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Past Tense
How do you live after death?
Julie Nolan is a pretty average girl with pretty average problems. She’s been in love with her best friend, Lorelei, ever since they met in grade three. Only Lorelei doesn’t know about it — she’s too busy trying to set Julie up with Henry, her ex, who Julie finds, in a word, vapid.
But life gets more complicated when Julie comes home to find her mother insisting that her heart is gone. Pretty soon it becomes Julie’s mom believes that she has died.
How is Julie supposed to navigate her first year of high school now, while she’s making midnight trips to the graveyard to cover her mother with dirt, lay flowers and make up eulogies? And why is Henry the only person Julie feels comfortable turning to? If she wants to get through this, Julie’s going to have to find the strength she never knew she had, and to learn how to listen to both her mom’s heart and her own.
295 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 10, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 26, 2018
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Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review!
Julie Nolan has been in love with her best friend Lorelei since the third grade. Unfortunately for Julie, Lorelei seems oblivious and is trying to set her up with her annoying ex boyfriend, Henry. Too make things even more interesting, Julie arrives home one day after school to find her mom frozen in place. When she asks her what's wrong, she tells her that she has no heartbeat and that she died. Now Julie needs to navigate grade 9, her feelings towards Lorelei and her 'dead' mother.
I honestly am not 100% sure how I feel about this book. In my opinion it was very slow and I wasn't connecting with any of the characters. Julie was very naive and I found her annoying for a lot of the story. But, I did like how her character developed in the end. Lorelei was manipulative and I hated her for being so mean and shallow towards Julie. Henry was by far my favourite character, he was very sweet and I like how much he cared about Julie. I really liked how the book was set in Toronto! The places talked about are 5 minutes from my house so it was cool to be able to picture everywhere they were!
Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review!
Julie Nolan has been in love with her best friend Lorelei since the third grade. Unfortunately for Julie, Lorelei seems oblivious and is trying to set her up with her annoying ex boyfriend, Henry. Too make things even more interesting, Julie arrives home one day after school to find her mom frozen in place. When she asks her what's wrong, she tells her that she has no heartbeat and that she died. Now Julie needs to navigate grade 9, her feelings towards Lorelei and her 'dead' mother.
I honestly am not 100% sure how I feel about this book. In my opinion it was very slow and I wasn't connecting with any of the characters. Julie was very naive and I found her annoying for a lot of the story. But, I did like how her character developed in the end. Lorelei was manipulative and I hated her for being so mean and shallow towards Julie. Henry was by far my favourite character, he was very sweet and I like how much he cared about Julie. I really liked how the book was set in Toronto! The places talked about are 5 minutes from my house so it was cool to be able to picture everywhere they were!
August 7, 2018
It took over a month, but I finally did it!
April 3, 2018
Julie Nolan is just another teenager who’s madly in love with her best friend, Lorelei. She’s obsessed with her and spends a lot of time hunting down the perfect opportunity to come out and profess her undying love. Once she does, she knows in her heart that Lorelei will reciprocate this love and they will live happily ever after. But Julie’s home life is getting in the way with her grand plans. Her mother, who just gave birth to Julie’s younger brother, has started to act strangely. Her mother has become meek and muted. At night she takes Julie to the graveyard, where she asks Julie to bury her and give a eulogy. She’s nothing like the vibrant, full-of-life person she once was. She’s convinced that she doesn’t have a heartbeat, that she isn’t breathing, that she’s dead.
At first Julie’s singular obsession with her best friend was a tad tedious. But do you remember when you were that age? A crush, or “being in love” would often demand all of your attention. Star Spider does a fabulous job of replicating the teenage experience, and manages to craft Julie into a three-dimensional character. Sure, she’s obsessed with her best friend, but she has other personality traits that she demonstrates and gets to develop over the course of the novel. She shows compassion for her teacher who she thinks is in love with her. She demonstrates maturity and a deep love and concern for her infant brother when her mother starts to act strange.
This brings me to the title. “Past Tense”. How clever! At the graveyard, Julie’s mother asks her to give a eulogy. She corrects her when she starts – saying that it has to be in past tense. “Past Tense” aptly describes all the themes in this book. Julie is evolving into a new person, and by the end, she’s nothing like the person she was in the beginning of the book.
As the novel progresses, Julie starts to develop more self-awareness. There’s an event that’s a turning point for Julie, but her evolution is gradual and beautifully conceived. Julie becomes able to evaluate her relationship with her best friend. She develops a friendship with a boy in her school, Henry. It’s refreshing to see that her new relationship isn’t insta-love, like what she had with Lorelei. Julie has grown and evolved into a person who can see beyond looks and superficial charm, and she develops a true connection at a deeper level. This self-realization is also demonstrated in her relationship with her mother. While giving the eulogy for her mother, she says that her mother was “wonderful”. Julie ruminates over this term, the shallowness of it, and how she should be able to probe deeper. If nothing else, when Julie’s mother truly does die, Julie will be able to give a fabulous eulogy.
Julie’s relationship with her mother is fascinating. From the beginning of the book, her mom is already suffering from some sort of mental illness, yet we know that Julie and her mother were very close before the events of this book begin. Instead of just telling us that they were close, Star Spider demonstrates this with absolutely heart-wrenching little anecdotes at the beginning of each chapter. They’re short, yet powerfully demonstrative of the relationship they once had. In the past, her mother was dynamic and full of life and absolutely attentive to her daughter, which makes it even more painfully obvious that she’s suffering in the present.
I particularly loved the parallels between the two prominent plotlines in this story. The storyline of her best friend and what’s going on with her mother intersects quite beautifully with a life lesson that we all should learn.
This is a fast-paced, easy-to-read book recommended to young adults (and adults!) of all ages. While it deals with some intense themes, the book itself isn’t too dark. The end is uplifting, which makes all the feelings that you had while reading worthwhile.
5 stars
*I received a copy of this ARC from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.*
Visit my blog to find my other book reviews: https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/...
At first Julie’s singular obsession with her best friend was a tad tedious. But do you remember when you were that age? A crush, or “being in love” would often demand all of your attention. Star Spider does a fabulous job of replicating the teenage experience, and manages to craft Julie into a three-dimensional character. Sure, she’s obsessed with her best friend, but she has other personality traits that she demonstrates and gets to develop over the course of the novel. She shows compassion for her teacher who she thinks is in love with her. She demonstrates maturity and a deep love and concern for her infant brother when her mother starts to act strange.
This brings me to the title. “Past Tense”. How clever! At the graveyard, Julie’s mother asks her to give a eulogy. She corrects her when she starts – saying that it has to be in past tense. “Past Tense” aptly describes all the themes in this book. Julie is evolving into a new person, and by the end, she’s nothing like the person she was in the beginning of the book.
As the novel progresses, Julie starts to develop more self-awareness. There’s an event that’s a turning point for Julie, but her evolution is gradual and beautifully conceived. Julie becomes able to evaluate her relationship with her best friend. She develops a friendship with a boy in her school, Henry. It’s refreshing to see that her new relationship isn’t insta-love, like what she had with Lorelei. Julie has grown and evolved into a person who can see beyond looks and superficial charm, and she develops a true connection at a deeper level. This self-realization is also demonstrated in her relationship with her mother. While giving the eulogy for her mother, she says that her mother was “wonderful”. Julie ruminates over this term, the shallowness of it, and how she should be able to probe deeper. If nothing else, when Julie’s mother truly does die, Julie will be able to give a fabulous eulogy.
Julie’s relationship with her mother is fascinating. From the beginning of the book, her mom is already suffering from some sort of mental illness, yet we know that Julie and her mother were very close before the events of this book begin. Instead of just telling us that they were close, Star Spider demonstrates this with absolutely heart-wrenching little anecdotes at the beginning of each chapter. They’re short, yet powerfully demonstrative of the relationship they once had. In the past, her mother was dynamic and full of life and absolutely attentive to her daughter, which makes it even more painfully obvious that she’s suffering in the present.
I particularly loved the parallels between the two prominent plotlines in this story. The storyline of her best friend and what’s going on with her mother intersects quite beautifully with a life lesson that we all should learn.
This is a fast-paced, easy-to-read book recommended to young adults (and adults!) of all ages. While it deals with some intense themes, the book itself isn’t too dark. The end is uplifting, which makes all the feelings that you had while reading worthwhile.
5 stars
*I received a copy of this ARC from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest review.*
Visit my blog to find my other book reviews: https://powerlibrarian.wordpress.com/...
January 20, 2018
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book and chose to review it. This in no way impacts my opinion.
Actual Rating: 4.5*
Full review to come in September as part of We Can(ada) Read on Books and Ladders!
Actual Rating: 4.5*
Full review to come in September as part of We Can(ada) Read on Books and Ladders!
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June 13, 2018Can't review here - stay tuned to School Library Journal for my review!
April 1, 2018
With an authentic teenage voice, I fell into PAST TENSE immediately. A smooth read filled with the intense crushes that consume us in our teens, I got caught up in Julie's crush on her best friend, Lorelei. But things are never easy and the complicated nature of female friendship came into play, and all the while, Julie's mother is in the midst of some sort of breakdown.
I can see why Star Spider's writing has been long listed for prizes, as this was an engaging story with rising tension towards the end. I thoroughly enjoyed PAST TENSE and would highly recommend it, especially for Canadian readers familiar with Toronto, as it's always awesome to recognize locations.
Big thanks to HarperCollins Canada and Frenzy for an ARC!
I can see why Star Spider's writing has been long listed for prizes, as this was an engaging story with rising tension towards the end. I thoroughly enjoyed PAST TENSE and would highly recommend it, especially for Canadian readers familiar with Toronto, as it's always awesome to recognize locations.
Big thanks to HarperCollins Canada and Frenzy for an ARC!
September 10, 2018
Ninth-grader Julie is dealing with pretty average teenage problems (in love with her best friend, you know how it is) but one day she finds her mom standing stock-still by the sink, hands resting in freezing dishwater, saying that her heart is gone. As Julie reels from this admission and her mom’s strange detachment in the coming weeks, she struggles to find a way to get her mom back to normal while keeping her condition secret from everyone else. But high school brings more drama, and Julie’s secrets are threatening to overwhelm her.
So weird and cool, right?
I found the storyline involving her mother really impressive and so original. We don’t get to meet the mom beforehand, only after she believes she has died, but she’s still such an interesting character. It perhaps didn’t have to do so much with who she is, though firefighter extraordinaire is nothing to scoff at, but in the ways that the subtleness of her silence and disinterest can have such an impact on Julie. It starts to break Julie, having her main confidant suddenly absent in her life. Her growing stress as her secrets pile up and the pain of being abandoned by her mother come across so strongly on the page that I could easily empathize with her.
My main problem was with the MC’s age. Her behaviour with her best friend (as well as her best friend’s behaviour) at the beginning of the book seems so young and immature! I know ninth graders aren’t the beacons of maturity but these girls come across more like seventh graders fresh out of elementary. It does get better as the book goes on, and there are some shining moments that are right on the mark for freshmen, but it isn’t consistent throughout. I think the characters could’ve easily been in seventh grade without too much change to the storyline and it would’ve been very believable. For that reason, it took me longer to like Julie because she sounds so young but again, the emotional connection the author draws out makes up for this.
There are some awkward discussions among the characters, like those surrounding sexuality and religion, which feel like they leave a bit to be desired in terms of offering strong representation but they do read as a likely teenage conversation and all the confusion and beliefs they wade through before coming to a conclusion. One thing that rubbed me the wrong way was how Julie always refers to her mother, currently on maternity leave, as a past-tense firefighter, like her time off somehow ended her career. However, this was also solely from a teenager’s perspective so I feel like it was again in line with how they may think about the situation, though it would’ve been nice to get another voice on the matter.
Some plot points may have been a bit predictable but I honestly found that it flowed really well. There are some points that seem unsuited to the overall story but they are obscure enough that it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book. It’s an unusual premise but one that’s handled with emotional grace. I think I would’ve preferred if the whole story had focused on the mother rather than all the intersecting plots, but even with a reduced part she manages to steal the show and the book is better for it.
So weird and cool, right?
I found the storyline involving her mother really impressive and so original. We don’t get to meet the mom beforehand, only after she believes she has died, but she’s still such an interesting character. It perhaps didn’t have to do so much with who she is, though firefighter extraordinaire is nothing to scoff at, but in the ways that the subtleness of her silence and disinterest can have such an impact on Julie. It starts to break Julie, having her main confidant suddenly absent in her life. Her growing stress as her secrets pile up and the pain of being abandoned by her mother come across so strongly on the page that I could easily empathize with her.
My main problem was with the MC’s age. Her behaviour with her best friend (as well as her best friend’s behaviour) at the beginning of the book seems so young and immature! I know ninth graders aren’t the beacons of maturity but these girls come across more like seventh graders fresh out of elementary. It does get better as the book goes on, and there are some shining moments that are right on the mark for freshmen, but it isn’t consistent throughout. I think the characters could’ve easily been in seventh grade without too much change to the storyline and it would’ve been very believable. For that reason, it took me longer to like Julie because she sounds so young but again, the emotional connection the author draws out makes up for this.
There are some awkward discussions among the characters, like those surrounding sexuality and religion, which feel like they leave a bit to be desired in terms of offering strong representation but they do read as a likely teenage conversation and all the confusion and beliefs they wade through before coming to a conclusion. One thing that rubbed me the wrong way was how Julie always refers to her mother, currently on maternity leave, as a past-tense firefighter, like her time off somehow ended her career. However, this was also solely from a teenager’s perspective so I feel like it was again in line with how they may think about the situation, though it would’ve been nice to get another voice on the matter.
Some plot points may have been a bit predictable but I honestly found that it flowed really well. There are some points that seem unsuited to the overall story but they are obscure enough that it didn’t affect my enjoyment of the book. It’s an unusual premise but one that’s handled with emotional grace. I think I would’ve preferred if the whole story had focused on the mother rather than all the intersecting plots, but even with a reduced part she manages to steal the show and the book is better for it.
May 4, 2018
This book could have been a lot better. It wasn't terrible, but it made me uncomfortable and frustrated, and not in the right ways.
The main marketing hook for the book is 'how do you live after death' which feels awkward, since it's not about the main character. I totally get that it's catchy, but I hate feeling lied to in this way. I was intrigued by the concept of the book - a girl's mom thinks she's dead - but the way it was carried out didn't live up to the hype.
Julie is fifteen, and her mom suddenly goes cold one day and says she can't feel her heartbeat and she thinks she's dead. She sleeps under a sheet on a table, is often sitting staring at her hands, drives to the graveyard every night getting Julie to say eulogies, buys a coffin, etc. At first I thought this was postpartum depression, since she has a six-month-old son. And I thought that would be a super interesting thing to read about - a teen whose mom has postpartum. But nope. And the real reason isn't revealed until the absolute very end and it's kind of just a shrug. Julie spends the entire book worried about her mom, stressed because she promised she wouldn't tell her dad (who is so tired that he doesn't even notice what's wrong), and taking care of her baby brother who is often neglected (which never felt as serious as it should've). So for that to end with a snap of fingers was unrealistic and disappointing. The way mental illness was down-played in this book was unfortunate - it could have been a lot stronger, and I felt offended at times that it was used as a quirky catch rather than a way of looking at a serious issue. I fully understand that most people don't deal with mental illness properly, but this just felt so off to me.
The other tension of the book is that Julie is in love with her best friend Lorelai, who is trying to set Julie up with her ex Henry. Lorelai is unbelievable as a character - I couldn't take this person seriously the entire time, nor was it ever really explained why Julie was in love with her. Julie just mooned over her all the time, mostly because she wanted to kiss her and felt brighter around her. Okay, I get teen hormones. But Lorelai constantly and obviously lies and deceives Julie, which Julie can't see. That's fine... but the way that Lorelai is described, all 'oh dahling' and teasing and pastor's daughter bad girl, felt lazy and cliche. Julie realizing she may like Henry was fine and interesting, though I can see that upsetting readers, but I didn't mind that. Henry was a much more solid side character. But at the end it gets weird. Julie and Henry find Julie's mom lying in a coffin in the basement, which seriously terrifies Julie. But once Julie finally gets her dad to help, suddenly the coffin is a place for the teens to finally make out??? This made zero sense, as Julie had JUST been terrified of her surroundings, is experiencing the release of a lot of tension, and was so uncomfortable by the mere sight of the coffin. Sigh. Shrug.
Overall, I thought the writing of the book was fine stylistically, but the reasons and directions were really confusing and disappointing. I am assuming I'm taking everything the opposite way from which it was intended, but I can't deny how uncomfortable all of this made me.
The main marketing hook for the book is 'how do you live after death' which feels awkward, since it's not about the main character. I totally get that it's catchy, but I hate feeling lied to in this way. I was intrigued by the concept of the book - a girl's mom thinks she's dead - but the way it was carried out didn't live up to the hype.
Julie is fifteen, and her mom suddenly goes cold one day and says she can't feel her heartbeat and she thinks she's dead. She sleeps under a sheet on a table, is often sitting staring at her hands, drives to the graveyard every night getting Julie to say eulogies, buys a coffin, etc. At first I thought this was postpartum depression, since she has a six-month-old son. And I thought that would be a super interesting thing to read about - a teen whose mom has postpartum. But nope. And the real reason isn't revealed until the absolute very end and it's kind of just a shrug. Julie spends the entire book worried about her mom, stressed because she promised she wouldn't tell her dad (who is so tired that he doesn't even notice what's wrong), and taking care of her baby brother who is often neglected (which never felt as serious as it should've). So for that to end with a snap of fingers was unrealistic and disappointing. The way mental illness was down-played in this book was unfortunate - it could have been a lot stronger, and I felt offended at times that it was used as a quirky catch rather than a way of looking at a serious issue. I fully understand that most people don't deal with mental illness properly, but this just felt so off to me.
The other tension of the book is that Julie is in love with her best friend Lorelai, who is trying to set Julie up with her ex Henry. Lorelai is unbelievable as a character - I couldn't take this person seriously the entire time, nor was it ever really explained why Julie was in love with her. Julie just mooned over her all the time, mostly because she wanted to kiss her and felt brighter around her. Okay, I get teen hormones. But Lorelai constantly and obviously lies and deceives Julie, which Julie can't see. That's fine... but the way that Lorelai is described, all 'oh dahling' and teasing and pastor's daughter bad girl, felt lazy and cliche. Julie realizing she may like Henry was fine and interesting, though I can see that upsetting readers, but I didn't mind that. Henry was a much more solid side character. But at the end it gets weird. Julie and Henry find Julie's mom lying in a coffin in the basement, which seriously terrifies Julie. But once Julie finally gets her dad to help, suddenly the coffin is a place for the teens to finally make out??? This made zero sense, as Julie had JUST been terrified of her surroundings, is experiencing the release of a lot of tension, and was so uncomfortable by the mere sight of the coffin. Sigh. Shrug.
Overall, I thought the writing of the book was fine stylistically, but the reasons and directions were really confusing and disappointing. I am assuming I'm taking everything the opposite way from which it was intended, but I can't deny how uncomfortable all of this made me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 16, 2018
Goodreads Synopsis:
How do you live after death?
Julie Nolan is a pretty average girl with pretty average problems. She’s been in love with her best friend, Lorelei, ever since they met in grade three. Only Lorelei doesn’t know about it — she’s too busy trying to set Julie up with Henry, her ex, who Julie finds, in a word, vapid.
But life gets more complicated when Julie comes home to find her mother insisting that her heart is gone. Pretty soon it becomes clear: Julie’s mom believes that she has died.
How is Julie supposed to navigate her first year of high school now, while she’s making midnight trips to the graveyard to cover her mother with dirt, lay flowers and make up eulogies? And why is Henry the only person Julie feels comfortable turning to? If she wants to get through this, Julie’s going to have to find the strength she never knew she had, and to learn how to listen to both her mom’s heart and her own.
My Review:
The description really drew me to this book, It seemed so different than anything else I've read lately. Although only in grade nine, Julie (sometimes pronounced Jewel-ie) knows she's in love with her best friend Lorelei. She tried once to call her parents by their first names, but that just ended with her mom crying and her reverting back to calling them mom and dad. They live in modern day Toronto here in the regular world.
Though this book isn't supernatural or anything, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. In fact, I thought it was a well needed break from those other books. Julie's worried Lorelei is too cool for her, too pretty and too good to date her, so she never tries anything. Then one day her world is rocked in a pretty unusual way. She comes home to find her infant brother JC (James Christopher) screaming his head off. After changing him and entertaining him a little, she's almost certain they're home alone, until she finds their mother standing completely still in the kitchen, unresponsive. Finally after cleaning her up she gets an answer out of her, that her heart is missing. This begins the longest part of Julie's life so far.
Overall I really liked this book. Although the characters are a lot younger than I am, I never felt like I was too old to be reading it. Julie deals with something terrifying, but still is able to deal with it despite her life falling apart around her. It's a really good read, and I'm glad I got the chance to read it. Definitely check it out if you get the chance.
Here's the link to the book on Amazon, and another link to the author's Twitter.
https://www.amazon.ca/Past-Tense-Nove...
https://twitter.com/MusingStar
Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)
How do you live after death?
Julie Nolan is a pretty average girl with pretty average problems. She’s been in love with her best friend, Lorelei, ever since they met in grade three. Only Lorelei doesn’t know about it — she’s too busy trying to set Julie up with Henry, her ex, who Julie finds, in a word, vapid.
But life gets more complicated when Julie comes home to find her mother insisting that her heart is gone. Pretty soon it becomes clear: Julie’s mom believes that she has died.
How is Julie supposed to navigate her first year of high school now, while she’s making midnight trips to the graveyard to cover her mother with dirt, lay flowers and make up eulogies? And why is Henry the only person Julie feels comfortable turning to? If she wants to get through this, Julie’s going to have to find the strength she never knew she had, and to learn how to listen to both her mom’s heart and her own.
My Review:
The description really drew me to this book, It seemed so different than anything else I've read lately. Although only in grade nine, Julie (sometimes pronounced Jewel-ie) knows she's in love with her best friend Lorelei. She tried once to call her parents by their first names, but that just ended with her mom crying and her reverting back to calling them mom and dad. They live in modern day Toronto here in the regular world.
Though this book isn't supernatural or anything, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. In fact, I thought it was a well needed break from those other books. Julie's worried Lorelei is too cool for her, too pretty and too good to date her, so she never tries anything. Then one day her world is rocked in a pretty unusual way. She comes home to find her infant brother JC (James Christopher) screaming his head off. After changing him and entertaining him a little, she's almost certain they're home alone, until she finds their mother standing completely still in the kitchen, unresponsive. Finally after cleaning her up she gets an answer out of her, that her heart is missing. This begins the longest part of Julie's life so far.
Overall I really liked this book. Although the characters are a lot younger than I am, I never felt like I was too old to be reading it. Julie deals with something terrifying, but still is able to deal with it despite her life falling apart around her. It's a really good read, and I'm glad I got the chance to read it. Definitely check it out if you get the chance.
Here's the link to the book on Amazon, and another link to the author's Twitter.
https://www.amazon.ca/Past-Tense-Nove...
https://twitter.com/MusingStar
Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)
April 16, 2018
3.5
Huge thank you to Harper Collins Canada for this ARC!
I wasn't sure how I was going to feel when Past Tense showed up in my mailbox. It looked like a story that was going to play with my heartstrings, though I admit, it took me awhile to get into.
Our heroine Julie is in love with her bestfriend Lorelei, and her mother has a rare disease, where she insists that she is, in fact, has died. Not dying, has already died, how weird and different is that? I will say, that aspect of the story was what drew me to the book in the first place -- the idea that someone believes they have already died... I admit, I wondered what that would be like to read about. Julie has it truly difficult given she is trying to understand her own sexuality, on top of now having to work with her mother to try and make her see, that she hasn't died at all.
I will say, this book was slow going at first. Julie is a challenging character to connect with, although she did grow on me as the story went on. In a lot of ways, what I liked about the story is we are seeing Julie being forced into adulthood a lot quicker than she'd like, and this aspect is done well. You can see the cogs turning in her mind, trying to understand and cope with all her newfound feelings and anxiety, and I liked that about the book. I also liked how she grows throughout the story, especially when dealing with her mother.
That being said, I was a bit uncomfortable with the Lorelei plotline. Not so much in Julie's interest, which I thought were great, but there were some decisions in how Lorelei's story developed that made me cringe a bit. I like how Julie deals with this situation, but I feel like the way this situation was handle hit a few of my trigger points. I also just didn't like her as a character, and I felt how she treated Julie and her feelings to just be manipulative, shallow and utter deplorable to say the least. I liked Henry, though much like Julie, he has a slow burn for growth, and in his situation, it actually works super well.
Overall, I did really enjoy Past Tense and I think it's worth checking out. While I loved the aspects of sexuality identity and exploration, there are parts of this book that just didn't work for me. There's a lot of great messages in this book and many of the characters do see some excellent growth, it's just a shame that other characters come across much more one dimensional than I'd like.
Huge thank you to Harper Collins Canada for this ARC!
I wasn't sure how I was going to feel when Past Tense showed up in my mailbox. It looked like a story that was going to play with my heartstrings, though I admit, it took me awhile to get into.
Our heroine Julie is in love with her bestfriend Lorelei, and her mother has a rare disease, where she insists that she is, in fact, has died. Not dying, has already died, how weird and different is that? I will say, that aspect of the story was what drew me to the book in the first place -- the idea that someone believes they have already died... I admit, I wondered what that would be like to read about. Julie has it truly difficult given she is trying to understand her own sexuality, on top of now having to work with her mother to try and make her see, that she hasn't died at all.
I will say, this book was slow going at first. Julie is a challenging character to connect with, although she did grow on me as the story went on. In a lot of ways, what I liked about the story is we are seeing Julie being forced into adulthood a lot quicker than she'd like, and this aspect is done well. You can see the cogs turning in her mind, trying to understand and cope with all her newfound feelings and anxiety, and I liked that about the book. I also liked how she grows throughout the story, especially when dealing with her mother.
That being said, I was a bit uncomfortable with the Lorelei plotline. Not so much in Julie's interest, which I thought were great, but there were some decisions in how Lorelei's story developed that made me cringe a bit. I like how Julie deals with this situation, but I feel like the way this situation was handle hit a few of my trigger points. I also just didn't like her as a character, and I felt how she treated Julie and her feelings to just be manipulative, shallow and utter deplorable to say the least. I liked Henry, though much like Julie, he has a slow burn for growth, and in his situation, it actually works super well.
Overall, I did really enjoy Past Tense and I think it's worth checking out. While I loved the aspects of sexuality identity and exploration, there are parts of this book that just didn't work for me. There's a lot of great messages in this book and many of the characters do see some excellent growth, it's just a shame that other characters come across much more one dimensional than I'd like.
October 30, 2018
I didn't know what I was buying when I picked this book up. My bookstore had a selection of books wrapped up with the first line of each novel written on them, so you didn't know the author or the title of the book.
When I read the summary after opening it, I wasn't too thrilled or excited to read it. The name of the author also threw me off and I expected some Tumblr author gone viral.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I read this. The writing was much better than I had hoped for, the story itself while a bit cliché at times with typical highschool bullshit, was far more sensitive and deep than I'd have given it credit for at the outset.
Sometimes the characters made me want to punch them, but that's part of being a teenager. Julie's mom had me confused and angry, but by the end I was informed of a very serious and rare (and real) condition that I had never heard of. Seeing it play out in a story and knowing that parts of it depicted here and very accurate is scary.
I'd say there are really only four characters that truly matter in this book and they're all unique and well written.
Overall I am very glad I picked up this book (even if it was semi random) and I would read another book by this author.
So.
When I read the summary after opening it, I wasn't too thrilled or excited to read it. The name of the author also threw me off and I expected some Tumblr author gone viral.
So I was pleasantly surprised when I read this. The writing was much better than I had hoped for, the story itself while a bit cliché at times with typical highschool bullshit, was far more sensitive and deep than I'd have given it credit for at the outset.
Sometimes the characters made me want to punch them, but that's part of being a teenager. Julie's mom had me confused and angry, but by the end I was informed of a very serious and rare (and real) condition that I had never heard of. Seeing it play out in a story and knowing that parts of it depicted here and very accurate is scary.
I'd say there are really only four characters that truly matter in this book and they're all unique and well written.
Overall I am very glad I picked up this book (even if it was semi random) and I would read another book by this author.
So.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 2, 2018
I enjoyed this book. It was a quick read and I read it in one sitting. While it deals with some heavier/depressing topics, I still found it to be a "lighter" read (if that makes sense?). Before this book, I had read Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda. While I found the writing style a bit off in Simon (I didn't think a teenager would talk like that or write emails like that), I found the writing style from a teenager perspective more realistic in this book. When I first started reading it (coming right from reading Simon), I thought 'great, another young adult novel!' and thought I wouldn't like it. However, I soon got very into the story and quite enjoyed it. It was also cool that it took place in Toronto but it wasn't over the top in name dropping every Toronto street/landmark, which I find some books try to do.
April 25, 2018
The main character's thoughts and action read much younger than 15. Closer to 12-13. She misses the obvious cues of those around her. She doesn't have a basic understanding of common concepts and even when they're referenced they're treated as "unimportant to know in any depth" the way a young kid hears "tax reforms" and says "Yeah, I don't need to know about that." But I'd expect more from a 15 year old, especially in regards to LGBT identifiers like butch and femme given the myriad of high school GSAs and other organizations, given the clear ability of high schoolers to protest and understand complex concepts, it really feels like this is a MG novel dealing with YA themes than it does a proper YA novel.
However, the voice, if young, is engaging.
However, the voice, if young, is engaging.
November 8, 2019
What a gem! This is unlike any YA I’ve ever read before. It deals with very difficult subjects, but it’s done so wonderfully. I don’t write reviews, so these random thoughts are mostly for me:
For once, a teenager that sounds like a teenager. Julie’s dealing with big big things, but she still sounds so young.
Reading this as an adult, I could see so much of my high school years (being in love with a Lorelei 🙄).
For once, a teenager that sounds like a teenager. Julie’s dealing with big big things, but she still sounds so young.
Reading this as an adult, I could see so much of my high school years (being in love with a Lorelei 🙄).
July 24, 2018
Meh. I really struggled with the narrative voice, almost gave up on the book because of it, because i just... did not like the "person" that that the character was. But I kept going, and the themes are quite cool.
February 16, 2026
T’was an alright read. Defs made for a younger audience I imagine. It was spooky at times and littered with young love. Not my favourite read or very memorable though. I will say themes were covered that I find usually aren’t in a YA book so credit for that difference.
January 14, 2019
Could not put this down..... I wanted more of this book....more of the story ... I did not want it to end....
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