Darren GrothReseñas

Infinite Love. This book starts with a near drowning in a rip tide that brings together a talented swimmer and an excellent artist, and proceeds to tell the tale of their love... and the artist's Finnish grandmother nearly steals the show. Excellent drama with some mild fantasy/ scifi elements built in almost from the beginning that proceeds to a stunning conclusion. A very quick and easy read, though hardly light - this is a deep look at eternal love, even when the couple is young.

I learned new things about Vancouver. I learned even more new things about autism spectrum disorder.

I received this eARC from Orca Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Obligatory Summary

This is a difficult book to summarize because, honestly, I don't really know what happened.

Basically, take that one movie about a girl who loves surfing but gets bitten by a shark and losses an arm but learns to surf again, and merge it with a fever dream version of Aqua Marine, and you'll still not have what happened. This book makes no sense. I'll give you what I did understand, though.

So, Ash saves Clayton from dying in the prologue and in the first chapter they're suddenly casually declaring their love. Ash is a hardcore swimmer who breaks a world record and gets swept up in her mother's dream of stardom. Then she suffers a devastating accident that changes her life forever. Clayton...draws, I guess? He has a sassy chain-smoking Finnish grandma and that's about all I can really say.

The Writing (and Worldbuilding?)

So, is this an urban fantasy or a magical realism fever dream? I honestly don't know.

The book felt like two distinct coherent stories chopped up and smashed together: 1) Ash, the swimmer, and her power hungry, emotionally deprived mother, facing the aftermath of a terrible accident; 2) Clayton and his grandma chill and she regales him with stories about his grandfather who was a soldier in Korea. And then suddenly, there's mystical drawings (because you can ~accidentally~ draw things) and water-lover mermaids and Cuba. All in less than 200 pages. It was a mess, honestly. The grandma was the only interesting character, and her love story told entirely in anecdotes was more real, passionate, and believable than the forced mess between two wooden planks I was supposed to be invested in for no discernable reason.

The Characters

Ash: Between the two of them, she definitely had more personality, but honestly, she was so unrelatable. She was always talking about her ~training~ and her mystical ~connection~ to the water, and as someone who has literally never swam in my life (I'm a wimp and not standing on solid surfaces freaks me out, okay?) I couldn't relate whatsoever.

Clayton: You'd think I related to him because he draws and so do I but, but he was so boring. He spends the whole book in Ash's shadow being vaguely confused. And honestly, same. (I guess we do relate lol)

Blythe: Excuse me while I look for character arcs for any of these characters. Oh wait, there aren't any. Blythe is just as mean and stubborn and unreasonably villainous as she is at the beginning by the end.

Coach Dwyer: How do you pronounce that? D-why-er? D-w-ear? Who knows?

Tuula: Heck yeah, give more sassy chain-smoking Finnish grandma!

Conclusion

I kinda hated this book. It sucks. Don't read it when it comes out. Except maybe if you want Tuula in your life, which is a good reason. Read it for her. She's totally worth it.

This book... Okay. I really love magical realism. It's my jam. And this book had that- which is good. And it had great cover art. And there was an awesome chain smoking grandma. But otherwise the book wasn't for me. It wasn't bad. Honestly, it was really well written and I like the author's style. I just didn't connect with any of the characters strongly. This is possibly because I'm not the target audience, so don't take this review as a suggestion to skip this book. It's totally a case of -It's not you, it's me.-

A heartwarming and insightful journey into the mind of a young man on the autism spectrum disorder and his twin sister, who is also his caregiver. Written in dual perspectives, the unique sibling dynamic was cleverly illustrated, the characters were complex and not cliché. I also really enjoyed the journals from the father included throughout the book, it helped to tie the story together.

I would recommend this novel, a thoughtful read with a great message.

I received this eARC from Orca Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Obligatory Summary

This is a difficult book to summarize because, honestly, I don't really know what happened.

Basically, take that one movie about a girl who loves surfing but gets bitten by a shark and losses an arm but learns to surf again, and merge it with a fever dream version of Aqua Marine, and you'll still not have what happened. This book makes no sense. I'll give you what I did understand, though.

So, Ash saves Clayton from dying in the prologue and in the first chapter they're suddenly casually declaring their love. Ash is a hardcore swimmer who breaks a world record and gets swept up in her mother's dream of stardom. Then she suffers a devastating accident that changes her life forever. Clayton...draws, I guess? He has a sassy chain-smoking Finnish grandma and that's about all I can really say.

The Writing (and Worldbuilding?)

So, is this an urban fantasy or a magical realism fever dream? I honestly don't know.

The book felt like two distinct coherent stories chopped up and smashed together: 1) Ash, the swimmer, and her power hungry, emotionally deprived mother, facing the aftermath of a terrible accident; 2) Clayton and his grandma chill and she regales him with stories about his grandfather who was a soldier in Korea. And then suddenly, there's mystical drawings (because you can ~accidentally~ draw things) and water-lover mermaids and Cuba. All in less than 200 pages. It was a mess, honestly. The grandma was the only interesting character, and her love story told entirely in anecdotes was more real, passionate, and believable than the forced mess between two wooden planks I was supposed to be invested in for no discernable reason.

The Characters

Ash: Between the two of them, she definitely had more personality, but honestly, she was so unrelatable. She was always talking about her ~training~ and her mystical ~connection~ to the water, and as someone who has literally never swam in my life (I'm a wimp and not standing on solid surfaces freaks me out, okay?) I couldn't relate whatsoever.

Clayton: You'd think I related to him because he draws and so do I but, but he was so boring. He spends the whole book in Ash's shadow being vaguely confused. And honestly, same. (I guess we do relate lol)

Blythe: Excuse me while I look for character arcs for any of these characters. Oh wait, there aren't any. Blythe is just as mean and stubborn and unreasonably villainous as she is at the beginning by the end.

Coach Dwyer: How do you pronounce that? D-why-er? D-w-ear? Who knows?

Tuula: Heck yeah, give more sassy chain-smoking Finnish grandma!

Conclusion

I kinda hated this book. It sucks. Don't read it when it comes out. Except maybe if you want Tuula in your life, which is a good reason. Read it for her. She's totally worth it.

A short cute romance that I enjoyed reading. I liked both Ashley and Clayton and thought they had great chemistry. I also enjoyed the fact that Ashley was a swimmer, as I could relate to that.

If I could change anything about this book I would definitely change the length. As much as I liked the story I wanted more of it, the ending was a little odd to me too but all together it was an enjoyable read.

Quick, easy read. The author's style is minimalist, with only important details shared in the scenes and conversations. However, the relationships and personalities come through strongly without a lot of detail. I was a swimmer growing up, so I enjoyed the familiar competitive swimming situations. The ending threw me, leaving me thinking "that was weird" rather than "that was cute", which was my thought through the whole rest of the book.

I received this book from the Library Thing Early Reviewers giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

Infinite Blue was a cute, quick read. The characters, Ashley and Clayton, had a good chemistry, which I enjoyed. The book was also well written. I liked Ash’s passion for swimming and her dynamic with her mother. It added something to the book that I really enjoyed.

Infinite Blue was, however, extremely slow. It was not fast-paced and there were parts that confused me.

Overall, this book was a sweet read about the lives of two teenagers. The characters surprised me and the plot was a bit confusing. I would recommend it to fans of unique, slow burn contemporary.

Please feel free to check out my other reviews on my blog: https://pagesenchanted.wordpress.com/
My full review for Infinite Blue, when posted on my blog will be linked here.

Very quick read. I wish I had a lot to say about this book, but I don’t. I think the fact that it was such a short book left me not remembering much. It is however a very well written book that I would love to sit down and read again to try and actually dive deep into it.

I received this book through Librarything.com Early Member Giveaway for an honest review of the book. I enjoyed this book so much!!!!! The chemistry between the two characters, Ashley and Clayton were perfect. The telling of the story was amazing, it just made me love the book even more!!!!!

I won this book in LibraryThing's Early Reviewers Giveaway from the publisher in exchange for my honest review! (Thank you!!)

*** Feel free to check out some of my other reviews on my blog! http://actthegiddygoat.com and see my full review on this book here: https://actthegiddygoat.com/2018/08/17/infinite-blue-arc-book-review/ ***

(Summary from back of the book): Ashley Drummond is an elite swimmer. Clayton Sandalford is a talented artist. From the moment of their first meeting, they were destined to be together. Infinite Blue is a contemporary fairy tale about love and loss, flesh and water, the source of eternity, the lure of possibility and the belief that life is limitless when it’s immersed in legend.

This was a nice quick read and I enjoyed seeing where this story went. I really liked Clay’s grandmother, she was really amusing and I got a kick out of her and some of the things she said. Ash’s mom definitely got on my nerves because she was so stubborn and she was the type of person that just wouldn’t let things go. Honestly, though, the only complaint I really had about this book was that it was just so short! I would’ve loved to read more and see things a little more fleshed out. I still liked this book, it just left me wanting more.

I received this book via Library Thing giveaway in exchange for an honest review.

What I expected from Infinite Blue was a story about two teens trying to make love work and last. Instead, what I got was a contemporary, magical-realism book about life, love, passion and just how eternal they are.

Infinite Blue is a mystical read that I highly enjoyed. The relationship between our two main characters, Ash and Clayton, was incredibly sweet, the concept of this book felt highly original, and it was quick and easy to read. So, with all that praise, why have I only given it three stars?

Infinite Blue left me wanting more. Unfortunately, not in the traditional "I loved this book and never want it to end! Give me twenty spin-offs of it!" way. The book is only 178 pages long. In that time a lot happens. But so much of it is skimmed over to an extreme extent where I felt I'd only read a third of a book. Yes, all the details a reader need to know are disclosed on paper, but there is practically no build up toward these events. That alone is why I don't feel I can give it a higher rating. The book feels incomplete.

With that being said, Orca Publishing specializes in publishing books for reluctant readers. This is a book I would recommend to reluctant readers ages 12-15. It's very straight to the point so it leaves little room to get distracted and the concept is extremely interesting.

But ultimately, as an avid reader, I found myself a bit let down by how incomplete the book felt as a whole.

I really liked this book. I would have appreciated more setting description at the beginning, though. While it does specify Australia (I think) towards the middle/end, I then started to wonder how this guy's gramma was Finish (like, I get that people move, but moving countries is weird, or something, without a liiiitle more background).

I thought it was a little short, as well, although there's not much you can do to stretch out a story like this. It would have worked well as a short story, but as a novella feels a little unfinished.

Overall, though, it was good. I had no problems with the plot, or anything, although I did wonder why they were going to let Ash do that challenge at the end if she was in a wheelchair. Doesn't seem quite right. But that's me.
Everything was just a little too surreal to make such an impact, though. I liked the mythos included but it was a little obvious in which direction the story was heading.

8/10

This book is incredibly detailed and descriptive. It is definitely one of my favorite books. Once you start reading this book, you won't be able to put it down.

I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program; it arrived on 13 July 2018.

Disclaimer: I'm not in the target age range for the book, but I am an adult who also enjoys YA and realizes that I'm reading it from a different perspective.

INFINITE BLUE is a miss for me. I know it's meant to be shorter, but I felt like Ash and Clayton weren't developed at all. Ash likes swimming and Clayton; Clayton likes art and Ash. That's about what we get. We got more of Blythe's quirks and motivations, stereotypical though they were, than Ash's. Also, I dislike the whole "destined to be together" motif, especially when it's aimed at teens; I think it's misleading and potentially harmful.

The cover is gorgeous, and is referenced several times by Clayton's art. The story, though, is too simple; it needs more. The big plot turns are predictable, and most of the characters are one-note. Even with the clichés, this has the bones of a beautiful (if often told) story, but the story is simply lacking. Maybe with an extra 70 pages or so, it would be rounded out, but right now it feels more like a summary or an outline.½

Reviewed for Netgalley. Oh this struck a huge chord with me due to personal circumstances similar to the main character. Munro's 13 year old sister who had Down's Syndrome has suddenly died in front of him at school and 12 months later he is still grieving and in shock (Probably suffering from PTSD).
In Munroe's head is the voice of the Coyote - a typical manifestation of depression - Munro's own thoughts that tell him he is worthless and it is all his fault that she is dead.
The book sees him sign up for a student exchange program to Queensland to escape this troubles, but Munro is given social service placement at a housing community for the disabled and so must face his grief head on as the residents remind him of the sister he loved and lost. Well written with beautiful realistic depictions of the disabled adults that Munro must befriend (who actually look after him when they decide to take him on a tour of Brisbane's attractions). There are heart-breaking moments but also laugh out loud times too. Nevertheless, I bawled for 30 mins after I finished it; so accurate was Groth's depiction of adult disability and of grief. (I took half a star off because I thought he could have fleshed out the exchange family a little better...he touched on the Dad's problems but only briefly which I think could have been an opportunity for further explanation of how to overcome grief, trauma and depression.)½

I like the plot of this book- teen grieving over the recent death of his sister joins a student exchange program and travels to Australia in the hopes of leaving his guilt/grief behind. And there is a nice plot twist at the end. However- I had a problem keeping all the voices straight in the beginning when the MC was haunted by Coyote as well as speaking to his sister. I enjoyed the second half much better-when the Coyote's voice was silenced and Munro is working at Fair Go- the characters in this section were vibrant and the plot easier to follow.

This is the second book in a month I've read about a Canadian teenager grieving the death of a younger sibling. It wasn't a conscious choice, but rather chance; I won both [b:Munro vs. the Coyote|34412161|Munro vs. the Coyote|Darren Groth|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1488267441s/34412161.jpg|54052411] and [b:Optimists Die First|30335388|Optimists Die First|Susin Nielsen|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1469405417s/30335388.jpg|50833530] from the LibraryThing Early Reviewer program.

Munro Maddox has been struggling since the sudden death of his thirteen year old sister six months earlier. Munro hears a cruel, pessimistic voice in his head that he has named 'the Coyote' and, though it is never mentioned in the text, he also seems to suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. Munro's symptoms make it difficult for him to attend school, the place where his sister died, so he signs up for a school exchange program in Australia. In Australia he stays with a nice foster family that are more sympathetic to what he's going through than he expected and is assigned a volunteer position at a care community.

The community is set up like a village, for adults who have developmental or physical disabilities. One girl in particular reminds Munro of his dead sister, who also had Down's Syndrome. At first this triggers Munro's issues, before eventually alleviating them. Munro's interactions with the residents are sweet and you can see how it helps him.

The story is quick and readable, the language accessible and, in many ways, quite simple. Munro's a sympathetic character, his pain is palpable and relatable, his confusion understandable. However, the length of the book made the story feel very rushed, particularly towards the end. That was a big drawback for me as it made Munro's recovery feel far too fast. I would have liked the setback Munro has towards the end of the book to have been focused on more. It felt like it wrapped up too early.

Other than that, I really liked it. There's minor romance that's sweet and doesn't overpower the story as well. The school exchange to Australia was a particularly nice conception; the location served as a reminder that you cannot run away from grief, while at the same time recognizing that sometimes the only way to come to terms with trauma is to remove yourself from the emotional triggers. Plus the culture clash was cute and fun.

Canadian teenager, Munro Maddox witnessed the death of his sister, and struggles throughout the book to overcome his sense of failure and culpability of her death. His sister, Evie, had down syndrome, and Munro lived as her big brother, best friend, and helper. And yet, he couldn't save her life.
A part of him becomes "The Coyote," talking in his head, causing physical outbursts, dark thoughts, and separation from many in his life. After loosing interest in school, Munro and his parents look at an exchange program to Australia as a way for Munro to restart his life.

I enjoyed the story, found the writing quite good, and I connected with many of the characters. There are a few good messages in the story, which Munro has to learn as part of his recovery, as well as topics around special needs children and adults. The only real fault I found with the plot was the ending, where Munro finds out he apparently suffers from a heart condition, which might explain his hallucinations and the coyote? I didn't quite understand what all was said there - everything from the point of Munro's collapse in the dark with Iggy to the end scene, for some reason didn't seem to fit. Otherwise, it's a great book.

A somewhat flat, mostly boring story about a teen who joins a student exchange program in Australia to escape the pain caused by the death of his sister. Clearly, this doesn't work, and Munro is as haunted by the voice he calls "Coyote" in Brisbane as he was back in Canada. Along the way he learns to forge connections to new friends, new family, and the young people he helps out with at an assisted living center. The only times I enjoyed reading this book was when Munro was volunteering at the living center, and interacting with the residents there. The rest of this book was a waste of time.

Very enjoyable YA book that tells the story of twin teenage Australians that visit North America to find their mom shortly after the passing of their father. One of the twins, Perry, has autism, and his sister,Justine, is his care taker. The story switches perspectives in telling the story from accounts of both main characters. The reader gains backstory from journal entries written by their father. The story is well-paced, funny, and flowing. The author at one point skips over detailing a difficult point in the story by jumping narrators and the event has already occurred, which I think was a little weak, but the remaining story more than makes up for it. Would highly recommend to teen readers. Warning: kind of a tear jerker in parts.

This is a story about nineteen year old twins - brother and sister - who a year after losing their father from cancer set out from Australia on a trip to British Columbia and Seattle. Justine, the sister, is the sole caregiver for her brother, Perry, who has a neurological condition that causes him to be prone to what she describes as 'inappropriate behaviours'. She has ended up as the caregiver because their mother left them when they were four years old.

The trip is to be one last journey together before Perry moves into assisted living back home in Australia. The story is told in turn by each of the twins, which made it more interesting than a straight story told from one person's point of view. It was interesting to see things through both Perry and Justine's eyes. There were some really funny moments, along with some sadder ones, plus the story took some unexpected turns along the way. The author is an Australian, married to a Canadian, with twin children, who moved from Australia to Canada. He seems to have written many of his own experiences into the book, which made it a very believable story, as well as very detailed in the places the characters visited.

This is one I'd recommend, especially for teens. It touches on many different issues that people face when moving from adolescence into adulthood. I'm glad I was given the opportunity to read it.

“You are responsible for the actions of your hands and the words from your mouth and the feelings in your heart. Dad used to tell me: If you go through life finding fault in others, you’ll end up in a world of one. He said we need the people around us—warts and all—and I understand this much better now that I’m older.”

Perry “Pez” has a mental condition. The book never comes out and states what exactly he’s diagnosed with (except for the back blurb), but from the way the character was portrayed it was clear that he has some form of autism. The cover points out two of Pez’s three main interests: earthquakes, and sea monsters, with the third missing element being Jackie Chan movies.

His interests are a vital part of the story. He constantly compares his sister’s emotions to tremors and fragments of the earth, sees a little of himself in the misunderstood sea monsters, and tries to find his own courage in his hero. The book is sectioned off and allows the reader to see Pez’s point-of-view, which was my favorite parts of the book. You really never know when you’re reading something that is a part of his imagination or something that is really happening.

Readers that are not familiar with Pez’s condition might not understand the ticks, which I think will add to the story since people finding it hard to interact with him plays a major part in the plot.

Justine “Just Jeans” is a strong and pure female main character that never sees her brother as a burden, but just as her brother and is more annoyed with the people who see Pez as anything but. Throughout the plot she is struggling with her brother’s decision to leave her care and join a community for the disabled, meeting her mother for the first time in over a decade, and her boyfriends constant worry for the two of them.

The interactions between the siblings are the best parts of the book. Simple everyday touches described in such detail brought the characters to life, such as the twins always holding hands with only three fingers.

But the book isn’t just about the sibling bond between Justine and Perry. Their mother left when they were four and the road trip planned by Justine is her final chance to be in their lives. She’s a bit of a mix between new age and hippie.

Even if he’s not officially in the book, the reader does get glimpses of what kind of father the twins had through a journal he kept for Justine since she was born. Pages of the journal are placed into the book to give windows into their past, showing both the twins growing up and giving a little history of their mother and father.

Are You Seeing Me? is a heartwarming, and heartbreaking, novel about family bonds and how a disability doesn’t make a person any less of a human.

If you enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time or House Rules you will love this book. Told from the points of view of Perry and his sister and caretaker Justine, the book focuses on the strong bond between siblings whose mother abandoned them as children and whose father recently died. I don't want to talk too much about the story. It is basically about relationships and how we assume things about the other person that may or may not be true.

Both the major characters are engaging, complex, and selfless. I read this book in one night as I could not put it down. I loved both Justine and Perry. Both have big hearts, protective natures, a sense of humor, and courage.

We are never exactly told that Perry has autism but Justine repeats a speech that sums up his challenging life in a single paragraph, "My brother has a brain condition that causes him to feel anxious or different places and circumstances. He has trouble with people – mixing with them and communicating with them – and it sometimes results in inappropriate behaviors. I appreciate your understanding and patience." It sounds so simple, but it is incredibly complex. Perry struggles with all his strength to behave appropriately and to be a good brother in spite of his brain condition.

When Justine takes Perry all the way from Australia to Canada, her brother must cope with sensory overload, the vastly unfamiliar, and breaks in his routine. Her reason for doing this opens a whole new Pandora's box.

This is a story about sibling love, a broken family, redemption, sacrifice, and devotion. This book was a well deserving Governor General Award Finalist. A beautiful book that will seize your emotions and tug at your heart. I highly recommend it for all ages.