Short and Simple Review So, I'm not sure how I feel about this. It didn't wow me like I eThis and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
Short and Simple Review So, I'm not sure how I feel about this. It didn't wow me like I expected it to, as the hyped reviews lead me to believe. But I also definitely didn't like it. I liked it, I did, but I felt like I missed something that everyone else saw, but I didn't. I did listen to this book on audio, which may have made me feel distanced from the story more than I would if I were reading it in text format. I do think the author did a fantastic job of detailing Iran and making the reader get to know the setting, and see it through Darius' eyes. I loved being able to hear the character speak Farsi. I also think the book did a great job of showing mental health. I think, overall, this book just felt quiet, which isn't really a bad thing. What I mean, is that the book just felt real. It was just focused on showing the realness of Darius, his family, friendships, and his time in Iran, and it just slowly took us through that. That doesn't mean that nothing happened that picked up the pace, but it just felt quiet and I don't know how else to really explain that quietness. I was surprised that there wasn't any LGBT+ content because I remember seeing this book on so many lists, but I understand why that wasn't there. From what I hear, Darius is gay, but is questioning in this book. EDIT: I've since read the sequel, and I really think my mood must have affected the reading experience of this book. Either that, or the audiobook did make me feel distant. Because I can definitely say that I LOVED the sequel and I sped through it. I can also say that book two certainly has more LGBT+ content. But I think what really makes these two books strong is that they are so character-centric, especially focused on Darius, that it just feels real. ...more
MY THOUGHTS This book wasn't what I expected it to be. I thought This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars
MY THOUGHTS This book wasn't what I expected it to be. I thought this was going to be a mystery, but it turned out to be a dull contemporary. It wasn't bad, but not much happened.
When Naomi takes a fall down the stairs, she wakes up without any memory of the last four years. She doesn't remember her best friend, her boyfriend, her parent's divorce, moving, or even skills like driving. She has to keep going to school and continue the extracurriculars she started before her accident, but it's hard to go on when you don't remember so much of your life.
I honestly expected this to be a mystery, though I'm not certain why. So if you are wanting to read a mystery, then don't pick this up. This book is really just a contemporary book. It's a coming of age story where the MC is dealing with memory loss. I did like this angle (even though I had some trouble with how amnesia was handled. More on that later) and it did make this book a little different than other contemporary YA books I've read. But while the book focuses a little on Naomi's memory, the last half of the book really just feels like a slice-of-life book and the pacing was a bit slow.
Naomi is an interesting MC. I didn't agree with a lot of her decisions, especially when it came to telling people things, but she's a teenager so she's bound to make mistakes. It is clear how she is struggling with her memory loss. To her, four years have passed in a blink. She has the memories of a twelve-year-old, but she's doesn't feel twelve. The book does delve into how she feels different from the pre-amenia Naomi (the Naomi of the memories she lost). She tries out new things and breaks away from people that she doesn't think are good for her. I wish the differences between the Naomis was explored more because I think that is an interesting idea. Could she be a different person without those four years? But I feel like this topic was dropped pretty quickly.
This brings me to my issues with her amnesia. (view spoiler)[ She remembers everything very quickly and fairly easily. It was pretty much SNAP, and her memories were back. Her personality didn't change at all when the memories were back (no one could even tell they were back). I expected more of the Naomi vs. Naomi thing, where the Naomi with her memories back realized how much she had changed or how odd her actions were to her, etc, but of course, that didn't happen. It just felt lackluster and was only used as a way for Naomi to hide the fact that she remembers everything again. (hide spoiler)]
As far as relationships, I loved Naomi's relationship with Will (or, at least, Will's relationship with her). I loved their repertoire and they seemed like great friends, but of course, Naomi had to ruin that. This book does have romance but it did not read like a contemporary romance. Naomi has a boyfriend at the start of the book who she does not remember. But the book makes it clear that their relationship doesn't work, so she is interested in another boy, James. I didn't really like either boy, to be honest, but in both cases, the book really focuses more on what the characters think they want rather than what they really need. It was a different type of relationship than I am used to seeing in YA (view spoiler)[ and even though the book ended with Naomi not in either relationship, I oddly liked that because it didn't force an unbelievable high school relationship. (hide spoiler)]
IN CONCLUSION Overall, I found this book to really just be okay. It really just wasn't what I expected and it didn't focus on the elements that I thought it should have focused on. It is a little different than other contemporary books I've read, but the story kind of dragged and it didn't feel like much happened....more
Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars I was so deeply invested in this book! I was very tempted to rate it higher, but...the world building was lacking so I had to Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars I was so deeply invested in this book! I was very tempted to rate it higher, but...the world building was lacking so I had to drop my rating. Overall, though, it was a great book. ...more
Jessica (Goldenfurpro)
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