Emily Martin (4)
Auteur de The Year We Fell Apart
Pour les autres auteurs qui s'appellent Emily Martin, voyez la page de désambigüisation.
Œuvres de Emily Martin
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Aubrey Cash has seen first hand that love doesn't last just by living with her parents and their ever deteriorating relationship the past few years. So when she meets and forms a close friendship - that is slowly evolving into something more - with new next door neighbor Webster, the heartbreak is even more devastating when he stands her up at Homecoming.
Now, as Aubrey heads into Senior year, she's just focused on getting out of there, going to college, and leaving everything behind. When she meets a cute guy at a party, she thinks she might want to let down her barriers again, but when she finds out this guy is Webster's cousin, she's pulled back into his orbit and forced to confront what may, or may not, have happened on Homecoming night.
It's pretty apparent from the getgo that things don't add up when it comes to that fateful Homecoming night. So I think that kind of drives the story quite a bit. When are we going to understand where things went wrong between Aubrey and Webster? Not really from Aubrey's perspective, because the entire story is told from her point of view, but from Wester.
So readers have to go through the process of Aubrey and Webster getting to the point where they can move beyond the hurt they've caused one another and actually talk. And really since it's only Aubrey's POV, it's Aubrey coming to terms with the dissolution of her parents' marriage which tarnishes her ideas of love. She's also at a precipice in her own life, where she's getting ready to go off to college by herself, away from her best friend.
It certainly wasn't hard to discern why Aubrey closed herself off so much, and why she kind of begins to hold herself apart from others: self-preservation, protecting herself from a broken heart. I just wish that we got to see more of her finding her way. More of the moments that she does decide that her parents' relationship is, yes, one way a relationship can go, but it's not the only way. More of Aubrey understanding that starting a new chapter in her life, doesn't mean things have to end. By the time we get to that point with Aubrey a majority of the book is done. While one could say that this encompasses Aubrey's journey - which is true - I would have loved to see Aubrey living with her more open persona.
The moments between Aubrey and Webster, you can just feel their connection. You feel them inching their way towards one another. I kept finding myself reading faster to get to their moments together and then savoring those moments when they would come up. I think that Emily Henry utilized this dynamic in the best way possible to keep the story flowing.
I think that Five Ways to Fall Out of Love speaks a lot to the transition time between childhood and adulthood. Having to grow up and be on your own and realizing that you don't have to give up who you are and where you came from to move forward with your life. I just wish we had seen Aubrey have this realization and see her incorporate that into her life a bit before ending.… (plus d'informations)
Now, as Aubrey heads into Senior year, she's just focused on getting out of there, going to college, and leaving everything behind. When she meets a cute guy at a party, she thinks she might want to let down her barriers again, but when she finds out this guy is Webster's cousin, she's pulled back into his orbit and forced to confront what may, or may not, have happened on Homecoming night.
It's pretty apparent from the getgo that things don't add up when it comes to that fateful Homecoming night. So I think that kind of drives the story quite a bit. When are we going to understand where things went wrong between Aubrey and Webster? Not really from Aubrey's perspective, because the entire story is told from her point of view, but from Wester.
So readers have to go through the process of Aubrey and Webster getting to the point where they can move beyond the hurt they've caused one another and actually talk. And really since it's only Aubrey's POV, it's Aubrey coming to terms with the dissolution of her parents' marriage which tarnishes her ideas of love. She's also at a precipice in her own life, where she's getting ready to go off to college by herself, away from her best friend.
It certainly wasn't hard to discern why Aubrey closed herself off so much, and why she kind of begins to hold herself apart from others: self-preservation, protecting herself from a broken heart. I just wish that we got to see more of her finding her way. More of the moments that she does decide that her parents' relationship is, yes, one way a relationship can go, but it's not the only way. More of Aubrey understanding that starting a new chapter in her life, doesn't mean things have to end. By the time we get to that point with Aubrey a majority of the book is done. While one could say that this encompasses Aubrey's journey - which is true - I would have loved to see Aubrey living with her more open persona.
The moments between Aubrey and Webster, you can just feel their connection. You feel them inching their way towards one another. I kept finding myself reading faster to get to their moments together and then savoring those moments when they would come up. I think that Emily Henry utilized this dynamic in the best way possible to keep the story flowing.
I think that Five Ways to Fall Out of Love speaks a lot to the transition time between childhood and adulthood. Having to grow up and be on your own and realizing that you don't have to give up who you are and where you came from to move forward with your life. I just wish we had seen Aubrey have this realization and see her incorporate that into her life a bit before ending.… (plus d'informations)
UGHHHHHHHHH.
Okay that's out of my system.
I just don't have a lot of patience for novels like this. I am all for flawed main characters, but the main protagonist Harper is not just flawed. She's aggravating, selfish, lies, is self absorbed and also solely fixated on the character of Declan. I just kept hoping for something, anything to redeem this character in my eyes and nope, she just kept on sucking til the end. I will add that sometimes having a flawed main character can still make a great book. Unfortunately that didn't happen here at all.
The Year We Fell Apart is told in the first person by Harper Sloan. The summer before Harper is about to start her senior year in high school and readers are alerted to something happening a couple of months ago that has left Harper in trouble with her parents and her kicked off the swim team.
Harper is still broken hearted after the end of her friendship with one of her best friend's Declan a few months earlier. It is slowly revealed though that Harper and Declan were not just best friends's they eventually became more and then Harper ended things.
We find out pretty quickly that Harper is in essence a drama queen.
Harper is exhausting. When you find out why her relationship with Declan ended you will roll your eyes. Everything with her is magnified by 100. And happy days, everything is about her.
We get a reveal about a person's death close to Declan, and nope Harper still talks about how this person dying affected her and caused her to get obsessed about people pulling away and leaving her.
She reminds me of a friend that I know that always has to re-up someone's story when talking. If you tell her that you were late because you got a flat tire, she is the type of person that will tell you that she was late one time for three hours because ninjas came out of nowhere and started a fight in downtown Washington, D.C.
The other characters in this book are paper thin. I think that Martin wanted to showcase some things here, but nothing worked at all. Harper's other best friends Sadie and Cory are given very little to do besides enable and or disapprove of her behavior.
The character of Declan was just a mess. I liked him though because at least he told Harper about herself once that had me cheering. I think the main issue with him is that because this story was told in the first person we don't get any insight into Declan that is not foisted upon us by Harper. And Harper we already know is flawed which makes me think her perfect recollections of how great Declan are, are not true either.
I wish that we had gotten more interactions between Harper and her family. Her family is going through a major upheaval in the book and it's barely given any thought here and there except when to move the plot along.
The writing was painful. I am usually always a fan of first person narratives in stories like this because it makes it more intimate for me as a reader. I like third person when we have more characters involved in a story so that way you don't feel like you are jumping in and out of everyone's heads. However, this time I would have preferred third person narration. We could have included other characters in this story like Declan or even Cory so we weren't so immersed in Harper's brain the whole time. There is only so much inner-angst that I can stand in this book and at about the halfway mark I was over it.
Further, things are slowly revealed at such a glacial place that the flow of the book is wrecked at about the halfway point. We also get an 11th hour reveal about things towards the last 5 percent of the book that actually made me laugh. Frankly I was disappointed with the author's decision to throw that little wrinkle in there. I really didn't get what Harper was so angsty about then with her whole don't tell Declan or he will hate me forever nonsense.
The ending left things on a totally off note. I think I was supposed to think deep thoughts but instead I was just thinking that Harper needs to think about getting a therapist.… (plus d'informations)
Okay that's out of my system.
I just don't have a lot of patience for novels like this. I am all for flawed main characters, but the main protagonist Harper is not just flawed. She's aggravating, selfish, lies, is self absorbed and also solely fixated on the character of Declan. I just kept hoping for something, anything to redeem this character in my eyes and nope, she just kept on sucking til the end. I will add that sometimes having a flawed main character can still make a great book. Unfortunately that didn't happen here at all.
The Year We Fell Apart is told in the first person by Harper Sloan. The summer before Harper is about to start her senior year in high school and readers are alerted to something happening a couple of months ago that has left Harper in trouble with her parents and her kicked off the swim team.
Harper is still broken hearted after the end of her friendship with one of her best friend's Declan a few months earlier. It is slowly revealed though that Harper and Declan were not just best friends's they eventually became more and then Harper ended things.
We find out pretty quickly that Harper is in essence a drama queen.
Harper is exhausting. When you find out why her relationship with Declan ended you will roll your eyes. Everything with her is magnified by 100. And happy days, everything is about her.
We get a reveal about a person's death close to Declan, and nope Harper still talks about how this person dying affected her and caused her to get obsessed about people pulling away and leaving her.
She reminds me of a friend that I know that always has to re-up someone's story when talking. If you tell her that you were late because you got a flat tire, she is the type of person that will tell you that she was late one time for three hours because ninjas came out of nowhere and started a fight in downtown Washington, D.C.
The other characters in this book are paper thin. I think that Martin wanted to showcase some things here, but nothing worked at all. Harper's other best friends Sadie and Cory are given very little to do besides enable and or disapprove of her behavior.
The character of Declan was just a mess. I liked him though because at least he told Harper about herself once that had me cheering. I think the main issue with him is that because this story was told in the first person we don't get any insight into Declan that is not foisted upon us by Harper. And Harper we already know is flawed which makes me think her perfect recollections of how great Declan are, are not true either.
I wish that we had gotten more interactions between Harper and her family. Her family is going through a major upheaval in the book and it's barely given any thought here and there except when to move the plot along.
The writing was painful. I am usually always a fan of first person narratives in stories like this because it makes it more intimate for me as a reader. I like third person when we have more characters involved in a story so that way you don't feel like you are jumping in and out of everyone's heads. However, this time I would have preferred third person narration. We could have included other characters in this story like Declan or even Cory so we weren't so immersed in Harper's brain the whole time. There is only so much inner-angst that I can stand in this book and at about the halfway mark I was over it.
Further, things are slowly revealed at such a glacial place that the flow of the book is wrecked at about the halfway point. We also get an 11th hour reveal about things towards the last 5 percent of the book that actually made me laugh. Frankly I was disappointed with the author's decision to throw that little wrinkle in there. I really didn't get what Harper was so angsty about then with her whole don't tell Declan or he will hate me forever nonsense.
The ending left things on a totally off note. I think I was supposed to think deep thoughts but instead I was just thinking that Harper needs to think about getting a therapist.… (plus d'informations)
It's been a while since I read a really well written Contemporary Young Adult book, so The Year We Fell Apart was a welcome experience. Beautiful writing, believable characters, and just enough twisty issues to make everything interesting. I have to say, Emily Martin stole my heart. I powered through this in just a few hours and enjoyed every minute of it.
Now, keep in mind that this is definitely aimed at the YA crowd. If you can't settle yourself into the headspace of a teen, with all the crazy emotions and potentially bad decisions that come along with that, you probably won't be able to get into this book. See, Harper is definitely flawed. Just like all the rest of us are. It's actually one of the things I loved most about her character. While I didn't always love her for the choices she made, it was the fact that she was ultimately human that made me smile. Hell, we've all chosen made poor choices. We've all pushed that one person away who could have built us back up. It's a part of growing up.
In fact, what impressed me most was how expertly Emily Martin navigated the pitfalls of being a teenager who is still feeling their way in the world. Harper has to face one of the scariest things highschoolers ever face, and that's a reputation. One bad decision. One case of poor judgement, and Harper is forever labeled a "slut". The fact that Martin showed the pain that Harper was suffering and where that all stemmed from, only hammered home the fact that it was ultimately Harper's decision. Wrong or not, she didn't deserved to be judged so harshly. But she was. That's high school.
When you pile on a mother with an illness, a former best friend who disappeared and might be something more, and trying to add new friends to the mix? Well, it's no surprise that this whole story is a jumble of emotions. I felt for Harper. I've been in her shoes. Lots of people have. Which is why it's easy to relate to her, even when she's being a bit over-dramatic. Again, teenage hormones. They're hell.
There were only a few things that knocked this down a star for me, the main two being that I really wanted Harper's friend Sadie to disappear and the whole romance with Declan was never really resolved. Sadie was a terrible influence. I think Sadie was there to give a possible reason why Harper may have made the choices that she did, but truth be told I really wished she'd wise up and ditch her. As for Declan, well he was ultimately hot and cold. I know not every story can have a happy ending, but I think Harper deserved one. Or, at the very least, the concept that you can go through hell and come out whole on the other side needed to be emphasized. Something, to make it all worth while.
Overall, I enjoyed this read though! I'd say that if you're a fan of Contemporary YA, you probably will too.… (plus d'informations)
Now, keep in mind that this is definitely aimed at the YA crowd. If you can't settle yourself into the headspace of a teen, with all the crazy emotions and potentially bad decisions that come along with that, you probably won't be able to get into this book. See, Harper is definitely flawed. Just like all the rest of us are. It's actually one of the things I loved most about her character. While I didn't always love her for the choices she made, it was the fact that she was ultimately human that made me smile. Hell, we've all chosen made poor choices. We've all pushed that one person away who could have built us back up. It's a part of growing up.
In fact, what impressed me most was how expertly Emily Martin navigated the pitfalls of being a teenager who is still feeling their way in the world. Harper has to face one of the scariest things highschoolers ever face, and that's a reputation. One bad decision. One case of poor judgement, and Harper is forever labeled a "slut". The fact that Martin showed the pain that Harper was suffering and where that all stemmed from, only hammered home the fact that it was ultimately Harper's decision. Wrong or not, she didn't deserved to be judged so harshly. But she was. That's high school.
When you pile on a mother with an illness, a former best friend who disappeared and might be something more, and trying to add new friends to the mix? Well, it's no surprise that this whole story is a jumble of emotions. I felt for Harper. I've been in her shoes. Lots of people have. Which is why it's easy to relate to her, even when she's being a bit over-dramatic. Again, teenage hormones. They're hell.
There were only a few things that knocked this down a star for me, the main two being that I really wanted Harper's friend Sadie to disappear and the whole romance with Declan was never really resolved. Sadie was a terrible influence. I think Sadie was there to give a possible reason why Harper may have made the choices that she did, but truth be told I really wished she'd wise up and ditch her. As for Declan, well he was ultimately hot and cold. I know not every story can have a happy ending, but I think Harper deserved one. Or, at the very least, the concept that you can go through hell and come out whole on the other side needed to be emphasized. Something, to make it all worth while.
Overall, I enjoyed this read though! I'd say that if you're a fan of Contemporary YA, you probably will too.… (plus d'informations)
Prix et récompenses
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Statistiques
- Œuvres
- 2
- Membres
- 142
- Popularité
- #144,865
- Évaluation
- 3.0
- Critiques
- 12
- ISBN
- 42
- Langues
- 2
If you like -
- love triangles
- friends to enemies to lovers tropes
this is the book for you.
I love Emily Martin, and she tackles a lot of issues with a really authentic teen voice. There's plenty of teen drama, and she handles these topics - from sexuality, divorce (and being put in the middle), teenage drinking, etc deftly. Aubrey's cynicism towards love is understandable, having watched her parents own relationship (particularly after her mom puts her in some unfair situations) but immensely frustrating at times. I love the relationship with her best friend, too - it's probably my favorite part of the book.
Niggles:
I thought the love triangle aspect was a little uncomfortable as Harrison and Winston are cousins, and that seemed to violate bro code (like it would with girl code). I kind of felt sorry for Harrison, who seems like a nice guy, and Aubrey's her cynicism and resulting distancing makes for a tough relationship.… (plus d'informations)