Time for more Yvo’s Shorties! This time around I will be reviewing two of the last high ratings of 2017… The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, which was my last 5 star read last year and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, which turned out to be another excellent read. Both have been recommended to me numerous times; thank you for convincing me to read both of these!
Title: The Hate U Give
Author: Angie Thomas
Genre: YA, Fiction, Contemporary
First published: February 28th 2017
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Finished reading: December 20th 2017
Pages: 444
“Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.”
I know everybody and the neighbor’s cat have been recommending this book to me since even before The Hate U Give was published, but to be honest this only made me hesitant to pick it up myself. I have a love/hate relationship with hyped books, but after THUG came out as a Goodreads Choice Awards winner I thought it was about time for me to check it out. And WOW. I’m so glad I finally did so! This book is definitely an exception to the rule and absolutely worth the hype around it. Brilliant writing, plot, character development and such an important topic! I feel words cannot describe just how important this story is and everybody should just read it. Because The Hate U Give isn’t just another YA contemporary novel… With this book, Angie Thomas not only manages to portray the main characters brilliantly and create a realistic plot and scaringly accurate image of race problematics, but also address issues related to this topic. The Hate U Give serves as a general eyeopener as well as an insight of what it would be like living the lives of the main characters. The writing itself is brilliant, very easy to read and engaging, making it impossible to put down this story until you reach the final page. Because trust me, you will want to know what will happen to the main characters. The Hate U Give is highly praised with a reason, and I will be joining this wave of praise in the future.
Title: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
Author: Gail Honeyman
Genre: Fiction, Contemporary
First published: May 9th 2017
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Finished reading: November 7th 2017
Pages: 332
“If someone asks you how you are, you are meant to say FINE. You are not meant to say that you cried yourself to sleep last night because you hadn’t spoken to another person for two consecutive days. FINE is what you say.”
This one was another recommendation I have been looking forward to read… Then again I love my quirky and unique characters. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine managed to completely blow me away, and not just because of the excellent writing and character development. Because Eleanor Oliphant is without doubt one of the most unique main characters I’ve had the pleasure to meet and she will stay with me for a long time. Basically her whole character is what makes this book into such a hit and fans of quirky characters will be able to fall head over heels in love with her. The writing and pace were a perfect match for this story and I managed to fly through Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine in no time at all. Gail Honeyman also has a few plot twist bomb surprises in store, so make sure to get yourself comfortable when you pick up your copy and get ready to be surprised. Because the whole mystery around Eleanor’s past definitely adds a little suspense to this quirky, endearing, sad and very well written story. More than recommended!
You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.
Fab reviews Yvo. Glad that you enjoyed both books. THUG is one book that I really have to read soon. It sounds amazing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you will enjoy THUG as much as most people seem to do!
LikeLike
So glad you enjoyed THUG it was one of my top reads last year. I started listening to Eleanor Oliphant ages ago but it really made me cringe and feel uncomfortable so I gave up. 😞
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay for shared favorites! And I can actually imagine why Eleanor Oliphant doesn’t work as well as an audiobook… Her character is quite ‘strange’ and unique and I suspect it doesn’t translate well into an audioversion. The book is worth trying though. I was hesitant to like her character at first (a WTF went through my mind when I first met her, but she grows on you.)
LikeLike
Ah not just me then. I’ll try a print version then, thanks 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
These both have been on my list, but yet to get to them….so many books! Great reviews
LikeLike
I hope you will enjoy them when you do! 🙂
LikeLike
THUG is on my TBR list. I’ve been listening to the audio version of Eleanor… and love it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good to hear the audio version of Eleanor is working for you! And I hope you will enjoy THUG.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I totally get you on hyped books! I tend to stay away!! I’m glad The Hate U Give lived up to its reputation as well as Eleanor!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hyped books are definitely scary, but these two are exceptions and actually worth the hype. Here’s to not having to write unpopular opinion reviews this time around haha.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yay for The Hate U Give! I completely agree with all of your points for why it’s so good. That book was one of my favorite reads of 2017. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s great to hear! Then again, I don’t think I have seen a negative review on THUG yet… Definitely one of those books that deserves all the hype around it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It sure is very encouraging that you enjoyed Eleanor… I don’t think I’ve come across a fellow blogger yet who didn’t like this book 🙂 It must be one of those rare gems that everyone can get enjoyment out of. I sure do hope to read the book myself this year as well… well, that’s the plan anyway 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
In a way it’s surprising since Eleanor isn’t one of the easiest characters to love… There are some uncomfortable moments involved, but I guess she’s able to win over hearts anyway. I hope you will be able to enjoy it when you get to it! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m so happy you enjoyed THUG as much as well, everyone else in the world did lol
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine has been recommended to me as well. I do ADORE quirky characters, so I’m sure I’ll love it too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, I don’t think there would be many out there not loving THUG… Very powerful book indeed. And Eleanor Oliphant is the definition of quirky characters, so definitely recommended!
LikeLike