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emma's Reviews > Greta & Valdin
Greta & Valdin
by
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emma's review
bookshelves: owned, from-publisher-author, arc, non-ya, literary-fiction, authors-of-color, diverse, 4-and-a-half-stars, recommend, reviewed
Feb 19, 2024
bookshelves: owned, from-publisher-author, arc, non-ya, literary-fiction, authors-of-color, diverse, 4-and-a-half-stars, recommend, reviewed
i love a cool girl book.
this book only has two flaws: it has 930 characters and all of them fall under the same family tree and 78% of their names start with G and two of them are greta and it is genuinely impossible to keep them straight even if you dramatically flip back to the beginning multiple times;
and it has two perspectives and they're identical, as in the characters have nearly the same voice, but in a way that's a pro for me bc i don't like books with multiple povs. so logic follows that if you absolutely must have more than one point of view, you can at least do the respectful thing (for me, specifically) and make them in alternate chapters that sound exactly the same.
otherwise this is perfect: so funny, no plot, just vibes, memorable characters, filled with jokes and generational humor and pop culture references without being annoying.
of course i didn't love when the book's final pages descended into tons of points of view, because i don't like that at the best of times and also i couldn't remember anyone's relationship to one another, but i would have read the first 200 pages of this book for 930 pages.
i never expected to get Living With A Beloved Sibling And Knowing That It Will End Soon Because You're Both In Love And Wanting That And Not Wanting That And Being Heartbroken And Happy At Once representation, so. what a treat to receive it.
for this, i give it a proverbial kiss on the forehead and 4.5 stars.
bottom line: *kiss*
(thanks to the publisher for the copy)
this book only has two flaws: it has 930 characters and all of them fall under the same family tree and 78% of their names start with G and two of them are greta and it is genuinely impossible to keep them straight even if you dramatically flip back to the beginning multiple times;
and it has two perspectives and they're identical, as in the characters have nearly the same voice, but in a way that's a pro for me bc i don't like books with multiple povs. so logic follows that if you absolutely must have more than one point of view, you can at least do the respectful thing (for me, specifically) and make them in alternate chapters that sound exactly the same.
otherwise this is perfect: so funny, no plot, just vibes, memorable characters, filled with jokes and generational humor and pop culture references without being annoying.
of course i didn't love when the book's final pages descended into tons of points of view, because i don't like that at the best of times and also i couldn't remember anyone's relationship to one another, but i would have read the first 200 pages of this book for 930 pages.
i never expected to get Living With A Beloved Sibling And Knowing That It Will End Soon Because You're Both In Love And Wanting That And Not Wanting That And Being Heartbroken And Happy At Once representation, so. what a treat to receive it.
for this, i give it a proverbial kiss on the forehead and 4.5 stars.
bottom line: *kiss*
(thanks to the publisher for the copy)
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Reading Progress
January 30, 2024
– Shelved
March 4, 2024
–
Started Reading
March 5, 2024
–
Finished Reading
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by
Lizzie
(new)
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rated it 5 stars
Feb 20, 2024 02:41AM
I can’t wait to see what you think of this. It was my favourite read of last year (tied with another book but still). It will be interesting to see if the New Zealand-ness of it translates to a different audience.
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I have so many cool girl books I need to read!
I knew it would be my favourite read of the year when I read the line: "I walk around at parties wondering where the recycling is."
Bruce wrote: "I knew it would be my favourite read of the year when I read the line: "I walk around at parties wondering where the recycling is.""it has so many brilliant lines like that!
Southern Lady Reads (Crazy Busy-Will Catch Up!) wrote: "I have so many cool girl books I need to read!"they just keep coming
Lizzie wrote: "I can’t wait to see what you think of this. It was my favourite read of last year (tied with another book but still). It will be interesting to see if the New Zealand-ness of it translates to a dif..."i loved it!
This one of my faves and our reviews are so similar lol I think about this book all the time. Immaculate vibes for a 4.5
I loved this one so much!
"Living With A Beloved Sibling And Knowing That It Will End Soon Because You're Both In Love And Wanting That And Not Wanting That And Being Heartbroken And Happy At Once" is spot on the feeling here! Nailed it
Literally agree entirely. I loved this but I needed a chart or something to refer back to on how everyone was related and who was with who
