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The Careful Undressing of Love
Everyone who really knows Brooklyn knows Devonairre Street girls are different. They’re the ones you shouldn’t fall in love with. The ones with the curse. The ones who can get you killed.
Lorna Ryder is a Devonairre Street girl, and for years, paying lip service to the curse has been the small price of living in a neighborhood full of memories of her father, one of the thousands killed five years earlier in the 2001 Times Square Bombing. Then her best friend’s boyfriend is killed, and suddenly a city paralyzed by dread of another terrorist attack is obsessed with Devonairre Street and the price of falling in love.
Set in an America where recent history has followed a different path.
Lorna Ryder is a Devonairre Street girl, and for years, paying lip service to the curse has been the small price of living in a neighborhood full of memories of her father, one of the thousands killed five years earlier in the 2001 Times Square Bombing. Then her best friend’s boyfriend is killed, and suddenly a city paralyzed by dread of another terrorist attack is obsessed with Devonairre Street and the price of falling in love.
Set in an America where recent history has followed a different path.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 31, 2017
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December 22, 2016
I thought living in a small space meant we shared everything. But so much can be hidden even in the most cramped apartment on one of the shortest streets in Brooklyn.
Even love.
This is why magical realism is one of my favourite genres. As with books like The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender, this too captures a unique modern-day fairy tale feeling, set in a recognizable Brooklyn neighbourhood, yet full of magical mystery, curses, and whimsy.
The Careful Undressing of Love paints a picture of a world that is almost - but not quite - our own. After a bombing in New York City claims the lives of the men of Devonairre Street, it is said that the Devonairre Street girls are cursed. They are encouraged to grow their hair, wear keys around their necks, and most importantly NEVER fall in love with a boy - because any boy they fall in love with will die, whether they love them back or not.
Haydu crafts a beautiful, tight-knit little world of hysteria, suspicion and grief. Lorna's coming-of-age and examination of love and relationships is, quite literally, a careful undressing of what love is and just exactly what it is worth. With lush descriptions and painful honesty, the author captures the intensity of first loves and the kind of friendship groups where it is impossible to separate one from the others. As Lorna explains, she is not just Lorna, she's a part of LornaCruzCharlotteDelilahIsla.
Identity issues surface throughout the novel as Lorna tries to redefine herself beyond the limits and expectations that others have set for her. It's a strange book, that's for sure, but it is driven by a strong cast of characters and just the right hint of magic in the air.
As the story unfolds, Lorna is made to question herself and her feelings over and over. Her grief for her father is a constant undercurrent, as is the "Otherness" that surrounds the Devonairre Street girls. It's a gorgeous tale about youth, friendship and defining yourself, as well as a look at the ways we make symbols of others - as victims, as heroes, or martyrs - and our obsession with fate and destiny.
Despite the use of "boys" in the book's premise, The Careful Undressing of Love is not as heteronormative as it first appears. Its diverse cast of characters includes a lesbian romance, as well as African-American Delilah, and the Puerto Rican Cruz and Isla (Lorna and Charlotte seem to be white).
A truly beautiful book; both in its rich descriptions and in the subtle messages it imparts.
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August 2, 2018
“Love happens at night,” Angelika says, whispering like it’s a secret some of us might not know. “So we’ll take away the night.”
This was such a quick read, almost impossible to put down. I wasn't sure at first if I would read this, but then without noticing I was twenty pages in and feeling invested, so then I had to keep going. And now here we are.
The Careful Undressing of Love follows the Devonairre Street Girls and their eccentric little community in Brooklyn that has experienced an unusual number of tragedies, which everyone refers to as the Curse. And 75-year-old Angelika Koza is always there to remind them of it.
“If a Devonairre Street Girl falls in love with any boy, whether or not he loves her back, the boy will die. Devonairre Street Girls must not fall in love. That is the responsibility, that is the Curse, that is what is true.”
It kind of reminds me of Blue’s curse in The Raven Boys, where she has been told by her psychic family that she will kill her true love. But the Devonairre Street Girls don't believe in their curse, or at least that's what they tell themselves...
“Fine. It’s strange that we wear the keys, that we grow our hair, that we drink the tea and eat the cake and switch the outside lights on when the sun goes down and armor ourselves in wool.
But Santa Claus is strange, too. And lucky pennies. And horoscopes in newspapers. And unbreakable mirrors.”
I loved the magical realism in here. Their curse also brought up in my mind the question of “is it better to have loved and lost or never loved at all?” I still don't know what my answer is or will be.
Honestly, this book had me so enthralled that upon looking out of my window, I felt surprised that Angelika Koza wasn’t lurking and judging me from across the street. She knows something extra about the world. And I can still hear her voice shoving in I’ll say it again if you weren’t listening.
Also, to keep track of the characters, here's a list of the their quirks that I initially loved:
• Delilah James with her made-up sayings. I’ll try to remember each and every one.
• Lorna Ryder with her ability to hear her mother’s heart. Oh, and who loves thinking only about herself...more on that later.
• Isla Rodriguez is an unstoppable force. She's also the youngest of them all but growing up the fastest.
• Charlotte, who's together with Cruz Rodriguez, doesn't seem to have any kind of life in her until something happens that I'll talk about later on.
Oh, and this book addresses white-privilege, which yes, please:
“They’re always more concerned with Isla’s outfits than mine. The other night at Julia’s I was wearing less than Isla is now, but it didn’t incite the same kind of outrage when I walked down the street. I think Isla must notice it, too, the way her body is a particularly tense battleground compared to the rest of ours. I think of the way Ms. Abbound looked at Delilah, too. It’s uncomfortable to think of us as anything but a single organism, but of course it’s easier to be a white Devonairre Street Girl.”
I kept thinking of this:
*From here on I want to discuss some spoilery stuff*
The book also tackles Lorna's grief after she lost her father in the Times Square Bombing almost seven years ago. The portrayal of her grief felt so real and personal and specific, and I’m still reeling.
“When Dad died, Mom said to be sure to let myself have good moments. Even when everything hurts, even when other cities are exploding and people we love are disappearing, there’s still space for sweet things. I let our elbows’ resting against each other feel good, while everything else feels bad.”
But then... then this book took a turn down the wrong lane for me. A truly wrong turn when Lorna decides to cheat multiple times on her boyfriend with Cruz, who's still with Charlotte. However, the book comes up with a convenient way for our hetero heroine to get rid of all her hetero guilt.
“We’ve been together a long time,” Nisha says.
Charlotte looks down, but she doesn’t deny it.
“You can’t be together,” I say. “Charlotte and Cruz are together.”
I look back and forth between the two of them, the golden couple of Devonairre Street, one of the main reasons I know the Curse isn’t real, the people I’ve built a whole sense of the world on.”
I love how Lorna remembers this fact when it's convenient for her, because the minute her lips are on Cruz’s she all, “Charlotte who?”
Also, I'm kind of livid at how this was all played out to make the herione feel OK for cheating. I was so excited about the possibility of a f/f relationship featuring in here, but making it seem like plot-twist is just not how you do it. I had to take a breather after that to calm down over how angry I was.
There are so few f/f romances out there in YA books, and I was so, so excited when I heard it was going to play a part in here. But it didn't. It only appeared over 220 pages in (out of 288), and then it was only presented as a twist so that the main white, hetero character wouldn't feel guilty for kissing her friend's boyfriend. UGH. This is just such harmful representation when your whole novel is straight as fuck. Can't we have even one good thing this year???
After that I quickly came to realize just how self-centred Lorna acts all the damn time. She lives in this bubble of “I’m so special and everyone loves or wants to be me.” And I’m like, “....people literally do not give two fucks about whether you speak or not.” Similar to what Nisha said, “But you Devonairre Street people—you’re all in your own world, aren’t you?”
I just hate, hate, hate that Lorna was the center of this novel, when there were so many more deserving souls... like Delilah. The Careful Undressing of Love should have been told through Delilah's eyes, not Lorna's pretentious ones. Especially once you consider the fact that Delilah lost Jack, whom she truly loved, and we barely get to see her after that. We mainly see how Lorna is hurting, and I'm like.... okay....
This novel started out fantastic, but it petered out after Jack’s sudden death. And after that straight nonsense, I was out. I can't even hide how disappointed I am. I was truly excited when I started and read the first 150 pages, but I can't get over how the whole aforementioned situation was played. You don't use f/f romances like that. You just don't.
ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
2/5 stars
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying The Careful Undressing of Love, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
Support creators you love. Buy a Coffee for nat (bookspoils) with Ko-fi.com/bookspoils
This was such a quick read, almost impossible to put down. I wasn't sure at first if I would read this, but then without noticing I was twenty pages in and feeling invested, so then I had to keep going. And now here we are.
The Careful Undressing of Love follows the Devonairre Street Girls and their eccentric little community in Brooklyn that has experienced an unusual number of tragedies, which everyone refers to as the Curse. And 75-year-old Angelika Koza is always there to remind them of it.
“If a Devonairre Street Girl falls in love with any boy, whether or not he loves her back, the boy will die. Devonairre Street Girls must not fall in love. That is the responsibility, that is the Curse, that is what is true.”
It kind of reminds me of Blue’s curse in The Raven Boys, where she has been told by her psychic family that she will kill her true love. But the Devonairre Street Girls don't believe in their curse, or at least that's what they tell themselves...
“Fine. It’s strange that we wear the keys, that we grow our hair, that we drink the tea and eat the cake and switch the outside lights on when the sun goes down and armor ourselves in wool.
But Santa Claus is strange, too. And lucky pennies. And horoscopes in newspapers. And unbreakable mirrors.”
I loved the magical realism in here. Their curse also brought up in my mind the question of “is it better to have loved and lost or never loved at all?” I still don't know what my answer is or will be.
Honestly, this book had me so enthralled that upon looking out of my window, I felt surprised that Angelika Koza wasn’t lurking and judging me from across the street. She knows something extra about the world. And I can still hear her voice shoving in I’ll say it again if you weren’t listening.
Also, to keep track of the characters, here's a list of the their quirks that I initially loved:
• Delilah James with her made-up sayings. I’ll try to remember each and every one.
• Lorna Ryder with her ability to hear her mother’s heart. Oh, and who loves thinking only about herself...more on that later.
• Isla Rodriguez is an unstoppable force. She's also the youngest of them all but growing up the fastest.
• Charlotte, who's together with Cruz Rodriguez, doesn't seem to have any kind of life in her until something happens that I'll talk about later on.
Oh, and this book addresses white-privilege, which yes, please:
“They’re always more concerned with Isla’s outfits than mine. The other night at Julia’s I was wearing less than Isla is now, but it didn’t incite the same kind of outrage when I walked down the street. I think Isla must notice it, too, the way her body is a particularly tense battleground compared to the rest of ours. I think of the way Ms. Abbound looked at Delilah, too. It’s uncomfortable to think of us as anything but a single organism, but of course it’s easier to be a white Devonairre Street Girl.”
I kept thinking of this:
*From here on I want to discuss some spoilery stuff*
The book also tackles Lorna's grief after she lost her father in the Times Square Bombing almost seven years ago. The portrayal of her grief felt so real and personal and specific, and I’m still reeling.
“When Dad died, Mom said to be sure to let myself have good moments. Even when everything hurts, even when other cities are exploding and people we love are disappearing, there’s still space for sweet things. I let our elbows’ resting against each other feel good, while everything else feels bad.”
But then... then this book took a turn down the wrong lane for me. A truly wrong turn when Lorna decides to cheat multiple times on her boyfriend with Cruz, who's still with Charlotte. However, the book comes up with a convenient way for our hetero heroine to get rid of all her hetero guilt.
“We’ve been together a long time,” Nisha says.
Charlotte looks down, but she doesn’t deny it.
“You can’t be together,” I say. “Charlotte and Cruz are together.”
I look back and forth between the two of them, the golden couple of Devonairre Street, one of the main reasons I know the Curse isn’t real, the people I’ve built a whole sense of the world on.”
I love how Lorna remembers this fact when it's convenient for her, because the minute her lips are on Cruz’s she all, “Charlotte who?”
Also, I'm kind of livid at how this was all played out to make the herione feel OK for cheating. I was so excited about the possibility of a f/f relationship featuring in here, but making it seem like plot-twist is just not how you do it. I had to take a breather after that to calm down over how angry I was.
There are so few f/f romances out there in YA books, and I was so, so excited when I heard it was going to play a part in here. But it didn't. It only appeared over 220 pages in (out of 288), and then it was only presented as a twist so that the main white, hetero character wouldn't feel guilty for kissing her friend's boyfriend. UGH. This is just such harmful representation when your whole novel is straight as fuck. Can't we have even one good thing this year???
After that I quickly came to realize just how self-centred Lorna acts all the damn time. She lives in this bubble of “I’m so special and everyone loves or wants to be me.” And I’m like, “....people literally do not give two fucks about whether you speak or not.” Similar to what Nisha said, “But you Devonairre Street people—you’re all in your own world, aren’t you?”
I just hate, hate, hate that Lorna was the center of this novel, when there were so many more deserving souls... like Delilah. The Careful Undressing of Love should have been told through Delilah's eyes, not Lorna's pretentious ones. Especially once you consider the fact that Delilah lost Jack, whom she truly loved, and we barely get to see her after that. We mainly see how Lorna is hurting, and I'm like.... okay....
This novel started out fantastic, but it petered out after Jack’s sudden death. And after that straight nonsense, I was out. I can't even hide how disappointed I am. I was truly excited when I started and read the first 150 pages, but I can't get over how the whole aforementioned situation was played. You don't use f/f romances like that. You just don't.
ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
2/5 stars
*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying The Careful Undressing of Love, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*
Support creators you love. Buy a Coffee for nat (bookspoils) with Ko-fi.com/bookspoils
December 22, 2016
I think 2 stars might be too many. I struggled with this book.
I fell in love with the cover and the sort of odd synopsis and I was certain it was going to be my sort of book.
Right off the bat, I was confused. It felt like I had been dropped in the middle of a story. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be magical realism or a mild dystopia or just old world superstition. And I think that's what lost me...
I didn't really care for any of the characters, so I couldn't connect to them. I thought about DNFing, but then I would read a section of lovely prose and I would get hooked back in. Yet I'm not sure what I was waiting for.
Obviously by the high reviews, I'm in the minority. I can see how people will love it, but it wasn't for me.
**Huge thanks to Dutton Books and Edelweiss for providing the arc free of charge**
I fell in love with the cover and the sort of odd synopsis and I was certain it was going to be my sort of book.
Right off the bat, I was confused. It felt like I had been dropped in the middle of a story. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be magical realism or a mild dystopia or just old world superstition. And I think that's what lost me...
I didn't really care for any of the characters, so I couldn't connect to them. I thought about DNFing, but then I would read a section of lovely prose and I would get hooked back in. Yet I'm not sure what I was waiting for.
Obviously by the high reviews, I'm in the minority. I can see how people will love it, but it wasn't for me.
**Huge thanks to Dutton Books and Edelweiss for providing the arc free of charge**
May 28, 2017
3.5 stars. The writing was good, and it kept my interest all the way through. But I felt the ending was a little weak and rushed, and made me wonder what the point of it all was.
March 2, 2017
Oh my heart. I've just finished The Careful Undressing of Love and yet again I'm in awe of Corey and her beautiful writing. Wow! Delightfully strange & magical.
July 22, 2017
This was a bizarre book. I really enjoyed it, especially the small hints we got about a somewhat dystopian version of future America, while that was merely an undercurrent of the book.
I love books that play with the space between fantasy and not.
Was the curse real? Was it not?
The only reason I docked the book a star was because I was hoping for a little bit more out of the ending, or possibly a different one entirely. But I think Lorna had to grapple with never having what she wanted, so leaving me as the reader feeling that way too was actually pretty effective.
I need a bit more time to ponder this one. But I will say I've never read a book quite like it.
I love books that play with the space between fantasy and not.
Was the curse real? Was it not?
The only reason I docked the book a star was because I was hoping for a little bit more out of the ending, or possibly a different one entirely. But I think Lorna had to grapple with never having what she wanted, so leaving me as the reader feeling that way too was actually pretty effective.
I need a bit more time to ponder this one. But I will say I've never read a book quite like it.
February 25, 2017
THE CAREFUL UNDRESSING OF LOVE is a haunting, atmospheric, and romantic coming-of-age novel with an interesting twist. Haydu's writing is particularly noteworthy, along with the unique backstory and reimagined version of Brooklyn. If Delirium , Station Eleven , and Practical Magic had a book love child, The Careful Undressing of Love would be it.
I want to start off talking about the plot. I don't do this to spoil anything for you or bore you ad nauseum. I think it's important to what I say later on in the review. None of this is a spoiler, as there is so much more depth and exploration left in the novel when you read it.
The girls of Devonairre street have lived under the confines of a supposed Curse for more than 75 years. For the protection of others, the elders on the street have mandated traditions and rituals that residents must abide by, often leading to what others might consider strange behavior and appearance. (i.e. Wool protects your heart, lemons help with grief, honeycake and tea on birthdays, always wear a key around your neck, don't cut your hair, turn the lights on outside at night always, and never ever let Angelika find love on you.)
Lorna, Delilah, Cruz, Isla, and Charlotte think the Curse isn't real—something that's they always been told exists but couldn't possibly be true. Every boy a Devonairre street girl falls for will die. Their beliefs are tested when Delilah's boyfriend dies, who is also someone they all care about. His death rocks them to their core and forces each of them to revaluate what they've always been told. Lorna's refusal to believe in the Curse doesn't change until she starts to fall in love for the first time. Is her own love a weapon and could this person die because of her?
The other interesting aspect of this book is the reimagined world Haydu has created. The novel is set in 2008, seven years after an event called the "Times Square Bombing". What happened and why isn't really explored—and isn't relevant—but the discussion of the After is what's at issue in this book. Usually amidst tragedy, we focus on who died, but here the nation places a lot of emphasis on who's left behind and who this tragedy affected. The family members of the victims are called the Affected, even going as far as teaching children the names of the Affected and their histories. There are thought-provoking questions posted on how we as a society handle grief and loss and also how we copy individually.
Like I mentioned earlier, Haydu's writing is hauntingly beautiful. There were several moments that I just had to pause and read passages again. Haydu effortlessly weaves relevant teen issues into this story was great.
What I really liked about this book—and what I hope teen readers will draw from this book—is the parallel this book draws to growing up. Our main characters have lived their whole life with this belief system imposed on them because of where they live and what they've been told. They haven't really questioned it until now. We have all been there in some capacity. When you reach a certain age, you naturally come into yourself and your own identity by questioning the constructs around you and developing your own belief systems.
I wish we would have gotten a little more background on the Curse, aside from what was given, as well as a little more resolution on that end. Like the characters, the readers are given a lot of information and just asked to believe it and I found myself wanting to know more, just to have a little more foundation.
* I received an advance copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to Dutton Books for Young Readers for this early copy.
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★★UPCOMING BOOK RELEASES★★
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November 14, 2019
This is likely to be an unpopular opinion but... I kind of hated this book.
Ok, hear me out.
It lures you in with the most stunning cover (I know, I know: don't judge a book etc etc but come on. Just look at it!), a blurb that promises odd, surreal beauty in the tradition of The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender or Bone Gap, and reviews and recommendations that suggest many readers found this lived up to that promise.
And the writing is quite lovely, when isolated from story and character. That's why I can't bear to give only a single star, because Corey Ann Haydu can obviously write, and with skill and - yes - beauty. It's where those pesky wee things of character and story and setting all intertwine that the problems began for me.
Fundamentally: I hated our main character. Lorna is the single most unlikeable character I have come across (including characters that are intentionally awful) since I had the misfortune of reading City of Bones and encountering Clary, an experience I documented in detail in my review of that hilarious monstrosity of a book. At the time, writing said review was a lot of fun because of how utterly ridiculous the whole thing - Clary included, if not in particular - was. This is a whole other kettle of lemons. Thinking about Lorna isn't fun, it's just... sad. She is self-centred to the point of pure delusion, and beyond that... almost nothing. I got no sense of her as a person beyond her self-centeredness, which is an awfully hollow way for someone to exist.
An example:
There is literally a moment near the end where Lorna introduces herself to someone who, half laughing in what must be wry disbelief, tells Lorna that she knows her, has been around her for years, not just in the margins but in actual everyday life but Lorna has no idea. And perhaps there are interesting points around the pathology of this that could be made, could have been made but weren't, and so instead we are inside Lorna's head for a whole book and get so little from the experience.
So there's that: Lorna is a solid 80% of why I was not wanting to pick the book back up when I'd put it down, but also wanted to finish the thing to have it over with and then...
...as the end drew nearer I started to realise that something about the whole book feels dangerous, in a way I can't quite pinpoint. In the way it deals with grief and inevitability and accountability and worst of all, and with no warning, it all left me feeling queasy in a way that I have rarely encountered in reading before. And (this is hard to word but) not in a way that some books do, where they uncover things so awful that they are bound to leave you a little destroyed... Books like The Incarnations and In the Woods and The Book of Lost Things, which all deal with the gruesome and visceral qualities of love and anger and grief and helplessness and chaos in a way that feels totally intentional. The Careful Undressing of Love is closer, for me, to how the very concept of Thirteen Reasons Why leaves me feeling so angry, a level of irresponsibility somehow in the way the relationship between author and reader and message is handled. And no, I haven't read the book - but there are some excellent critiques of why the premise behind it (and the show) are so unsettling and (that word again) dangerous.
It's a hard one to articulate, and I feel that my attempts now are veering far too close to somehow condoning censorship (which I don't) but I think what I'm trying to say comes down to the awareness of the author as they are handling topics and characters and stories, because the impact is always there, but it's how it lands and why that counts here.
I'll come back to this in a bit and see if I can tidy up the thoughts here, clarify things I'm attempting to say, but I wanted to get it all down directly post-read so it doesn't fade into more confusion.
Ok, hear me out.
It lures you in with the most stunning cover (I know, I know: don't judge a book etc etc but come on. Just look at it!), a blurb that promises odd, surreal beauty in the tradition of The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender or Bone Gap, and reviews and recommendations that suggest many readers found this lived up to that promise.
And the writing is quite lovely, when isolated from story and character. That's why I can't bear to give only a single star, because Corey Ann Haydu can obviously write, and with skill and - yes - beauty. It's where those pesky wee things of character and story and setting all intertwine that the problems began for me.
Fundamentally: I hated our main character. Lorna is the single most unlikeable character I have come across (including characters that are intentionally awful) since I had the misfortune of reading City of Bones and encountering Clary, an experience I documented in detail in my review of that hilarious monstrosity of a book. At the time, writing said review was a lot of fun because of how utterly ridiculous the whole thing - Clary included, if not in particular - was. This is a whole other kettle of lemons. Thinking about Lorna isn't fun, it's just... sad. She is self-centred to the point of pure delusion, and beyond that... almost nothing. I got no sense of her as a person beyond her self-centeredness, which is an awfully hollow way for someone to exist.
An example:
There is literally a moment near the end where Lorna introduces herself to someone who, half laughing in what must be wry disbelief, tells Lorna that she knows her, has been around her for years, not just in the margins but in actual everyday life but Lorna has no idea. And perhaps there are interesting points around the pathology of this that could be made, could have been made but weren't, and so instead we are inside Lorna's head for a whole book and get so little from the experience.
So there's that: Lorna is a solid 80% of why I was not wanting to pick the book back up when I'd put it down, but also wanted to finish the thing to have it over with and then...
...as the end drew nearer I started to realise that something about the whole book feels dangerous, in a way I can't quite pinpoint. In the way it deals with grief and inevitability and accountability and worst of all, and with no warning, it all left me feeling queasy in a way that I have rarely encountered in reading before. And (this is hard to word but) not in a way that some books do, where they uncover things so awful that they are bound to leave you a little destroyed... Books like The Incarnations and In the Woods and The Book of Lost Things, which all deal with the gruesome and visceral qualities of love and anger and grief and helplessness and chaos in a way that feels totally intentional. The Careful Undressing of Love is closer, for me, to how the very concept of Thirteen Reasons Why leaves me feeling so angry, a level of irresponsibility somehow in the way the relationship between author and reader and message is handled. And no, I haven't read the book - but there are some excellent critiques of why the premise behind it (and the show) are so unsettling and (that word again) dangerous.
It's a hard one to articulate, and I feel that my attempts now are veering far too close to somehow condoning censorship (which I don't) but I think what I'm trying to say comes down to the awareness of the author as they are handling topics and characters and stories, because the impact is always there, but it's how it lands and why that counts here.
I'll come back to this in a bit and see if I can tidy up the thoughts here, clarify things I'm attempting to say, but I wanted to get it all down directly post-read so it doesn't fade into more confusion.
July 25, 2016
I was lucky enough to read this book early, and it is spectacular. It's such a gorgeous, incisive look at how beautiful and terrifying and dangerous it is to love another person and the ways in which we contort ourselves to make sense of tragedy, both on a national and personal level. This book cut straight to the heart of a lot of questions I've been pondering about how to move forward in a world that seems completely random and cruel and refuses to play by the rules, no matter how hard you try to do the right thing. Plus, Corey's a phenomenal writer—there were so many times I had to stop and read a sentence again while seething with flat-out jealousy over how perfect it was. :)
I love all of Corey's books, so it's difficult to pick a favorite... but I think this might be her best one yet.
I love all of Corey's books, so it's difficult to pick a favorite... but I think this might be her best one yet.
December 8, 2016
Dreamy and eloquent, Corey Ann Haydu's latest novel is as gorgeously written as all her other work. Tackling themes of love and grief, of community and change, it was lovely and it was odd and it was all too compelling to stop turning pages once I had started. While I'm still not certain how I feel about the way it ends, I still very much think this is another book from Haydu that is worth the read (as all of her books are).
January 17, 2019
"I've been waiting for one thing, but love can be anything."
---
"When there's nothing left to salvage, we have to save ourselves."
Everyone knows that Devonairre Street in Brooklyn is cursed. Being loved by a Devonairre Street girl ends in tragedy. Just look at the number of war widows on the street or the concentration of Affected families left without husbands and fathers after the Times Square Bombing in 2001.
Lorna Ryder and her mother have never put much stock in the curse even though they pretend to play along. Lorna celebrates a shared birthday along with Cruz, his sister Isla, Charlotte, and Delilah. She keeps her hair long and wears a key around her neck. She does everything she is supposed to just the way Angelika has advised since Lorna was a child.
But none of it seems to be enough when Delilah's boyfriend Jack is killed in the wake of the grief and confusion surrounding another terrorist attack across the country. Lorna and her friends are shocked by Jack's sudden death. Grieving and shaken, Lorna has to decide what this new loss means about the veracity of the curse and her own future as a part of Devonairre Street and away from it in The Careful Undressing of Love (2017) by Corey Ann Haydu.
The Careful Undressing of Love is Haydu's latest standalone YA novel. Lorna narrates this novel with a breezy nonchalance which soon turns to fear and doubt as everything she previously believed about love and the curse on Devonairre Street is thrown into question. The style and tone work well with Haydu's world building to create an alternate history that is simultaneously timeless and strikingly immediate.
Haydu's characters are realistically inclusive and diverse. An argument could be made that it's problematic that Delilah and Isla (the Devonairre Street girls who are not white) are the ones who suffer more over the course of this novel filled with loss and snap judgements by an insensitive public. But the same argument could be made that privilege makes this outcome sadly inevitable--a contradiction that Lorna notes herself when she begins to unpack her own privileges of being white contrasted with the burdens she has under the weight of the supposed curse and living as one of the Affected.
This story is complicated and filled with philosophical questions about grief and fear as well as love and feminism. While there is room for a bit more closure, the fate of Devonairre Street and its residents ultimately becomes irrelevant compated with Lorna's need to break away to protect herself and her own future.
A quiet, wrenching story about the bonds of love and friendship and the ways in which they can break; a commentary on the stresses and pressures of being a girl in the modern world; and a story about self-preservation first. The Careful Undressing of Love is smart and strange, frank and raw, and devastating. Highly recommended.
Possible Pairings: The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle, The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee, Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, The Truth Commission by Susan Juby, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, Bone Gap by Laura Ruby, Wild Swans by Jessica Spotswood, The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma, The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
---
"When there's nothing left to salvage, we have to save ourselves."
Everyone knows that Devonairre Street in Brooklyn is cursed. Being loved by a Devonairre Street girl ends in tragedy. Just look at the number of war widows on the street or the concentration of Affected families left without husbands and fathers after the Times Square Bombing in 2001.
Lorna Ryder and her mother have never put much stock in the curse even though they pretend to play along. Lorna celebrates a shared birthday along with Cruz, his sister Isla, Charlotte, and Delilah. She keeps her hair long and wears a key around her neck. She does everything she is supposed to just the way Angelika has advised since Lorna was a child.
But none of it seems to be enough when Delilah's boyfriend Jack is killed in the wake of the grief and confusion surrounding another terrorist attack across the country. Lorna and her friends are shocked by Jack's sudden death. Grieving and shaken, Lorna has to decide what this new loss means about the veracity of the curse and her own future as a part of Devonairre Street and away from it in The Careful Undressing of Love (2017) by Corey Ann Haydu.
The Careful Undressing of Love is Haydu's latest standalone YA novel. Lorna narrates this novel with a breezy nonchalance which soon turns to fear and doubt as everything she previously believed about love and the curse on Devonairre Street is thrown into question. The style and tone work well with Haydu's world building to create an alternate history that is simultaneously timeless and strikingly immediate.
Haydu's characters are realistically inclusive and diverse. An argument could be made that it's problematic that Delilah and Isla (the Devonairre Street girls who are not white) are the ones who suffer more over the course of this novel filled with loss and snap judgements by an insensitive public. But the same argument could be made that privilege makes this outcome sadly inevitable--a contradiction that Lorna notes herself when she begins to unpack her own privileges of being white contrasted with the burdens she has under the weight of the supposed curse and living as one of the Affected.
This story is complicated and filled with philosophical questions about grief and fear as well as love and feminism. While there is room for a bit more closure, the fate of Devonairre Street and its residents ultimately becomes irrelevant compated with Lorna's need to break away to protect herself and her own future.
A quiet, wrenching story about the bonds of love and friendship and the ways in which they can break; a commentary on the stresses and pressures of being a girl in the modern world; and a story about self-preservation first. The Careful Undressing of Love is smart and strange, frank and raw, and devastating. Highly recommended.
Possible Pairings: The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle, The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee, Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, The Truth Commission by Susan Juby, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, Bone Gap by Laura Ruby, Wild Swans by Jessica Spotswood, The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma, The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
You can find this review and more on my blog Miss Print
February 4, 2017
That was GORGEOUS.
December 29, 2017
Huge thank you to Miss Print's ARC adoption for this review copy
This book was fucking gorgeous. I fell in love with this book at first sight because the cover it just so stunning. I have bookstagrammed it a few times because it is just so beautiful. I actually probably wouldn't have asked for this book if not for the cover and the fact that it's magical realism. I wasn't a huge fan of this author's other books, but I wanted to give it a shot.
The writing in this book is fantastic. It sucks you in and even if the story is lacking (cuz it was in a few places) you just get so wrapped up in how lyrical the writing is that you can't not fall in love with it. I really enjoyed all of the characters and the mysterious New York City that they lived in, I loved the magical realism parts, and the way that love was used as a curse, a weapon, a sentence.
This is a story about four girls who grow up in the shadow of a curse. There's an old lady who lives on their street and she's akin with a cult leader. The girls living on this street have to follow certain rules and not fall in love or else the boy they love will die suddenly, before their time. As does with many superstitions, many of the traditions lose their meanings and the girls stop giving power to the curse. They buck tradition, they skimp on certain rituals, and they fall in love. Only when a boy they all care about dies do they fall back and take a hard look at the curse and the people they love.
In the background of this story of the girls there's also a tragedy that's similar to 9/11. Many of the girls' fathers died in what is called the Time's Square bombing. The story takes place seven years after the bombing and the girls are all part of the Affected. History has been re-written so rather than learning about the terrorists we instead learn about the people who died. The girls have to deal with two different stigmas, people's prejudices against them as cursed girls AND Affected, and they struggle with "tourism grief" and people coming around to see the "cursed girls".
There's a bit of mob mentality as the curse seems to take stronger hold and the women of the street, those who have lost someone, those who haven't yet, all come together and the ending of this book is heartbreaking and stunning.
I do wish that some of the things in the background of this story had been fleshed out more; I really would have liked to have had more about the bombing (but I guess not getting too much information was a reflection of the way that society had stopped caring about who did it and rather who was affected), and also I would have liked to have learned the fates of a few of the girls after the last chapter (there's an epilogue). Also there were times when I kept thinking "so the curse only works if one of the girls falls in love with a BOY?" and if you're worried about this, don't, because it does delve into how it works if one of the girls falls in love with a girl as well.
This book was fucking gorgeous. I fell in love with this book at first sight because the cover it just so stunning. I have bookstagrammed it a few times because it is just so beautiful. I actually probably wouldn't have asked for this book if not for the cover and the fact that it's magical realism. I wasn't a huge fan of this author's other books, but I wanted to give it a shot.
The writing in this book is fantastic. It sucks you in and even if the story is lacking (cuz it was in a few places) you just get so wrapped up in how lyrical the writing is that you can't not fall in love with it. I really enjoyed all of the characters and the mysterious New York City that they lived in, I loved the magical realism parts, and the way that love was used as a curse, a weapon, a sentence.
This is a story about four girls who grow up in the shadow of a curse. There's an old lady who lives on their street and she's akin with a cult leader. The girls living on this street have to follow certain rules and not fall in love or else the boy they love will die suddenly, before their time. As does with many superstitions, many of the traditions lose their meanings and the girls stop giving power to the curse. They buck tradition, they skimp on certain rituals, and they fall in love. Only when a boy they all care about dies do they fall back and take a hard look at the curse and the people they love.
In the background of this story of the girls there's also a tragedy that's similar to 9/11. Many of the girls' fathers died in what is called the Time's Square bombing. The story takes place seven years after the bombing and the girls are all part of the Affected. History has been re-written so rather than learning about the terrorists we instead learn about the people who died. The girls have to deal with two different stigmas, people's prejudices against them as cursed girls AND Affected, and they struggle with "tourism grief" and people coming around to see the "cursed girls".
There's a bit of mob mentality as the curse seems to take stronger hold and the women of the street, those who have lost someone, those who haven't yet, all come together and the ending of this book is heartbreaking and stunning.
I do wish that some of the things in the background of this story had been fleshed out more; I really would have liked to have had more about the bombing (but I guess not getting too much information was a reflection of the way that society had stopped caring about who did it and rather who was affected), and also I would have liked to have learned the fates of a few of the girls after the last chapter (there's an epilogue). Also there were times when I kept thinking "so the curse only works if one of the girls falls in love with a BOY?" and if you're worried about this, don't, because it does delve into how it works if one of the girls falls in love with a girl as well.
Read
May 3, 2017Dreamy and beautiful and lemon-scented and heart-achey.
March 2, 2017
So many mixed feelings about this book. The prose is gorgeous and full of longing and pain. I felt Lorna's aching heart and grief and resentment because it came through in the language. And the book was extremely compelling - I read it through in one sitting.
But.
This is supposed to take place in some alternate USA where after a horrific bombing at Times Square, the country decides to take "never forget" literally to the point of fetishizing grief. The "Affected" - those who have lost a loved one in the bombing are written about and those who had been killed are remembered in history the same way we memorize historical figures.
Within that context are the Devonairre girls, who are cursed to have any boy they love die. There are whole rituals carried out by those who live on Devonnairre Street in order to... keep the order? Sacrifice? That all seem to stem from an even more extreme fetishization of grief. Angelika, the matriarch of the street, has a litany of rules: wear wool, drink lavender tea, women don't cut their hair, open windows after death, keep pictures of your dead loves, don't throw away the dead's belongings... Reader, decide if these all are meaningful or a way for a controlling old woman to maintain her hold on her community.
I found it all very disturbing. And the whole thing to be extremely akin to slut shaming. The onus is put on the girls to not fall in love -- and that included policing how much skin they showed and instituting a street-wide curfew at one point in the book. I think the author meant for it to be disturbing but never really addresses its problematic nature.
The book does explore grief, and collective grief vs personal grief. And raises the question: whose grief is it? But never takes the next step of looking at the emotional harm of never letting go of that grief and healing with the weekly minutes of silence, annual memorials. It is institutionalized mourning, which is even made more extreme on Devonnaire Street.
Overall, a gorgeous and lyrical book that raises some really important and interesting issues. But I was never quite sure which side the author wanted to come down on so it felt a bit waffly.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher via First to Read.
But.
This is supposed to take place in some alternate USA where after a horrific bombing at Times Square, the country decides to take "never forget" literally to the point of fetishizing grief. The "Affected" - those who have lost a loved one in the bombing are written about and those who had been killed are remembered in history the same way we memorize historical figures.
Within that context are the Devonairre girls, who are cursed to have any boy they love die. There are whole rituals carried out by those who live on Devonnairre Street in order to... keep the order? Sacrifice? That all seem to stem from an even more extreme fetishization of grief. Angelika, the matriarch of the street, has a litany of rules: wear wool, drink lavender tea, women don't cut their hair, open windows after death, keep pictures of your dead loves, don't throw away the dead's belongings... Reader, decide if these all are meaningful or a way for a controlling old woman to maintain her hold on her community.
I found it all very disturbing. And the whole thing to be extremely akin to slut shaming. The onus is put on the girls to not fall in love -- and that included policing how much skin they showed and instituting a street-wide curfew at one point in the book. I think the author meant for it to be disturbing but never really addresses its problematic nature.
The book does explore grief, and collective grief vs personal grief. And raises the question: whose grief is it? But never takes the next step of looking at the emotional harm of never letting go of that grief and healing with the weekly minutes of silence, annual memorials. It is institutionalized mourning, which is even made more extreme on Devonnaire Street.
Overall, a gorgeous and lyrical book that raises some really important and interesting issues. But I was never quite sure which side the author wanted to come down on so it felt a bit waffly.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher via First to Read.
April 17, 2017
Can't assign a star rating right after finishing, so I'll update that once I've had more time to digest what I've read. This book was whimsy and dreamy, but it also took a nosedive straight into "wtf" territory and I can't honestly say I loved the actual events that transpired. The writing and overall feel? Those worked beautifully. But ultimately I'm left feeling pretty exasperated. If you liked We Were Liars (which I decidedly did NOT), then you'll probably love this.
September 6, 2017
We are LornaCruzCharlotteDelilahIsla and we aren’t afraid of love, even if we’re supposed to be.
notes: ok so The Careful Undressing of Love was too odd for me. i didn't get the traditions, the setting and the point of the story. also!! no progression!! the plot was disappointing too. and i didn't agree with the characters actions (no character growth too), especially at the end. my only positive thought? i liked the writing! it was very whimsical. but you know, everything else is a thumbs down.
notes: ok so The Careful Undressing of Love was too odd for me. i didn't get the traditions, the setting and the point of the story. also!! no progression!! the plot was disappointing too. and i didn't agree with the characters actions (no character growth too), especially at the end. my only positive thought? i liked the writing! it was very whimsical. but you know, everything else is a thumbs down.
September 1, 2023
I don't care how intriguing or atmospheric your book is, you do not get to use queer people as a plot twist to remove guilt from your hetero heroine and then kill said queer character. I don't understand how or why that was decided as something that was appropriate or acceptable but it most certainly is not and I need people to realize that right off the bat.
I almost liked this book before said queer character plot twist but it was odd in the bad way. It's about this street in New York with these girls who are cursed that anyone they love will die. Let it be known that this only applies to men and there is no references to any sort of queer relationship having the same consequences nor is there any reference to queer men at all. It is straight girls and the guys that they love. It's told in a way that kind of replaces 9/11 with a different tragedy and sets the US on a different path called New History where they care more about the afflicted and the families of the deceased than they do the deceased themselves or the reason for the tragedies. Like for example all of the families of this times square bombing are studied extensively and all of their names are known but there's never any explanation to why the bombing happened in the first place. I think that there's a good like cultural study and how we treat tragedy and how you can learn from history here but I'm still not over the queer killing.
This book is also oddly and specifically graphic in regards to sex. This is a young adult book with teenage characters yet there are references to pretty explicit content for a young adult. I'm all for sex positivity and I think that it's something that should be addressed in YA and you know if sex is your thing, I think that it can be done in a way that is not creepy. These are teenagers and it's just weird. It makes me feel icky. I don't want to hear about how his soft penis made you feel or how tight anything was. Ever. If you want to write an explicit book, write an adult book.
I almost liked this book before said queer character plot twist but it was odd in the bad way. It's about this street in New York with these girls who are cursed that anyone they love will die. Let it be known that this only applies to men and there is no references to any sort of queer relationship having the same consequences nor is there any reference to queer men at all. It is straight girls and the guys that they love. It's told in a way that kind of replaces 9/11 with a different tragedy and sets the US on a different path called New History where they care more about the afflicted and the families of the deceased than they do the deceased themselves or the reason for the tragedies. Like for example all of the families of this times square bombing are studied extensively and all of their names are known but there's never any explanation to why the bombing happened in the first place. I think that there's a good like cultural study and how we treat tragedy and how you can learn from history here but I'm still not over the queer killing.
This book is also oddly and specifically graphic in regards to sex. This is a young adult book with teenage characters yet there are references to pretty explicit content for a young adult. I'm all for sex positivity and I think that it's something that should be addressed in YA and you know if sex is your thing, I think that it can be done in a way that is not creepy. These are teenagers and it's just weird. It makes me feel icky. I don't want to hear about how his soft penis made you feel or how tight anything was. Ever. If you want to write an explicit book, write an adult book.
November 28, 2017
“I wanted to know the exact size and shape of love. Its volume, its density, how much it weighed, how much space it inhabited, whether it was a solid or a liquid or something else entirely.”
عشق چیه؟ یه دیوانگی؟ یه تب؟ یه واقعیت؟ یه حس؟
خیلی از ماها زندگی میکنیم که بفهمیم عشق چیه؟ که درکش کنیم، تجربهش کنیم... ولی آیا ممکنه کسی بتونه بگه عشق چیه؟ کسی هست که بتونه تعریفی از عشق بکنه که درست باشه؟
قصه اینه... تمام دخترهایی که چند ماه تو خیابان دونیر زندگی کنن نفرین میشن... نفرین به اینکه اگه عاشق پسری بشن... اون پسر زود میمره... دخترای دونیر باید موهاشون بلند نگه دارن... دور گردنشون کلید آویزون کنن... لباس پشمی بپوشن و هرگز عاشق نشن... دخترایی که پدراشون مُردن...
لورنا یکی از این دخترهاست... ولی لورنا فقط لورنا نیست... لورنا بخشی از یه نفره... بخشی از لورناکروزشارلوتدلیلاایسلا... پنج نفری که بخشی از این خیابون و نفرینش هستن... پنج نفری که دارن تو نوجوونیشون شورش میکنن... میخوان از عشق سردربیارن... و نمیخوان باور کنن که نفرینی وجود داره...
قصه لورنا رو دنبال میکنه... لورنا... سردرگم اندوه از دست دادن پدرش تو بمباران هفت سال پیش... گیج از سوالایی که درمورد عشق داره... درگیر رسومات خیابان دونیر... و نفرینی که هرگز نمیخواد باورش کنه گرفتارشه... درحالی که داره بزرگ و بزرگ تر میشه و از کودکی فاصله میگیره...
لورنا وقتی که فکر میکنه عاشق نیست و هرگز نخواهد شد... لورنا وقتی که درگیر عشقهای اطرافشه... لورنا وقتی به عشق فکر میکنه...
از اسم کتاب مشخصه... این کتاب درمورد عشقه و البته اندوه... اونم تو یه فضای رئالیسم ��ادویی که همه چیز رو مرموزتر و عمیقتر میکنه... همه چیز در عین حال میتونه اغراقآمیز باشه خیلی خیلی صادقانهس... خیلی خیلی واقعیه... اینکه اندوه ما برای دیگران چه مفهومی داره...؟ اینکه اندوه دیگران برای ما چه مفهومی داره...؟ اینکه عشق چی هست...؟
نمیتونم بگم چقدر این کتاب برای من دوست داشتنی بود... چقدر غرقش شدم... و چقدر حسش کردم...
تصویر فراموش نشدنیای از عشق و اندوه...
آذر نود و شش
November 2017
August 17, 2017
магический реализм я люблю за... много что, но чувственная его составляющая - в топ-3 точно. когда вкусы, запахи, ощущения, и текст как будто осязаемый - иногда кажется, эти описания действуют на те же нейроны, что и реальные ощущения. BUT NOT THIS BOOK. героиня холодна, как рыба, как будто её держали в капсуле сенсорной депривации, и вся её жизнь целиком и полностью у нее в голове, одни и те же три примерно мысли, среди которых она ходит, как среди трех сосен, бомба, проклятье, любовь, проклятье, бомба, любовь. это не магический реализм, дружоченьки, это клиника неврозов.
March 16, 2017
Wow, wow, wow. My goodness. For fans of Laura Ruby's BONE GAP.
September 22, 2017
DNF @ pg 40. This is that metaphorical writing style that feels like it's trying too hard. Reminded me a bit of AS King. Definitely not for me.
December 26, 2018
Read the full review here
The Devonairre Street Girls are cursed. Any guy they fall in love with will die. They have thousands of talismans and charms and superstitions (all enforced by Angelika, the streets resident crazy person/collective grandmother figure). The girls never cut their hair, have minutes of silence every Tuesday (for their dead fathers) and never ever fall in love. Until Delilah does. And Jack, the boy she's in love with dies.
The main character of this novel is Lorna, Delilah's best friend. I didn't really like Lorna much but I liked the relationships she had with other people, if that makes any sense. I loved who she was in the context of her friend group, as a person in LornaCruzCharlotteDelilahIsla.
I really enjoyed the author's writing style. Her descriptions were gorgeous and although this is not a plot-heavy book I was never bored.
The characters were all really distinct and well rounded. The characters are really diverse too and the novel does a great job of pointing out different types of privilege.
The ending was perhaps the thing I liked the least. I predicted it but it felt so abrupt and incomplete.
Rating: 78/100
Age: 13 & up
Warnings: death, sex, mourning,
For more reviews like this one, check out my blog, Reading Recluses
The Devonairre Street Girls are cursed. Any guy they fall in love with will die. They have thousands of talismans and charms and superstitions (all enforced by Angelika, the streets resident crazy person/collective grandmother figure). The girls never cut their hair, have minutes of silence every Tuesday (for their dead fathers) and never ever fall in love. Until Delilah does. And Jack, the boy she's in love with dies.
The main character of this novel is Lorna, Delilah's best friend. I didn't really like Lorna much but I liked the relationships she had with other people, if that makes any sense. I loved who she was in the context of her friend group, as a person in LornaCruzCharlotteDelilahIsla.
I really enjoyed the author's writing style. Her descriptions were gorgeous and although this is not a plot-heavy book I was never bored.
The characters were all really distinct and well rounded. The characters are really diverse too and the novel does a great job of pointing out different types of privilege.
The ending was perhaps the thing I liked the least. I predicted it but it felt so abrupt and incomplete.
Rating: 78/100
Age: 13 & up
Warnings: death, sex, mourning,
For more reviews like this one, check out my blog, Reading Recluses
August 4, 2017
The premise of this book is really interesting, but the execution was really disappointing. I liked how the author was able to convincingly depict the way people could get wrapped up in an idea or belief by living in a toxic environment. But that's about it. I mostly hated all the characters, and they did not feel very realistic. The whole plot about love and the characters thought process about love seemed a bit overambitious and poorly done. To me the whole story felt a little nonsensical.
Read
February 7, 2017Need to think on this one. More later.
Shelved as 'to-read-so-bad-it-hurts'
July 11, 2016"Any boy they love is certain to die too soon."
HERE FOR THIS AND THAT COVER!
HERE FOR THIS AND THAT COVER!
February 5, 2017
Review coming soon on www.thebooksbuzz.com but wow... JUST WOW.
February 21, 2017
Some parts are gloriously awkward in the way that only first love can be. Others are a question, a struggle to define, and a learning process of how to understand and share intimacy in the many ways it presents itself. There are all aspects of love in this book and often it evolves, transforms, and rebuilds after loss, tragedy, and heartache. Sometimes the love you thought you wanted is nothing like you imagined. Sometimes love has a time and place and no matter how hard you fight for it, it’s a losing battle. Cringe-worthy, provocative, and eye-opening.
The pacing. For a story so interesting and poignant, it’s one of the slowest I’ve ever read. And insanely short. For so much story it felt unfinished. It lacked development that could have made the ideas and atmosphere stronger.
Read more here:
https://youngadultbookmadness.wordpre...
The pacing. For a story so interesting and poignant, it’s one of the slowest I’ve ever read. And insanely short. For so much story it felt unfinished. It lacked development that could have made the ideas and atmosphere stronger.
Read more here:
https://youngadultbookmadness.wordpre...
April 21, 2017
Holy frijoles there is some flowery language in this bitch.
The first 50% of this book was sloooow. The best part of this portion was hands down the cover. (Which is f'ing gorgeous.)
But the last half really picked up and was quite enjoyable. Honestly, I really didn't think I was going to finish this book and if I did, it was going to be a low rating. So I was surprised to find myself at the 75% mark antsy to keep going.
This book has a nice diverse cast of characters and the curse was pretty interesting even if I couldn't keep track of all of the rules they were supposed to keep to.
The first 50% of this book was sloooow. The best part of this portion was hands down the cover. (Which is f'ing gorgeous.)
But the last half really picked up and was quite enjoyable. Honestly, I really didn't think I was going to finish this book and if I did, it was going to be a low rating. So I was surprised to find myself at the 75% mark antsy to keep going.
This book has a nice diverse cast of characters and the curse was pretty interesting even if I couldn't keep track of all of the rules they were supposed to keep to.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 243 reviews