and typically i save 1 stars for books that are problematic and this one certainly is, but at least i read it fast without problem ig But I don't think I've ever read a modern YA contemporary that hit me quite like Solitaire did. See, at the risk of getting too personal, I'm not afraid of dying. Never have been. But I am afraid of dying without doing anything worthwhile in my life. I mean living as a sort of passive observer in the world and never doing a single goddamn thing to change it.

Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2022-09-23 12:14:32 Autocrop_version 0.0.14_books-20220331-0.2 Bookplateleaf 0008 Boxid IA40707324 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifierAlice Oseman wrote Solitaire when she was only 17, which I find incredibly impressive and motivating. The writing clearly and realistically captures the thoughts of teenagers, both the good and the bad. While the writing style was arguably simplistic and nothing special- it was engaging and easy to read.

Ocr tesseract 5.2.0-1-gc42a Ocr_detected_lang en Ocr_detected_lang_conf 1.0000 Ocr_detected_script Latin Ocr_detected_script_conf 0.9887 Ocr_module_version 0.0.18 Ocr_parameters -l eng Old_pallet IA-WL-2000099 Openlibrary_editionThis is not a love story. Tori Spring is a girl who likes to blong and sleep. Last year, before everything that happened with her brother, Charlie, she had to face the harsh realities of high school and that she will eventually have to talk to other people. But that's in the past. Now there's Solitaire and Michael Holden. What I’m trying to say is that Charlie is a nice person and, despite everything I’ve just explained, everybody seems to love him. And I think that is a modern miracle.” But books–they’re different. When you watch a film, you’re sort of an outsider looking in. With a book–you’re right there. You are inside. You are the main character.” aaanyway never mind the strange plot points where people keep interacting with tori and choosing to hang out with her or asking her to do stuff for them even though she treats everyone like utter trash (and no, depression and self-hatred isn’t an excuse to be a judgmental asshole to everyone else)

The long answer: I write my books as if they are taking place in the present at the time that I am writing them. This obviously doesn’t technically work in the timeline of the books, because I wrote Heartstopper long after I wrote Solitaire, even though Heartstopper takes place before Solitaire! Solitaire is not a perfect book. I mean, no book is a perfect book, but old Solitaire definitely has flaws. Michael Holden is sort of a manic pixie dream boy for most of it, Evelyn is sort of there to be the early 2010s mean girl, and it's pretty unrealistic with the bigger pranks and all. I'm not kidding, the final prank was unrealistic as hell, and you can definitely tell that Solitaire is a phony organization. This main character (Tori) was one of the most unlikeable characters I've read in a long time. She was bitter, bitchy, and pessimistic. It's like she didn't know how to smile or laugh, but she was an expert on being judgemental and looking down on people.To write a review about “Solitaire” turns out to be more difficult than I thought it would be. Mostly because I still don’t know where I stand with the book or rather on which side I came out of? About half of the people who read it loved it and the other half seems to dislike it pretty strongly. There rarely seems to be anything in between and I totally get why the opinions about this book are so varied. It’s not an easy book to like, because Tori Spring is not your typical MC. And I don’t even mean that she’s an anti-hero, she’s just not someone you’d like to be friends with and her life and the people she surrounds herself with are all pretty bland and uncongenial. She even kind of admits how bitter, pessimistic, and boring she is when she says this at one point: There comes a point, though, when you can't keep looking after other people anymore. You have to start looking after yourself." This incredible debut novel by outstanding young author Alice Oseman is perfect for fans of John Green, Rainbow Rowell, and all the truly honest authors. All the people are chatting and laughing and smiling and it sort of makes me feel a bit sad, like I’m watching them through a dirty window.

And my candid answer is: Yes and no. I think you just can’t compare it to any of her other works because for one thing it’s her debut novel and for another it’s an entirely different writing style. At least for me it is, because it’s extremely immersive and you see the world through Tori’s perspective and POV. Of course you could argue that you do that with every book and MC you read about but I think this time it was different. You saw the darkness with Tori’s eyes and yes, this is unpleasant, it doesn’t make you happy, it drags you down; it makes it a chore to get through the book and it’s exactly the reason why I think “Solitaire” is brilliant in its own way. I’m a sanguine person, but I appreciated to get a different glimpse at the world and it’s always good to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. A little bit of sensitivity never hurt anyone. With this in mind: Four stars. No more and no less. I really liked Tori as a character. I really connected with her and I also related with her, a lot.. I always end up relating with a character when it comes to Alice Oseman's books. For example in Radio Silence I found both Frances and Aled relatable and in Heartstopper I had a lot in common with Charlie. Basically I always find introverts relatable. But I simply found Tori's character extremely intriguing since she was different. She wasn't as other characters that I read about. I don't even know how to explain and I wouldn't because it would just come out wrong. I'm not trying to say she isn't like other girls I first heard about Solitaire on Tumblr. I've been following Alice Oseman ever since and I desperately wanted to read her novel. So when I finally, finally! found it at the library I think I maybe made some loud joyful sound and hugged it...yeah. So what didn't I like? I would've liked to have seen more about Solitaire and who else was behind it. Just knowing one person wasn't good enough for me. The only other thing that could potentially wind me up is a sequel. I don't think it would be possible to extend the plot of this book into a second novel, and I don't think I'd be inclined to read a second. Once is great, but don't overdo it. Although I disliked a few characters - I did not really understand why the main character even put up with them - and did expect something else from the ending, I just have to give 5 stars. I believe this is a book you either love or hate, understand or don't. And I love and understand.

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Y es que en general… para mí el libro no vale nada la pena, sea eso lo que busques o no. Es un libro perverso nivel épico. No he leído más novelas de Alice Oseman, pero con esta ya me quedó la sensación de que es malísima escribiendo. Es decir, creo que se le dan mil veces mejor las novelas gráficas. Tenía que decirlo. If you want to know the truth, the Catcher in the Rye is one of my favorite books of all time, and so I was a bit suspicious of the blurb of this one. Publishers always wanna compare books about teenage sadness and mental health to Catcher, and I always sort of raise my eyebrows at that. See, they always wanna reel in readers by comparing contemporaries to famous books, and then you read the book and it's pretty goddamn phony. But Solitaire?