mikayla crest

When I initially started this book, I had to put it down for the sole reason that she doesn't use quotation marks. which I'm still trying to find a reason why she decided to do that. but i decided to suck it up because this is my literature teacher's favourite book. This book is an either you get it, or you don't. there really isn't any in between. I felt as if the issues and conflicts Sally Rooney highlights have so much depth inside them, the surface and the layers that come with being a teenager, growing up, and being so raw and human. although the way Rooney decided to portray them made these conflicts seem as though they stopped at the surface level, causing characters to seem shallow and one dimensional. Marianne said on multiple occasions that she doesn't care what others think but has also decided to lose her shit when something doesn't go her way. (understandable but conflicting toward her supposed 'character'). She'd do things for others, for example; dating Jamie, letting him do those things to her, and letting Peggy walk all over her. Further proving this 'care' she feels. Connell would complain about the actions of his friends back when they were eighteen, the way they acted toward women was disgusting in his eyes, when he honestly wasn't much better. He didn't take Marianne to the Deb, asking some other girl, purely because he was worried about his reputation. Always grateful for Marianne's ability to keep secrets and her supposed uninterest in what other people say. I will admit, he did redeem himself for the most part, I just couldn't find myself able to call him a deep character just because he was diagnosed with depression later on. Which brings me to the fact that I felt so far away from all the characters, I don't know whether it's just because it's written in third person, but regardless, I felt their characters hard to comprehend. They were difficult to connect to, their personalities not being dived into unlike the conflicts they experience/ed. Regardless of that, the characters were definitely human, with real and raw flaws, and for that, I appreciate the book more than I usually would. And I won't go as far and say that this book had no plot, because honestly, it does. You follow the lives of real humans and the people that they are, connecting (or trying to) with others. And although I am one of the people who doesn't get this book as well as I'd like to, I can see what Rooney was aiming to create and I do hope it resonates well with others. That's why I gave it three stars. Overall, its a decent book, coming from somebody who's on the 'doesn't get it' side of things. I do think it's worth reading anyway.

I didn't enjoy this whatsoever, the characters were underdeveloped, boring and had the maturity of a fourteen year old. Which is strange since they're grad students and (mostly) in their twenties. Olive had no personality at all and Adam's only trait was 'mean to everybody but her'. The fake dating made no sense either, sure they had their reasons but Olive's actions made me believe she was bipolar because how did she go from kissing a random person in the dark to stammering and looking down at her feet every time she talked and then to telling Adam to "fuck off" when he was doing his job?? I really don't understand. Anh's entire personality was being a feminist (which I do support but why did everything she spoke about trail back to "mediocre" white men??) and while I was happy she didn't make a big deal out of Olive lying and keeping secrets about her "relationship" she definitely under reacted. The only character I had liked was Holden who was barely shown and again, underdeveloped. Which I will admit is understandable given he's only a side character but the the rest of them were too bland and had no personalities. They acted completely off character in different scenarios and the only time we get a glimpse into Olive's "personality" is when Malcom is giving her that pep talk. Without that, how are we supposed to know her qualities when they're never shown? And how is it that Olive is a third year PhD when she can't hold a conversation and acts like a fourteen year old? And what was going on with Jeremy and Olive, that was just so rushed and made zero sense. Would not recommend.

I hated this book. I read it because of tiktok and some of my friends enjoyed it (which I dont understand). Initially, Ava is just another annoyance to Alex but looks after her since she is his best friend's sister. And Alex is just Josh's friend to Ava but the attraction between them was so sudden and wasn't built up at all, completely unrealistic. Ava's personality consisted completely of being this "ray of sunshine" while Alex was some unhinged psycho. This book is targeted for a "older" audience yet the only people I'm seeing read this are young girls who are using this as an example of "love" and creating false expectations. Alex's entire personality was seeking out revenge and quite literally living to kill. How is it does a supposed ray of sunshine, find themselves not only attracted but "in love" with somebody like that? This book was disturbing, had no substance and everything felt so forced.