book is thoughtful and personally I think his entire point is spot on. And you just can't help but be amused at the presentation of Inman's discussion.

Note: I received this book from Netgallery in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Debbie Tung and Andrews McMeel Publishing!

Okay I did really enjoy this book. It's cute, it's humorous, and in so many ways it is ridiculously accurate about my life.

The illustrations were so so quaint and the grey scale really fitted with the story. I loved the concept of a story progression but still including the bits and pieces of every day lives that could easily act as standalone comics.

My issue is this: the book title is 'An Introvert's Story' however I think there is definitely a blur between introversion and clinical anxiety in this book.

The character herself throws out the term social anxiety in one frame. And then it's never mentioned again. There are things depicted in this book that, from personal experience, I would think lean towards anxiety rather than stock standard introversion. The sweating and the difficulty functioning at work for example.

I think it's irresponsible to throw an issue, even if it seems barely so, into the mix without addressing it. Even more so to throw it in addressing as something else entirely.

I did really enjoy the book, but I honestly think that it's the responsibility of the author and the publisher to clarify these points or remove them. Because labeling even a fictional character as 'just an introvert' when they have display (even mildly!) atypical behaviour is potentially damaging.

Clarify these points and remove the unnecessary social anxiety term and you have a great little book that a large group of indoor-solitude dwellers can enjoy.

Note: This book was received from Netgallery in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Amelie Flechais and Diamond Book Distributors!

The illustrations in this book are magical. The storyline is so typically fairytale like with a gorgeously penned moral at the end. The twist to the original story is wonderful and I just love it so much.

This is what modern fairytales should be like. Not this silly mojo where everyone gets a happy ending.

The illustrations are so fantastically beautiful. I spent so long reading this book just cos I was enjoying all the extra creatures and the backgrounds and just how damn adorable that wolf in the red cape is.

And I truly adore this retelling. Every story has two sides. Brilliant moral basis. Brilliantly executed.

The magic exudes from this book while still seeming completely grounded and relevant. A fantastic read, even for an old grump like me. 138% will buy it if I see it in a store.

You know when you read a book and it just seems so relevant in time and place and meaning that you just really get it? That's what Untidy Towns was for me.

(To clarify I am not a 17-year-old about to graduate BUT I am a 24-year-old EEEEEP that has no idea where she is going in life)

Adelaide ditches her super flouncy, prestigious school and scuttles back to little Victoria country town, Emyvale. It is here where she basically decides she has no frick of an idea what to do with her life. But she is sick of the institution telling what and how to do things.

And so, she gets back to her roots, lives back home with her fambam, starts (kinda forcibly) volunteering at the local historical society.

This is not a book of big whirlwind adventures or swooning out of castle towers. There is a horse who makes some wonderful dopey appearances. The book is just this: a coming-to-age contemporary. And it does the job well.

There is REAL Australian things that happen! And not cliche ride a kangaroo events, but jump on an empty Big M carton to make it pop sort of events. If you are an Aussie you should read it just to appreciate these bits and pieces that just aren't included in the American/British saturated YA literature that we tend to read.

There is the slightest amount of diversity but it isn't overly explored. The reaction to coming-out is pretty average imo, not terrible but not overwhemingly good. Which in many ways is actually pretty accurate. There is also a mention of mental health (Adelaide announces that she had panic attacks while at her flouncy school) but this isn't discussed at all. Which disappointed me. A lot. Why mention it if it's not discussed? And why not take an opportunity to explore it a bit if it's included? I promise these will be discussed in more detail in my full review.

This is a book about being young and discovering yourself and not having to follow the path those around you do. It was enjoyable and relevant to anyone who has come to the end of high school in any way or form. While it wasn't the best book I've read, it is a book that has found at a good point in my life and when reading that is something that matters.

A full review is to come over at my blog. In the meantime check out other things here!