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Layoverland

Gabby Noone (Goodreads Author)

4.04 · Rating details · 80 ratings · 42 reviews

Two teens, one stuck atoning for her sins and one destined for heaven, fall in love in purgatory in this darkly hilarious and heartfelt rom-com, perfect for fans of The Good Place.

Beatrice Fox deserves to go straight to hell. At least, that's what she thinks. On her last day on Earth, she ruined the life of the person she loves most--her little sister, Emmy. So when Bea ...more

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Hardcover, 304 pages

Expected publication: January 21st 2020 by Razorbill

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Layoverland
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Gabby Noone (Goodreads Author)

Release date: Jan 21, 2020

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Beatrice Fox deserves to go straight to hell. At least, that's ...more

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Giveaway dates: Dec 21 - Jan 20, 2020

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Average rating 4.04 ·

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· 80 ratings · 42 reviews

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Aug 28, 2019 Emily rated it it was amazing

There's a phrase that several of my writer friends and I use--that sometimes a book is so much better than it needs to be.

This book is so much better than it needs to be.

I laughed, I cried, I contemplated making coffee jello.

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Nov 23, 2019 Cindy ✩☽ Savage Queen ♔ marked it as to-read

I've seen this pitched as perfect for fans of The Good Place, and I am a huge fan of that show so I am very intrigued. Yet also reasonably skeptical, because those are big shoes to try and fill. But I am willing to give this a chance =)

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Dec 29, 2019 Stacee rated it really liked it

Shelves: cover-lust, edelweiss, read-in-2019

I was intrigued by the cover and sucked in by the synopsis and I couldn’t wait to read this one.

I really liked Bea and Caleb. She’s aggressive and maybe a bit hard hearted, but I truly loved reading her unravel her emotions and grow as a character. He seems sweet and unassuming and the conversation between the two of them was interesting. I also really liked Sadie and Jenna and how they tried to make the best of everything.

Plot wise, it was super unique to me. I loved this idea and the ...more

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Nov 20, 2019 Princess Peach rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2019

Kids today are so lucky to have Gabby Noone writing for them. I want the coffee jello though.

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Jan 09, 2020 Lisa rated it really liked it

Shelves: arc, 2020

This was weird? And good. A good weird. Bea is definitely a character who might be tough to read at first, but you see very quickly what really matters to get and how someone like her develops into being.

The food was disgustingly interesting - Jell-O-cased everything. And the side characters were interesting and flashed out.

My only wish would be for a bit more action in the middle - certain things have to be set up but things dragged a bit during that time.

Laugh out loud funny and deep all at ...more

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Jan 02, 2020 Marie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2020-releases, arcs

Ahh I had a lot of fun with this one. Loved the flawed, sarcastic main character and her growth, love the originality of it all. Definitely will be looking forward to reading more from the author :)
Full review coming soon!

Thank you to Penguin Random House International for the e-ARC of this book. This did not, in any way, influenced my thoughts and rating.

My Blog - Drizzle & Hurricane Books - Twitter - Bloglovin'

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Oct 23, 2019 Cheska the Great is Not Okay marked it as to-buy-soon

THIS IS FOR FANS OF THE GOOD PLACE??

*SCREAMS FOR ETERNITY*

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Jan 06, 2020 *mk* rated it liked it

This book kind of touts itself as a book for fan of The Good Place, and while I think there are some similarities in terms of plot, it is lacking the same depth and strong emotions that the latter has.

Layoverland tells the story of Beatrice Fox, or Bea as she is known. The story begins with her having "ruined" the life of her younger sister and after that, in tears, she gets in a car accident and is killed. Instead of heaven/hell, she is sent to purgatory (which here, resembles an airport) and This book kind of touts itself as a book for fan of The Good Place, and while I think there are some similarities in terms of plot, it is lacking the same depth and strong emotions that the latter has.

Layoverland tells the story of Beatrice Fox, or Bea as she is known. The story begins with her having "ruined" the life of her younger sister and after that, in tears, she gets in a car accident and is killed. Instead of heaven/hell, she is sent to purgatory (which here, resembles an airport) and is given the task of helping people cross over to heaven by helping them realize what is holding them back. This is to atone for her "sins" on Earth. Of course, one of the first people she is paired with is a fellow teen named Caleb, who, slight spoiler here (but it is on the blurb for the book so I'm gonna say it), is the one who killed her. So now she has to decide if she should exact revenge or let him move on. Of course, surprise surprise, a blossoming romance complicates things.

I think it is fair to say that I generally enjoyed this book. Bea is a funny character, and especially the middle chunk of this book for some reason I found really good. The situation she is in is interesting. The problem is...a lot of this book feels underdeveloped, and I have some big key issues. First and foremost, it was hard to get behind Bea having to spend eons of her life atoning for her sins when, in the flashbacks within the book, she really wasn't seen as doing anything that bad. Especially once you consider the fact that she is a TEEN! She is allowed to make stupid mistakes and be a little selfish. Through the flashbacks to her life before death, Bea kind of develops but I never saw her as someone who necessarily deserved this sentence that she is given. She is incredibly argumentative and perhaps a little bit in denial but again, she is a TEEN! Who is in charge of this place! My goodness.

While this book was short and sweet and enjoyable in a simple way, I thought there was a lot of wasted potential. I kind of wanted to find out more about this purgatory place, and most of the development for that was rushed into the first few pages. Also, there are a handful of side characters but they are, in my opinion, lacking. The friendly roommate, the person who trains her, some other randos in the flashbacks, all seem pretty meh. Basically, I think the main character is fairly well developed but all the other characters are just meh and that kind of hurts the book, for me. Her romantic interest I wouldn't exactly put in this category because we do find out a lot about him but he isn't at quite the same level as Bea. Of course, this is a book for teens so I can't REALLY expect it to get as philosophical as The Good Place does (though teens are smart and watch that show and could figure it out), and it does/should do its' own thing, I just wish there had been a bit more emotional impact to it. This character's big emotional journey was just kind of meh to me, especially because I didn't feel like she necessarily needed to be in this place. Honestly, I felt like she should have been one of the people being helped to cross over, not the one being punished and having to do the helping.

Basically though, a lot of the issues I have with the book are semantics. It was a fluffy rom-com and the story was interesting, I just wanted slightly better development from it. It just needed another few minutes in the oven. And a few ingredients were also missing so maybe that is not the best example but...you know what I mean. ...more

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Jan 01, 2020 Storiesandcoffee rated it really liked it

Shelves: star-crossed-lovers

Thank you Razorbill for the advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

If you're a fan of The Good Place listen up...Layoverland is just the book for you.

When seventeen-year-old Bea dies in a car accident, she is shocked to find out she isn't entering heaven or hell. She is sentenced to purgatory in an airport-like dimension with the task of helping 5,000 people move on to heaven before she, herself, can move on too.

With Bea's no-nonsense attitude, forcing people to get to the root of what is ...more

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Oct 24, 2019 Vee_Bookish marked it as to-read

love the concept, hate the cover.

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Nov 25, 2019 Rachel Davies rated it it was amazing

extremely excited about this one. we have to get the hot serpent from Riverdale (now dead) in the role of Caleb!

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Dec 26, 2019 Tatum Bowen rated it it was amazing

I don't even know where to start! I've been wanting to read this book for so long and when I got it I was sooooo excited, and I was not let down. As soon as I began reading it was easy to see the sarcastic humor, but it was also a note that recognized how important it is to reflect, if you know what I mean. As a 16 year-old myself, this book was relatable and I understood every reference, which was freaking fantastic; sometimes I read YA books and I can tell an old person wrote it, but ...more

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Jan 07, 2020 Margaret Schoen rated it really liked it

This is a review of an ARC from Edelweiss.

After a terrible fight with her sister (and best friend) Beatrice ends up in a car accident, and well, dies. But she's not in Heaven (and she's not in Hell). Instead she's stuck at an airport somewhere in between, with all the other folk who need to let something go before they can continue on their journey. Beatrice's task is to help them on their way - once she's helped a certain number, she'll have atoned for her life and be ready to move on herself. ...more

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Jan 09, 2020 Ab rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-ness, romancy-shmancy, netgalley

I just finished this book, and my first thought: Adorable. But also: Hilarious. I laughed out loud multiple times reading this book, which is not entirely common. The author has an amazing knack for explaining something with such perfect, sarcastic clarity, that you just can't help but let out an audible guffaw. The entire premise of the book is just awesome - I love "Afterlife-As-A-Boring-Place" situations (Oh hey, "Dead Like Me"!) and incredibly sarcastic, quick-witted female protagonists (Oh ...more

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Jan 13, 2020 Shannon rated it really liked it

Shelves: fiction, young-adult, paranormal, arc

For a book that kind of focuses on death this was a fun read. It's definitely a good one to hand to fans of The Good Place or looking for a quirky read. I'd actually pair this one with Libba Bray's Going Bovine. I loved all of the characters, even Bea. I'm LOLing at all the reviewers on Goodreads complaining that she gets needlessly political. They totally missed that Bea's whole thing is political. Being political is a core tenant of who she is. I feel bad for her because she never got the ...more

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Jan 15, 2020 Katie Mac rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya, fantasy

After reading a less-than-stellar YA book with fantasy elements, this one was a treat with its unique premise--a sort of "medium place" (for those that watch The Good Place) with opportunity for advancement.

I really liked Bea--she's snarky in a realistic way, and Noone is clear to give her some emotional development and depth. The alternation between past and present was constructive rather than confusing, and it added to this character development. In a different way, I also loved Caleb; it ...more

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Sep 16, 2019 Rec-It Rachel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2020-releases, 2019-reads

i really liked this

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Nov 11, 2019 Gina Adams rated it liked it

This concept was great and it was fun to read. I have severe death anxiety and this story was able to soothe that some by presenting the afterlife as something just as monotonous and frustrating as real life.

The feelings in this book were realistic. Like, the stages of grief but a person grieving themselves. There was plenty of humor and some deep moments too.

However the ending of this book just left me feeling incomplete. It makes sense for someone to have gone through dying and heal enough to This concept was great and it was fun to read. I have severe death anxiety and this story was able to soothe that some by presenting the afterlife as something just as monotonous and frustrating as real life.

The feelings in this book were realistic. Like, the stages of grief but a person grieving themselves. There was plenty of humor and some deep moments too.

However the ending of this book just left me feeling incomplete. It makes sense for someone to have gone through dying and heal enough to decide to only focus on the moment. But it’s not satisfying for me. It’s not satisfying to not know how Bea’s sister got on without her or when and if Bea ever moved on to Heaven. We never know such deep things in real life, and life is meaningless, but I just thought that this book would throw me a bone. I don’t think the ending is a bad artistic choice, and I see how individuals who need less closure will find it sweet. But I prefer to know everything I want to know and that’s just me sis!!!!

I did really enjoy the writing though. The humor was really well done. Bea is woke, which is great, but then she gets called out for being fake woke which is even better. She gets told she doesn’t do anything to change the things she finds unjust and that she just lashes out for the sake of aggression and I think that’s the kind of statement that will allow some self-reflection in our current culture.

As for Bea’s sister... she was kind of a baby and blamed her problems on her sister, causing her guilt into the afterlife, and it honestly just... wasn’t Bea’s fault? The situation she found herself in, while not something to be ashamed of, was definitely because of her own doing and the fact that Bea even told herself that she ruined her sister’s life was a stretch to me. Then again I find myself to be much more like Bea than her sister so I’m possibly projecting. But I don’t really want to examine myself that hard on this nice Monday!!!!!!

The lack of closure really makes me wanna rate this even lower than I did even though it could have been a 4+. I’m just so mad that the sisters’ last conversation was so shitty and it was never addressed, not through a third person flashback or a dream or vision or nighttime visit... I just feel robbed!!! It’s realistic but reality has no place here !!!! Gtg before I get angrier ...more

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Dec 03, 2019 Aly Cohen rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 25, 2019 Leticia Vila-Sanjuán rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemp-lit, witty-humour, lit-usa, ya, read-for-work

i really liked this. bea is a flawed, witty and clever teenager. caleb is very lovable. a great ya debut to watch out for.

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Jan 20, 2020 Judy Beetem rated it it was amazing

Loved this book! The preliminary description was intriguing and I was fortunate to receive an ARC to read the entire book. Gabby Noone has created a unique plot, with interesting characters and a story that was so well-paced that I stayed up all night to finish it. Beatrice Fox is an angry seventeen-year old who is involved in a fatal car accident. When she wakes up, it is on a plane full of other passengers as it touches down in a seemingly random airport. Soon we find out that Bea is in ...more

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Dec 21, 2019 Cindy Huskey rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2019, ya, arc, edelweiss

Oh how I really> wanted to l like this book. I mean, look at that cover!

Alas, it was not to be. And I knew from the first paragraph, but I still kept reading anyway.

“You know the kind of crying where you’re crying over one thing and then you think about a slightly less upsetting but still definitely upsetting thing and it makes you cry even more? And then you think about every bad thing that’s ever happened to you in your whole life and everything you think is unfair in the world? And it’s ...more

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Jan 13, 2020 Nannette Demmler rated it really liked it

Shelves: debut

I just love a good story about what happens after we die. This one is pretty good, except that I thought the ending was a little abrupt, but that might have been due more to the fact that there were a lot of blank pages at the end of the e-ARC so I kept thinking there was more? But other than that it was a wonderful story.

The story starts with Bea already dead and on her way to Layoverland. We find out what happened to her, how she died, through flashbacks to what happened on her last day. I I just love a good story about what happens after we die. This one is pretty good, except that I thought the ending was a little abrupt, but that might have been due more to the fact that there were a lot of blank pages at the end of the e-ARC so I kept thinking there was more? But other than that it was a wonderful story.

The story starts with Bea already dead and on her way to Layoverland. We find out what happened to her, how she died, through flashbacks to what happened on her last day. I started off not liking Bea very much but she did grow on me. In life she wasn’t a very nice person, or at least not on that last day. But she does love her sister, and that came through even when she wasn’t being her best with her. Bea is impulsive and does many things without thinking that get her, and at times, her sister into trouble. Her experiences in Layoverland do start to change her though. I have hope by the end of the story that her after life will change her for the better.

Caleb is such a sweet guy, which we totally get to see as he and Bea explore his memories. I felt so sorry for him, for the way that Bea manipulated him at first. But as she got to know him, her perception of him and of herself changes. Not sure I totally bought into the romance between them, but I did get why they went there.

I also really liked Bea’s roommate, Jenna. She was such a sweet soul who really wanted to be liked and loved. She was just perpetually happy, which was amazing considering how she died and how her life had been. The relationship she develops with Bea was more realistic and fun to watch develop.

I must say that the idea of purgatory being an airport was genius. From the crappy food, everything was encased in jello, to the endless waiting with nothing to do! It was perfect. I also liked that the characters were allowed to see their memories and have help finding out what was keeping them from moving on. Some of those scenes of Bea helping those people were very well done.

This was a pretty fast read, mostly because it was pretty short as well. But it was well paced and hard to put down. The ending was beautiful, even if it was abrupt for me. But I really think that had to do with the fact that I thought there was 10 pages left. If you like these kinds of stories then this is one you will want to take a look at.
https://elnadesbookchat.com ...more

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Jan 18, 2020 Emily rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, 2020, netgalley

Advance copy provided by NetGalley

I liked this OK. It’s the kind of weird thing I usually go for, and I hadn’t read a YA novel in a while. I liked the idea of purgatory as an airport, and Caleb and Jenna were sweet characters. It was a quick read, and the pre-death and post-death unknowns kept me turning pages.
I think my lukewarm feelings are mostly because, for most of the book, it was hard to live in Bea’s head. Figuring she was on a redemptive path didn’t make it easier to take the hateful, ...more

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Jan 13, 2020 Teresa rated it it was ok

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Layoverland by Gabby Noone.

When Bea gets into an lethal head on collision and wakes up in an airport, it becomes clear that heaven is not exactly what she thought it would be. But she's not in heaven, or hell. She's in an inbetween place where people go to resolve issues keeping them from heaven. And Bea's job is to help navigate people through their memories so that they can move on. So when Bea meets the attractive and kind Caleb, she's initially intrigued, ...more

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Jan 20, 2020 Chanel rated it it was amazing

I really loved this book! It's a refreshing take on YA novels that involve death, which I either think are too tragic or too enlightening, if you know what I mean. But, Gabby Noone's modern narrative really does grab you and allows you to identify with every character's flaws and strengths that even at some points you might yell, "I FEEL PERSONALLY ATTACKED." Besides that though, I still can't get over some of Bea's zingers and to be honest, the writing made me want to date Caleb, despite his ...more

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Jan 03, 2020 Candace (Chaoticfable) rated it liked it

Shelves: 2020

This book has an interesting take on purgatory and the plot executes it really well. From a plot stand point this book is a four star read for me.

I also really liked the characters. The main character Bea is Morally Gray and A go getter, she doesn't let anything get in her way of voicing her opinion. Caleb is adorable and while he tries to act tough he is a marshmallow.

The thing however that made this a 3 star read for me is that it gets very political. I personally don't care for reading about ...more

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Sep 17, 2019 Erin Kelly rated it it was amazing

This is the wholesome YA content I have been craving. I felt like I was truly inside of a 17-year old teen mind. Bea is an admirable, yet flawed character who I totally would have looked up to and related with as a teen. She is smart, witty, funny, and outspoken. You watch her grow into a mature young ~ but dead~ adult throughout the story. Gabby Noone has an amazing voice that is FUN, SMART and MODERN. It took me way too long to finish the book because I didn't want it to end!!! Like when your ...more

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Jan 13, 2020 Jennifer rated it liked it

Bea has died in a car crash and ends up in a limbo area that resembles an airport, working to help other dead souls move on to heaven. When she runs into the person responsible for the crash, she makes a plan to exact revenge, but if course, those plans to awry. It's an interesting but if fluff that's getting compared to The Good Place, but there's a lot less existential truth here. It's really just another teen romance in a different setting. Review from e-galley.

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Aug 18, 2019 Edward rated it it was amazing

This book is absolutely brilliant. Noone's voice is a totally unique one - she's a laugh-out-loud funny writer, one able to mine humor from both banal and dark places with ease. At the same time, her ability to write dramatic moments is extremely heartfelt and real, yet not saccharine. All this comes together for an incredible book by a first-time author I cannot wait to read for years and years to come. I loved Layoverland.

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