Hayley Long

6/10, after reading a pretty enjoyable sci-fi/fantasy book called The Scourge I was hoping that I would enjoy this book as well but alas I didn't since this was a boring and confusing book due to the fact that there were so many issues within this and I can say for sure that other readers have experienced this problem as well, where do I even begin. It starts off with the main character Sophie Nieuwenleven, or Sophie for short however that last name is pronounced like New-one-lefen or something like that, I don't know. I'm not sure why she had to leave England when she was young to go to Belgium and then she goes back to England to probably find some truth about her. I didn't like the writing style in this book, it was so frustrating to read, and the beginning was slow as well but the action started to pick up quick. Why replace normal words for other ones like bucket for book, helix for head, pigeon for people and terrapin for tear? The main character had a bad attitude at times but I could understand that and she developed her character eventually. There were two plot twists and one of them didn't seem that important at first (Sophie discovers her real grandmother), but then the second plot twist was huge! Sophie's entire life was a giant lie and that was the biggest plot twist within this book and that impressed me however the ending fizzled out which was a shame. If you want an emotional story, go read The Thing About Jellyfish, Clap When You Land, or The Poet X instead of this.… (altro)

Trigger warnings: Death of parents and a brother in a car crash, grief and loss depiction, hospitalisation

7/10, well this was an interesting yet familiar book since it feels like what happens when The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin meets Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes in a stunning paranormal tale of grief and emotions. This book was enjoyable all the way through but it did have two melancholy parts I had to get through which left me a bit emotional at times. At the beginning the two main characters Griff and Dylan were in a car in New York with their parents when it crashed and both parents were killed and I assumed that both brothers survived when I saw them both in the hospital recovering from their injuries and then discharged to live with a new person in a Brooklyn apartment. After a while they had to leave eventually to go to a new town called Aberstwyth in Wales. It was interesting to see the two brothers seeing that place and experiencing all the struggles of living there due to them having to learn a new language, Welsh and acclimatising themselves to all these new people there.

A really unique aspect of this novel was all the flashbacks to when both parents were still alive, who they met and where they went and I wondered why Dylan had them that took up almost half of the book until the very last flashback where there was a massive plot twist where a shard of glass cut into Dylan's spinal cord, killing him which I thought was a bit unrealistic, sure Dylan could've been paralysed for the rest of his life because of that but I think it wasn't realistically enough damage to kill him unless it hit some critical organs. Now Dylan was a ghost and he was just looking at his brother Griff who was the only person who survived the crash when Griff couldn't hold the emotions back anymore and decided to tell someone that Dylan died in the crash and that was the saddest part of the book other than the beginning of it. In the end Griff finally adjusts to his new home in Wales and maybe he would stay there for the remainder of his life. If you like a sad story about brotherhood and grief this one is for you.… (altro)

Charming and delightful! This novel takes you from frivolity to heart-wrenching melancholy and then to regular happiness. Jody and Jody's twin sister Jolene fall for the same guy at the same time. Hijinks ensue, and then gritty realism ensues. If you want to read a book where caring adults intervene to stop bullying, keep searching.

I liked the illustrations, the math jokes, and the fun British phrases like "jog right off." The one thing I did not like about this book was the design of the text where some words were larger than others. I think it's messy and distracting and is a lazy way to make some phrases more important or sound like shouting. Because the writing is good, all of that comes through anyway and so the big letters are unnecessary.

PS. My edition has a pink background to the cover and is way cuter than the one pictured here. The back cover says the cover illustration is by Steph Says Hello. I think it's awesome!… (altro)

Ok, I agree with the other reviewers that this book took awhile to get my head around as Sophie substitutes words like "Phoenix" for "Phone" the whole way through. I found that reading it without interruptions was the best way as my brain started to substitute the correct words and get into a rhythm. Basically Sophie and her parents moved to France when she was little and when she suddenly discovers that she doesn't have a birth certificate, her father changing their last name starts to make more sense.… (altro)