Book Review // Can't Look Away




272 pages // published August 26, 2014 //
YA, contemporary, romance // 
cover rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (fits the story well, good composition,
nice colors & font)
this is my own copy that I got before I read either >.>
Every part of this book looks awesome at first glance--heart wrenching story, check, cool new Youtube aspect, check, a pinch of el Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead), check, a super pretty cover, check.


It has everything.


But it didn't live up to my expectations. It's not that it was horrible....
I liked the Youtube angle, with tips from the main character before every chapter. There aren’t enough books that include Youtube, a HUGE part of the modern world by the way, in their story lines. It was nice reading about the life and routine of a youtuber.


It was also a reminder to appreciate family always. Sometimes people get so caught up in living that they forget that death is a thing. A really scary, fast thing.


In the end though it was the main character that really threw me off. Torrey came across as really selfish, shallow, and manipulative. She 100% cared about what people thought about her for 95% of the book, but suddenly at the very end of the book she has a change of heart and character? It didn’t feel real.


It felt like the author tried to make her more lovable by putting in flashbacks to when her little sister was alive, but it didn’t work (imo) when we could jump to the present and see that she might have potential but she still clung to popularity and maintaining face.


And there were SO many flashbacks. They felt really random (plus unnecessary sometimes) and kind of came across as trying too hard to get the reader on Torrey’s side.


This book was a typical “mean girl” transformation story to me. There were some unique parts like dealing with the Day of the Dead, and sometimes it gave me hope that it would maybe go deeper into the characters but it never really got there.


The big things that annoyed me were:

 1. You can’t just like someone and then still be afraid of the popular kids seeing. NUH. I mean, you can. But that ish is mean. You’re leading on a perfectly nice guy... and then you ditch him at the first sight of the popular kids cause he ain’t popular? DUDE. 

2. I know that something like your little sister’s death would mess someone up big time. I mean I can’t even imagine the pain and guilt. But then why would you still use your sister’s death to get out of social situations just because you don’t want the populars to know you were hanging out with the outcast kid? WHY??




my rating:
⭐⭐

Disclaimer: I got this e-ARC from NetGalley/Scholastic in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!


Has a book with a really interesting blurb and SUPER pretty cover ever disappointed you? How do you feel about using flashbacks in a book? Tell me bout it. ^^

Comments

  1. Emily AnneAugust 24, 2016 at 1:04 AM

    Aww sorry this disappointed you! Some of the things you listed did sounds kind of annoying ... I like your use of gifs though! Great review :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SelenaAugust 27, 2016 at 11:08 AM

      Thanks!! I love using GIFs whenever I can. ;)

      Yeah, I mean it's too bad that it didn't click with me. Maybe it'll click with other people :)

      Delete

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