3.5/5
When I started the book I expected a cute romance mystery. I’ve never read a John Green book but I knew what he was famous for so I expected his reputation.
What I got was a novel less about plot, or even character development, and more about the internal survival of a teenage girl struggling with OCD.
At times the writing in this book was beautiful and at times not so much. One consistency was Green’s ability to weave a clever one liner into his work, even if the story itself was dragging on a little.
I thought the writing about Aza, from her point of view, was incredibly well done, but as a character I was not that intrigued with her story (and I honestly felt bad about my apathy. I stopped reading and felt bad that while I was reading I felt nothing.)
It wasn’t just her though. No character really developed or changed. They were more already a final product and we spent the rest of the novel peeling away their layers.
Though many reviewers loathe daisy she was my favorite. She was a good friend who suffered from external conflicts and complemented Aza’s internal struggles.
Michael and Noah both existed as singular feelings, the former existing solely as an artist and the latter as the embodiment of grief.
Davis flirted with his passion for Astronomy and space but in comparison to Daisy’s bold personality (and loving of similar topics) he just felt pale at times.
I don’t know. I liked a lot about this book but the plot didn’t just change, it disappeared entirely then rocketed back into the book at the very end.
While I thought this book was very well written it just didn’t last with me. Here I am minutes after finishing it and all I can summon (at most) is a Larry David “Pretty, Pretty, Pretty good”
I will say the style of writing did resonate with me and I will read another book (or more) by Green. It was also well paced, so it did offer that gratification of being fast enough to finish in a day.
R.K. Gold 