What do you think?
Rate this book
Unboxed
Unboxed is about four teenagers who come together after several months apart. In previous years, they had put together a time capsule about their best summer with a friend who was dying. Now that their friend has passed, they reunite to open the box.
140 pages, Paperback
First published August 15, 2016
About the author
Non Pratt
14 books253 followersNon Pratt started her career working on non-fiction activity books at Usborne, before becoming an editor at Catnip Publishing. Her debut novel TROUBLE shortlisted for the YA Book Prize and the Branford Boase Award, with rights sold to the USA, Germany and Brazil. Her second novel, REMIX came out in 2015 and a novella, UNBOXED for Barrington Stoke in 2016. Her third novel with Walker Books, TRUTH OR DARE will come out in 2017.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 205 reviews
June 11, 2017
Short, but meaningful reads are the best!
January 4, 2017
This one got me right in the feels. I'm a sucker for stories that are primarily focused on friendship, and the dynamics between Alix, Ben, Zara and Dean had so much to offer! I loved the diversity, the trust and the general hopefulness I felt while reading. Although I felt extremely emotional reading the letters they sent to their past selves, and what their best friend Millie wrote, who couldn't be with them, it's that emotional connection that really makes this a five star read.
An absolutely heartwarming story about the power of friendship to withstand the test of time, perfect if you're looking for something short but meaningful!
An absolutely heartwarming story about the power of friendship to withstand the test of time, perfect if you're looking for something short but meaningful!
December 20, 2016
I want to teach high school because I want to stay young forever. Seriously. There is nothing like spending your day around teenagers, feeling their energy and their enthusiasm, being exposed to their perspectives in the world. At the moment my teaching career has shifted sideways, and I’m working with adults who need their high school diplomas (and that has its own rewards). Even then, I can still stay young by reading YA.
I started writing reviews on Goodreads when I was 18, when I could still comfortably call myself a young adult. Now, at 27, that stage of my life is, like my hairline, receding. Whereas 18-year-old Ben could review Unboxed and other YA from a YA reader’s perspective, I’m having to come to terms with the fact that I can only review it from an adult-who-is-reading YA perspective. Don’t get me wrong: I think these labels are largely marketing, that YA novels can be high quality literature, and that adults should read YA and can find it relevant. I just want to highlight that what I get from a YA novel isn’t necessarily what teenage readers might get from the same story, and that is an important distinction.
Still, in Unboxed Non Pratt deals with a subject that all adults will recognize. Sometimes I think the hardest thing about getting older is not the physical process of aging but the inevitability of leaving people, or rather one’s relationships with people, behind. Regardless of the details, we can all relate to Alix and her mixed feelings about reuniting with Ben, Zara, and Dean to unearth a time capsule five years on from its burial, with their now-deceased friend Millie an omnipresent ghost over the night’s proceedings.
There’s few things better than a writer who knows novellas. Unboxed is a surgical strike of storytelling. Like, I’m disappointed it’s not a full novel simply because I want me more Pratt—but I can see the wisdom of this particular length. This is a lean, mean, storytelling machine where every scene pays off, every conversation reveals more about these characters. And it is all towards this theme of what friendship actually means and whether it is OK for friends to drift apart as they change. I also think this is a book that will really appeal to more reluctant readers, both in terms of subject matter and length, and in my opinion any book that is a gateway drug to reading is a good thing.
One thing I find very fascinating is Pratt’s decision to tell the story entirely from Alix’s perspective. Why no split POV? Why Alix in particular? (Pratt has since answered this question on Twitter! Yay interwebs.)
I don’t think it’s a spoiler to talk about Alix being gay, since we learn it at the beginning of the book. I love the way Pratt weaves Alix’s sexuality, and her complex feelings about hiding her discovery of it from her friends five years ago, throughout the other developments in this book. Alix isn’t a gay character for the sake of having a gay character in some kind of tokenist move; neither, however, is her sexuality her sole defining trait. Rather, it’s a part of Alix’s wider identity, and the conflict she feels as the night goes on is an interesting foil to her otherwise forthright, take-charge attitude. Pratt clearly delineates a special connection from Millie to Alix to the rest of the group: they point out that Millie knew the others would come if Alix asked on her behalf. And throughout the evening, despite her anxiety about coming out to her friends, Alix is a driving force in this activity.
Millie’s role in the book is also fascinating just because she’s, you know, dead. She is a posthumous character in the most literal sense; aside from that last letter, everything we learn about her comes from how the others speak about her. As is often the case, they are reluctant to speak ill of the dead. To Alix, Ben, Zara, and Dean—at least on this night of nights—Millie is mythologized, larger than life, this wise and sympathetic creature who knew them better than they knew themselves. In some ways, this is true: Millie is quite literally the force that gets them together; she plays quite a big role in the time capsule. But it’s also a comment on how we project our hopes and fears on other people, and how we sometimes need other people to validate our choices.
Because I’m a wizened, old literary snob, I saw a lot of the plot points coming and so wasn’t moved by the twists per se—but I still teared up at the end, there. If you’ve read it, you know the part I’m talking about: page 128, after Alix has read her letter, that scene of unimpeachable and intense connection…. And that’s, to borrow a John Crichton turn of phrase, what I��m talking about. When you know it’s coming, you know exactly what’s going to happen, but the author still manages to sneak up and sucker punch you right in the feels—that is wonderful.
Pratt doesn’t just tell stories. She makes characters come alive, and she does it with such precision and timing. In less than 150 pages we meet four dynamic individuals with flaws and doubts and questionable choices of boyfriends. We only get to join them for a night, but what a night. Unboxed is about facing the past to confront the future, and it’s a story of uncertainty and friendship and bonding that adolescents and adults alike are going to recognize. It’s edifying without being patronizing; it’s sharp and clear but does not cut.
And it offers no false promises.
There is a tidiness to a lot of YA stories about friendship, particularly the kind that make it to the big screen, that makes me uneasy. There is a promise, explicit or implicit, that everything works out in the end. You spend your whole story worrying about going off to different colleges but, hey, it all works out for the best. We’re so afraid of loose ends in our narratives. But it’s those loose ends that make them real. Unboxed ends on what I would term a positive and uplifting note—but Pratt offers no reassurance, no promise that this Freaksome Four will remain reunited or intact. She can’t, because they can’t, because life is unpredictable. Life gives you stomach cancer and abusive parents and crap boyfriends and divorced parents who move away and you just have to deal.
But if you’re lucky, you don’t have to deal with it alone.
I like it. Maybe not as much as Remix or Trouble , but they were novels, and I’m really biased in favour of novels. Unboxed is about as good as novellas get for me, though, and it really is just delightful to meet more of Pratt’s characters and hear her uncompromising, empathetic words again.
I started writing reviews on Goodreads when I was 18, when I could still comfortably call myself a young adult. Now, at 27, that stage of my life is, like my hairline, receding. Whereas 18-year-old Ben could review Unboxed and other YA from a YA reader’s perspective, I’m having to come to terms with the fact that I can only review it from an adult-who-is-reading YA perspective. Don’t get me wrong: I think these labels are largely marketing, that YA novels can be high quality literature, and that adults should read YA and can find it relevant. I just want to highlight that what I get from a YA novel isn’t necessarily what teenage readers might get from the same story, and that is an important distinction.
Still, in Unboxed Non Pratt deals with a subject that all adults will recognize. Sometimes I think the hardest thing about getting older is not the physical process of aging but the inevitability of leaving people, or rather one’s relationships with people, behind. Regardless of the details, we can all relate to Alix and her mixed feelings about reuniting with Ben, Zara, and Dean to unearth a time capsule five years on from its burial, with their now-deceased friend Millie an omnipresent ghost over the night’s proceedings.
There’s few things better than a writer who knows novellas. Unboxed is a surgical strike of storytelling. Like, I’m disappointed it’s not a full novel simply because I want me more Pratt—but I can see the wisdom of this particular length. This is a lean, mean, storytelling machine where every scene pays off, every conversation reveals more about these characters. And it is all towards this theme of what friendship actually means and whether it is OK for friends to drift apart as they change. I also think this is a book that will really appeal to more reluctant readers, both in terms of subject matter and length, and in my opinion any book that is a gateway drug to reading is a good thing.
One thing I find very fascinating is Pratt’s decision to tell the story entirely from Alix’s perspective. Why no split POV? Why Alix in particular? (Pratt has since answered this question on Twitter! Yay interwebs.)
I don’t think it’s a spoiler to talk about Alix being gay, since we learn it at the beginning of the book. I love the way Pratt weaves Alix’s sexuality, and her complex feelings about hiding her discovery of it from her friends five years ago, throughout the other developments in this book. Alix isn’t a gay character for the sake of having a gay character in some kind of tokenist move; neither, however, is her sexuality her sole defining trait. Rather, it’s a part of Alix’s wider identity, and the conflict she feels as the night goes on is an interesting foil to her otherwise forthright, take-charge attitude. Pratt clearly delineates a special connection from Millie to Alix to the rest of the group: they point out that Millie knew the others would come if Alix asked on her behalf. And throughout the evening, despite her anxiety about coming out to her friends, Alix is a driving force in this activity.
Millie’s role in the book is also fascinating just because she’s, you know, dead. She is a posthumous character in the most literal sense; aside from that last letter, everything we learn about her comes from how the others speak about her. As is often the case, they are reluctant to speak ill of the dead. To Alix, Ben, Zara, and Dean—at least on this night of nights—Millie is mythologized, larger than life, this wise and sympathetic creature who knew them better than they knew themselves. In some ways, this is true: Millie is quite literally the force that gets them together; she plays quite a big role in the time capsule. But it’s also a comment on how we project our hopes and fears on other people, and how we sometimes need other people to validate our choices.
Because I’m a wizened, old literary snob, I saw a lot of the plot points coming and so wasn’t moved by the twists per se—but I still teared up at the end, there. If you’ve read it, you know the part I’m talking about: page 128, after Alix has read her letter, that scene of unimpeachable and intense connection…. And that’s, to borrow a John Crichton turn of phrase, what I��m talking about. When you know it’s coming, you know exactly what’s going to happen, but the author still manages to sneak up and sucker punch you right in the feels—that is wonderful.
Pratt doesn’t just tell stories. She makes characters come alive, and she does it with such precision and timing. In less than 150 pages we meet four dynamic individuals with flaws and doubts and questionable choices of boyfriends. We only get to join them for a night, but what a night. Unboxed is about facing the past to confront the future, and it’s a story of uncertainty and friendship and bonding that adolescents and adults alike are going to recognize. It’s edifying without being patronizing; it’s sharp and clear but does not cut.
And it offers no false promises.
There is a tidiness to a lot of YA stories about friendship, particularly the kind that make it to the big screen, that makes me uneasy. There is a promise, explicit or implicit, that everything works out in the end. You spend your whole story worrying about going off to different colleges but, hey, it all works out for the best. We’re so afraid of loose ends in our narratives. But it’s those loose ends that make them real. Unboxed ends on what I would term a positive and uplifting note—but Pratt offers no reassurance, no promise that this Freaksome Four will remain reunited or intact. She can’t, because they can’t, because life is unpredictable. Life gives you stomach cancer and abusive parents and crap boyfriends and divorced parents who move away and you just have to deal.
But if you’re lucky, you don’t have to deal with it alone.
I like it. Maybe not as much as Remix or Trouble , but they were novels, and I’m really biased in favour of novels. Unboxed is about as good as novellas get for me, though, and it really is just delightful to meet more of Pratt’s characters and hear her uncompromising, empathetic words again.
November 7, 2022
This was everything I love in one book. It's mostly about friendship - specifically lost friendship, where everyone comes back after five years and sort of works out why they left and talked about what they missed, I seriously love stuff that romanticises the past like this, because I do it ALL THE TIME. But what's even better is that this book was so full of hope, like, you could tell that this wasn't it for these characters, they weren't doing this for closure, they're best friends.
It was so beautiful and poignant in a really simple way and I was crying like a baby when they were all reading out their letters - especially Zara's because we shared a lot of the same insecurities at 13. I just loved all of the characters and their dynamics! It felt like something I wish I'd written, but at the same time it felt very similar to a short story I submitted for my Creative Writing module last year and that made it 100% more enjoyable because I was like I wanted to read this and someone wrote it.
Everyone needs to read this. You'll get through it in one sitting and want so much more!
It was so beautiful and poignant in a really simple way and I was crying like a baby when they were all reading out their letters - especially Zara's because we shared a lot of the same insecurities at 13. I just loved all of the characters and their dynamics! It felt like something I wish I'd written, but at the same time it felt very similar to a short story I submitted for my Creative Writing module last year and that made it 100% more enjoyable because I was like I wanted to read this and someone wrote it.
Everyone needs to read this. You'll get through it in one sitting and want so much more!
November 30, 2018
Update: I interviewed Non about UNBOXED here: http://www.barringtonstoke.co.uk/blog...
I JUST FINISHED. Non made me cry, goddammit. I never cry at books! It was so beautiful. She's done such a good job of making me really care about the characters in such a short length of time.
Alix and Ben and Dean and Zara are just wonderful and complicated (and Ash is officially The Worst.)
God I want a million sequels and a movie, that was so wonderful. I want to read it again from Millie's point of view. I want to go back to being 13 and make my own time capsule. I want to give them all a giant hug.
I JUST FINISHED. Non made me cry, goddammit. I never cry at books! It was so beautiful. She's done such a good job of making me really care about the characters in such a short length of time.
Alix and Ben and Dean and Zara are just wonderful and complicated (and Ash is officially The Worst.)
God I want a million sequels and a movie, that was so wonderful. I want to read it again from Millie's point of view. I want to go back to being 13 and make my own time capsule. I want to give them all a giant hug.
August 20, 2016
Oh. Oh my heart. Consistently the best voice in YA. Hands down. Non is raw, honest, sharp & smart. She writes the way teenagers talk, & she understands that the power of friendship is a fundamental love.
Full review: "A short, punchy story that aims directly for the heart and nestles in there for life"
http://wp.me/p1QFGW-ib
Full review: "A short, punchy story that aims directly for the heart and nestles in there for life"
http://wp.me/p1QFGW-ib
August 5, 2022
Actual rating 4.5
August 27, 2024
This was a sweet story about a group of friends reuniting after one of their friends has died. Definitely made me think about the good times
August 9, 2021
Wow. I was not expecting this. So glad I didn't read this in the library like I intended because I needed the solitude to truly absorb this book.
What struck me the most was the moment I thought to myself, "I want me and my friends to make a list like this," only to remember the friends I was thinking of aren't my friends anymore.
This book is about regrets, bereavement, friendship and reading it as an adult when you've lost so many people in your life is absolutely heartbreaking, but I hope reading it as a teen is motivational to enjoy those moments with your current friends because in 5 years' time it could all be so different...
What struck me the most was the moment I thought to myself, "I want me and my friends to make a list like this," only to remember the friends I was thinking of aren't my friends anymore.
This book is about regrets, bereavement, friendship and reading it as an adult when you've lost so many people in your life is absolutely heartbreaking, but I hope reading it as a teen is motivational to enjoy those moments with your current friends because in 5 years' time it could all be so different...
February 9, 2017
I didn't know what Unboxed was about before I picked it up at this year's Young Adult Literature Convention (YALC). It's Non Pratt, it's always going to be amazing! But Unboxed is a breathtaking novella about four teenagers who come together after a tragedy. It's about the power of close friendship. It's about letting go of secrets kept from the people who know you best.
Alix, Ben, Dean and Zara have not seen each other in months, but a few years ago – before Millie passed away – they created a time capsule to mark their friendship, their best summer together. And now they want to find it. Unboxed may be short, but it's tiny, powerful and demands to be read in one sitting. We get to know each teenager over one evening spent together, learning the part they used to play in their tight group. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that they do find the time capsule, and I loved what happened next. I loved each of the characters' reveals and discovering what each of them put in the capsule. Unboxed is a wonderful book to curl up with over these cold winter nights, reliving your best summer.
I also reviewed this book over on Pretty Books.
Alix, Ben, Dean and Zara have not seen each other in months, but a few years ago – before Millie passed away – they created a time capsule to mark their friendship, their best summer together. And now they want to find it. Unboxed may be short, but it's tiny, powerful and demands to be read in one sitting. We get to know each teenager over one evening spent together, learning the part they used to play in their tight group. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that they do find the time capsule, and I loved what happened next. I loved each of the characters' reveals and discovering what each of them put in the capsule. Unboxed is a wonderful book to curl up with over these cold winter nights, reliving your best summer.
I also reviewed this book over on Pretty Books.
August 5, 2016
I had the huge privilege of reading an early draft of Unboxed, and at the time it captured my heart, made me fall in love with this band of dispersed best friends, and came with a huge helping of relatable feelings from the main character Alix. Her story of coming out to those closest to her is a story I have lived and it means the world to me to see it put down on the page with so much respect and integrity.
Revisiting Unboxed now in its final form is a joy, and feels exactly how it should, like catching up with old friends you've not seen for a whole, relearning all their quirks and foibles and falling for them all over again. It perfectly captures that feeling of rediscovering memories lost, buried in a time capsule, and uncovered at last.
Non is a master of honest, truthful teenage stories and showing the winding path of growing up and figuring yourself out. Plus her characters swear magnificently, and I bloody love them for it.
5* and all my heart.
Revisiting Unboxed now in its final form is a joy, and feels exactly how it should, like catching up with old friends you've not seen for a whole, relearning all their quirks and foibles and falling for them all over again. It perfectly captures that feeling of rediscovering memories lost, buried in a time capsule, and uncovered at last.
Non is a master of honest, truthful teenage stories and showing the winding path of growing up and figuring yourself out. Plus her characters swear magnificently, and I bloody love them for it.
5* and all my heart.
September 19, 2016
I loved this book! So good!
September 27, 2016
Loved it. In tears on one page and the next I burst into actual LOLs at 'lesbian napkins'
May 23, 2018
This is a very simple, very short LGBTQ-story where high school friends reconnect to honor one of their friends. Secrets are revealed, friendships rekindled.
It was a gorgeous read; I loved it. I do wish it would've been.. I don't know. Longer? More detailed?
In the end this book shows us a couple of hours in our characters' lives, in 140 pages. I like how it is, but I also believe I would've liked a more elaborate version where it lasts a couple of days or weeks? [This is my brain trying to figure out what's the better option of the two, but let's keep it at: I enjoyed this one!]
And to get me to tear up in barely 140 pages: I APPLAUD YOU, NON PRATT.
It was a gorgeous read; I loved it. I do wish it would've been.. I don't know. Longer? More detailed?
In the end this book shows us a couple of hours in our characters' lives, in 140 pages. I like how it is, but I also believe I would've liked a more elaborate version where it lasts a couple of days or weeks? [This is my brain trying to figure out what's the better option of the two, but let's keep it at: I enjoyed this one!]
And to get me to tear up in barely 140 pages: I APPLAUD YOU, NON PRATT.
November 1, 2016
Incredibly touching book. It has a indie movie type of feel, but with a lot more heart and substance. Well rounded characters (Ben and Dean, fuck, you owned my heart so fucking much) and beautiful yet simple writing. Non Pratt surely is an author to look out for. I'm sure she'll keep doing great things, and I'll be there to read it.
(George Lester, if you stumble upon this review, I love you for talking about the book in your videos. You were the one who convinced me to read it because of your honest passion for it. Thank you so much.)
(George Lester, if you stumble upon this review, I love you for talking about the book in your videos. You were the one who convinced me to read it because of your honest passion for it. Thank you so much.)
March 26, 2021
My first, and definitely not my last non pratt book. I just don't know how they get so much emotion and character development into such a small book.
I LOVED this
I LOVED this
April 14, 2017
This short read about a reunion of friends getting together after the death of one of their group is a heart-wrenching tale of memories, secrets and nostalgia. It made me want to reach out and hold my closest friends tightly, and Non Pratt's story-telling and characterisation is divine. I highly recommend this YA/crossover read.
June 19, 2017
this was short but packed an emotional punch (straight in the nostalgia related feelings) for such a simple story. it made me want to go back in time and reconnect with the friends i had when i was 13/14/15 and make sure i took more stock of the memories i had with them.
January 1, 2019
I've read a few of Non's books, and this was by far my favourite. It was short, and sweet, with an important message to tell. Don't hide who you are, keep in touch with the people you love, live your best life.
February 5, 2018
Absolutely loved this book, couldn’t put it down!
A heartwarming story about 4 strangers who were once bestfriends, rekindling their friendship through a memory box. Also showing how even though they haven’t spoke in 5 years things can easily go back to how they once were, even if everyone isn’t there.
Very meaningful, definitely should read!
A heartwarming story about 4 strangers who were once bestfriends, rekindling their friendship through a memory box. Also showing how even though they haven’t spoke in 5 years things can easily go back to how they once were, even if everyone isn’t there.
Very meaningful, definitely should read!
April 18, 2021
short but incredibly sweet and moving and i cried (obviously).
July 28, 2016
Five friends. One time capsule of their best summer. They knew Millie was going to pass away, but months after it happens, it's time to reunite to open the box. But a lot can change in five years.
For one, you may end up an emotional wreck. This hurts. It pangs every memory you have of teen friends that you've grown distant from and wonder about, it makes you look back at how much you've changed since the age of 13 (hopefully, like them, with better hair), and where everyone has ended up.
And I say it hurts because it's a polar opposite to the level of how much it also makes your heart swell. Friends bloody rule. Meeting up with people you were close with and have grown distant from through life is one of the nicest things, and Non takes you across the whole spectrum of feelings from the sadness to sheer joy of the best times in life spent with friends.
You only spend a finite number of page with this group, you barely know Alix and co but Unboxed takes you wholeheartedly into their look back at five years, together and apart, and you're with them for the whole event. No breaks, no cuts. It's just so magnificent, a simple but brilliant tale of friendship.
Also, do not start reading this when you go for a bath because you will surely turn into a prune.
For one, you may end up an emotional wreck. This hurts. It pangs every memory you have of teen friends that you've grown distant from and wonder about, it makes you look back at how much you've changed since the age of 13 (hopefully, like them, with better hair), and where everyone has ended up.
And I say it hurts because it's a polar opposite to the level of how much it also makes your heart swell. Friends bloody rule. Meeting up with people you were close with and have grown distant from through life is one of the nicest things, and Non takes you across the whole spectrum of feelings from the sadness to sheer joy of the best times in life spent with friends.
You only spend a finite number of page with this group, you barely know Alix and co but Unboxed takes you wholeheartedly into their look back at five years, together and apart, and you're with them for the whole event. No breaks, no cuts. It's just so magnificent, a simple but brilliant tale of friendship.
Also, do not start reading this when you go for a bath because you will surely turn into a prune.
February 9, 2018
Unboxed (2016) is Non's first book for dyslexic friendly publisher Barrington Stoke, and follows a group of friends who come together to retrieve a time capsule they had hidden on their school premises. However, in the years that have passed since its creation, their group has gone from five to four. As they open the box, they find a new addition from Millie, commanding the four to read aloud all their letters from all those years ago, and to share their deepest, darkest fears with each other.
This may be the smallest of her books, but boy does this pack a huge punch to the heart.
This is a book filled with the memory of friendships that were, changed by time and situation; the nostalgia of returning to places so imbued with specific moments in time.
This may be the smallest of her books, but boy does this pack a huge punch to the heart.
This is a book filled with the memory of friendships that were, changed by time and situation; the nostalgia of returning to places so imbued with specific moments in time.
September 29, 2016
This is a short book so some of my complaints might be mostly connected to wanting more development.
I like how the author eventually connects the friends more tightly toward the end but it took awhile to get there and I wanted more about Millie (the illusive dead girl who everyone cares about.) I was curious about her and how she was the thread between them. Had this book been longer, 4 stars might have done it. There are some nice moments of acceptance and caring among friends.
I like how the author eventually connects the friends more tightly toward the end but it took awhile to get there and I wanted more about Millie (the illusive dead girl who everyone cares about.) I was curious about her and how she was the thread between them. Had this book been longer, 4 stars might have done it. There are some nice moments of acceptance and caring among friends.
August 17, 2016
Touchingly poignant and thoroughly enjoyable read.
October 24, 2016
Such a little gem of a book about friendship, grief, growing up, and promises.
October 20, 2019
So many 5 stars for this one. Oops. For me it was good, but nothing special.
August 29, 2018
Unboxed
Sometimes the things you believe in remain the same. At 13, how would you know? How many of us would like the chance to get to look back on the things we said and did as teens?
Unboxed is a simple story that focuses on a group of friends. They haven’t seen each other for a while, but when one of their group dies they fulfil the promise to open the box they put together one special summer.
Initially - perhaps because of the target audience - this felt we were glossing over things. However, by the time we get to the end we realise we’ve been shown the group and their dynamic perfectly.
The group were shown to have moved on in some ways, but the way this unravelled showed that in some cases the friends you have in your teenage years may well know you better than you think.
Sometimes the things you believe in remain the same. At 13, how would you know? How many of us would like the chance to get to look back on the things we said and did as teens?
Unboxed is a simple story that focuses on a group of friends. They haven’t seen each other for a while, but when one of their group dies they fulfil the promise to open the box they put together one special summer.
Initially - perhaps because of the target audience - this felt we were glossing over things. However, by the time we get to the end we realise we’ve been shown the group and their dynamic perfectly.
The group were shown to have moved on in some ways, but the way this unravelled showed that in some cases the friends you have in your teenage years may well know you better than you think.
August 8, 2018
This book was OK. I didn't feel very connected to the characters. The story was a good idea of reopening a box that these kids had hidden 5 years ago, they come together again after one member of their old friendship group dies of cancer.
But all the parts of ' crying' and 'in tears' just felt forced I thought the only part the characters would of cried about was reading the final letter (millies letter the girl who died)
All in all the book was good and enjoyable, quick to get through. It also had lgbt, friendship and death
But all the parts of ' crying' and 'in tears' just felt forced I thought the only part the characters would of cried about was reading the final letter (millies letter the girl who died)
All in all the book was good and enjoyable, quick to get through. It also had lgbt, friendship and death
August 12, 2018
This is a really short and quick read. A group of friends who have lost touch meet to open a box that they hid five years ago.
I enjoyed the portrayal of friendship in this book and how despite not speaking for a few years these friends were still able to easily interact with one another. This was an enjoyable read, however, it isn't a new favourite. The story is extremely short so it was difficult to feel connected to the characters as they weren't that developed. I did like the author's writing and I would like to read from her in the future.
I enjoyed the portrayal of friendship in this book and how despite not speaking for a few years these friends were still able to easily interact with one another. This was an enjoyable read, however, it isn't a new favourite. The story is extremely short so it was difficult to feel connected to the characters as they weren't that developed. I did like the author's writing and I would like to read from her in the future.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 205 reviews