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When the Sky Fell on Splendor
Almost everyone in the small town of Splendor, Ohio, was affected when the local steel mill exploded. If you weren't a casualty of the accident yourself, chances are a loved one was. That's the case for seventeen-year-old Franny, who, five years after the explosion, still has to stand by and do nothing as her brother lies in a coma.
In the wake of the tragedy, Franny found solace in a group of friends whose experiences mirrored her own. The group calls themselves The Ordinary, and they spend their free time investigating local ghost stories and legends, filming their exploits for their small following of YouTube fans. It's silly, it's fun, and it keeps them from dwelling on the sadness that surrounds them.
Until one evening, when the strange and dangerous thing they film isn't fiction--it's a bright light, something massive hurtling toward them from the sky. And when it crashes and the teens go to investigate...everything changes.
In the wake of the tragedy, Franny found solace in a group of friends whose experiences mirrored her own. The group calls themselves The Ordinary, and they spend their free time investigating local ghost stories and legends, filming their exploits for their small following of YouTube fans. It's silly, it's fun, and it keeps them from dwelling on the sadness that surrounds them.
Until one evening, when the strange and dangerous thing they film isn't fiction--it's a bright light, something massive hurtling toward them from the sky. And when it crashes and the teens go to investigate...everything changes.
384 pages, Hardcover
First published March 12, 2019
848 people are currently reading
24798 people want to read
About the author
Emily Henry
16 books188k followersEmily Henry is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Book Lovers, People We Meet on Vacation, and Beach Read, as well as the forthcoming Happy Place. She lives and writes in Cincinnati and the part of Kentucky just beneath it.
Find her on Instagram @EmilyHenryWrites.
Find her on Instagram @EmilyHenryWrites.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,513 reviews
July 31, 2025
I love Emily Henry.
https://emmareadstoomuch.substack.com...
Typically, I have reservations about making love-based declarations about people I don’t know on the internet. Seems a lil weird. Like, how would Rami Malek feel if he knew I was writing sonnets about how he manages to be devastatingly attractive even with weird fake teeth? How would Bill Hader feel if he knew about how many clips of his interviews I’ve watched in a row on YouTube?
Both of those are, of course, completely made up examples.
In the case of Emily Henry, though, I’m willing to make an exception. This is for several reasons:
1) Because of the sheer volume of adoring things I’ve written about her and her books, in places like my blog and my reviews and, uh, the comments of her Instagram posts, I’m pretty sure Emily Henry already knows.
2) I love Emily Henry’s books with my whole heart.
3) Emily Henry and her books mean a lot to me.
One of my very favorite movies ever is pretty at odds with everything else I love. It is a movie called “About Time.” About Time is a cheesy British rom-com (brought to you by the mind behind every other cheesy British rom-com) about Domhnall Gleeson as a time traveler and Rachel McAdams as his charming and devastatingly lovely love interest.
I do not cry ever, and I have never seen that movie without full-on weeping.
The ending of About Time is Domhnall Gleeson’s realization that he doesn’t need to travel through time anymore, because the single most beautiful and valuable thing he can do is live through every day and really notice it. Really be present for it. That’s the best possible use of his time.
Granted, because of the specific rules of time travel in this movie, he can’t do much else, but still.
Emily Henry’s books are, in some ways, the equivalent of that movie. And I love them all in the same heart-swelling, out of body way that I love it.
Emily Henry writes characters who are flawed. They’re mean to the people around them, or bad students, or careless. They are human and imperfect, and I adore them all. I have never read an Emily Henry character I didn’t instantly feel and understand. I almost never love book characters, and I always love hers. They’re funny and messed up and lovely and I feel like I know them right away.
She also writes about our world as magical, as a place where we can find adventure and comfort, a place filled with hardship and pain and struggle and also people we can connect with. Her books have romances in them, but more than that, they have family and friends and BANTER. (God, the banter.)
I love About Time because it knows how beautiful the ordinary can be. How an ordinary life, doing what you love with people you love around you, is the loveliest possible kind. Emily Henry’s books know the same thing.
I can’t pretend I know why Emily Henry writes (or used to write, sob) magical realism and sci-fi, books in which the extraordinary coexists with the ordinary. But I bet it’s because Emily Henry knows the most extraordinary things often seem ordinary after all.
Because that’s what her books are all about.
This is not really a sci-fi book, and it's not really an action book, and it's not really contemporary or romance or magical realism or anything else, which is both its strength and its weakness. It has too many characters, and it's overly ambitious, and it has more it wants thematically than plot-wise.
And still, here is what I have to say: Emily Henry’s books make me laugh and tear up. They make me feel happy and excited and sad and in suspense, hopeful and satisfied and understood and known. When I read her work, I don’t just want to believe that we exist in the world that she’s created -- I believe that we do.
Bottom line: I hope everyone finds an author for them like that.
-----------------------
reread review
hello, masochism, my old friend.
it's another installment of project 5 star, in which i revisit all of my favorite books to see if they are still favorites or if my heart has shrunk even further like a reverse grinch.
today, we're taking on the forgotten emily henry book, which everyone is either unaware of or not a fan of except for me.
let's see what happens.
(updated review to come)
-----------------------
pre-review
it is with great joy and absolutely zero surprise that I must tell you: Emily Henry has done it again.
this was so f*cking good I can hardly stand it.
review to come (!!!!!!!!!!!!)
-----------------------
currently-reading updates
I GOT IT I GOT IT I GOT IT I GOT IT I GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
and I'm reading it immediately.
thank you emily henryI love you
-----------------------
tbr review
THIS IS DESCRIBED AS THE SERPENT KING MEETS STRANGER THINGS.
AND IT'S BY EMILY HENRY.
the fact that it is not currently in my possession is my new least favorite thing about the world.
https://emmareadstoomuch.substack.com...
Typically, I have reservations about making love-based declarations about people I don’t know on the internet. Seems a lil weird. Like, how would Rami Malek feel if he knew I was writing sonnets about how he manages to be devastatingly attractive even with weird fake teeth? How would Bill Hader feel if he knew about how many clips of his interviews I’ve watched in a row on YouTube?
Both of those are, of course, completely made up examples.
In the case of Emily Henry, though, I’m willing to make an exception. This is for several reasons:
1) Because of the sheer volume of adoring things I’ve written about her and her books, in places like my blog and my reviews and, uh, the comments of her Instagram posts, I’m pretty sure Emily Henry already knows.
2) I love Emily Henry’s books with my whole heart.
3) Emily Henry and her books mean a lot to me.
One of my very favorite movies ever is pretty at odds with everything else I love. It is a movie called “About Time.” About Time is a cheesy British rom-com (brought to you by the mind behind every other cheesy British rom-com) about Domhnall Gleeson as a time traveler and Rachel McAdams as his charming and devastatingly lovely love interest.
I do not cry ever, and I have never seen that movie without full-on weeping.
The ending of About Time is Domhnall Gleeson’s realization that he doesn’t need to travel through time anymore, because the single most beautiful and valuable thing he can do is live through every day and really notice it. Really be present for it. That’s the best possible use of his time.
Granted, because of the specific rules of time travel in this movie, he can’t do much else, but still.
Emily Henry’s books are, in some ways, the equivalent of that movie. And I love them all in the same heart-swelling, out of body way that I love it.
Emily Henry writes characters who are flawed. They’re mean to the people around them, or bad students, or careless. They are human and imperfect, and I adore them all. I have never read an Emily Henry character I didn’t instantly feel and understand. I almost never love book characters, and I always love hers. They’re funny and messed up and lovely and I feel like I know them right away.
She also writes about our world as magical, as a place where we can find adventure and comfort, a place filled with hardship and pain and struggle and also people we can connect with. Her books have romances in them, but more than that, they have family and friends and BANTER. (God, the banter.)
I love About Time because it knows how beautiful the ordinary can be. How an ordinary life, doing what you love with people you love around you, is the loveliest possible kind. Emily Henry’s books know the same thing.
I can’t pretend I know why Emily Henry writes (or used to write, sob) magical realism and sci-fi, books in which the extraordinary coexists with the ordinary. But I bet it’s because Emily Henry knows the most extraordinary things often seem ordinary after all.
Because that’s what her books are all about.
This is not really a sci-fi book, and it's not really an action book, and it's not really contemporary or romance or magical realism or anything else, which is both its strength and its weakness. It has too many characters, and it's overly ambitious, and it has more it wants thematically than plot-wise.
And still, here is what I have to say: Emily Henry’s books make me laugh and tear up. They make me feel happy and excited and sad and in suspense, hopeful and satisfied and understood and known. When I read her work, I don’t just want to believe that we exist in the world that she’s created -- I believe that we do.
Bottom line: I hope everyone finds an author for them like that.
-----------------------
reread review
hello, masochism, my old friend.
it's another installment of project 5 star, in which i revisit all of my favorite books to see if they are still favorites or if my heart has shrunk even further like a reverse grinch.
today, we're taking on the forgotten emily henry book, which everyone is either unaware of or not a fan of except for me.
let's see what happens.
(updated review to come)
-----------------------
pre-review
it is with great joy and absolutely zero surprise that I must tell you: Emily Henry has done it again.
this was so f*cking good I can hardly stand it.
review to come (!!!!!!!!!!!!)
-----------------------
currently-reading updates
I GOT IT I GOT IT I GOT IT I GOT IT I GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!
and I'm reading it immediately.
thank you emily henry
-----------------------
tbr review
THIS IS DESCRIBED AS THE SERPENT KING MEETS STRANGER THINGS.
AND IT'S BY EMILY HENRY.
the fact that it is not currently in my possession is my new least favorite thing about the world.
Read
December 9, 2020Probably my favorite book I've written, probably your least favorite.
March 20, 2019
Due to unfortunate circumstances (my boredom and the universe's tendency to endlessly aggravate me), I'm not really crazy about this book.
The one thing that could have really salvaged this novel is if it had its own version of Steve Harrington from Stranger Things who realizes that romantic love is fake and decides to redirect all of his overflowing care and affection by aggressively mothering a bunch of middle-schoolers. Oh, and gays.
For a potentially quick read, I slogged through the pages for almost a week. The story has a hard time taking off and not much happens until halfway through. The ending and the truth behind the strange occurrences in the town of Splendor are rushed in the novel’s last 50 pages. I liked the characters just fine, but I suspect my memories of them will soon yellow and brittle with age.
The one thing that could have really salvaged this novel is if it had its own version of Steve Harrington from Stranger Things who realizes that romantic love is fake and decides to redirect all of his overflowing care and affection by aggressively mothering a bunch of middle-schoolers. Oh, and gays.
For a potentially quick read, I slogged through the pages for almost a week. The story has a hard time taking off and not much happens until halfway through. The ending and the truth behind the strange occurrences in the town of Splendor are rushed in the novel’s last 50 pages. I liked the characters just fine, but I suspect my memories of them will soon yellow and brittle with age.
March 23, 2019
Emily Henry does it again. 😍 With a perfect balance of real world intensity (with a focus on friendship and grief) and other worldly elements (supernatural entities and powers,) her latest novel is a real treat.
July 29, 2024
When the Sky Fell on Splendor is a tough story for me to review. A genre-mashup of things I love, but together seemed disjointed. It's still good, just odd.
A few years back, the town of Splendor was the site of a terrible industrial accident; an explosion that killed many people. The plant where the accident occurred employed about half the town, so it seems every family was in some way impacted.
As you can imagine, for a small town, this had horrible ramifications. People had brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and spouses stolen away in an instant.
In part, that is what this book is about. Even though it is around 5-years later, the aftermath continues to be challenging for those remaining residents of Splendor.
We follow a group of teens who have really come together since that horrible day.
The adults in their lives are dealing with their own grief and sort of left the kids on their own to deal with theirs.
The group of kids we follow throughout the story, have come to rely on each other in both meaningful and beautiful ways. It provides the sort of found-family element that I love in a Contemporary story.
As an exploration of grief, this is a touching, heart-wrenching story, but there is also an interesting, yet unusual, science-fiction element.
You can tell that the author really enjoys science, as do I. There are detailed sections on black holes, time/space, Fibonacci spirals and cosmic consciousness.
I loved the friend group and how supportive they were of one another. Additionally, I loved the science elements. However, there was something a little wonky about the way it was all strung together. It didn't feel cohesive.
As always, this is 100% subjective and you may read this and think, 'what the hell was Meg talking about?' and that's fine!
Just for me, it felt like the narrative was fighting over what kind of story it was trying to be.
Overall, I am glad that I read this book. It is definitely a thoughtful exploration of a lot of interesting and important topics.
I also think Emily Henry is a very talented woman and clearly a lot more intelligent than I am!
A few years back, the town of Splendor was the site of a terrible industrial accident; an explosion that killed many people. The plant where the accident occurred employed about half the town, so it seems every family was in some way impacted.
As you can imagine, for a small town, this had horrible ramifications. People had brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and spouses stolen away in an instant.
In part, that is what this book is about. Even though it is around 5-years later, the aftermath continues to be challenging for those remaining residents of Splendor.
We follow a group of teens who have really come together since that horrible day.
The adults in their lives are dealing with their own grief and sort of left the kids on their own to deal with theirs.
The group of kids we follow throughout the story, have come to rely on each other in both meaningful and beautiful ways. It provides the sort of found-family element that I love in a Contemporary story.
As an exploration of grief, this is a touching, heart-wrenching story, but there is also an interesting, yet unusual, science-fiction element.
You can tell that the author really enjoys science, as do I. There are detailed sections on black holes, time/space, Fibonacci spirals and cosmic consciousness.
I loved the friend group and how supportive they were of one another. Additionally, I loved the science elements. However, there was something a little wonky about the way it was all strung together. It didn't feel cohesive.
As always, this is 100% subjective and you may read this and think, 'what the hell was Meg talking about?' and that's fine!
Just for me, it felt like the narrative was fighting over what kind of story it was trying to be.
Overall, I am glad that I read this book. It is definitely a thoughtful exploration of a lot of interesting and important topics.
I also think Emily Henry is a very talented woman and clearly a lot more intelligent than I am!
March 25, 2019
I really, really loved the characters and the setting of this one, but the plot just did not do it for me :( I am hecka bummed.
April 16, 2019
me trying to figure out what the hell was going on in this book
Okay so. I disliked this book so much that I didn't even finish it—I DNF'd it at like 35% because I just couldn't take it anymore. And the fact that that actually happened baffles me. I can't wrap my head around how badly this book disappointed me. I almost never preorder books, but When the Sky Fell on Splendor was one of the *5 books* I preordered this year. Needless to say, I was expecting to love it, as I'd loved Berry's A Million Junes. But I did not, not even close.
I honestly just have no idea what this book was trying to do. I didn't finish it, so that's probably why, but even from the 100 or so pages that I did read, I was so confused. First of all, almost the whole focus of the book was on the plot, which is fine when the characters involved in that plot are DEVELOPED—which was definitely not the case in this book. Like why should I care about some weird alien force thing if I don't even care about the characters that it's affecting????? And even the little (very little) character development that we did get was shoddy at best and depressingly on-the-nose at worst. It was mainly just in the form of flashbacks that felt like they were trying SO HARD to make these characters definable in some way for us. The flashbacks might as well have started with a title that read, here is the flashback that will develop the character by giving them Pain and a backstory. And then throughout the story we get told again and again and again how the main character (I can't even be bothered to look up her name right now) can't open up to others because that means she'll get hurt—which is, of course, totally valid. But did we need to hear about it in every single chapter? explicitly? over and over and over again? There's a way to SHOW that the main character is scared of intimacy without having her just outright tell us (OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN) that she's afraid of intimacy. It was lazy, and it was all tell and no show.
That's about all I have to say about this. Nothing else about this book left any impression on me.
Blog | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram
_________________________________
theyre really leaning into the stranger things aspect of this with that cover huh
(REGARDLESS IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS)
August 3, 2023
unfortunately i just couldn’t bring myself to care about any of these characters. i feel like as an author it’s probably hard to write an already established friendship and make your readers care about them. i think that is something that emily henry doesn’t do well in her adult or ya books. i really wanted to love this because it has that stranger things vibe but i think where a lot of authors fail is that these type of books need to be a series or a really long book in general
January 2, 2023
"It's not the size of something that matters in this galaxy. It's the gravity of a thing, how much it pulls on things and where it takes them. You've got gravity out of the wazoo."
°•*⁀➷
I actually loved this book. I know the three stars sort of takes away from that, but it's true! Emily Henry is an incredible story teller and I love the way she writes and brings a story to life. I just don't always love the stories she tells.
I liked this story so much because it was about six kids who weren't able to be kids long enough. There was a huge accident in town that disrupted everyone's life, and in that accident, Franny happens to find the only five people who could possibly understand what she was going through. They all make a silent pact to never talk about their feelings and go about life forgetting the past.
As we are all aware, that's never the best way to handle life. But that's the beauty of the story, they aren't aware, because they're just kids.
This focused so much on the beauty of space and astronomy and how even though it might all be terrifying, it's comforting as well. How gravity sticks us to this earth no matter what and we can always trust it will never let us fall. Franny is constantly scared of relying on her friends, or anyone really, because she knows how easy it is to lose the people you love.
But she comes to find that connections, friendship, and love are the true gravity that binds us to our lives. If you want a great coming of age story with a twist of sci-fi/fantasy, this is the book for you.
- Paige
°•*⁀➷
I actually loved this book. I know the three stars sort of takes away from that, but it's true! Emily Henry is an incredible story teller and I love the way she writes and brings a story to life. I just don't always love the stories she tells.
I liked this story so much because it was about six kids who weren't able to be kids long enough. There was a huge accident in town that disrupted everyone's life, and in that accident, Franny happens to find the only five people who could possibly understand what she was going through. They all make a silent pact to never talk about their feelings and go about life forgetting the past.
As we are all aware, that's never the best way to handle life. But that's the beauty of the story, they aren't aware, because they're just kids.
This focused so much on the beauty of space and astronomy and how even though it might all be terrifying, it's comforting as well. How gravity sticks us to this earth no matter what and we can always trust it will never let us fall. Franny is constantly scared of relying on her friends, or anyone really, because she knows how easy it is to lose the people you love.
But she comes to find that connections, friendship, and love are the true gravity that binds us to our lives. If you want a great coming of age story with a twist of sci-fi/fantasy, this is the book for you.
- Paige
May 12, 2019
Read this review and others on my blog!
I’m a huge fan of Stranger Things, so was immediately intrigued by Emily Henry’s When the Sky Fell on Splendor, which is obviously referencing the TV show with the cover. The alien component as well was interesting, since I’ve heard multiple people in the YA publishing sphere mention how aliens just kind of aren’t a thing for some reason, even though vampires, werewolves, mermaids, and their ilk have all had a turn in the spotlight. I #amwriting an alien book right now (lol, how cringy can I make this post? 😀 ). Even though my book’s more New Adult than YA, anything new even tangentially related to aliens right now is interesting to me, even just from a market research standpoint.
So I was pumped to read this book… and then it fell a bit flat for me. Something about the prose wasn’t connecting with me—perhaps too many details and flashbacks (oh, the many flashbacks!) that distracted from the main action. There are also too many characters in the MC’s friend group; I’d have cut at least two or three of them out. I understand that Henry was trying to illustrate how the unfortunate history of their town had influenced everyone a bit differently, but it was too many people to keep track of; I had to frequently backtrack to figure out who everyone was again. If there had been fewer characters, perhaps we could have seen more depth with the character development. A smaller, more careful approach is pretty much always going to be better than a scattershot method.
Also…
Huge, ending ruining spoiler incoming…
.
.
.
It turns out there aren’t even any aliens in this book. The cover’s basically a total lie; instead we discover that the entity the characters encountered in the beginning of the book is the soul of someone in the town. This fit with the navel gazey feel of the book, but I still felt a bit lied to as a reader. If I see an alien spacecraft on the cover, I want actually aliens, dammit. Don’t give me that huge tease, then only serve up misdirection. It was disappointing, rather than surprising. That was the point at which my three star review dropped down to two, since I felt it was kind of a betrayal of the audience.
So this is a sad pass for me, despite some fun moments throughout.
I’m a huge fan of Stranger Things, so was immediately intrigued by Emily Henry’s When the Sky Fell on Splendor, which is obviously referencing the TV show with the cover. The alien component as well was interesting, since I’ve heard multiple people in the YA publishing sphere mention how aliens just kind of aren’t a thing for some reason, even though vampires, werewolves, mermaids, and their ilk have all had a turn in the spotlight. I #amwriting an alien book right now (lol, how cringy can I make this post? 😀 ). Even though my book’s more New Adult than YA, anything new even tangentially related to aliens right now is interesting to me, even just from a market research standpoint.
So I was pumped to read this book… and then it fell a bit flat for me. Something about the prose wasn’t connecting with me—perhaps too many details and flashbacks (oh, the many flashbacks!) that distracted from the main action. There are also too many characters in the MC’s friend group; I’d have cut at least two or three of them out. I understand that Henry was trying to illustrate how the unfortunate history of their town had influenced everyone a bit differently, but it was too many people to keep track of; I had to frequently backtrack to figure out who everyone was again. If there had been fewer characters, perhaps we could have seen more depth with the character development. A smaller, more careful approach is pretty much always going to be better than a scattershot method.
Also…
Huge, ending ruining spoiler incoming…
.
.
.
It turns out there aren’t even any aliens in this book. The cover’s basically a total lie; instead we discover that the entity the characters encountered in the beginning of the book is the soul of someone in the town. This fit with the navel gazey feel of the book, but I still felt a bit lied to as a reader. If I see an alien spacecraft on the cover, I want actually aliens, dammit. Don’t give me that huge tease, then only serve up misdirection. It was disappointing, rather than surprising. That was the point at which my three star review dropped down to two, since I felt it was kind of a betrayal of the audience.
So this is a sad pass for me, despite some fun moments throughout.
May 21, 2019
The second star is for the dog
March 12, 2019
This was such an amazing story about friendship and family and what happens after the worst possible thing happens. I loved this book so, so much. It's like the Super 8 / Stranger Things -- but make it more magic -- book of my dreams.
March 17, 2019
I love Stranger Things, i also a huge fan of The Serpent King, i enjoyed A Million Junes.. so i was so sure i would love this book
But... nope... i just couldnt get into the story, the main character is weird and i was confused who is who the whole time, the pace was fast but i found some scenes were boring, in the end i feel like this book just wasnt for me
However i really love the ending, the plot twist make me gave this book 3⭐️ other than 2⭐️ i also like Emily's writing style
But... nope... i just couldnt get into the story, the main character is weird and i was confused who is who the whole time, the pace was fast but i found some scenes were boring, in the end i feel like this book just wasnt for me
However i really love the ending, the plot twist make me gave this book 3⭐️ other than 2⭐️ i also like Emily's writing style
March 19, 2019
This starts out with a Super 8/Stranger Things vibe, but it's really not that kind of story. It isn't creepy SF; it's a story about friendships and families and loss, with an otherworldly element acting as a catalyst for these tangled relationships.
I didn't like this quite as much as I liked A Million Junes, but it did share some of the emotional elements I loved in that book. My main issue was that I did feel like I was supposed to think this was one kind of story when it was actually another. It's hard to really judge something that changes direction so unexpectedly.
I didn't like this quite as much as I liked A Million Junes, but it did share some of the emotional elements I loved in that book. My main issue was that I did feel like I was supposed to think this was one kind of story when it was actually another. It's hard to really judge something that changes direction so unexpectedly.
May 6, 2019
When the Sky Fell on Splendor features main character Franny, along with her brother Arthur and several other friends.
The teens enjoy filming ghost hunter videos for fun and escape from their disappointing home lives.
The six friends were initially drawn together in their grief after a steel mill explosion five years earlier had stolen the lives of some of their family members.
While filming videos late one evening, Franny and her friends witness what appears to be a real supernatural event, a UFO landing. After investigating, the teens develop strange scars and markings on their bodies as well as mysterious psychic abilities.
The book encompasses themes of lost innocence, small-town life, grief, friendship, family, and the supernatural.
The teens enjoy filming ghost hunter videos for fun and escape from their disappointing home lives.
The six friends were initially drawn together in their grief after a steel mill explosion five years earlier had stolen the lives of some of their family members.
While filming videos late one evening, Franny and her friends witness what appears to be a real supernatural event, a UFO landing. After investigating, the teens develop strange scars and markings on their bodies as well as mysterious psychic abilities.
The book encompasses themes of lost innocence, small-town life, grief, friendship, family, and the supernatural.
Read
October 19, 2020Not sure I liked this one but it also made me cry for a minute near the end? Could've been life stuff, or even PMS, that helped to make that happen but also I do just cry super easy. Didn't mean I liked it. But I didn't hate it.
This is why I don't review a day later. I got nothing.
This is why I don't review a day later. I got nothing.
September 17, 2025
I was shocked and delightfully surprised when I saw this title on Emily’s backlog and after enjoying her other books so far of completely different mediums, I thought this would be fun and boy oh boy is it. I can’t quite rank it as my favorite I’ve read with funny story just being so close to perfect but honestly this was surprisingly deep, artistic, metaphorical, funny, tense, and sci-fi almost like a stranger things gang meets slightly more home drama and “aliens” and supernatural powers instead of dimensional monsters and also super powers. Jokes aside this was refreshing and kept me strapped in the whole time, I thought the ending was a little too ambiguous and didn’t quite stick it like I’d have hoped and I can’t lie and say I wasn’t lost at least a time or two, but if anything that just shows Emily’s literary prowess and the thought and work she puts into developing her stories. I love finding out she has this side tucked away in her writing mind and I truly hope it peaks its intergalactic head out for another story of a similar and quirky vain in the future. 4.5/5
January 31, 2021
2/5 stars
I resorted to skim reading the final 100 pages, as I had a lot of trouble staying invested or interested in finishing this book by then.
I was hoping for a fun YA adventure story with a bit of a dark undertone ala Dark or Stranger Things, but what I got was a disjointed story that soon became a slog to get through.
A slow set up, unmemorable characters and an unsatisfying pay off, that felt very rushed in the final 50 pages to add insult to injury. I’m not going so far as giving it 1 star, because can’t point out any egregiously bad things here. The problem is that I can’t point to anything good either. The whole thing was just meh, and that might ultimately be even worse.
I resorted to skim reading the final 100 pages, as I had a lot of trouble staying invested or interested in finishing this book by then.
I was hoping for a fun YA adventure story with a bit of a dark undertone ala Dark or Stranger Things, but what I got was a disjointed story that soon became a slog to get through.
A slow set up, unmemorable characters and an unsatisfying pay off, that felt very rushed in the final 50 pages to add insult to injury. I’m not going so far as giving it 1 star, because can’t point out any egregiously bad things here. The problem is that I can’t point to anything good either. The whole thing was just meh, and that might ultimately be even worse.
February 19, 2019
I’m always here for anything Emily writes and after that comparison to Stranger Things, I was excited.
I really liked Franny and her group of ordinaries. Their dynamic and loyalty are fantastic. I’m a huge fan of friendships that are really found families and this one is done to perfection. I will admit to not being able to keep them all straight at first, but it was easy to settle in {especially because modifiers like Nick’s tattooed hands and Levi’s bright hats were always being used.}
Plot wise, it was interesting. It felt more like X-Files than ST, but I could be dating myself here. It’s fast paced and had me second guessing everything. I wasn’t in love with the reveal slash explanation, but it really worked for the story.
Overall, it was a quick read with characters who were easy to root for. I’m definitely excited to see other people’s reaction to this story.
**Huge thanks to Penguin Teen for sending me a finished copy**
I really liked Franny and her group of ordinaries. Their dynamic and loyalty are fantastic. I’m a huge fan of friendships that are really found families and this one is done to perfection. I will admit to not being able to keep them all straight at first, but it was easy to settle in {especially because modifiers like Nick’s tattooed hands and Levi’s bright hats were always being used.}
Plot wise, it was interesting. It felt more like X-Files than ST, but I could be dating myself here. It’s fast paced and had me second guessing everything. I wasn’t in love with the reveal slash explanation, but it really worked for the story.
Overall, it was a quick read with characters who were easy to root for. I’m definitely excited to see other people’s reaction to this story.
**Huge thanks to Penguin Teen for sending me a finished copy**
March 14, 2019
It is my opinion and also a true fact that Emily Henry and her books are a gift to this world and I will not be accepting any counter-arguments at this time. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.
*****
if this book could make its way into my hands asap that would be great thanks
*****
if this book could make its way into my hands asap that would be great thanks
June 13, 2021
WHY DIDN'T I READ THIS BOOK SOONER?!?!!
My heart-
so many feelings
A proper review to come whenever I can string a complete sentence together.
My heart-
so many feelings
A proper review to come whenever I can string a complete sentence together.
May 1, 2019
No matter how hard I kept trying to shake this thought, I kept thinking that this book seemed like an interesting melding of both the X-Files and Super 8. Considering I enjoyed both of these, I can say that the comparison didn't take anything away from this book.
All the teens in this story have had their lives touched horribly by an accident at the local steel mill. Franny and her brother Arthur, Remy, Sofia, Levi and Nick, hang out together, and all have a variety of coping mechanisms to help them deal with their grief. When a crash with brilliant light occurs near an abandoned house where the gang was filming their latest ghost-related video, they're all knocked out for several hours. Each ends up discovering an odd pattern on their bodies and an accompanying power. With the FBI descending on their town and beginning to investigate, the friends begin piecing together what the crash meant to each of them and their friendship and how their coping mechanisms affect them individually and their group. There's much running around as they investigate, and a hard-edged FBI agent after them.
The fantastical elements were important to the story, at least as far as pushing the teens to begin really opening up and relying on each other. I really liked how Emily Henry showed how destructive and corrosive tamped down grief can be on an individual and everyone around them. And I also really liked the friendship amongst the teens. This was my first book by Emily Henry, and may not be my last.
All the teens in this story have had their lives touched horribly by an accident at the local steel mill. Franny and her brother Arthur, Remy, Sofia, Levi and Nick, hang out together, and all have a variety of coping mechanisms to help them deal with their grief. When a crash with brilliant light occurs near an abandoned house where the gang was filming their latest ghost-related video, they're all knocked out for several hours. Each ends up discovering an odd pattern on their bodies and an accompanying power. With the FBI descending on their town and beginning to investigate, the friends begin piecing together what the crash meant to each of them and their friendship and how their coping mechanisms affect them individually and their group. There's much running around as they investigate, and a hard-edged FBI agent after them.
The fantastical elements were important to the story, at least as far as pushing the teens to begin really opening up and relying on each other. I really liked how Emily Henry showed how destructive and corrosive tamped down grief can be on an individual and everyone around them. And I also really liked the friendship amongst the teens. This was my first book by Emily Henry, and may not be my last.
August 5, 2024
if emily henry is gonna do one thing, it’s write lovable, compelling characters that feel like i know them in real life. in my eyes she can do no wrong. i’ve loved everything of hers i’ve read. although i love her romance books and think that’s where she excels, this was fantastic and i would read any genre she may write in in the future. this gave off slight stranger things vibes and that’s been one of my favorite shows for years, so maybe i'm a little biased but idc! i loved reading about this little ragtag group of misfits and the way they navigated grief and friendship. i’m partial to nick as he’s a moody southern metalhead & i’m a moody southern alt gal myself, but i truly loved all the characters by the end of it. (ngl, arthur irritated me for the longest but he grew on me) i did NOT see the ending coming at all, and was extremely satisfied with the way everything was wrapped up. the last few chapters had me emotional! i can’t make it through any of emily’s books without at least tearing up a little bit. the only reason this isn’t a 5 star read is because the beginning was a bit slow and dragged out, but this was phenomenal and deserves more recognition.
January 3, 2022
oh my god I loved this
June 12, 2019
This book was such an interesting thrilling mystery, until the writer resolved the mystery, that is. Then it just weirded me out and underwhelmed me.
(Spoilers in the next paragraph)
I keep comparing this to both IT and Stranger Things, both have a bunch of kids that are friends who encounter an alien and the setting is scary. Also, Monster House, if anyone remembers that creepy film. It also had a group of kids as friends but the book resembles this movie in other ways, the scary old man everyone is afraid of but is actually blameless and the consciousness of dead people possessing things.
I think the mystery was handled spectacularly. Goosebumps, chills, the creeps, you name it, I got them all. The need to read more and find answers was irresistible. The fact that the friends were a lovely and funny bunch certainly helped. The first half was possessing.
It was about when a quarter of the book remained when things turned weird. First off, so much of the book had passed and the mystery showed no signs of being solved. Second, I felt that Franny's monologues and philosophical realizations became more frequent and annoying. It was a whole change in mood, if you ask me. From a serious, but nonetheless fun sci-fi mystery to a contemporary/coming-of-age story with the science-fiction a passive, vague thing. Note, I do like sci-fi dramas, Another Earth was super cool. But the film was consistent in tone in a way I think this book was not. It was especially irritating because that was the point I was desperate for clear and blunt answers, not a teenager's struggle to come to terms with her rapidly spinning out of control life and 'the deeper meaning' behind stuff. And stuff. See, I'm not someone who appreciates this... stuff.
It was an epic disappointment, the apparent 'answer' to this mystery. I'm not sure what it even means and I'm can't even begin to imagine why in the name of science, it was left the way it was left. So lemme get this straight: alien spaceship crashing into Earth occasionally, giving random people who come into contact with it superpowers, was actually the consciousness of dead people? HOLD ON TO YOUR HORSES BECAUSE I CAN'T. Just. Why?
Why the spaceship? How the spaceship? What the spaceship? And in some cases the person wasn't even dead? The purpose of bestowing these 'powers' to their loved ones was...? Also, did the dead people crash land into the same town they lived in? The powers were so incredibly dumb, though. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SWALLOW THIS SHIT?
The end of the book got buried in the entirety of Franny's deep 'realizations' so much so that the main mystery got relegated to the background and virtually ignored. Like, you were important and all, honey, but this 17 year old girl's soul-searching was what mattered all along. So go sit in the corner, would you? And kindly stay there. Hahaha, NO.
The similarity to Monster House made it predictable. I knew how it was going to go, with the old man, I mean. The rest was just lame.
This could have been great. Instead it was just almost-great. But still a pretty engaging read.
November 22, 2023
I liked this so much more than I anticipated to! it was fun! I loved the characters and the message of grief that was in here it was just such a great time!!
did-not-finish
August 18, 2020"The six of us were destined to be alone, trapped in a grief we weren’t willing or able to share, but from then on, at least we were alone together."
Unpopular Opinion Time 🐸☕️
DNF @33%
Wow, 2019 isn't looking good as far as reading goes :/
Look fam, life is too short to read things I don’t care about.
And this is precisely the case.
I don’t think anybody is more shocked than I am right now.
But alas, there’s no need beating around the bush: for as much as I’ve read, I did not enjoy When the Sky Fell on Splendor in the slightest.
The premise sounded intriguing and I loved Emily Henry’s writing style in A Million Junes but unfortunately this book did not do the trick for me.
It was simply not my jam.
I actually strongly disliked the writing style in this one. Which left me completely speechless. Because of it I just couldn’t (and wouldn’t) continue reading.
I thought it was incredibly simple (and not in a good way) and nothing special, almost childish.
I mean, let’s be serious here.
The cast of character was too big for its own good, in my opinion, and not many details were given about the characters.
Now, you might be wondering, what has the cast of characters anything to do with the writing style and its simplicity? Well, my friend, my dude, here’s an explanation: the characters were described always in the exact same way and with the exact same adjectives; and that drove me up the goddamn wall. Once I've noticed it, I could not un-noticed it.
Because of that they felt rather two-dimensional, ridiculous and their quirks felt forced and unnatural.
To be more specific, they all had their “peculiarities” (if we can call them that) that were repeated incessantly and were the only specifics given to them:
one had tattoos all over his hands and was older; another one was beautiful but that was it (wow, such depth, am I right?); a third one had a very unique fashion sense that was constantly pointed out,; one was smart, beautiful, basically perfect but still humble; and the last one was impulsive, tough and straightforward.
I kid you not, these details were repeated incessantly throughout the third of the book I’ve read, and I just couldn’t deal with it. They felt like cardboard cut-outs. They all were boring AF and I couldn’t even really believe in their friendship. It didn’t feel that deep and true, but that’s just my two cents.
And then, to top everything off, there was our main character that could not have been more vanilla. She had no hobbies, no dreams and, if I have to be honest, no personality.
She wasn’t really a thrilling voice to hear and an engrossing point of view to follow.
The romance - for how little (thank God) I’ve got to experience - felt unnatural and, in my opinion, was simply not needed. There wasn’t really chemistry between the two of them and I just didn’t understand why there was a romantic sub-plot to begin with.
In general, I did not feel any kind of connection to the characters and I couldn’t bring myself to care about their present nor their traumatic past.
You know there’s a problem when you're reading about aliens and you are not interested.
Indeed, on top of all this, for how much I love and adore stories about UFOs, aliens and science, I found the plot of When the Sky Fell on Splendor boring and dull. It did not hook me, and I had to force myself to continue reading. Which is never a good sign.
There just was something that did not thrill me about this story, unfortunately. And hence I’ve decided it was high time to DNF it.
I wasn’t feeling anything. It wasn’t bad per se.
The problem was me: I was not invested in the plot, I was not enjoying the writing style, and I did not find the characters compelling.
Basically, I was not enjoying not even one (1) aspect of the book, so I’ve decided to stop reading.
Hopefully, if you decide to pick this up, you’ll enjoy it way more than I did, and since mine is an unpopular opinion, chances are that will be the case :)
"If this is splendid, I’d rather be ordinary."
Unpopular Opinion Time 🐸☕️
DNF @33%
Wow, 2019 isn't looking good as far as reading goes :/
Look fam, life is too short to read things I don’t care about.
And this is precisely the case.
I don’t think anybody is more shocked than I am right now.
But alas, there’s no need beating around the bush: for as much as I’ve read, I did not enjoy When the Sky Fell on Splendor in the slightest.
The premise sounded intriguing and I loved Emily Henry’s writing style in A Million Junes but unfortunately this book did not do the trick for me.
It was simply not my jam.
I actually strongly disliked the writing style in this one. Which left me completely speechless. Because of it I just couldn’t (and wouldn’t) continue reading.
I thought it was incredibly simple (and not in a good way) and nothing special, almost childish.
I mean, let’s be serious here.
The cast of character was too big for its own good, in my opinion, and not many details were given about the characters.
Now, you might be wondering, what has the cast of characters anything to do with the writing style and its simplicity? Well, my friend, my dude, here’s an explanation: the characters were described always in the exact same way and with the exact same adjectives; and that drove me up the goddamn wall. Once I've noticed it, I could not un-noticed it.
Because of that they felt rather two-dimensional, ridiculous and their quirks felt forced and unnatural.
To be more specific, they all had their “peculiarities” (if we can call them that) that were repeated incessantly and were the only specifics given to them:
one had tattoos all over his hands and was older; another one was beautiful but that was it (wow, such depth, am I right?); a third one had a very unique fashion sense that was constantly pointed out,; one was smart, beautiful, basically perfect but still humble; and the last one was impulsive, tough and straightforward.
I kid you not, these details were repeated incessantly throughout the third of the book I’ve read, and I just couldn’t deal with it. They felt like cardboard cut-outs. They all were boring AF and I couldn’t even really believe in their friendship. It didn’t feel that deep and true, but that’s just my two cents.
And then, to top everything off, there was our main character that could not have been more vanilla. She had no hobbies, no dreams and, if I have to be honest, no personality.
She wasn’t really a thrilling voice to hear and an engrossing point of view to follow.
The romance - for how little (thank God) I’ve got to experience - felt unnatural and, in my opinion, was simply not needed. There wasn’t really chemistry between the two of them and I just didn’t understand why there was a romantic sub-plot to begin with.
In general, I did not feel any kind of connection to the characters and I couldn’t bring myself to care about their present nor their traumatic past.
You know there’s a problem when you're reading about aliens and you are not interested.
Indeed, on top of all this, for how much I love and adore stories about UFOs, aliens and science, I found the plot of When the Sky Fell on Splendor boring and dull. It did not hook me, and I had to force myself to continue reading. Which is never a good sign.
There just was something that did not thrill me about this story, unfortunately. And hence I’ve decided it was high time to DNF it.
I wasn’t feeling anything. It wasn’t bad per se.
The problem was me: I was not invested in the plot, I was not enjoying the writing style, and I did not find the characters compelling.
Basically, I was not enjoying not even one (1) aspect of the book, so I’ve decided to stop reading.
Hopefully, if you decide to pick this up, you’ll enjoy it way more than I did, and since mine is an unpopular opinion, chances are that will be the case :)
"If this is splendid, I’d rather be ordinary."
April 23, 2019
SOUNDTRACK:
Sylvan Esso - Coffee
The Ting Tings - Estranged
Slowdive - Star Roving
--------------------------
I neither have the time nor the energy to write a proper review on this right now, so here's a quick list on why this was a pretty lukewarm reading experience. At first I had this on three stars, because it wasn't ALL terrible, but I think I might even lower it to two, because ugghhh I'm pissed about this. I WANTED TO LIKE THIS. AND I DIDN'T. AHHH.
👽 THE MEH 👽
✨ To be fair, after having read and absolutely fallen in love with A Million Junes, my expectations were sky-high, so this might add to the amount of bitterness in this review.
✨ There were far too many characters with far too bland, underdeveloped personalities. They were all fine for the most part, but their characterization didn't go beyond the stereotypical basic traits and interests in the beginning that seemed like taken straight off the very first brain storm on the book and that kept defining the characters for the rest of the book. There was zero development, no one really stood out and after a while they just became this group of interchangeable faces in my head. I wanted to care about them so badly, because the potential seemed to be there at first, but sadly it just didn't happen. Also, our narrator Frances gets the award for the blandest of them all. Congrats.
✨ the friendship dynamics could've been so wonderful - books focusing on friend groups are my absolute fave - but, as I aalready said.. no personalities, no great dynamics. The closest I got to a well-written, complex friendship was the one between Frances and Sofia, because this duo seemed to be the most developed by far, but their somewhat existent arc literally got lost and never resolved. Sucked into a black hole bahahah (okay I should stop with the half-hearted book-related references).
✨ the plot was literally going nowhere for about 70% of the book. Not even the characters seemed to know what the frick was going on, so neither did I. And not in the good way. It seemed like Emily Henry just randomly jumped from point A to point B without further elaborating on WHY exactly the story went from point A to point B, if that makes sense. Not a lot happened, and when it did, I didn't have a clue why. So, the book dragged. A lot. Also, this could've worked better if the characters had been better as well, but sadly they weren't remotely enough to carry the story on their own.
✨ the conclusion wasn't even that bad - the idea was actually pretty cool imo - but it was SO flimsily done and felt incredibly rushed. Also, it really really didn't fit the tone the rest of the book had set.
✨ The writing. Holy shit what happened here??! I haven't encountered such a vast difference in an author's writing since Sarah J. Maas. Or early Victoria Schwab, and Victoria Schwab now. And this wasn't even in such a long amount of time.
I LOVED Henry's writing in A Million Junes, but here it honestly didn't click with me, like, at all. It seemed overly juvenile and weirdly clipped and I am NOT a fan.
👽 THE DECENT 👽
✨ The strongest part of this book were by far the ones that directly focused on grief and loss. Emily Henry really seems to have a knack for such sensitive topics. These were also the only parts where the writing actually sported some of the beautiful, whimsical flow that I loved so much in A Million Junes.
✨ As already mentioned, the conclusion went into a very different direction than I thought, and I actually liked the whole idea of it a lot. If it had been more developed, I would've been really hooked.
✨ I quite liked the overall atmosphere of the book. Creepy and dense? Hell yes.
Honestly, that's pretty much all I have to say on this. Hopefully this will stay the only disappointing book by this author for me.
Sylvan Esso - Coffee
The Ting Tings - Estranged
Slowdive - Star Roving
--------------------------
I neither have the time nor the energy to write a proper review on this right now, so here's a quick list on why this was a pretty lukewarm reading experience. At first I had this on three stars, because it wasn't ALL terrible, but I think I might even lower it to two, because ugghhh I'm pissed about this. I WANTED TO LIKE THIS. AND I DIDN'T. AHHH.
👽 THE MEH 👽
✨ To be fair, after having read and absolutely fallen in love with A Million Junes, my expectations were sky-high, so this might add to the amount of bitterness in this review.
✨ There were far too many characters with far too bland, underdeveloped personalities. They were all fine for the most part, but their characterization didn't go beyond the stereotypical basic traits and interests in the beginning that seemed like taken straight off the very first brain storm on the book and that kept defining the characters for the rest of the book. There was zero development, no one really stood out and after a while they just became this group of interchangeable faces in my head. I wanted to care about them so badly, because the potential seemed to be there at first, but sadly it just didn't happen. Also, our narrator Frances gets the award for the blandest of them all. Congrats.
✨ the friendship dynamics could've been so wonderful - books focusing on friend groups are my absolute fave - but, as I aalready said.. no personalities, no great dynamics. The closest I got to a well-written, complex friendship was the one between Frances and Sofia, because this duo seemed to be the most developed by far, but their somewhat existent arc literally got lost and never resolved. Sucked into a black hole bahahah (okay I should stop with the half-hearted book-related references).
✨ the plot was literally going nowhere for about 70% of the book. Not even the characters seemed to know what the frick was going on, so neither did I. And not in the good way. It seemed like Emily Henry just randomly jumped from point A to point B without further elaborating on WHY exactly the story went from point A to point B, if that makes sense. Not a lot happened, and when it did, I didn't have a clue why. So, the book dragged. A lot. Also, this could've worked better if the characters had been better as well, but sadly they weren't remotely enough to carry the story on their own.
✨ the conclusion wasn't even that bad - the idea was actually pretty cool imo - but it was SO flimsily done and felt incredibly rushed. Also, it really really didn't fit the tone the rest of the book had set.
✨ The writing. Holy shit what happened here??! I haven't encountered such a vast difference in an author's writing since Sarah J. Maas. Or early Victoria Schwab, and Victoria Schwab now. And this wasn't even in such a long amount of time.
I LOVED Henry's writing in A Million Junes, but here it honestly didn't click with me, like, at all. It seemed overly juvenile and weirdly clipped and I am NOT a fan.
👽 THE DECENT 👽
✨ The strongest part of this book were by far the ones that directly focused on grief and loss. Emily Henry really seems to have a knack for such sensitive topics. These were also the only parts where the writing actually sported some of the beautiful, whimsical flow that I loved so much in A Million Junes.
✨ As already mentioned, the conclusion went into a very different direction than I thought, and I actually liked the whole idea of it a lot. If it had been more developed, I would've been really hooked.
✨ I quite liked the overall atmosphere of the book. Creepy and dense? Hell yes.
Honestly, that's pretty much all I have to say on this. Hopefully this will stay the only disappointing book by this author for me.
September 24, 2019
We've got ourselves another 5* read, kids. Feels like I haven't had one of them in ages (if you take all my recent Harry Potter re-reads out of the equation.)
This is my first experience of an Emily Henry book, and it goes without saying that I will seek out more of them as soon as I wrap up this little blurt of thoughts. I came across this book merely after seeing it on my Goodreads feed as one that someone else had listed as "to read", and was sucked in by the funky sounding title, and the kick-ass book art.
As an irrevocable fan of "The X Files," the whole alien/supernnatural theme was enough to have me sold, especially when it was also compared in atmosphere to "Stranger Things" (I'm not the biggest fan, but can't deny that show was cool asf.)
*SMALL SPOILER AT THE START OF NEXT PARAGRAPH; SKIP AHEAD A FEW LINES/ONE PARA TO AVOID*
Whilst I am the teeniest-weensiest bit disappointed to find out that there were no aliens actually involved, but rather a cosmic, super-natural force, I still cannot mark this book down from 5*. Emily Henry writes beautiful characters. Beautiful because they are flawed. But in their flaws is the overwhelming sense of being ordinary. Ordinarily flawed. As opposed to the typical YA cliche of characters who are flawed in the most superficial of ways, who develop into "perfect" people, Henry cuts all that out, and instead takes the angle of of accepting these flaws, because guess what? We all have 'em. So instead of giving one another a hard time for their stroppy behaviour, or bad habits, the six member of the Ordinary accept that they all have their demons and their issues, and instead, unite over them.
The plot had perfect pacing, which is usually the thing I am pickiest about in books. I can excuse a bland character or two, I can overlook a dull scene here and there, but a slow paced narrative? Nah fam, there's the door, please show yourself out.
Also, kudos to Emily Henry for making me use up about half of my annotating tabs for "shocked/plot twists" I didn't see coming. She has an uncanny way of setting you up to think you've cracked the plot twist, but then blows you out of the water with a plot twist, but NEVER the totally predictable one you think you've been set up to expect.
The speech also deserves a huge pre-school gold star on the chart. One of my biggest problems I have with YA, meaning that only around 20-30% of my books read are YA, is that adults who were once young adults and spoke like young adults of their day, fail to talk and interact like young adults of my day in their written word. For example, I love "The Mortal Instruments" series, but y'all trying to tell me Clary is like 16? Haha, no. She talks like she's 19/20 (behaves like a total child, but her grammar and articulation is pretty advanced.) All the members of The Ordinary however talk like proper kids, and yet all have their own voice, too, without just sounding like 6 replicas of one another. Six totally unique, but believable YA voices.
I am in awe. Complete and utter awe.
This is my first experience of an Emily Henry book, and it goes without saying that I will seek out more of them as soon as I wrap up this little blurt of thoughts. I came across this book merely after seeing it on my Goodreads feed as one that someone else had listed as "to read", and was sucked in by the funky sounding title, and the kick-ass book art.
As an irrevocable fan of "The X Files," the whole alien/supernnatural theme was enough to have me sold, especially when it was also compared in atmosphere to "Stranger Things" (I'm not the biggest fan, but can't deny that show was cool asf.)
*SMALL SPOILER AT THE START OF NEXT PARAGRAPH; SKIP AHEAD A FEW LINES/ONE PARA TO AVOID*
Whilst I am the teeniest-weensiest bit disappointed to find out that there were no aliens actually involved, but rather a cosmic, super-natural force, I still cannot mark this book down from 5*. Emily Henry writes beautiful characters. Beautiful because they are flawed. But in their flaws is the overwhelming sense of being ordinary. Ordinarily flawed. As opposed to the typical YA cliche of characters who are flawed in the most superficial of ways, who develop into "perfect" people, Henry cuts all that out, and instead takes the angle of of accepting these flaws, because guess what? We all have 'em. So instead of giving one another a hard time for their stroppy behaviour, or bad habits, the six member of the Ordinary accept that they all have their demons and their issues, and instead, unite over them.
The plot had perfect pacing, which is usually the thing I am pickiest about in books. I can excuse a bland character or two, I can overlook a dull scene here and there, but a slow paced narrative? Nah fam, there's the door, please show yourself out.
Also, kudos to Emily Henry for making me use up about half of my annotating tabs for "shocked/plot twists" I didn't see coming. She has an uncanny way of setting you up to think you've cracked the plot twist, but then blows you out of the water with a plot twist, but NEVER the totally predictable one you think you've been set up to expect.
The speech also deserves a huge pre-school gold star on the chart. One of my biggest problems I have with YA, meaning that only around 20-30% of my books read are YA, is that adults who were once young adults and spoke like young adults of their day, fail to talk and interact like young adults of my day in their written word. For example, I love "The Mortal Instruments" series, but y'all trying to tell me Clary is like 16? Haha, no. She talks like she's 19/20 (behaves like a total child, but her grammar and articulation is pretty advanced.) All the members of The Ordinary however talk like proper kids, and yet all have their own voice, too, without just sounding like 6 replicas of one another. Six totally unique, but believable YA voices.
I am in awe. Complete and utter awe.
July 18, 2019
its soooo hard for me to rate this for what its actually worth, and not for what it could have been or what i wanted it to be.
both of emily henrys other books have been 5 star reads for me. i love her writing and how it so beautifully captures real world feelings with outer worldly fantasies. and this story definitely has that, but if felt like shadow compared to the burning intensity that is ‘a million junes’ or ‘the love that split the world.’
while there are some definitely moments of pure tenderness and love (i thought everything that had to do with mark was so lovely - especially how he could make math and space so personally relatable - it definitely deeply resonated with me, so i wish he played a bigger role in the book), but everything else just paled in comparison.
there are too many characters with no real character development. the story goes in one direction for about 90% of the book, but the suddenly changes at the end. the ending could have been emotionally touching, but there just wasnt enough time to fully develop the idea or allow the reader to entirely process it.
i dunno. this just didnt quite capture me as much as i wanted it to, or as much as im used to with EH stories. im really bummed out about it. and the guilt in me is wanting me to bump this up to 4 stars, at least. ugh.
↠ 3.5 stars
both of emily henrys other books have been 5 star reads for me. i love her writing and how it so beautifully captures real world feelings with outer worldly fantasies. and this story definitely has that, but if felt like shadow compared to the burning intensity that is ‘a million junes’ or ‘the love that split the world.’
while there are some definitely moments of pure tenderness and love (i thought everything that had to do with mark was so lovely - especially how he could make math and space so personally relatable - it definitely deeply resonated with me, so i wish he played a bigger role in the book), but everything else just paled in comparison.
there are too many characters with no real character development. the story goes in one direction for about 90% of the book, but the suddenly changes at the end. the ending could have been emotionally touching, but there just wasnt enough time to fully develop the idea or allow the reader to entirely process it.
i dunno. this just didnt quite capture me as much as i wanted it to, or as much as im used to with EH stories. im really bummed out about it. and the guilt in me is wanting me to bump this up to 4 stars, at least. ugh.
↠ 3.5 stars
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