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Things We Have in Common
Reader beware: You'll think you know what's happening, and you'll think you see what's coming next… But you'll be very, very wrong.
Fifteen-year-old Yasmin Doner is a social misfit—obese, obsessive and deemed a freak by her peers at school. With her father dead and her mother in a new relationship, Yasmin yearns for a sense of belonging, finding comfort only in food and the fantasy of being close to Alice Taylor, a girl at school. Yasmin will do anything to become friends with pretty and popular Alice—even if Alice, like everyone else, thinks she's a freak.
When Yasmin notices a sinister-looking man watching Alice from the school fence, she sees a way of finally winning Alice's affection—because how this stranger is staring is far more than just looking, it's wanting. Because this stranger, Yasmin believes, is going to take Alice. Yasmin decides to find out more about this man so that when he does take Alice, Yasmin will be the only one who knows his name and where he lives…the only one who can save her.
But as Yasmin discovers more about him, her affections begin to shift. Perhaps she was wrong about him. Perhaps she doesn't need Alice after all.
And then Alice vanishes.
Fifteen-year-old Yasmin Doner is a social misfit—obese, obsessive and deemed a freak by her peers at school. With her father dead and her mother in a new relationship, Yasmin yearns for a sense of belonging, finding comfort only in food and the fantasy of being close to Alice Taylor, a girl at school. Yasmin will do anything to become friends with pretty and popular Alice—even if Alice, like everyone else, thinks she's a freak.
When Yasmin notices a sinister-looking man watching Alice from the school fence, she sees a way of finally winning Alice's affection—because how this stranger is staring is far more than just looking, it's wanting. Because this stranger, Yasmin believes, is going to take Alice. Yasmin decides to find out more about this man so that when he does take Alice, Yasmin will be the only one who knows his name and where he lives…the only one who can save her.
But as Yasmin discovers more about him, her affections begin to shift. Perhaps she was wrong about him. Perhaps she doesn't need Alice after all.
And then Alice vanishes.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published May 7, 2015
86 people are currently reading
8742 people want to read
About the author
Tasha Kavanagh
2 books74 followersTasha Kavanagh lives in Hertfordshire with her family and three cats. She has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, has worked as an editor on feature films, including 'The Talented Mr Ripley', 'Twelve Monkeys' and 'Seven Years in Tibet' and has had ten books for children published under her maiden name Tasha Pym. 'Things We Have in Common' is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 638 reviews
April 13, 2017
I do not give out 5 stars very often. To be honest, I generally consider the rating scale to be 1-4.5 and only include the 5 when a book really speaks to me, challenges me, makes me think, or does something different. Because of that, I feel like I have to justify the rating when I do give it. And that's the problem: it's hard because 5 stars is, for me, a deeply personal and emotional rating. There is no checklist of criteria that makes a 5 star book. I just loved this.
Why did I like Things We Have in Common so much?
Firstly, it's a bit of a mindfuck. It's about a British teenager called Yasmin who obsessively watches her classmate - Alice. Enduring bullying due to her size, Yasmin is an outcast at school and in the home of her stepfather. Alice serves as a beacon of light in her dark world and Yasmin becomes ever more attached to her, even going so far as to collect her fallen hair bands.
But Yasmin also sees something else. She sees the man watching Alice; the man she knows instinctively is there to take her. Of course, this is all a game in Yasmin's head. Until it isn't. Until Alice really does disappear and Yasmin wonders whether she should say something; whether she will be believed; or whether she herself might come under suspicion.
It's not as dark as it could have been and as I thought it might be. Most of the book reads like a slightly strange YA Contemporary. But what I loved most was all the uncertainty. How reliable is Yasmin's narration? How much of the man she observed was a story she created in her own mind?
Most of all, I love books that challenge my perception of characters. Books that introduce us to really complex people that I can’t decide if I despise or not. It is honestly a very difficult feat to make the reader care for a character that makes as many poor choices as Yasmin does. There were so many reasons to dislike her, but I really bought into her as a sympathetic character. I really felt her grief after her father's death, and the crushing weight of the bullying and ridicule she faced every day.
There are very few "fat" MCs in YA, and even fewer where the book isn't solely about them dealing with their weight. In this, Yasmin's size and her relationship with food are mentioned throughout but are not the focus of the plot. When it was talked about, I thought it was well-developed and sensitive, considering the relationship between depression and overeating - and how fat-shaming does not help, no matter how "concerned" you think you're being.
There are also POC, gay and trans secondary characters that appear throughout the book.
I know there will be people who hate the ending; in fact, I think the ending is kind of meant to be hated. I thought it was equal parts awful and perfect. In some ways, it could be read as an inevitable tragic conclusion to bullying and abandonment (which is safe to say without giving away spoilers).
A thought-provoking, strange and sad book.
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Why did I like Things We Have in Common so much?
Firstly, it's a bit of a mindfuck. It's about a British teenager called Yasmin who obsessively watches her classmate - Alice. Enduring bullying due to her size, Yasmin is an outcast at school and in the home of her stepfather. Alice serves as a beacon of light in her dark world and Yasmin becomes ever more attached to her, even going so far as to collect her fallen hair bands.
But Yasmin also sees something else. She sees the man watching Alice; the man she knows instinctively is there to take her. Of course, this is all a game in Yasmin's head. Until it isn't. Until Alice really does disappear and Yasmin wonders whether she should say something; whether she will be believed; or whether she herself might come under suspicion.
It's not as dark as it could have been and as I thought it might be. Most of the book reads like a slightly strange YA Contemporary. But what I loved most was all the uncertainty. How reliable is Yasmin's narration? How much of the man she observed was a story she created in her own mind?
Most of all, I love books that challenge my perception of characters. Books that introduce us to really complex people that I can’t decide if I despise or not. It is honestly a very difficult feat to make the reader care for a character that makes as many poor choices as Yasmin does. There were so many reasons to dislike her, but I really bought into her as a sympathetic character. I really felt her grief after her father's death, and the crushing weight of the bullying and ridicule she faced every day.
There are very few "fat" MCs in YA, and even fewer where the book isn't solely about them dealing with their weight. In this, Yasmin's size and her relationship with food are mentioned throughout but are not the focus of the plot. When it was talked about, I thought it was well-developed and sensitive, considering the relationship between depression and overeating - and how fat-shaming does not help, no matter how "concerned" you think you're being.
I turned away again and closed my eyes. I wasn’t going to rise to it. I’ve done all the crying and despising myself that it’s possible for a person to do, followed by all the promising and list-making and will-powering, and all any of it does is make me want to eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and EAT.
There are also POC, gay and trans secondary characters that appear throughout the book.
I know there will be people who hate the ending; in fact, I think the ending is kind of meant to be hated. I thought it was equal parts awful and perfect. In some ways, it could be read as an inevitable tragic conclusion to bullying and abandonment (which is safe to say without giving away spoilers).
A thought-provoking, strange and sad book.
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July 1, 2018
how to begin…..?
this is one deceptively badass YA novel.
it's like one of those neon girly drinks with, like, fruit in it and colorful sugar all around its rim that you can drink a million of really quickly and you don't feel the power of 'em until the next day, when you get slammed all at once - a little sick, a little stunned, reeling from the aftermath.
which is a wildly inappropriate comparison to draw for a YA novel, for sure, but also pretty accurate. kids, don't drink!
this goes down so smooth - it's a really fast read, and the character's voice sucks you in and speeds you through the book until you are walloped by a bold ending that leaves a lot of unresolved emotions in its wake.
i'm still processing this thing.
the basics: fifteen-year-old british/turkish yasmin is a loner with a whole slew of problems. socially awkward on her best day, she has also been steadily gaining weight since the death of her beloved father despite the best efforts of her mother and her nutritionist. she's a constant target of ridicule at school, and home life is no better - her stepfather is impatient with her solitary mooniness and her increasing size, and her mother's loyalties are torn between the two. yasmin also has an imaginative mind prone to obsessive fantasies, heavy on themes of martyrdom and heroism. the combination of these qualities and situations makes for one helluva powderkeg.
yasmin's most prominent obsession is her fixation on her beautiful and popular schoolmate alice - daydreaming about them being friends (or maybe more), collecting and fetishizing objects she's left behind, whispering imagined conversations alone in her room... one day, yasmin witnesses a man walking his dog across the playing field. she sees him see alice, and from this single glance, she determines that he is a pedophile intent on abducting alice for nefarious purposes, and devotes herself entirely to waiting for alice to be abducted so she can tell the police who the culprit is. in one of the book's many subtle unsettling slants, yasmin isn't so much interested in preventing alice's abduction as she is in rescuing her after she has already been taken and, presumably, interfered with:
stalking the man, the aforementioned mr. (samuel) caldwell, leads her down a path that begins with a dognapping, and results in yasmin's successful ingratiation into samuel's home and his life, where she discovers a kindred spirit - a lonely outsider with social quirks that others might find odd but she accepts and barrels her way into an unusual version of friendship that gradually supplants her obsession with alice.
of course, then alice really does go missing.
an important note here is that yasmin's awkwardly-blossoming friendship with samuel, both before and after alice's actual disappearance does not exonerate him, in her mind, from the crime she's always suspected him of. it's not a case of "he's kind to me, so he can't have done it/be going to do it," it's more like "he's kind to me, so it's okay that he's done it/is going to do it." which is a much more ethically complicated situation in terms of the reader's willingness to go along with the protagonist, and so ballsy for YA. you want to sympathize with yasmin because of her difficulties and all the loss and cruelty she's endured, but her intensity can be a bit frightening and there's a mutability to her that makes her hard to trust.
it's a completely original premise, and it's got some interesting quirks of its own - it's written in second person, where the "you" is directed at samuel, even though it's never really clear when she would be saying or writing this to him, or if the delivery of the monologue is all just fantasy in her head. which brings up the other quirk - the narrator's unreliability in this case is so multilayered - there are times when the reader questions yasmin's interpretation of a situation; the possible disparity between what yasmin perceives and what is likely actually happening, but there's always the additional niggling possibility that some of the situations she recounts are pure fantasies.
and that ending! it leaves the reader in a sort of emotional limbo, screeching "you're ending it here?? seriously??"
it was very jarring to realize THAT was the end of the book, because there are so many PAGES after the last (creepy) line: acknowledgments, an 'about the author' page, discussion questions, a Q & A, and a note from the author. i was expecting more story on those pages and kavanagh was like "nope - that's all you get, reader!"
very, very ballsy, this one.
i loved it.
**********************************************
2015 karen: not so bad at book-choosing!
review to come!
**********************************************
i have had this on my to-read shelf since april 2015, with no memory of adding it. but now - BOOM - i won it through the goodreads giveaways. i hope karen 2015 knew what she was doing...
come to my blog!
this is one deceptively badass YA novel.
it's like one of those neon girly drinks with, like, fruit in it and colorful sugar all around its rim that you can drink a million of really quickly and you don't feel the power of 'em until the next day, when you get slammed all at once - a little sick, a little stunned, reeling from the aftermath.
which is a wildly inappropriate comparison to draw for a YA novel, for sure, but also pretty accurate. kids, don't drink!
this goes down so smooth - it's a really fast read, and the character's voice sucks you in and speeds you through the book until you are walloped by a bold ending that leaves a lot of unresolved emotions in its wake.
i'm still processing this thing.
the basics: fifteen-year-old british/turkish yasmin is a loner with a whole slew of problems. socially awkward on her best day, she has also been steadily gaining weight since the death of her beloved father despite the best efforts of her mother and her nutritionist. she's a constant target of ridicule at school, and home life is no better - her stepfather is impatient with her solitary mooniness and her increasing size, and her mother's loyalties are torn between the two. yasmin also has an imaginative mind prone to obsessive fantasies, heavy on themes of martyrdom and heroism. the combination of these qualities and situations makes for one helluva powderkeg.
yasmin's most prominent obsession is her fixation on her beautiful and popular schoolmate alice - daydreaming about them being friends (or maybe more), collecting and fetishizing objects she's left behind, whispering imagined conversations alone in her room... one day, yasmin witnesses a man walking his dog across the playing field. she sees him see alice, and from this single glance, she determines that he is a pedophile intent on abducting alice for nefarious purposes, and devotes herself entirely to waiting for alice to be abducted so she can tell the police who the culprit is. in one of the book's many subtle unsettling slants, yasmin isn't so much interested in preventing alice's abduction as she is in rescuing her after she has already been taken and, presumably, interfered with:
…the best daydream I had was waiting to see Alice after she'd been rescued. I'm outside a big building - maybe a police station - with hundreds of press people pointing their cameras at the door and then suddenly all the cameras start clicking and flashing and I see Alice coming out wrapped in a police blanket, her hair caked in mud, her face all scratched and bleeding from her struggle with you, and tears running through it all as I rush over to her and she falls into my arms. I couldn't wait, couldn't wait for it all to be real, to actually happen. I thought, hurry up already, Mr. Caldwell, make my day!
stalking the man, the aforementioned mr. (samuel) caldwell, leads her down a path that begins with a dognapping, and results in yasmin's successful ingratiation into samuel's home and his life, where she discovers a kindred spirit - a lonely outsider with social quirks that others might find odd but she accepts and barrels her way into an unusual version of friendship that gradually supplants her obsession with alice.
of course, then alice really does go missing.
an important note here is that yasmin's awkwardly-blossoming friendship with samuel, both before and after alice's actual disappearance does not exonerate him, in her mind, from the crime she's always suspected him of. it's not a case of "he's kind to me, so he can't have done it/be going to do it," it's more like "he's kind to me, so it's okay that he's done it/is going to do it." which is a much more ethically complicated situation in terms of the reader's willingness to go along with the protagonist, and so ballsy for YA. you want to sympathize with yasmin because of her difficulties and all the loss and cruelty she's endured, but her intensity can be a bit frightening and there's a mutability to her that makes her hard to trust.
it's a completely original premise, and it's got some interesting quirks of its own - it's written in second person, where the "you" is directed at samuel, even though it's never really clear when she would be saying or writing this to him, or if the delivery of the monologue is all just fantasy in her head. which brings up the other quirk - the narrator's unreliability in this case is so multilayered - there are times when the reader questions yasmin's interpretation of a situation; the possible disparity between what yasmin perceives and what is likely actually happening, but there's always the additional niggling possibility that some of the situations she recounts are pure fantasies.
and that ending! it leaves the reader in a sort of emotional limbo, screeching "you're ending it here?? seriously??"
it was very jarring to realize THAT was the end of the book, because there are so many PAGES after the last (creepy) line: acknowledgments, an 'about the author' page, discussion questions, a Q & A, and a note from the author. i was expecting more story on those pages and kavanagh was like "nope - that's all you get, reader!"
very, very ballsy, this one.
i loved it.
**********************************************
2015 karen: not so bad at book-choosing!
review to come!
**********************************************
i have had this on my to-read shelf since april 2015, with no memory of adding it. but now - BOOM - i won it through the goodreads giveaways. i hope karen 2015 knew what she was doing...
come to my blog!
December 26, 2016
There’s something off-putting, yet fascinating about Yasmin, the narrator of Things We Have in Common.
Yasmin is deeply disturbed. An outcast with no friends, she is often bullied about her weight and her strange and obvious obsession with Alice, the “it” girl in school. She creates a bizarre fantasy world in her mind in which she and Alice will one day be happy. She collects mementos that Alice left behind—a candy bar wrapper, old gym sock, hair tie, etc.
However, Yasmin’s loyalty towards Alice begins to shift when she first spies an older man, whom she refers to as “you” who, like Yasmin, appears to be obsessed with Alice. Yasmin becomes convinced that this man is going to kidnap Alice. She doesn’t share her suspicions, but waits for the man to take Alice so that she can share with the police all she knows and be viewed as a hero.
She transfers her obsession from Alice onto “you, eventually inserting herself into his life so that she will be able to play hero. However, Yasmin becomes friends with the man and her loyalties change. Will she save Alice or will she be loyal to her new and only friend?
I found this to be an interesting read. It’s different from other thrillers that I have read, and the jarring last line freaked me out in so many ways!
I received a copy of this book from Goodreads and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Yasmin is deeply disturbed. An outcast with no friends, she is often bullied about her weight and her strange and obvious obsession with Alice, the “it” girl in school. She creates a bizarre fantasy world in her mind in which she and Alice will one day be happy. She collects mementos that Alice left behind—a candy bar wrapper, old gym sock, hair tie, etc.
However, Yasmin’s loyalty towards Alice begins to shift when she first spies an older man, whom she refers to as “you” who, like Yasmin, appears to be obsessed with Alice. Yasmin becomes convinced that this man is going to kidnap Alice. She doesn’t share her suspicions, but waits for the man to take Alice so that she can share with the police all she knows and be viewed as a hero.
She transfers her obsession from Alice onto “you, eventually inserting herself into his life so that she will be able to play hero. However, Yasmin becomes friends with the man and her loyalties change. Will she save Alice or will she be loyal to her new and only friend?
I found this to be an interesting read. It’s different from other thrillers that I have read, and the jarring last line freaked me out in so many ways!
I received a copy of this book from Goodreads and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
December 17, 2016
I thoroughly enjoyed this disturbing, young adult story and atypical suspense novel. I was engrossed in the novel from beginning to end. The unreliable narrator is Yasmin, a 15-year old female. She isn’t particularly likable, yet she's sympathetic because she's a bullied and obese loner, and she copes with this by living a private, fantasy world existence. Her delusional obsession with the pretty and popular schoolmate, Alice feels creepy and sets the stage for an atmosphere of menace that continues throughout the story. I alternated between pity and disgust as Yasmin becomes fixated first on Alice and later on a man she is convinced is also stalking Alice.
The author intentionally wrote the novel in a second-person point of view as a way to create intimacy and a more “personal relationship” with the story. For this reader, it added to the sinister atmosphere of the novel. She created a killer opening paragraph with this:
“The first time I saw you, you were standing at the far end of the playing field near the bit of fence that’s trampled down, where the kids who come to school along the wooded path cut across.”
The narrator always refers to the suspect as “you” in the story. He remains a mostly impenetrable and mysterious man. I squirmed and blushed as the painfully deluded Yasmin wheedles her way into his home and his life. The connection between the narrator and the suspect is unnerving but compulsive reading.
The ending is a stunner!!
I won a free ARC of this book through Goodreads Giveaways. Thank you to Goodreads and to Harlequin Books!
The author intentionally wrote the novel in a second-person point of view as a way to create intimacy and a more “personal relationship” with the story. For this reader, it added to the sinister atmosphere of the novel. She created a killer opening paragraph with this:
“The first time I saw you, you were standing at the far end of the playing field near the bit of fence that’s trampled down, where the kids who come to school along the wooded path cut across.”
The narrator always refers to the suspect as “you” in the story. He remains a mostly impenetrable and mysterious man. I squirmed and blushed as the painfully deluded Yasmin wheedles her way into his home and his life. The connection between the narrator and the suspect is unnerving but compulsive reading.
The ending is a stunner!!
I won a free ARC of this book through Goodreads Giveaways. Thank you to Goodreads and to Harlequin Books!
April 6, 2020
Fan-freaking-tastic!
This book is for all of you that enjoy obsessive stalker tales. This one is a bit more unique as the stalker is a 15 year old obese young woman who has a boatload of psychological issues. I was completely captivated by the first page and it held me captive until the last. And that ending? Wow. It's ambiguous and gave me chills down my spine. 4 stars!
This book is for all of you that enjoy obsessive stalker tales. This one is a bit more unique as the stalker is a 15 year old obese young woman who has a boatload of psychological issues. I was completely captivated by the first page and it held me captive until the last. And that ending? Wow. It's ambiguous and gave me chills down my spine. 4 stars!
August 2, 2020
What a bizarre book this is. It’s about a 15-year old named Yasmin. She’s an overweight, unpopular loner who becomes fixated with her classmate, Alice. While her obsession increases, it soon becomes clear to her that someone else is stalking Alice as well.
I’m not quite sure what to think of this one. It’s a fascinating character study into the disturbed mind of Yasmin. She makes terrible decisions and doesn’t seem to realize the how they affect what’s going on around her. I felt bad for her at times, but mostly felt that she was a dunce. She clearly has psychological issues, and maybe that’s why I didn’t feel like her actions and words were that of a 15-year old. I enjoyed this odd and creepy tale for the most part, but didn’t really care for the ambiguous (kind of horrifying) ending. 3.5 stars.
I’m not quite sure what to think of this one. It’s a fascinating character study into the disturbed mind of Yasmin. She makes terrible decisions and doesn’t seem to realize the how they affect what’s going on around her. I felt bad for her at times, but mostly felt that she was a dunce. She clearly has psychological issues, and maybe that’s why I didn’t feel like her actions and words were that of a 15-year old. I enjoyed this odd and creepy tale for the most part, but didn’t really care for the ambiguous (kind of horrifying) ending. 3.5 stars.
November 22, 2020
Have you ever read a book so hungrily, and quickly, that afterwards it feels like a hallucination, dream or nightmare? Perhaps a less melodramatic comparison would be a film: some stories make you feel more like you've spent a couple of hours watching a movie, seeing it all play out vividly right in front of you, than a few days on-and-off reading a book. I breezed through Things We Have in Common in just a few hours, during which my absorption in the story heightened to increasingly feverish levels, and afterwards it felt like something I had seen - almost physically experienced - rather than read. I had this mental picture of the setting, clouded in a summer haze, that still lingers. I could see the colour palette of the film version.
Yasmin is fifteen years old and unhappy. She's friendless and the victim of school bullies; she has a strained relationship with her stepfather, and therefore also with her mother; she's overweight, and endures visits to a patronising dietitian whose advice she ignores anyway. The shining light in her life is her obsession - a combination of idolatry and desire - with a radiant classmate, Alice Taylor. We meet Yasmin when she is staring at Alice - but also watching someone else do the same. This is the first 'thing she has in common' with her co-observer, a stranger with whom she immediately feels a bond. But this person is no fellow pupil: he is a middle-aged man.
Samuel, as he turns out to be called - although there's some ambiguity about whether this is his real name - is a chameleon-like character who moves from sinister to thoroughly innocuous so swiftly and frequently that it's (no doubt intentionally) impossible to get an angle on who he is. Yasmin's initial, childish idea that he's a predatory paedophile seems to be upended when she actually meets him, finding instead a dog-lover whose mother has recently died - lonely, awkward, but apparently harmless. Yet it's precisely the potential of dubious qualities that draw Yasmin to him. Like many an outsider, she recognises a kindred spirit. And, like many an obsessive, she nurtures fantasies of rescuing the object of her affection in such a grand and public manner that she will naturally receive adoration in return. Her complicated attraction to Samuel, then, is partly a matter of wanting to protect her beloved Alice from a perceived threat, but at the same time wishing harm upon her so Yasmin can swoop in and save the day. In the middle of all this, the lines start blurring around who it is that Yasmin idolises, as her focus shifts from Alice to Samuel and back again. The chain of events that results turns this into a uniquely twisted coming-of-age story and a redefinition of 'be careful what you wish for'.
I spent much of this book wondering what it was that the narrator's voice reminded me of, unable to put my finger on it, and then towards the end I realised: it was Jacqueline Wilson, specifically a book of hers that was a childhood favourite of mine, The Suitcase Kid . I know it might seem like I'm insulting Kavanagh by comparing her novel to a book for pre-teen kids, but I mean it as a compliment - the author captures the voice of a young girl in such a way that her narrative has the ring of authenticity, but also works very well as entertainment. (And I always loved Wilson's style and characters, anyway.) It's because of this lightness that it's quite easy to sidestep the doubts you will inevitably have about Yasmin (is the simultaneous existence of such naivety and such manipulative power really believable for a gauche 15-year-old?) and simply allow yourself to be drawn into the irresistible flow of the story. The other, and for me more obvious, reference point is Jenn Ashworth's A Kind of Intimacy : Yasmin is, in more ways than one, a junior version of Ashworth's anti-heroine, Annie, and Things We Have in Common is the same kind of darkly humorous character study.
(When I started writing this, I'd forgotten the description used in the publisher's catalogue - it referred to Things We Have in Common as 'Sue Townsend meets Zoë Heller', which, of course, also works.)
This is a really strong debut novel, a subtle masterclass in character-building with a teenage voice so genuine that Yasmin really comes alive. It's rare for me to read a book quickly and yet find its characters and other details only become more solid in my head as time passes, but that's exactly what has happened with Things We Have in Common - partly, I think, because Yasmin's narration makes the book so easy to take in that you don't realise quite how expertly Kavanagh is crafting her characters and setting up the plot's final revelations. Watch out for this one: it deserves to be a hit (... and would also make a great film).
Yasmin is fifteen years old and unhappy. She's friendless and the victim of school bullies; she has a strained relationship with her stepfather, and therefore also with her mother; she's overweight, and endures visits to a patronising dietitian whose advice she ignores anyway. The shining light in her life is her obsession - a combination of idolatry and desire - with a radiant classmate, Alice Taylor. We meet Yasmin when she is staring at Alice - but also watching someone else do the same. This is the first 'thing she has in common' with her co-observer, a stranger with whom she immediately feels a bond. But this person is no fellow pupil: he is a middle-aged man.
Samuel, as he turns out to be called - although there's some ambiguity about whether this is his real name - is a chameleon-like character who moves from sinister to thoroughly innocuous so swiftly and frequently that it's (no doubt intentionally) impossible to get an angle on who he is. Yasmin's initial, childish idea that he's a predatory paedophile seems to be upended when she actually meets him, finding instead a dog-lover whose mother has recently died - lonely, awkward, but apparently harmless. Yet it's precisely the potential of dubious qualities that draw Yasmin to him. Like many an outsider, she recognises a kindred spirit. And, like many an obsessive, she nurtures fantasies of rescuing the object of her affection in such a grand and public manner that she will naturally receive adoration in return. Her complicated attraction to Samuel, then, is partly a matter of wanting to protect her beloved Alice from a perceived threat, but at the same time wishing harm upon her so Yasmin can swoop in and save the day. In the middle of all this, the lines start blurring around who it is that Yasmin idolises, as her focus shifts from Alice to Samuel and back again. The chain of events that results turns this into a uniquely twisted coming-of-age story and a redefinition of 'be careful what you wish for'.
I spent much of this book wondering what it was that the narrator's voice reminded me of, unable to put my finger on it, and then towards the end I realised: it was Jacqueline Wilson, specifically a book of hers that was a childhood favourite of mine, The Suitcase Kid . I know it might seem like I'm insulting Kavanagh by comparing her novel to a book for pre-teen kids, but I mean it as a compliment - the author captures the voice of a young girl in such a way that her narrative has the ring of authenticity, but also works very well as entertainment. (And I always loved Wilson's style and characters, anyway.) It's because of this lightness that it's quite easy to sidestep the doubts you will inevitably have about Yasmin (is the simultaneous existence of such naivety and such manipulative power really believable for a gauche 15-year-old?) and simply allow yourself to be drawn into the irresistible flow of the story. The other, and for me more obvious, reference point is Jenn Ashworth's A Kind of Intimacy : Yasmin is, in more ways than one, a junior version of Ashworth's anti-heroine, Annie, and Things We Have in Common is the same kind of darkly humorous character study.
(When I started writing this, I'd forgotten the description used in the publisher's catalogue - it referred to Things We Have in Common as 'Sue Townsend meets Zoë Heller', which, of course, also works.)
This is a really strong debut novel, a subtle masterclass in character-building with a teenage voice so genuine that Yasmin really comes alive. It's rare for me to read a book quickly and yet find its characters and other details only become more solid in my head as time passes, but that's exactly what has happened with Things We Have in Common - partly, I think, because Yasmin's narration makes the book so easy to take in that you don't realise quite how expertly Kavanagh is crafting her characters and setting up the plot's final revelations. Watch out for this one: it deserves to be a hit (... and would also make a great film).
April 26, 2018
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
Yasmin has never really fit in, but after her father died six years ago things really went South. Now fifteen, overweight and friendless, Yasmin spends her free time merely as an observer of those around her. Specifically Alice . . . .
“Keep Calm and Carry On. Keep Calm and Carry On Loving Alice.”
That is how she notices someone else appears to be watching Alice as well – only that someone has been doing it from the woods near the school . . . .
She knows Alice is going to be taken. The only question is, can she save her?
Okay, y’all know what YA means right??? Good lorty lort how I do love a book marketed towards kids that’s jacked up enough to satisfy super weirdo adults like myself – and more specifically Mitchell. After reading too many pornies, chick lit and domestic thrillers for his liking, Mitchell insisted he get a turn to play Jesus and take the wheel when it came to our next read. And now he says . . . .
I say please disregard that statement because the things he Googles are truly terrifying. I do have this to say about Tasha Kavanagh and Things We Have In Common . . . . .
If you’ve been missing reading about a delusional, obsessed stalker written in second person narrative, this might be a story for you. Don't let the YA moniker hold you back.
Yasmin has never really fit in, but after her father died six years ago things really went South. Now fifteen, overweight and friendless, Yasmin spends her free time merely as an observer of those around her. Specifically Alice . . . .
“Keep Calm and Carry On. Keep Calm and Carry On Loving Alice.”
That is how she notices someone else appears to be watching Alice as well – only that someone has been doing it from the woods near the school . . . .
She knows Alice is going to be taken. The only question is, can she save her?
Okay, y’all know what YA means right??? Good lorty lort how I do love a book marketed towards kids that’s jacked up enough to satisfy super weirdo adults like myself – and more specifically Mitchell. After reading too many pornies, chick lit and domestic thrillers for his liking, Mitchell insisted he get a turn to play Jesus and take the wheel when it came to our next read. And now he says . . . .
I say please disregard that statement because the things he Googles are truly terrifying. I do have this to say about Tasha Kavanagh and Things We Have In Common . . . . .
If you’ve been missing reading about a delusional, obsessed stalker written in second person narrative, this might be a story for you. Don't let the YA moniker hold you back.
April 18, 2017
Yasmin Doner is an overweight fifteen year old whose father is dead and mother moved on to a new marriage. She doesn't have friends and is bullied in school. She has a dietician she sees, but struggles not to gain weight. She's a loner that desperately wants to belong. Her only comfort is food and Alice. She's obsessed with Alice, always watching her.
Yasmin notices a man watching Alice too. She believes he is going to abduct Alice by the way he is watching her. She decides that is how she'll get Alice to like her-by saving her life. She just has to find out as much about the man as possible so that when he takes Alice, she can tell the police everything. The problem is..what if she ends up liking the man? Or what if he isn't going to take Alice at all?
Only Alice does go missing.
The entire story is written in second person because the author wanted it to feel intimate (as she explains in the author's note). This probably ended up being my favorite thing about the story. It made the story feel creepier and like we're in Yasmin's head. Directly addressing the man watching Alice as "you" and continuing to talk to him until the very end. This felt like another layer of fantasy going on in Yasmin's head because we don't know if she is in fact speaking to him or if the narration is all in her head.
I love how well-written the characters were. Though Yasmin could be 100% unlikable, I still found myself empathizing with her. On pg. 98-99 where she talks about being told her father died after it had happened - her mother keeping it from her. I understood completely how that can affect you for years (at least). And then her mother seemingly choosing her new relationship over her daughter. Ugh..were you in my childhood, Tasha? Rip my heart out, why don't you.
Things We Have in Common is one of the most original books I've read lately. The premise is unique, effectively taking a coming-of-age story making it into a creepy tale with a surrounding mystery. It easily explores how obsession can lead down a menacing road.
Yasmin notices a man watching Alice too. She believes he is going to abduct Alice by the way he is watching her. She decides that is how she'll get Alice to like her-by saving her life. She just has to find out as much about the man as possible so that when he takes Alice, she can tell the police everything. The problem is..what if she ends up liking the man? Or what if he isn't going to take Alice at all?
Only Alice does go missing.
The entire story is written in second person because the author wanted it to feel intimate (as she explains in the author's note). This probably ended up being my favorite thing about the story. It made the story feel creepier and like we're in Yasmin's head. Directly addressing the man watching Alice as "you" and continuing to talk to him until the very end. This felt like another layer of fantasy going on in Yasmin's head because we don't know if she is in fact speaking to him or if the narration is all in her head.
I love how well-written the characters were. Though Yasmin could be 100% unlikable, I still found myself empathizing with her. On pg. 98-99 where she talks about being told her father died after it had happened - her mother keeping it from her. I understood completely how that can affect you for years (at least). And then her mother seemingly choosing her new relationship over her daughter. Ugh..were you in my childhood, Tasha? Rip my heart out, why don't you.
Things We Have in Common is one of the most original books I've read lately. The premise is unique, effectively taking a coming-of-age story making it into a creepy tale with a surrounding mystery. It easily explores how obsession can lead down a menacing road.
June 12, 2017
This was exactly the kind of novel I needed - a deliciously creepy and suspenseful novel with an unreliable narrator who is in equal measure deeply disturbing and sympathetic. A perfect Sunday read, couldn't put it down.
November 25, 2017
This well-crafted and darkly humorous novel is not only supremely original, but one of the most profoundly creepy and disturbing portrayals of life as a bullied and desperately unhappy teenager, all narrated by an authentic teenage voice which at times is both discomforting yet truly fascinating.
Fifteen-year old protagonist, Yasmin Lakaris, is a grossly overweight teenager who seeks refuge from her loneliness by withdrawing into a fantasy world of her own imaginings, all accentuated by her obsessive tendencies. Yasmin (“Doner” to the school bullies, due to her being half-Turkish) is infatuated with Alice Taylor, a wildly popular girl in her class who she dreams of being friends and possibly more with. As the novel opens Yasmin catches sight of a man standing on the other side of the school grounds gawping at Alice, and only having eyes for Alice herself, Yasmin imagines the man is similarly entranced. It is from this glance that Yasmin goes on to picture herself as the heroine coming to Alice’s rescue in an envisaged abduction attempt, thereby forging an unbreakable bond with her schoolmate. As Yasmin fixates on this dramatic scenario she seeks refuge from her isolation in a world entirely of her own making and starts researching everything from local missing girls to what a paedophile might look like, whilst simultaneously compiling her own rather incriminating box of Alice keepsakes (an old sock, a heart sketch and a biscuit wrapper foil).
Over the next few weeks things become increasingly difficult for Yasmin both at school and at home, as Alice’s crowd of friend pillory her for “stalking” and her opinionated stepfather, plumber Gary, harries indulgent mother, Jen, for Yasmin’s unchecked girth and her status as a social leper. In a misguided attempt to smooth over the frustrations of her new husband, Yasmin’s mother colludes in her daughters weight gain by attempting to boost her so obviously depressed child’s spirits with chocolate and pizza. Under a dietician for the past year, Yasmin’s weight has steadily increased and her excuse is grief over the death of her adored father, Terry, despite six-years having passed since his demise. Part of Yasmin’s dislike of Gary is simply the fact that he is not “Terry”, who still occupies a large place in her thoughts and she is sure that he would be proud of her endeavours to protect Alice.
Things change when Yasmin starts to follow the man who she has seen staring at Alice in a effort to be of more assistance to the police when Alice is abducted and possibly provide a name or other specifics.. however in doing so she discovers that she and this man have more things in common than just a fascination with Alice. Soon Yasmin recognises a similarly friendless, kindred spirit and installs herself in the life of the man, drawn by his initial lukewarm kindness. As Yasmin transfers her growing obsession with Alice to this man and his dog, it offers some respite from a school and home life from which she is desperate to escape. Having finally found herself a “friend”, Yasmin is utterly unprepared for the actual disappearance of Alice... As this second half opens and unexpected twists follow, the novel’s denouement hangs in the balance right down to the closing moments when it is despatched with absolute aplomb by debut author, Tasha Kavanagh.
Capturing the voice of a conflicted and lonely teenager perfectly, at times Yasmin refers to the man who she has seen watching Alice as “you”, adding an extra degree of creepiness to her imaginings and personal address. Indeed, Yasmin can take the most innocuous statement or detail and extrapolate to fit her own purposes and it is this complex characterisation of a unique protagonist that stands out and her flaws and behavioural tendencies make her a difficult character to wholeheartedly feel sympathy for. That I still have questions ricocheting in my mind surrounding her reliability as a narrator is testament to Kavanagh’s excellent portrayal. At times Yasmin’s voice is self-deprecating and knowingly self-aware, reminiscent of a childhood spent largely in the company of adults, whilst at other times it is both disturbing and frankly pitiable, ensuring that Yasmin is sure to play on the hearts and minds of every reader. As the narration journeys from mundane domestic details, to outright deluded fantasy through to forward-thinking surrounding the likely police response of her information, readers will appreciate this multi-layered and nuanced persona. That the reader never feels wholeheartedly sure whether she is wilfully complicit in her unsettling starring role is just one of the many disconcerting aspects of this novel. Fascinating and memorable, the ending, despite feeling almost inevitable leaves a distinct sense of unease. Bold and disturbing, Tasha Kavanagh’s psychological character study of a teenager whose retreat into fantasy leaves her vulnerable and unprepared to navigate the dangers in an adult world will leave readers wondering whether Yasmin is really quite so innocent.
Fifteen-year old protagonist, Yasmin Lakaris, is a grossly overweight teenager who seeks refuge from her loneliness by withdrawing into a fantasy world of her own imaginings, all accentuated by her obsessive tendencies. Yasmin (“Doner” to the school bullies, due to her being half-Turkish) is infatuated with Alice Taylor, a wildly popular girl in her class who she dreams of being friends and possibly more with. As the novel opens Yasmin catches sight of a man standing on the other side of the school grounds gawping at Alice, and only having eyes for Alice herself, Yasmin imagines the man is similarly entranced. It is from this glance that Yasmin goes on to picture herself as the heroine coming to Alice’s rescue in an envisaged abduction attempt, thereby forging an unbreakable bond with her schoolmate. As Yasmin fixates on this dramatic scenario she seeks refuge from her isolation in a world entirely of her own making and starts researching everything from local missing girls to what a paedophile might look like, whilst simultaneously compiling her own rather incriminating box of Alice keepsakes (an old sock, a heart sketch and a biscuit wrapper foil).
Over the next few weeks things become increasingly difficult for Yasmin both at school and at home, as Alice’s crowd of friend pillory her for “stalking” and her opinionated stepfather, plumber Gary, harries indulgent mother, Jen, for Yasmin’s unchecked girth and her status as a social leper. In a misguided attempt to smooth over the frustrations of her new husband, Yasmin’s mother colludes in her daughters weight gain by attempting to boost her so obviously depressed child’s spirits with chocolate and pizza. Under a dietician for the past year, Yasmin’s weight has steadily increased and her excuse is grief over the death of her adored father, Terry, despite six-years having passed since his demise. Part of Yasmin’s dislike of Gary is simply the fact that he is not “Terry”, who still occupies a large place in her thoughts and she is sure that he would be proud of her endeavours to protect Alice.
Things change when Yasmin starts to follow the man who she has seen staring at Alice in a effort to be of more assistance to the police when Alice is abducted and possibly provide a name or other specifics.. however in doing so she discovers that she and this man have more things in common than just a fascination with Alice. Soon Yasmin recognises a similarly friendless, kindred spirit and installs herself in the life of the man, drawn by his initial lukewarm kindness. As Yasmin transfers her growing obsession with Alice to this man and his dog, it offers some respite from a school and home life from which she is desperate to escape. Having finally found herself a “friend”, Yasmin is utterly unprepared for the actual disappearance of Alice... As this second half opens and unexpected twists follow, the novel’s denouement hangs in the balance right down to the closing moments when it is despatched with absolute aplomb by debut author, Tasha Kavanagh.
Capturing the voice of a conflicted and lonely teenager perfectly, at times Yasmin refers to the man who she has seen watching Alice as “you”, adding an extra degree of creepiness to her imaginings and personal address. Indeed, Yasmin can take the most innocuous statement or detail and extrapolate to fit her own purposes and it is this complex characterisation of a unique protagonist that stands out and her flaws and behavioural tendencies make her a difficult character to wholeheartedly feel sympathy for. That I still have questions ricocheting in my mind surrounding her reliability as a narrator is testament to Kavanagh’s excellent portrayal. At times Yasmin’s voice is self-deprecating and knowingly self-aware, reminiscent of a childhood spent largely in the company of adults, whilst at other times it is both disturbing and frankly pitiable, ensuring that Yasmin is sure to play on the hearts and minds of every reader. As the narration journeys from mundane domestic details, to outright deluded fantasy through to forward-thinking surrounding the likely police response of her information, readers will appreciate this multi-layered and nuanced persona. That the reader never feels wholeheartedly sure whether she is wilfully complicit in her unsettling starring role is just one of the many disconcerting aspects of this novel. Fascinating and memorable, the ending, despite feeling almost inevitable leaves a distinct sense of unease. Bold and disturbing, Tasha Kavanagh’s psychological character study of a teenager whose retreat into fantasy leaves her vulnerable and unprepared to navigate the dangers in an adult world will leave readers wondering whether Yasmin is really quite so innocent.
May 16, 2017
4.5 stars
This book is the very definition of a grower, which is why I'm actually editing my review, something I try to avoid because I believe my reviews should, as far as possible, try to represent my thoughts on the book once I'd finished it, at the point of reading. But this book...damn. This book has slain me and, although it's not necessarily one of those books that you close with a 'wow,' it's haunted me consistently since I finished it. I find myself thinking about it at random times during the day or night, desperate to know how the ending is going to play out. I think I can mostly attribute this to Kavanagh's phenomenal moulding of tone. This book mingles the tragic and the comic better than any novel I've ever read, managing to tear out your heart with small, un-showy scenes, such as Yasmin watching Alice's parents on television, or the big moments where Yamsin relives her father's death, with Yasmin's hilarious observations about her weight, the teen world, her family. It is at times horrifyingly disturbing, haunting, and complex. I still can't quite give this an unquestioning 5 stars because I would still have liked a little more development of the Man - Sam - that Yasmin sees watching the target of her obsession, Alice. But still:
(Don't click this spoiler. It's a proper spoiler, one of the last lines in the book, but I have to write it down because I've been swirling it around in my head for weeks ago.)
I mean, ouch. This is the best kind of disturbing, haunting mind screw - the kind that is so well-developed, so plausible, and so quietly shocking that it just burrows right under your skin, like a nightmare. It's not perfect, and part of me wishes I hadn't written this so you could go in as blind as I was, and be as surprised as I was - still am - but I had to. Sorry.
--
A highly compelling and addictive YA contemporary novel. This is my first "rushing to get to the end" read of 2015 (sadly), and it was my first one-sitting read in I don't know how long. Seriously - I can't remember how long it's been since I stayed up till 3 solely to read one novel, but this did it for me. It's true that this is one of those books - in part due to its very simple, taut plot, which nevertheless strung me along effectively and had me practically gasping to know how it was going to end - that it's better not to go into knowing too much.
Yasmin is a phenomenally detailed character - exactly the right amount of pitiful, despicable, yet there is something about her - perhaps I'm just far too much of a sap as lonely characters go. Her grief over her father's death and sense of never belonging in her 'new' family is deeply believable and well-drawn. I spent many of the early pages biting my nails for her, wishing she wouldn't be so weird so she could develop some real friends, and my stomach dropped one too many times even though she was digging herself into a hole with her own odd and obsessive behaviour.
She is also a diverse character - being significantly obese and half-Turkish, though I was a little put off by some of her verbal quirks, like the frequency with which she described her dietician's "Indian accent." It seemed to appear at least 2-3 times every single time she mentioned him. Probably meant to be a faucet of her bighly obsessive personality, but it grew wearing and slightly off-putting. Only a tiny thing, though.
This is also a great "realistic" contemporary. Obviously contemporary, by its very nature, is realistic - but with the amount of time Yasmin spent in class, what a big part school played in her life, and how well-plotted it seemed to be - her movement from family to school, her few hobbies which she circles between in the couple of weeks that the novel encompasses - this felt like one of the few YA novels I've ever read which could take place in the real world as it is. Just another small nitpick, though I don't know enough to say for sure: Yasmin is only fifteen. Yet, for most of her dealings with the police during the novel, she seemed to be perfectly content to be interviewed alone. I could understand it when she was at school but it seemed highly unlikely that she would be left alone during the later police interviews, though I could swear there are a couple where her mum isn't present (and a couple when she is). I didn't think minors could be interviewed by police alone, unless there was a solicitor present that Kavanagh didn't mention because it wasn't important.
To get to my gripes about the novel, I have to be slightly more spoiler-happy so, yeah, if you haven't read this but a dark YA contemporary about not one, but two, obsessive stalkers sounds like your jam, I recommend picking up this one without reading any further, though I'll try not to go into any specific plot details in order not to ruin this one for you.
The "mystery" is well-plotted but, ultimately, the intense speed of this novel lets it down. It feels like the big thing that happens to Alice happens far too early; there's simply not enough development for me, of any of the characters except Yasmin. Yasmin is superbly drawn and I kept waiting for Kavanagh to get into depth about the man with whom Yasmin becomes obsessed because she believes he is stalking Alice. It would be different if he was totally bland and banal, but I felt there was a deep sense of something more intriguing about him than Kavanagh ever let show. I think it also would've made the relationship between him and Yasmin seem more believable, as, although Yasmin is meant to be an obsessive stalker who will latch onto any sign of affection or interest because she's so lonely, it doesn't make for all that interesting reading when she seems to just be chasing someone with no real personality.
There was a great deal of potential and mystery - his mother's death, his strange move, the mystery of Amelia Bell - but none of it came to anything, which is not even hinted at until the very end and, even then, we don't find out anything about him. If it felt that we or Yasmin had even slightly scratched the surface of him, I think I would've found this novel more satisfying - if we had something to go on or get our teeth into rather than Yasmin's disproportionate level of interest. This is particularly disappointing as Kavanagh can tease an extraordinary amount of tension out of the smallest details in this novel - who is Mrs. E Caldwall? What will happen when Yasmin finally finds his house? - that it felt especially anticlimactic that she chose to leave the mysterious Sam a complete blank slate. It wasn't his mysteriousness I minded - in fact, it made for a deeply tense and thrilling reading experience - but rather the lack of development. I felt this book could've had an extra 50 pages and been even better than it was, which is rare for me and an incredible compliment to Kavanagh, as I have a pretty short attention span.
As a result the plot developments that happen seem a little too rushed or, well, not thought out enough sometimes. Yasmin's allegiance seems to shift too quickly and incomprehensibly. I was disappointed at the lack of presence Alice seemed to have in her mind, as I really thought this could've built to a classic of a mystery. Especially with that creepy knockout of an ending - I can honestly say this is one of the few YA contemporary books about which I would completely love, and devour, a sequel.
Even with my reservations, though, I can say that Kavanagh is a great new talent on the YA scene. More, please.
This book is the very definition of a grower, which is why I'm actually editing my review, something I try to avoid because I believe my reviews should, as far as possible, try to represent my thoughts on the book once I'd finished it, at the point of reading. But this book...damn. This book has slain me and, although it's not necessarily one of those books that you close with a 'wow,' it's haunted me consistently since I finished it. I find myself thinking about it at random times during the day or night, desperate to know how the ending is going to play out. I think I can mostly attribute this to Kavanagh's phenomenal moulding of tone. This book mingles the tragic and the comic better than any novel I've ever read, managing to tear out your heart with small, un-showy scenes, such as Yasmin watching Alice's parents on television, or the big moments where Yamsin relives her father's death, with Yasmin's hilarious observations about her weight, the teen world, her family. It is at times horrifyingly disturbing, haunting, and complex. I still can't quite give this an unquestioning 5 stars because I would still have liked a little more development of the Man - Sam - that Yasmin sees watching the target of her obsession, Alice. But still:
(Don't click this spoiler. It's a proper spoiler, one of the last lines in the book, but I have to write it down because I've been swirling it around in my head for weeks ago.)
I mean, ouch. This is the best kind of disturbing, haunting mind screw - the kind that is so well-developed, so plausible, and so quietly shocking that it just burrows right under your skin, like a nightmare. It's not perfect, and part of me wishes I hadn't written this so you could go in as blind as I was, and be as surprised as I was - still am - but I had to. Sorry.
--
A highly compelling and addictive YA contemporary novel. This is my first "rushing to get to the end" read of 2015 (sadly), and it was my first one-sitting read in I don't know how long. Seriously - I can't remember how long it's been since I stayed up till 3 solely to read one novel, but this did it for me. It's true that this is one of those books - in part due to its very simple, taut plot, which nevertheless strung me along effectively and had me practically gasping to know how it was going to end - that it's better not to go into knowing too much.
Yasmin is a phenomenally detailed character - exactly the right amount of pitiful, despicable, yet there is something about her - perhaps I'm just far too much of a sap as lonely characters go. Her grief over her father's death and sense of never belonging in her 'new' family is deeply believable and well-drawn. I spent many of the early pages biting my nails for her, wishing she wouldn't be so weird so she could develop some real friends, and my stomach dropped one too many times even though she was digging herself into a hole with her own odd and obsessive behaviour.
She is also a diverse character - being significantly obese and half-Turkish, though I was a little put off by some of her verbal quirks, like the frequency with which she described her dietician's "Indian accent." It seemed to appear at least 2-3 times every single time she mentioned him. Probably meant to be a faucet of her bighly obsessive personality, but it grew wearing and slightly off-putting. Only a tiny thing, though.
This is also a great "realistic" contemporary. Obviously contemporary, by its very nature, is realistic - but with the amount of time Yasmin spent in class, what a big part school played in her life, and how well-plotted it seemed to be - her movement from family to school, her few hobbies which she circles between in the couple of weeks that the novel encompasses - this felt like one of the few YA novels I've ever read which could take place in the real world as it is. Just another small nitpick, though I don't know enough to say for sure: Yasmin is only fifteen. Yet, for most of her dealings with the police during the novel, she seemed to be perfectly content to be interviewed alone. I could understand it when she was at school but it seemed highly unlikely that she would be left alone during the later police interviews, though I could swear there are a couple where her mum isn't present (and a couple when she is). I didn't think minors could be interviewed by police alone, unless there was a solicitor present that Kavanagh didn't mention because it wasn't important.
To get to my gripes about the novel, I have to be slightly more spoiler-happy so, yeah, if you haven't read this but a dark YA contemporary about not one, but two, obsessive stalkers sounds like your jam, I recommend picking up this one without reading any further, though I'll try not to go into any specific plot details in order not to ruin this one for you.
The "mystery" is well-plotted but, ultimately, the intense speed of this novel lets it down. It feels like the big thing that happens to Alice happens far too early; there's simply not enough development for me, of any of the characters except Yasmin. Yasmin is superbly drawn and I kept waiting for Kavanagh to get into depth about the man with whom Yasmin becomes obsessed because she believes he is stalking Alice. It would be different if he was totally bland and banal, but I felt there was a deep sense of something more intriguing about him than Kavanagh ever let show. I think it also would've made the relationship between him and Yasmin seem more believable, as, although Yasmin is meant to be an obsessive stalker who will latch onto any sign of affection or interest because she's so lonely, it doesn't make for all that interesting reading when she seems to just be chasing someone with no real personality.
There was a great deal of potential and mystery - his mother's death, his strange move, the mystery of Amelia Bell - but none of it came to anything, which is not even hinted at until the very end and, even then, we don't find out anything about him. If it felt that we or Yasmin had even slightly scratched the surface of him, I think I would've found this novel more satisfying - if we had something to go on or get our teeth into rather than Yasmin's disproportionate level of interest. This is particularly disappointing as Kavanagh can tease an extraordinary amount of tension out of the smallest details in this novel - who is Mrs. E Caldwall? What will happen when Yasmin finally finds his house? - that it felt especially anticlimactic that she chose to leave the mysterious Sam a complete blank slate. It wasn't his mysteriousness I minded - in fact, it made for a deeply tense and thrilling reading experience - but rather the lack of development. I felt this book could've had an extra 50 pages and been even better than it was, which is rare for me and an incredible compliment to Kavanagh, as I have a pretty short attention span.
As a result the plot developments that happen seem a little too rushed or, well, not thought out enough sometimes. Yasmin's allegiance seems to shift too quickly and incomprehensibly. I was disappointed at the lack of presence Alice seemed to have in her mind, as I really thought this could've built to a classic of a mystery. Especially with that creepy knockout of an ending - I can honestly say this is one of the few YA contemporary books about which I would completely love, and devour, a sequel.
Even with my reservations, though, I can say that Kavanagh is a great new talent on the YA scene. More, please.
March 25, 2015
First of all I read this in one sitting pretty much so beware of picking it up in your lunch hour or you may end up getting the sack. Highly addictive – the voice of the main protagonist, Yasmin, being so deliciously delightful whilst at the same time very tragically sympathetic, will mean you just simply HAVE to get to the end of her story.
Secondly I would caution against reading too many in depth reviews of this book once they start to appear (and they will, trust me) before reading it yourself. I’m going to tell you a little of the story but not much – I had no real clue going in where it was going to take me and I’m glad about that because it was purely exhilerating, sometimes sad and often very very insightful.
Yasmin tells the tale – she has an obsession and crush on the popular girl in school, Alice. Yasmin is overweight with emotional issues and not popular at all – in fact she suffers at the hands of her classmates regularly, Alice amongst them, this does not stop her adoring from afar. One day she spots something and after that everything starts to change and she finds herself on an unexpected path.
The novel is a darkly fascinating look into one damaged girl’s psyche, Yasmin’s thoughts and actions painting a sad yet realistic picture of a teenager with issues. What Tasha Kavanagh has done to my mind, is taken a realistic core, that of a girl coming of age in less than perfect circumstances, then put her in a rather odd situation that allows a deeper and more insightful exploration of all the issues these years can bring. Wrapped up in a highly compelling, truly excellent plot that will absolutely surprise you all the time, it is one of those stories that will leave you emotionally on edge – the final sentence is definitely going to come back to haunt me.
Beautifully written, you only ever hear from Yasmin, everything is seen through her eyes and her own sometimes skewed beliefs. She is an enigmatic, not always likeable but ever captivating person to follow along with, this is a true character piece in every sense of the word.
That’ll have to do you – apart from to say, this is Highly Recommended. One of the debut’s of the year so far for me, I shall talk about it more nearer publication. If you have a “must have” list for this year I really would like to suggest you consider putting this on it.
Excellent. Really really excellent.
Secondly I would caution against reading too many in depth reviews of this book once they start to appear (and they will, trust me) before reading it yourself. I’m going to tell you a little of the story but not much – I had no real clue going in where it was going to take me and I’m glad about that because it was purely exhilerating, sometimes sad and often very very insightful.
Yasmin tells the tale – she has an obsession and crush on the popular girl in school, Alice. Yasmin is overweight with emotional issues and not popular at all – in fact she suffers at the hands of her classmates regularly, Alice amongst them, this does not stop her adoring from afar. One day she spots something and after that everything starts to change and she finds herself on an unexpected path.
The novel is a darkly fascinating look into one damaged girl’s psyche, Yasmin’s thoughts and actions painting a sad yet realistic picture of a teenager with issues. What Tasha Kavanagh has done to my mind, is taken a realistic core, that of a girl coming of age in less than perfect circumstances, then put her in a rather odd situation that allows a deeper and more insightful exploration of all the issues these years can bring. Wrapped up in a highly compelling, truly excellent plot that will absolutely surprise you all the time, it is one of those stories that will leave you emotionally on edge – the final sentence is definitely going to come back to haunt me.
Beautifully written, you only ever hear from Yasmin, everything is seen through her eyes and her own sometimes skewed beliefs. She is an enigmatic, not always likeable but ever captivating person to follow along with, this is a true character piece in every sense of the word.
That’ll have to do you – apart from to say, this is Highly Recommended. One of the debut’s of the year so far for me, I shall talk about it more nearer publication. If you have a “must have” list for this year I really would like to suggest you consider putting this on it.
Excellent. Really really excellent.
Read
July 14, 2017I don't get it : I'm 99% sure that Things We Have in Common should have won me, but I can't ignore the intense boredom I'm feeling at the moment. Anyway, I'll probably come back to it someday, and will shake my head at old Anna Who DNFed It. Oh well. See you someday, Yasmin.
- DNF 35% -
- DNF 35% -
December 29, 2015
Things We Have in Common ends with a question = five one-syllable words wholly innocuous in themselves & utterly chilling in context. It was then I was aware that the truly scary books aren’t those that make us ask, “How could anyone have done that?” We ask instead, “Would I have done that?” Given the same circumstances, quite possibly. Yasmin is an obese child, bullied by her schoolmates - been there, done that, got the t-shirt (XL). Fortunately I’d not shared her bad family situation, fixated on a dad who died, whilst mum’s a homely type who works as a mystery shopper & is now married to Gary, an unsympathetic white-van-man. (I gather from the newspaper pundits that these white-van-men are an elite group whose electoral whims decide who rules England!) Yasmin’s got a pash on her classmate Alice, a popular talented artistic blonde=with-a-pony-tail who sometimes seems to befriend Yasmin but ignores her in public. Then comes the twist. Yasmin believes she observes a man stalking Alice. And then Alice goes missing.
Caregivers are familiar with this triangle: the victim, the abuser & the rescuer. The fascinating & dangerous thing about that triangle is that the personae can move about inside it. Victims sometimes identify with abusers (“Stockholm syndrome”), abusers with victims (the plot of every other story about a kidnapping you’ve ever read), even rescuers morph into abusers (Ride the Highsmith Country). Yasmin steps into the role of rescuer with skill of a Nancy Drew. The stalker is accompanied by a dog - a pet of course being a favourite alluring prop for paedophiles. Brilliantly & with almost incredible sang-froid, Yasmin uses the doggie to find the owner’s address & then goes there to find . . . Fortunately Things We Have in Common is a quick read, because when you gone this far you’ll not stop. One irony to reflect on was Yasmin’s failure to aid the police - if they had been more compassionate & understanding instead of abusive & threatening Yasmin might have been more helpful & the outcome different.
How many stars? Un-put-downable-one-time-quick read gets four stars from me but cannot-stop-thinking-about-it equals five. If you must sin, always err on the side of charity.
Caregivers are familiar with this triangle: the victim, the abuser & the rescuer. The fascinating & dangerous thing about that triangle is that the personae can move about inside it. Victims sometimes identify with abusers (“Stockholm syndrome”), abusers with victims (the plot of every other story about a kidnapping you’ve ever read), even rescuers morph into abusers (Ride the Highsmith Country). Yasmin steps into the role of rescuer with skill of a Nancy Drew. The stalker is accompanied by a dog - a pet of course being a favourite alluring prop for paedophiles. Brilliantly & with almost incredible sang-froid, Yasmin uses the doggie to find the owner’s address & then goes there to find . . . Fortunately Things We Have in Common is a quick read, because when you gone this far you’ll not stop. One irony to reflect on was Yasmin’s failure to aid the police - if they had been more compassionate & understanding instead of abusive & threatening Yasmin might have been more helpful & the outcome different.
How many stars? Un-put-downable-one-time-quick read gets four stars from me but cannot-stop-thinking-about-it equals five. If you must sin, always err on the side of charity.
April 3, 2017
Lonely and bullied, Yasmin has an obsession on another girl in her 15 year old school class. She plays a game with herself to count the seconds between looking at Amanda again. She notices everything that goes on in her life. While watching her one day at school she notices a man and his straggly dog. The man is staring at Amanda with eyes only on her. Yasmin believes by the way the man is looking at Amanda that he will try to take her. She tries to do everything she can to protect her.
This one is a whirlwind! Changing perspectives make you want to turn the pages. I read it largely in a day thinking about the story at work until I could go finish it at lunch. Keep your eyes away from spoiler reviews as they will definitely ruin this one.
This one is a whirlwind! Changing perspectives make you want to turn the pages. I read it largely in a day thinking about the story at work until I could go finish it at lunch. Keep your eyes away from spoiler reviews as they will definitely ruin this one.
February 18, 2017
Have you ever felt completely captivated by someone? I definitely have. I don't know what it is, but there are some people who will just snag my interest and for a little while, they are the center of my world. I think about them constantly. I've gone so far as to Facebook stalk them. I know I shouldn't, but for some reason, I get obsessed with them.
I don't know how many other people obsess over others. I feel like most people wouldn't admit it. It's embarrassing, personal, and unexplainable. This book follows a girl named Yasmin, who stalks another girl, Alice.
Yasmin was obsessed with Alice in a way I could understand, but her thoughts were so disturbing it felt like I was reading a horror book. Yasmin is an overweight fifteen-year-old, has no friends, is bullied at school, and is obsessed with beautiful, popular Alice. Yasmin goes so far as to follow Alice and pick up little things she leaves behind - like a hairband or a food wrapper. Seemingly harmless things.
I don't know when the last time was that I've come across such a complex, fascinating character as Yasmin. She was an unreliable narrator, hard not to pity, and so desperately lonely. She imagined scenarios where Alice was in trouble and needed her. One recurring fantasy was that Alice got kidnapped and Yasmin was the only one who knew where she was. In her fantasies, Yasmin is needed, loved, and always the heroine. In real life, her stepdad is constantly badgering her to lose weight and kids at school call her a "freak."
Then one day, Alice actually does go missing and Yasmin couldn't be more shocked. Could her disappearance have anything to do with Yasmin's fantasy of the man who's always watching Alice kidnapping her?
The author said this was her first adult novel, but it reads like a really dark, mature YA. The best thing about it was Yasmin's voice. Some of the things she imagined were so crazy, but her character was humanized. I could understand her longing for a friend when everyone found her despicable - even though her desperation got her in some scary situations.
An unnerving, thrilling contemporary. I couldn't stop reading.
I don't know how many other people obsess over others. I feel like most people wouldn't admit it. It's embarrassing, personal, and unexplainable. This book follows a girl named Yasmin, who stalks another girl, Alice.
Yasmin was obsessed with Alice in a way I could understand, but her thoughts were so disturbing it felt like I was reading a horror book. Yasmin is an overweight fifteen-year-old, has no friends, is bullied at school, and is obsessed with beautiful, popular Alice. Yasmin goes so far as to follow Alice and pick up little things she leaves behind - like a hairband or a food wrapper. Seemingly harmless things.
I don't know when the last time was that I've come across such a complex, fascinating character as Yasmin. She was an unreliable narrator, hard not to pity, and so desperately lonely. She imagined scenarios where Alice was in trouble and needed her. One recurring fantasy was that Alice got kidnapped and Yasmin was the only one who knew where she was. In her fantasies, Yasmin is needed, loved, and always the heroine. In real life, her stepdad is constantly badgering her to lose weight and kids at school call her a "freak."
Then one day, Alice actually does go missing and Yasmin couldn't be more shocked. Could her disappearance have anything to do with Yasmin's fantasy of the man who's always watching Alice kidnapping her?
The author said this was her first adult novel, but it reads like a really dark, mature YA. The best thing about it was Yasmin's voice. Some of the things she imagined were so crazy, but her character was humanized. I could understand her longing for a friend when everyone found her despicable - even though her desperation got her in some scary situations.
An unnerving, thrilling contemporary. I couldn't stop reading.
February 7, 2017
Yasmin is a teenager who is an outsider, even moreso now that her father is dead and her home isn't even a sanctuary. Her weight, always a struggle, has continued to increase, and she is bullied a lot at school. She plays out fantasies in her head, and saves scraps from a girl named Alice that she adores, until one day she notices a man near the school who she thinks is going to kidnap Alice. And then she thinks she'll be able to play the hero.
As I read it, I discovered a great empathy for Yasmin even as I started to question if I could trust her as a narrator. It gets darker, and hard to put down.
I received a review copy of this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
As I read it, I discovered a great empathy for Yasmin even as I started to question if I could trust her as a narrator. It gets darker, and hard to put down.
I received a review copy of this from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
August 15, 2020
Totally bananas and completely addictive!!!
I loved every second of this f*cked up story!
Much love to my GR chum Dita for a review that pushed me at this book.
I loved every second of this f*cked up story!
Much love to my GR chum Dita for a review that pushed me at this book.
June 9, 2018
Wow.
This was serious mindfuck. But in a good way. A very, very good way.
**Bigtime spoilers ahead**
Yasmin is our MC and narrator, giving it to us in second person, addressing the at that point unknown to us "you." (We figure out who she's referring to pretty quickly, tho.") We also figure out that Yasmin is a pretty sad character, friendless, overweight, picked on at school, with no sanctuary even at home. Her father died a couple years back and she now lives with her step father (who's both insensitive and rude in regards to her situation/weight) and her mother who's a pushover that does nothing about it.
I acted weird when dad died. It's difficult not to when the whole world around you feels weird. I remember forcing myself to join in the games in the playground and to laugh at things people said, but they could tell I was pretending. I used to catch Ella watching me whenever I said something or laughed at something, a funny expression on her face, and instantly my whole body would turn to cement and I'd stop whatever I was doing and stare at the ground. Then one day she didn't come and sit with me at lunch and that was it. That was the end of Ella being my friend. I didn't know it then, of course, but that was the end of anyone being my friend."
And if all that weren't enough, it also becomes evident that there's something not quite right with Yasmin. A wild imagination, prone to delusions, whispering to herself, things like that. She's clearly developed a very intense fixation on Alice, the prettiest girl in her class, and it crosses the line into obsession when we realize she's been collecting random items of Alice's. An old piece of foil wrapping from a candy, discarded hair elastics, some heart shaped item. She collects them, hoards them, takes them out and fondles them. She dreams up fantasies where Alice secretly actually likes Yasmin and wants to be her friend only her own friends won't allow her to. After one very small instance of kindness, she convinces herself that Alice reciprocates all her feelings and that they are basically in love with each other, and it's just her evil friends who are keeping them apart.
I remembered how her cheeks had turned the palest pink, how she'd said, "it's nothing, kay?" And I knew she'd never have given me a drawing if she didn't like me, that the only reason she wasn't being nice to me anymore was because she couldn't deal with her feelings. I knew it would be scary for her, realizing how she felt about me when everyone else hates me. I expect she was scared of being a lesbian, too, because people don't like lesbians, even tho being gay is supposed to be all equal rights these days.
It's all very obsessive and creepy, and it's hard as the reader to pick a feeling and stick to it. On the one side, we see how pathetically sad her situation is. She's lonely, friendless, suffers what is borderline emotional abuse at the hands of her stepfather, treated cruelly by the other kids. Time and time again her classmates hurl vicious and heartless comments, laughing at her, even spitting in her face. It's easy to see why she might retreat into her own little world of fantasies.
I kept thinking he was going to come up behind on his bike and grab me like before and breathe his nasty, hot words over me.
By the time we'd gotten to the mini roundabout on Cedar Lane, though, it was obvious he wasn't coming. The streets were empty. It was getting dark. I puffed on my inhaler. was glad he hadn't followed me, obviously, but it made me feel bad, too, because I thought why would he anyway? I'm just a fat blob no one cares about.
But on the other end, her delusions very quickly begin to affect her behavior and actions in a very serious way that as a result makes it very difficult for us to sympathize with her. When she catches sight of a stranger outside the school grounds staring at Alice in a predatory way, Yasmin becomes sure that this man is going to abduct Alice. Her hope is that he will not only kidnap her, but that she herself will have already followed and learned about him, so that when Alice finally is abducted, she can lead the police to him and be Alice's hero and savior, after which she will find it impossible to continue to deny her feelings, fall helplessly and gratefully into Yasmin's arms, & all their classmates will HAVE to accept them as the adorable lesbian couple that they now are. It's all very sad and pathetic, and I could hardly do more than shake my head at the absurdity of it all.
So when she once again spots the man watching Alice at another time, in a movie theater it all seems to be falling into place. She figures out where Samuel lives (as it turns out that he is called) and soon enough has figured out a way into his house, where she plays with his dog, stakes out the situation, etc etc. But VERY quickly things start to go awry-he gives her the slightest crumbs of attention & kindness and soon enough she's swooning over him like a total idiot.
I washed for ages in the bathroom, watching myself in the mirror. I was shaking because of what I'd just done-scared that I wouldn't be alright without Alice's things to look at and hold-but at the same time I knew it was the right thing to do. I mean, I couldn't go on fantasizing about me and Alice forever when she was never going to like me. It was a childish schoolgirl fantasy. I had to grow up sometime. And I told myself that now was the time to do it, because now I had something better than a fantasy. I had you, and I didn't have to just imagine conversations with you in my head because you talked to me for real.
You were my real friend."
It's at this point that it becomes clear how totally delusional and crazy she really is. Not only has she confabulated this entire storyline where this man is a pedophile murderer and herself the brave hero, but she has now willingly put herself into this perilous situation where she's alone in the home of this supposed murderer, and worst of all has convinced herself that he actuallylikes her. Dumb. But it's all a reflection of her foolish and bizarre thinking and behavior. She then insinuates herself into his life, more like FORCES, aligning herself with him due to their dead parents and shared love for Alice & Turkish delight, all the while never sharing with him her suspicions and leading him to believe she's just hanging around to help with his dog, or the decorating. He's pretty clearly put off by her, giving her no reason to think she's welcome, but she OBVIOUSLY doesn't see things clearly and comes up with these pathetic explanations for why he behaves the way he does when he attempts to get her to leave.
....and all of a sudden I realized why you'd said it. You'd said it to protect me, because of who you were, because you didn't want me getting mixed up with someone like you, because you knew you were no good. Because if you'd meant it, you'd have said, "I don't want to be friends with you," wouldn't you? Not the other way around. Not, you don't want to be friends with me. Not looking so sad. And I knew then that you did like me-that you cared. That you cared so much you were willing to lose me rather than put me in danger.
It's all so insane and ridiculous that I can't decide whether to feel sorry for her, or whether to hate her. I keep using the word pathetic, because that is quite literally thee perfect word for her behavior and her. It's all pathetic, she's pathetic, and it's really actually rather unlikeable more than pitiable, tho it is both. I personally sorta hated her, but I'm a heartless bitch when it comes to my MC's, especially when they're female. I'm a harder critic of my own sex, what can I say? Men can’t help it when they're apes or idiots. It's in their nature. Women, on the other hand. I expect more;);)
So when Alice is actually taken, it's no surprise, not to us, or to Yasmin. Except it actually sorta is. Yasmin is obviously not the most reliable narrator, so we are never really sure where the real world ends and her delusions begun, so when her suspicions come to fruition, everyone is surprised, even Yasmin herself. It's weird tho because Alice's disappearance quickly turns secondary, and Yasmin's substitutes one for another, now fixated on him instead. It's absolutely insane. The desperate way that she exaggerates his every little action, the fatuous idiotic way that she ignores his obvious attempts at turning her away. And while the search for Alice is going on around her, parents begging for tips, detectives questioning her, Yasmin is consumed instead with him. Growing elaborate fantasies where she helps him decorate and cooks for him and he asks her to move in. She has absolutely no basis in reality, is 100% removed from the real world. The more we read the more we see that she is certifiably insane. Having to continuously control herself from whispering to herself. Repeatedly ignoring the obvious and choosing instead to believe her own concoctions. And in the mean time, time is going by, Alice is no closer to being found, her step father Gary is being questioned and held under suspicion due to reasons that are entirely Yasmin's doing. And rather than concern herself with this, or her mother, who is falling apart over the whole ordeal, she's still entirely preoccupied with her obsession.
I wished I could talk to you. I wished I could pick up the phone and say, How are you? What are you doing? And did you see the news? I imagined you saying Yeah and how sad it was seeing Alice's parents and then asking me if I was okay because you'd guessed how seeing Alice's dad like that would have made me think about my dad. We'd talk about decorating your house again then, and I tell you my idea for the kitchen-shiny white cupboard doors with a black floor and red blind, with black and white checkered tiles and red accessories like jars and a kettle. I can feel you smiling at the other end of the phone, your eyes shining. Because secretly you think it's cute when I talk about the two of us decorating your house, even though you have to pretend it's not appropriate for us to be friends....
Obviously I couldn't phone you because I didn't have my phone or even your number. So I did a Vulcan mind meld with you instead. I closed my eyes and whispered the words over and over, thinking of you lying in that warm tangled bedding surrounded by pink flowers, your hair all messy and your shirt done up wrong, whispering with me...
Your mind to my mind
Your thoughts to my thoughts
Your mind to my mind
Your thoughts to my thoughts
It's absolute insanity. Yasmin lives in her own world, all alone. Just her. And in this world, everything is distorted, sometimes only slightly, sometimes monstrously. And the entire time, we know that Yasmin is holding this incriminating, potentially life saving (for Alice) piece of info, and all she has to do is open up her stupid mouth and TELL SOMEBODY, that she could save the life of this poor girl, this beautiful girl who once showed her a kindness when nobody else would and everybody else was too busy being nasty. But rather than having any real sense of right or wrong, any little bit of conscience or understanding of the weight of her actions, or non action, she is entirely preoccupied, skipping down the street, totally absorbed in trivialities like making Samuel a sandwich, whether or not she will help him decorate. It's gross, really, and by the end I really really hated Yasmin. I understand she is not well, that she's not right in the head and some of her behavior is not her fault, she's delusional, yah yah I get it, but there's also a certain lack of empathy that makes me wonder exactly how deep her illness goes. Is she a complete sociopath? Devoid of any concern over anyone other than herself. It really puts her in an unlikeable unsympathetic positions, and I found myself really really disliking her. And then the story ends, just like that, with basically no closure whatsoever, and I'm left open mouthed, wanting more. We have no definitive answers about where the future is taking Yasmin, or Samuel. We do get one big clue, but it's more verification than anything, when Yasmin finds the charred remains of Alice's notebook in Samuel's BBQ. It's really just a nail in the coffin, obviously we all suspected and assumed as much, but until now we weren't really sure, but once we are, once Yasmin is sure, then we're sure too. Because up until then there's still the possibility that it could all be wrong. After all, the only thing we have to go by is one random look on the street, and one movie that could be a coincidence. But with the sketchbook it's final, no going back, and any last remaining bit of doubt that Yasmin may have had is gone. And now, even more so, she has PROOF. Before all she had was ideas, it would've been possible that she could've told the police about her ideas and nothing would have come of them because all they were were the wild crazy conjectures of a delusional, fat, lonely teenage girl. But now she has proof, in her hands she holds the key to EVERYTHING. Whether it be finding Alice, if that were still possible, or else just finding out what happened to her, justice for Alice, justice for Samuel. Yasmin has that all, she's got all the power, and she does nothing.
I'm sure a lot of people will feel sorry for her and cop her actions to the fact that all the loneliness and emotional abuse led to a totally damaged psyche that was no longer able to decipher between reality and fantasy, between right and wrong. But I didn't feel that way, I think she was delusional but also selfish. She may have been abused but she was also flawed, even people who suffer at the hands of others have the ability to choose wrong. I'm probably just heartless, I'll admit it, I'm a harsh judge when it comes to my characters, I'm annoyed easily by the voice, & its an especially skilled writer who can write a character who's flawed and human, but still likable. In this case, that's not really what the author was going for...but even so, I think more will find it easy to pity Yasmin and feel sorry for her instead of writing her off as a delusional idiot asshole, like I did. Am I allowed to say that?! Probably makes me sound like the asshole, but I can't help myself!
In the end, that's what's so particularly amazing about this book. It was twisted, and crazy, frustrating at times, annoying, sad, dark, intense. So many things that aren't typically synonymous with GREAT! Or AWESOME! But that's what this book was. Ok so many levels, it was awesome. It creeped me out, frustrated me, it made me feel, and that's ALWAYS a good thing. It was so multi layered, multi faceted, and just...unique! I have never read anything quite like it, and while it was released under the label of regular adult fiction in the US, it was originally released as YA in the U.K., which I think suits it much better. It has that distinctive YA voice and whereas it might tackle some more mature issues, it reads like YA & I think the average teen can handle it. Maybe not so great for the delusional-off-in-their-own-world-creepers, but for teens 14+ and the rest of us, AOK. It's great, fresh, something new for everyone sick of reading about the same ol love triangle. Another unexpected gem for 2017!
This was serious mindfuck. But in a good way. A very, very good way.
**Bigtime spoilers ahead**
Yasmin is our MC and narrator, giving it to us in second person, addressing the at that point unknown to us "you." (We figure out who she's referring to pretty quickly, tho.") We also figure out that Yasmin is a pretty sad character, friendless, overweight, picked on at school, with no sanctuary even at home. Her father died a couple years back and she now lives with her step father (who's both insensitive and rude in regards to her situation/weight) and her mother who's a pushover that does nothing about it.
I acted weird when dad died. It's difficult not to when the whole world around you feels weird. I remember forcing myself to join in the games in the playground and to laugh at things people said, but they could tell I was pretending. I used to catch Ella watching me whenever I said something or laughed at something, a funny expression on her face, and instantly my whole body would turn to cement and I'd stop whatever I was doing and stare at the ground. Then one day she didn't come and sit with me at lunch and that was it. That was the end of Ella being my friend. I didn't know it then, of course, but that was the end of anyone being my friend."
And if all that weren't enough, it also becomes evident that there's something not quite right with Yasmin. A wild imagination, prone to delusions, whispering to herself, things like that. She's clearly developed a very intense fixation on Alice, the prettiest girl in her class, and it crosses the line into obsession when we realize she's been collecting random items of Alice's. An old piece of foil wrapping from a candy, discarded hair elastics, some heart shaped item. She collects them, hoards them, takes them out and fondles them. She dreams up fantasies where Alice secretly actually likes Yasmin and wants to be her friend only her own friends won't allow her to. After one very small instance of kindness, she convinces herself that Alice reciprocates all her feelings and that they are basically in love with each other, and it's just her evil friends who are keeping them apart.
I remembered how her cheeks had turned the palest pink, how she'd said, "it's nothing, kay?" And I knew she'd never have given me a drawing if she didn't like me, that the only reason she wasn't being nice to me anymore was because she couldn't deal with her feelings. I knew it would be scary for her, realizing how she felt about me when everyone else hates me. I expect she was scared of being a lesbian, too, because people don't like lesbians, even tho being gay is supposed to be all equal rights these days.
It's all very obsessive and creepy, and it's hard as the reader to pick a feeling and stick to it. On the one side, we see how pathetically sad her situation is. She's lonely, friendless, suffers what is borderline emotional abuse at the hands of her stepfather, treated cruelly by the other kids. Time and time again her classmates hurl vicious and heartless comments, laughing at her, even spitting in her face. It's easy to see why she might retreat into her own little world of fantasies.
I kept thinking he was going to come up behind on his bike and grab me like before and breathe his nasty, hot words over me.
By the time we'd gotten to the mini roundabout on Cedar Lane, though, it was obvious he wasn't coming. The streets were empty. It was getting dark. I puffed on my inhaler. was glad he hadn't followed me, obviously, but it made me feel bad, too, because I thought why would he anyway? I'm just a fat blob no one cares about.
But on the other end, her delusions very quickly begin to affect her behavior and actions in a very serious way that as a result makes it very difficult for us to sympathize with her. When she catches sight of a stranger outside the school grounds staring at Alice in a predatory way, Yasmin becomes sure that this man is going to abduct Alice. Her hope is that he will not only kidnap her, but that she herself will have already followed and learned about him, so that when Alice finally is abducted, she can lead the police to him and be Alice's hero and savior, after which she will find it impossible to continue to deny her feelings, fall helplessly and gratefully into Yasmin's arms, & all their classmates will HAVE to accept them as the adorable lesbian couple that they now are. It's all very sad and pathetic, and I could hardly do more than shake my head at the absurdity of it all.
So when she once again spots the man watching Alice at another time, in a movie theater it all seems to be falling into place. She figures out where Samuel lives (as it turns out that he is called) and soon enough has figured out a way into his house, where she plays with his dog, stakes out the situation, etc etc. But VERY quickly things start to go awry-he gives her the slightest crumbs of attention & kindness and soon enough she's swooning over him like a total idiot.
I washed for ages in the bathroom, watching myself in the mirror. I was shaking because of what I'd just done-scared that I wouldn't be alright without Alice's things to look at and hold-but at the same time I knew it was the right thing to do. I mean, I couldn't go on fantasizing about me and Alice forever when she was never going to like me. It was a childish schoolgirl fantasy. I had to grow up sometime. And I told myself that now was the time to do it, because now I had something better than a fantasy. I had you, and I didn't have to just imagine conversations with you in my head because you talked to me for real.
You were my real friend."
It's at this point that it becomes clear how totally delusional and crazy she really is. Not only has she confabulated this entire storyline where this man is a pedophile murderer and herself the brave hero, but she has now willingly put herself into this perilous situation where she's alone in the home of this supposed murderer, and worst of all has convinced herself that he actuallylikes her. Dumb. But it's all a reflection of her foolish and bizarre thinking and behavior. She then insinuates herself into his life, more like FORCES, aligning herself with him due to their dead parents and shared love for Alice & Turkish delight, all the while never sharing with him her suspicions and leading him to believe she's just hanging around to help with his dog, or the decorating. He's pretty clearly put off by her, giving her no reason to think she's welcome, but she OBVIOUSLY doesn't see things clearly and comes up with these pathetic explanations for why he behaves the way he does when he attempts to get her to leave.
....and all of a sudden I realized why you'd said it. You'd said it to protect me, because of who you were, because you didn't want me getting mixed up with someone like you, because you knew you were no good. Because if you'd meant it, you'd have said, "I don't want to be friends with you," wouldn't you? Not the other way around. Not, you don't want to be friends with me. Not looking so sad. And I knew then that you did like me-that you cared. That you cared so much you were willing to lose me rather than put me in danger.
It's all so insane and ridiculous that I can't decide whether to feel sorry for her, or whether to hate her. I keep using the word pathetic, because that is quite literally thee perfect word for her behavior and her. It's all pathetic, she's pathetic, and it's really actually rather unlikeable more than pitiable, tho it is both. I personally sorta hated her, but I'm a heartless bitch when it comes to my MC's, especially when they're female. I'm a harder critic of my own sex, what can I say? Men can’t help it when they're apes or idiots. It's in their nature. Women, on the other hand. I expect more;);)
So when Alice is actually taken, it's no surprise, not to us, or to Yasmin. Except it actually sorta is. Yasmin is obviously not the most reliable narrator, so we are never really sure where the real world ends and her delusions begun, so when her suspicions come to fruition, everyone is surprised, even Yasmin herself. It's weird tho because Alice's disappearance quickly turns secondary, and Yasmin's substitutes one for another, now fixated on him instead. It's absolutely insane. The desperate way that she exaggerates his every little action, the fatuous idiotic way that she ignores his obvious attempts at turning her away. And while the search for Alice is going on around her, parents begging for tips, detectives questioning her, Yasmin is consumed instead with him. Growing elaborate fantasies where she helps him decorate and cooks for him and he asks her to move in. She has absolutely no basis in reality, is 100% removed from the real world. The more we read the more we see that she is certifiably insane. Having to continuously control herself from whispering to herself. Repeatedly ignoring the obvious and choosing instead to believe her own concoctions. And in the mean time, time is going by, Alice is no closer to being found, her step father Gary is being questioned and held under suspicion due to reasons that are entirely Yasmin's doing. And rather than concern herself with this, or her mother, who is falling apart over the whole ordeal, she's still entirely preoccupied with her obsession.
I wished I could talk to you. I wished I could pick up the phone and say, How are you? What are you doing? And did you see the news? I imagined you saying Yeah and how sad it was seeing Alice's parents and then asking me if I was okay because you'd guessed how seeing Alice's dad like that would have made me think about my dad. We'd talk about decorating your house again then, and I tell you my idea for the kitchen-shiny white cupboard doors with a black floor and red blind, with black and white checkered tiles and red accessories like jars and a kettle. I can feel you smiling at the other end of the phone, your eyes shining. Because secretly you think it's cute when I talk about the two of us decorating your house, even though you have to pretend it's not appropriate for us to be friends....
Obviously I couldn't phone you because I didn't have my phone or even your number. So I did a Vulcan mind meld with you instead. I closed my eyes and whispered the words over and over, thinking of you lying in that warm tangled bedding surrounded by pink flowers, your hair all messy and your shirt done up wrong, whispering with me...
Your mind to my mind
Your thoughts to my thoughts
Your mind to my mind
Your thoughts to my thoughts
It's absolute insanity. Yasmin lives in her own world, all alone. Just her. And in this world, everything is distorted, sometimes only slightly, sometimes monstrously. And the entire time, we know that Yasmin is holding this incriminating, potentially life saving (for Alice) piece of info, and all she has to do is open up her stupid mouth and TELL SOMEBODY, that she could save the life of this poor girl, this beautiful girl who once showed her a kindness when nobody else would and everybody else was too busy being nasty. But rather than having any real sense of right or wrong, any little bit of conscience or understanding of the weight of her actions, or non action, she is entirely preoccupied, skipping down the street, totally absorbed in trivialities like making Samuel a sandwich, whether or not she will help him decorate. It's gross, really, and by the end I really really hated Yasmin. I understand she is not well, that she's not right in the head and some of her behavior is not her fault, she's delusional, yah yah I get it, but there's also a certain lack of empathy that makes me wonder exactly how deep her illness goes. Is she a complete sociopath? Devoid of any concern over anyone other than herself. It really puts her in an unlikeable unsympathetic positions, and I found myself really really disliking her. And then the story ends, just like that, with basically no closure whatsoever, and I'm left open mouthed, wanting more. We have no definitive answers about where the future is taking Yasmin, or Samuel. We do get one big clue, but it's more verification than anything, when Yasmin finds the charred remains of Alice's notebook in Samuel's BBQ. It's really just a nail in the coffin, obviously we all suspected and assumed as much, but until now we weren't really sure, but once we are, once Yasmin is sure, then we're sure too. Because up until then there's still the possibility that it could all be wrong. After all, the only thing we have to go by is one random look on the street, and one movie that could be a coincidence. But with the sketchbook it's final, no going back, and any last remaining bit of doubt that Yasmin may have had is gone. And now, even more so, she has PROOF. Before all she had was ideas, it would've been possible that she could've told the police about her ideas and nothing would have come of them because all they were were the wild crazy conjectures of a delusional, fat, lonely teenage girl. But now she has proof, in her hands she holds the key to EVERYTHING. Whether it be finding Alice, if that were still possible, or else just finding out what happened to her, justice for Alice, justice for Samuel. Yasmin has that all, she's got all the power, and she does nothing.
I'm sure a lot of people will feel sorry for her and cop her actions to the fact that all the loneliness and emotional abuse led to a totally damaged psyche that was no longer able to decipher between reality and fantasy, between right and wrong. But I didn't feel that way, I think she was delusional but also selfish. She may have been abused but she was also flawed, even people who suffer at the hands of others have the ability to choose wrong. I'm probably just heartless, I'll admit it, I'm a harsh judge when it comes to my characters, I'm annoyed easily by the voice, & its an especially skilled writer who can write a character who's flawed and human, but still likable. In this case, that's not really what the author was going for...but even so, I think more will find it easy to pity Yasmin and feel sorry for her instead of writing her off as a delusional idiot asshole, like I did. Am I allowed to say that?! Probably makes me sound like the asshole, but I can't help myself!
In the end, that's what's so particularly amazing about this book. It was twisted, and crazy, frustrating at times, annoying, sad, dark, intense. So many things that aren't typically synonymous with GREAT! Or AWESOME! But that's what this book was. Ok so many levels, it was awesome. It creeped me out, frustrated me, it made me feel, and that's ALWAYS a good thing. It was so multi layered, multi faceted, and just...unique! I have never read anything quite like it, and while it was released under the label of regular adult fiction in the US, it was originally released as YA in the U.K., which I think suits it much better. It has that distinctive YA voice and whereas it might tackle some more mature issues, it reads like YA & I think the average teen can handle it. Maybe not so great for the delusional-off-in-their-own-world-creepers, but for teens 14+ and the rest of us, AOK. It's great, fresh, something new for everyone sick of reading about the same ol love triangle. Another unexpected gem for 2017!
February 7, 2017
All of my reviews can be found on www.novelgossip.com
2.5
When a blurb begins by telling me to be aware and that I won’t know what’s coming, I’m expecting it to knock me off of feet. That’s a pretty bold and lofty statement, right? To be fair I didn’t have everything completely sussed out, but by the time I was at the end of this book I was so ready to just be done reading that frankly, I didn’t care much anymore.
Initially I felt really bad for the protagonist, Yasmin. She’s a fifteen year old girl with a weight problem and no real friends. She’s a loner and a very odd duck, but she’s bullied and teased and that always pulls at my heartstrings. Soon enough, you realize that Yasmin has very obsessive thoughts and compulsions, she concocts wildly elaborate fantasies that were very disturbing. She’s overly obsessed with her classmate, Alice and she would be rambling and go off on these strange tangents that made my eyes glaze over. It was all just a bit too much for.
Her innermost thoughts and rantings make up a good portion of the first half of this book, then she notices a weird older man is also watching Alice and her obsession turns to him instead. She inserts herself into his life and things turn dark and creepy, fast. Normally for me that’s a good thing, but here? Not my cup of tea. I think the overall concept of the story wasn’t anything like I expected it to be and instead of being happily surprised by this, I was frustrated and annoyed by it. It made me feel unsettled and gross, like I needed a shower by the time I got to the ending.
I do want to give credit to Kavanagh’s writing though, she’s clearly talented, this book just wasn’t for me.
2.5
When a blurb begins by telling me to be aware and that I won’t know what’s coming, I’m expecting it to knock me off of feet. That’s a pretty bold and lofty statement, right? To be fair I didn’t have everything completely sussed out, but by the time I was at the end of this book I was so ready to just be done reading that frankly, I didn’t care much anymore.
Initially I felt really bad for the protagonist, Yasmin. She’s a fifteen year old girl with a weight problem and no real friends. She’s a loner and a very odd duck, but she’s bullied and teased and that always pulls at my heartstrings. Soon enough, you realize that Yasmin has very obsessive thoughts and compulsions, she concocts wildly elaborate fantasies that were very disturbing. She’s overly obsessed with her classmate, Alice and she would be rambling and go off on these strange tangents that made my eyes glaze over. It was all just a bit too much for.
Her innermost thoughts and rantings make up a good portion of the first half of this book, then she notices a weird older man is also watching Alice and her obsession turns to him instead. She inserts herself into his life and things turn dark and creepy, fast. Normally for me that’s a good thing, but here? Not my cup of tea. I think the overall concept of the story wasn’t anything like I expected it to be and instead of being happily surprised by this, I was frustrated and annoyed by it. It made me feel unsettled and gross, like I needed a shower by the time I got to the ending.
I do want to give credit to Kavanagh’s writing though, she’s clearly talented, this book just wasn’t for me.
March 22, 2016
Reading ‘Things we have in Common’ I was very briefly reminded of Megan Abbott’s ‘Dare Me’. Both feature teenage girls of school-age suddenly finding themselves at the centre of a mystery, but such is the difference in tone and setting between the two books, that the recognition was a whisper rather than a tug to my synapses. As while Megan Abbott’s book is full of young, good looking, ambitious women in their own cars and wrapped up in American cool and chic, ‘Things we have in Common’ is about going to get a lonesome dinner from the chip-shop, buying gifts from Poundland and the most romantic possible afternoon being a coffee and cake in the local John Lewis café. Chic it isn’t. Cool it isn’t. It’s aiming to be small and British and provincial and hitting every target.
Our protagonist (our heroine; our anti-heroine) is also a world away from ‘Dare Me’. Yasmin is extremely overweight, friendless, socially awkward, sexually confused and prone to living in a fantasy world. Her current obsession is with a pretty girl in her class called Alice. Alice though barely looks at her, but such is Yasmin’s all-consuming devotion that any slight interaction becomes magnified in her mind’s eye. One day she spots a random man staring intently at Alice and becomes absolutely convinced that he is going to kidnap her, and fantasises about how she will be the one who rescues Alice, and that Alice will love her forever and ever with gratitude. But then Alice actually does disappear and Yasmin finds herself at the centre of the police investigation.
We’re in the world of the unreliable narrator here with Yasmin putting the best possibly spin, or occasionally the worst possible spin, on everything that happens. It means there’s shifting sands constantly beneath the reader’s feet, as with everything filtered though Yasmin’s viewpoint who knows what the hell is really happened. The voice is brilliantly captured though, the voice is absolutely convincing as a confused and maladjusted teenage girl. She’s a narrator who manages to combine great darkness with hope and glee, making for a disturbing book which builds to a conclusion which is both chilling and yet strangely inevitable.
‘Things we have in Common’ is a lemon sweet of a book, tasty but oh so bitter, and almost guaranteed to make you purse your lips with its sharpness.
Our protagonist (our heroine; our anti-heroine) is also a world away from ‘Dare Me’. Yasmin is extremely overweight, friendless, socially awkward, sexually confused and prone to living in a fantasy world. Her current obsession is with a pretty girl in her class called Alice. Alice though barely looks at her, but such is Yasmin’s all-consuming devotion that any slight interaction becomes magnified in her mind’s eye. One day she spots a random man staring intently at Alice and becomes absolutely convinced that he is going to kidnap her, and fantasises about how she will be the one who rescues Alice, and that Alice will love her forever and ever with gratitude. But then Alice actually does disappear and Yasmin finds herself at the centre of the police investigation.
We’re in the world of the unreliable narrator here with Yasmin putting the best possibly spin, or occasionally the worst possible spin, on everything that happens. It means there’s shifting sands constantly beneath the reader’s feet, as with everything filtered though Yasmin’s viewpoint who knows what the hell is really happened. The voice is brilliantly captured though, the voice is absolutely convincing as a confused and maladjusted teenage girl. She’s a narrator who manages to combine great darkness with hope and glee, making for a disturbing book which builds to a conclusion which is both chilling and yet strangely inevitable.
‘Things we have in Common’ is a lemon sweet of a book, tasty but oh so bitter, and almost guaranteed to make you purse your lips with its sharpness.
November 12, 2019
This book has gripped me since I started it. I loved the narrative, and the 'voices' of the 2 main characters.
Yasmin is a grossly overweight teenager who isn't understand by her mother or strange stepfather and who tries to get away from the bullies at school by retreating into her fantasy world where she and popular schoolgirl Alice are an item. One day she spots a strange man (referred from then on in the book as "you") who seems to be watching Alice through the school gates. Yazmin's worst nightmare is soon realised when Alice is kidnapped and Yasmin believes she is the only one who knows who did it...
***SPOILER***
I liked the element of never knowing truly whether what Yasmin sees is real or fantasy - in fact is any of the story 'true' or all fabricated by Yasmin's overhyped imagination. Has she created this world to enhance her image of being the hero, or is there something more sinister?
I can't honestly say I understood the ending... but I think I get the jist of it and it was just what a pictured.
Yasmin is a grossly overweight teenager who isn't understand by her mother or strange stepfather and who tries to get away from the bullies at school by retreating into her fantasy world where she and popular schoolgirl Alice are an item. One day she spots a strange man (referred from then on in the book as "you") who seems to be watching Alice through the school gates. Yazmin's worst nightmare is soon realised when Alice is kidnapped and Yasmin believes she is the only one who knows who did it...
***SPOILER***
I liked the element of never knowing truly whether what Yasmin sees is real or fantasy - in fact is any of the story 'true' or all fabricated by Yasmin's overhyped imagination. Has she created this world to enhance her image of being the hero, or is there something more sinister?
I can't honestly say I understood the ending... but I think I get the jist of it and it was just what a pictured.
February 20, 2017
Creepy stalker man? Concerned teenager? For most of this book we are not sure who is what. I liked that. The story is narrated by the main character-fifteen year old Yasmin. It is her retelling of the time a girl from her high school went missing(a girl she happens to idolize). It is not what it seems and boy does it go in a direction that is unexpected. I don't want to give anymore details-read the book blurb -- if you like to be disturbed --read the book. Suffice to say, Tasha Kavanagh is an author that I will definitely want to read more from in the future. I will never look at Cadbury chocolate the same again.. good thing in the U.S. they don't sell Turkish Delight.
I highly recommend this to anyone who liked "You" by Caroline Kepnes.
Thank you to Net galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book and give an honest review.
I highly recommend this to anyone who liked "You" by Caroline Kepnes.
Thank you to Net galley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book and give an honest review.
February 27, 2017
Ugh, this one wasn't meant for me at all. I found THINGS dull, not the entertaining thriller I hoped it would be. That makes me sad.
Yasmin is an overweight teen (I hate that particular "f" word), who is obsessed with Alice. I'm still not clear whether she was obsessed because she was attracted to her or because of the old guy watching her...perhaps both? I didn't absorb most of this as I found myself zoning out through certain passages. And what actually happened to Alice? The ending was definitely abrupt & unexpected, but it sucked because it didn't provide answers.
I think the thing that threw me off the most was the writing. It was so poor; if I didn't know any better I'd assume this was narrated by a young child instead of a teenager. Yasmin's internal ramblings just added unnecessary pages & I don't care about Turkish Delights or being told every single thing she did. (Maybe I just really hate second-person POV...) Not only that, but so much focus was put on Yasmin's weight- she constantly put herself down, calling herself a cow & saying how nobody would like her. I understand being negative & having low self-esteem but she's already a terrible character & none of these thoughts are fixed by the end. I don't like how she thought these awful things of herself & nobody corrected her, moreover how she never corrected herself.
There were also several little phrases that pissed me off including: "like the gay he is," "he was black-really black," "don't you care about how you look? don't you want to be- attractive?" (asked by her own mother!) Her mother & stepdad Gary are wretched guardians & should have their parenting rights revoked immediately. The things they said/did about her being overweight without having compassion for Yasmin is disgusting.
I wish I could say I liked SOMETHING about this book. Nope. Good thing this was a fast kindle read because I would have hurled this book across the room real quick.
Yasmin is an overweight teen (I hate that particular "f" word), who is obsessed with Alice. I'm still not clear whether she was obsessed because she was attracted to her or because of the old guy watching her...perhaps both? I didn't absorb most of this as I found myself zoning out through certain passages. And what actually happened to Alice? The ending was definitely abrupt & unexpected, but it sucked because it didn't provide answers.
I think the thing that threw me off the most was the writing. It was so poor; if I didn't know any better I'd assume this was narrated by a young child instead of a teenager. Yasmin's internal ramblings just added unnecessary pages & I don't care about Turkish Delights or being told every single thing she did. (Maybe I just really hate second-person POV...) Not only that, but so much focus was put on Yasmin's weight- she constantly put herself down, calling herself a cow & saying how nobody would like her. I understand being negative & having low self-esteem but she's already a terrible character & none of these thoughts are fixed by the end. I don't like how she thought these awful things of herself & nobody corrected her, moreover how she never corrected herself.
There were also several little phrases that pissed me off including: "like the gay he is," "he was black-really black," "don't you care about how you look? don't you want to be- attractive?" (asked by her own mother!) Her mother & stepdad Gary are wretched guardians & should have their parenting rights revoked immediately. The things they said/did about her being overweight without having compassion for Yasmin is disgusting.
I wish I could say I liked SOMETHING about this book. Nope. Good thing this was a fast kindle read because I would have hurled this book across the room real quick.
January 19, 2016
This book provoked a strange reaction when I finished it. I needed a shower.. preferably in bleach with a brillo pad as I felt soiled and dirty and totally creeped out. If you are looking for a feelgood book then this is NOT for you. It's sad, creepy, gripping, compulsive, disturbing with a huge dose of an overweight vulnerable, naive and troubled teenager with obvious mental health, abandonment and obsessive issues. If you like that type of book, you will devour this one.
March 29, 2017
بین کتابهایی که تا امروز خوندم، به جرئت میگم هیچکدومشون اینطور من رو به چالش نکشیدن. و شاید رسا��ت این کتا�� همین بود؛ که بفهمم چقدر میتونم از پس قضاوت نکردن بربیام؟ چقدر میتونم شخصیت اول رو باوجود تمام رفتارهای احمقانه و عجیبش درک کنم؟ و حالا من بعد از پایان این کتاب، ته ذهنم دارم با خودم کلنجار میرم که چرا این کارو کرد؟ و بخودم جواب میدم که ساکت باش؛ حق نداری قضاوتش کنی!
راوی قصه، دختر پونزده ساله ایه به اسم "یَزمین" که اضافه وزن داره. در ده سالگی پدرش رو از دست داده و بعد از اون آرامشش رو در خوردن و خوردن مداوم پیدا کرده و حالا یه دختر چاق به حساب میاد. یزمین بعد از تراژدی ده سالگیش، تنها میشه و هیچ دوستی نداره. و این تنهایی رو با "نگاه کردن" پر میکنه؛ حواسش به همه هست بخصوص به آلیس، دختری که آرزوی دوستی با اون رو داره اما آلیس هیچوقت توجهی به دختر چاقی مثل یزمین نشون نمیده. یه روز طی همین نگاه کردن ها، یزمین متوجه مردی میشه که به آلیس خیره شده، که حواسش بهش هست. یزمین قوه ی تخیل قدرتمندی داره، و پیش خودش تصور میکنه که اون مرد میخواد آلیس رو بدزده و مدت ها با این تصورات شب و روزش رو سپری میکنه؛ و به این فکر میکنه که هروقت آلیس گم شد، میتونه به پلیس بگه که کی آلیس رو دزدیده، میتونه دختر شجاع و متفاوتی که درون اون ظاهر پنهان شده رو نشون بده و بالاخره دیده بشه و ناجی آلیس باشه... و میتونه درنهایت با آلیس دوست بشه.
قصه ی اصلی اینجا شروع میشه که یه روز آلیس واقعا گم میشه. و چالش اصلی داستان تازه از اینجا آغاز میشه؛ حالا که تصورات یزمین واقعی شدن، اون چه عکس العملی نشون میده؟
یزمین خیلی خوب خودش و احساساتش رو توصیف میکنه، اونقدر خوب که باوجود دشواری درک شخصیت یزمین، من متوجه بودم که توی دلش و ذهنش چی داره میگذره و چه جهنمی رو داره تحمل میکنه، و همراهش این درد رو حس کردم؛ اینکه پدرت رو از دست بدی و حتی نتونی باهاش خداحافظی کنی، اینکه با مادر و ناپدری زندگی کنی و بخاطر اضافه وزن براشون مایه ی خجالت باشی، اینکه هم کلاسیهات بخاطر وزنت مسخره ت کنن و هیچ دوستی نداشته باشی، و اینکه تنهای تنها باشی و حتی مادرت هم محبت و توجهی که احتیاج داری رو ازت دریغ کنه.
روایت داستان توسط یزمین یه مخاطب داره، و اون مخاطب کسی نیست جز مردی که یزمین معتقده قراره آلیس رو بدزده. و یه قسمت از جذابیت کتاب برای من برمیگشت به همین مخاطب داشتن روایت ها...
درست مثل آخرین رمانی که خوندم، این کتاب هم از کمبودها میگه؛ از کمبودهایی که جای خالیشون دردناکه و خود شخص باید راه پر کردن اون فضا رو پیدا کنه. و حقیقت تلخ ماجرا اینجاست که گاهی ما اونقدر غمگین و تنها و مستأصل میشیم که نمیتونیم به خوبی ببینیم و حواسمون نیست داریم جای خالی این نیاز رو با چی پر کنیم. و در آخر قسمت تلخ تر داستان برای کسی که داره از دور انتخاب های اون فرد رو میبینه اینه که یادش بیاره اگه خودش جای اون شخص بود، شاید حتی انتخاب های بدتری میکرد...
راوی قصه، دختر پونزده ساله ایه به اسم "یَزمین" که اضافه وزن داره. در ده سالگی پدرش رو از دست داده و بعد از اون آرامشش رو در خوردن و خوردن مداوم پیدا کرده و حالا یه دختر چاق به حساب میاد. یزمین بعد از تراژدی ده سالگیش، تنها میشه و هیچ دوستی نداره. و این تنهایی رو با "نگاه کردن" پر میکنه؛ حواسش به همه هست بخصوص به آلیس، دختری که آرزوی دوستی با اون رو داره اما آلیس هیچوقت توجهی به دختر چاقی مثل یزمین نشون نمیده. یه روز طی همین نگاه کردن ها، یزمین متوجه مردی میشه که به آلیس خیره شده، که حواسش بهش هست. یزمین قوه ی تخیل قدرتمندی داره، و پیش خودش تصور میکنه که اون مرد میخواد آلیس رو بدزده و مدت ها با این تصورات شب و روزش رو سپری میکنه؛ و به این فکر میکنه که هروقت آلیس گم شد، میتونه به پلیس بگه که کی آلیس رو دزدیده، میتونه دختر شجاع و متفاوتی که درون اون ظاهر پنهان شده رو نشون بده و بالاخره دیده بشه و ناجی آلیس باشه... و میتونه درنهایت با آلیس دوست بشه.
قصه ی اصلی اینجا شروع میشه که یه روز آلیس واقعا گم میشه. و چالش اصلی داستان تازه از اینجا آغاز میشه؛ حالا که تصورات یزمین واقعی شدن، اون چه عکس العملی نشون میده؟
One thing I absolutely hate is when people start talking about food when they think I’m unhappy or being too quiet. As if talking about food will cheer me up, like I’m a simple idiot or something.
یزمین خیلی خوب خودش و احساساتش رو توصیف میکنه، اونقدر خوب که باوجود دشواری درک شخصیت یزمین، من متوجه بودم که توی دلش و ذهنش چی داره میگذره و چه جهنمی رو داره تحمل میکنه، و همراهش این درد رو حس کردم؛ اینکه پدرت رو از دست بدی و حتی نتونی باهاش خداحافظی کنی، اینکه با مادر و ناپدری زندگی کنی و بخاطر اضافه وزن براشون مایه ی خجالت باشی، اینکه هم کلاسیهات بخاطر وزنت مسخره ت کنن و هیچ دوستی نداشته باشی، و اینکه تنهای تنها باشی و حتی مادرت هم محبت و توجهی که احتیاج داری رو ازت دریغ کنه.
روایت داستان توسط یزمین یه مخاطب داره، و اون مخاطب کسی نیست جز مردی که یزمین معتقده قراره آلیس رو بدزده. و یه قسمت از جذابیت کتاب برای من برمیگشت به همین مخاطب داشتن روایت ها...
درست مثل آخرین رمانی که خوندم، این کتاب هم از کمبودها میگه؛ از کمبودهایی که جای خالیشون دردناکه و خود شخص باید راه پر کردن اون فضا رو پیدا کنه. و حقیقت تلخ ماجرا اینجاست که گاهی ما اونقدر غمگین و تنها و مستأصل میشیم که نمیتونیم به خوبی ببینیم و حواسمون نیست داریم جای خالی این نیاز رو با چی پر کنیم. و در آخر قسمت تلخ تر داستان برای کسی که داره از دور انتخاب های اون فرد رو میبینه اینه که یادش بیاره اگه خودش جای اون شخص بود، شاید حتی انتخاب های بدتری میکرد...
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February 9, 2017Yasmin is a half-Turkish girl who is wholly-outcast in her school. It’s never stated why, exactly, but as readers, we kind of figure out right away she’s strange. The book, told through a perspective that sounds like second-person, is an address to a man she sees wandering around the school and whom Yasmin is convinced is going to kidnap the prettiest girl in her class. Yasmin believes that this will allow her to be a hero, when she’s able to say that she knows where the pretty girl has gone and who was responsible for taking her.
When the girl goes missing and Yasmin is suddenly thrust into the position of sharing what may or may not be true, she forges an odd, uncomfortable friendship with the man she believes is the criminal. Both of them are outcasts. Will Yasmin tell on her new companion? Will her new companion put his foot down and tell her enough is enough?
The book is a wild ride, and at times, it’s uncomfortable, but Yasmin’s voice is perfect. She’s a fat girl, and her parents are on her case constantly about her diet and exercise — to the point she sees a doctor whose advice she twists and uses in ways that aren’t about her dieting or exercising. Yasmin doesn’t care she’s fat and it’s evident from the beginning that her fatness isn’t why she’s an outcast. Kavanagh builds a fabulous look at the perceptions of fatness through showing how it’s far more about how others see a fat person than it is how a fat person sees themselves.
Buy this one if you love books like Lucy Christopher’s Stolen or Bryn Greenwood’s All The Ugly and Wonderful Things. Though it was published through an adult imprint in the US, it was published for teens in the UK; it’s a perfect crossover read.
from Buy Borrow Bypass: Fat Girls Have Stories, Too http://bookriot.com/2017/01/30/buy-bo...
When the girl goes missing and Yasmin is suddenly thrust into the position of sharing what may or may not be true, she forges an odd, uncomfortable friendship with the man she believes is the criminal. Both of them are outcasts. Will Yasmin tell on her new companion? Will her new companion put his foot down and tell her enough is enough?
The book is a wild ride, and at times, it’s uncomfortable, but Yasmin’s voice is perfect. She’s a fat girl, and her parents are on her case constantly about her diet and exercise — to the point she sees a doctor whose advice she twists and uses in ways that aren’t about her dieting or exercising. Yasmin doesn’t care she’s fat and it’s evident from the beginning that her fatness isn’t why she’s an outcast. Kavanagh builds a fabulous look at the perceptions of fatness through showing how it’s far more about how others see a fat person than it is how a fat person sees themselves.
Buy this one if you love books like Lucy Christopher’s Stolen or Bryn Greenwood’s All The Ugly and Wonderful Things. Though it was published through an adult imprint in the US, it was published for teens in the UK; it’s a perfect crossover read.
from Buy Borrow Bypass: Fat Girls Have Stories, Too http://bookriot.com/2017/01/30/buy-bo...
May 11, 2016
Fifteen year old Yasmin is obese and awkward and rather obsessed with pretty and popular classmate Alice. When she notices a man watching Alice from the woods Yasmin believes he will abduct the pretty girl and so she sets off to try and stop this from happening. This is a book about obsession, psychosis and teenage hormones. At first you sort of feel sorry for Yasmin but then as the novel progresses her behaviour and thoughts start to make you feel uncomfortable and you realise there's something not quite right. Nice twist at the end. Excellent read.
March 18, 2018
Not badly written or anything, but literally nothing about this book worked for me as a reader in the slightest.
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