Addicted to YA discussion

What did you think of it? Favorite or least favorite characters? Favorite or least favorite part?

This was my fav YA book of 2014. Noah and Jude feel like real people, and though both of their stories are heartbreaking, I found myself particularly drawn toward Noah. I love how their story lines grow apart and then merge.

I LOVED this book. I basically agree with Melody. My favorite character was Noah. I relate to Noah a lot, and I felt like this was one of the books you feel were written for you personally. My favorite part was when (view spoiler)[Jude reunited Noah with Brian. Oh it was so sweet. (hide spoiler)]

This book was so amazing. Reading it was so wonderful and my favorite character was Noah. That second chapter where Jude starts telling the story and you find out how everything kind of went wrong was heartbreaking for me. The book captured me and had me obsessed. Such a great read!

At first I didn't like Jude, but then I found out why she wasn't in art school. Also I forgot to mention I LOVE Noah's friend (I forget his name--the guy who throws rocks). His character was so refreshingly different.

Melody wrote: "At first I didn't like Jude, but then I found out why she wasn't in art school. Also I forgot to mention I LOVE Noah's friend (I forget his name--the guy who throws rocks). His character was so ref..."

I didn't like Jude either at first. His name is Brian.

At first I was frustrated when it switched voices, but then not only did I love Jude, I loved Noah more through her sections. I am obsessed with this one too. Each character except the dad was well fleshed out, and I was glad to get to know more about him in the end. The mom was so powerful for being mostly absent from the book. It was a little "never mind the man behind the curtain" in such a catalyst way. Well done. I actually felt like I was up on the cliff with drunken Noah and panicked Jude as he ran from her. Wow. Also, best scene, was when Brian returns for break and he and Noah rush into the woods. Amazing scene.

I want to get this from the library soo bad! Bit they don't have it right now. :(

I tried reading the first couple of chapters and i just couldnt do it! I didnt connect with any of the charcters so i just had to put it down :) i might try again another time x ps i love Jandy Nelson

Abbie4778 wrote: "I tried reading the first couple of chapters and i just couldnt do it! I didnt connect with any of the charcters so i just had to put it down :) i might try again another time x ps i love Jandy Nelson"

Not every book will appeal to every reader. I keep trying to get people to like Watership Down as much as I do.

I really enjoyed this book. It feels very fresh and creative. Such a good take on sibling rivalry and the language is beautiful. The only negative, and it's fairly small point, is that the father character didn't seem as real to me as the others. He's presented as a logical, scientific type, but his personality wasn't explored that much compared to the other characters in the book.

I'll Give You the Sun was one of those books that really stood out for me. I thought the writing was totally poetic and beautiful. I can see how the writing style isn't for everyone, it's certainly not a light read, but I absolutely loved it.

I really connected to Noah. There were a lot of parts where I was really frustrated with Jude, but as the puzzle started coming together, I really started to connect with her as well.

The plot rounded off perfectly and I was very pleased with this one. I will definitely be reading other work by this author.

Just started it, and I agree with the comment above, the writing style is completely beautiful and poetic. I'm loving it so far, even if it's taking me a while to really get into the story.

I cannot even begin to say how happy I am with this book. I love ALL of the characters... even the not-living ones! I loved the author's choice of words when describing the art: the real ones to the imaginary self-portraits, right down to the cracking of Jude's broken clay pieces and the guilt they represent.

When I was younger, there were a handful of books that changed my life and helped teach me the life lesson of "being true to yourself;" books like "Ordinary People" or the "Perks of Being a Wallflower." This book is going to be that for other young readers now. I know it. I felt it all stirring inside me like I myself was 14 and just starting to figure it all out again.

Nelson nailed it: life can be so heart breaking at times. But forces are always working around us to pull all the pieces together, when, and only when, we are ready to open our eyes and see the miracles happening around us.

I know this year is still brand-new, but so far this is my favorite book that I have read. Such poetry in the writing, and such great quotes!

These were my two favorites:
“I didn’t know you could get buried in your own silence.”
“Sometimes you think you know things, know things very deeply, only to realize you don’t know a damn thing.”

I didn't mind the flip-flopping of the voice of the chapters between Jude & Noah. I felt it added more depth to the book. And I love they in fact flip-flopped themselves- At 13, they are best friends and soul-sharers. Noah has a deep dark secret,and Jude is attempting to be normal and fit it. At 16, Noah and Jude are no longer speaking. Jude has a deep, dark secret and Noah is attempting to be normal and fit in.

Jude was by far my favorite character. Loved, loved, loved this book!

Michelle wrote: "I cannot even begin to say how happy I am with this book. I love ALL of the characters... even the not-living ones! I loved the author's choice of words when describing the art: the real ones to th..."

You've put my thought into words, beautifully said!

I'd thought the writing was incredible. The way Noah's feelings, who feels so deeply, were put into these explosive descriptions was great. It swept me up and carried me back to my own moments of immense feelings.
But not only Noah, but also Jude, Oscar, Brian and Garcia were astonishingly real characters, they were alive. They were flawed, but alive.
I think this is one of the better YA books out there, it was extremely refreshing!

This book is beautiful in very way.

This book blew me away!!! It was beautifully written, and I loved it!!!! My favorite book of all time now!

Just finished it. Can't function. Can't think. It's the beautiful kind of angst and emotional roller coasters…

I loved this book, it was the first book I read with a gay main character and it made me insanely happy.

This and The Sky is Everywhere were both wonderful. I read them a few years ago, and I remember how vibrant and colorful they were and how the words seemed to glow.

I loveeeed it! I thought it was beautifully written and their story was so unique

I liked the book, but to me (and I'm wa-a-a-y past the teen years, so take this with a grain of salt), it felt at times overburdened with angst from too many sources. It felt a bit like it became a numbers game of conflict-heavy situations and incidents and we have to keep on adding them into the mix until we hit the magic number. Conflict is good; it's what keeps readers reading. But too much of it scattered over the narrative tends to diminish and dilute the importance of each character's role and the focus of the story itself. Still, I thought it was well written and for the most part engaging.

I loved it!! Very well written!! ❤️

This is my favorite novel, and the characters really stood out from a lot of the books I've read. They felt so alive and perfectly flawed. My favorite characters were Noah, Brian, and Oscar, but once I got to know Jude better I enjoyed reading from her perspective as well. Few other books have made me feel this strongly for the characters and the writing was heartbreakingly raw and poetic and hopeful and just kinda everything all at once. This is a beautiful book <3