Hayley Lawrence
Autor de The Other Side of Tomorrow
Obras de Hayley Lawrence
Etiquetado
Conocimiento común
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Miembros
Reseñas
Representation: N/A
Trigger warnings: Death of a grandfather in the past and a child and friend from cancer, near-death experience, terminal illness
Score: Seven points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I've read from Hayley Lawrence before when I read and enjoyed Skin Deep last year. This year I saw a library getting The Other Side of Tomorrow, immediately making me want to read it. When I picked it up, read and finished the book, it was enjoyable but heavy. It was also part of the Children's Book Council of Australia shortlist for a young adult novel in 2023--it should've won it all.
It starts with the first person I see, Abby Finch, living her typical life years in remission in the opening pages. Nothing looks off initially until 70 pages in Abby came down with an unexpected sickness and the doctors soon diagnosed her with cancer. They also detailed the cancer is incurable now since it spread undetected for a while. The middle of The Other Side of Tomorrow is the most miserable part since I forced myself to read it, all while hopes dwindled for Abby. I appreciate the author for writing characters that can always bounce back and try to see the best part of the situation, which is what happened here as Abby tries to live the longest life she can before succumbing to cancer. I thought she wouldn't make it, but she did toward the conclusion, finishing The Other Side of Tomorrow on a bittersweet note.… (más)
Trigger warnings: Death of a grandfather in the past and a child and friend from cancer, near-death experience, terminal illness
Score: Seven points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I've read from Hayley Lawrence before when I read and enjoyed Skin Deep last year. This year I saw a library getting The Other Side of Tomorrow, immediately making me want to read it. When I picked it up, read and finished the book, it was enjoyable but heavy. It was also part of the Children's Book Council of Australia shortlist for a young adult novel in 2023--it should've won it all.
It starts with the first person I see, Abby Finch, living her typical life years in remission in the opening pages. Nothing looks off initially until 70 pages in Abby came down with an unexpected sickness and the doctors soon diagnosed her with cancer. They also detailed the cancer is incurable now since it spread undetected for a while. The middle of The Other Side of Tomorrow is the most miserable part since I forced myself to read it, all while hopes dwindled for Abby. I appreciate the author for writing characters that can always bounce back and try to see the best part of the situation, which is what happened here as Abby tries to live the longest life she can before succumbing to cancer. I thought she wouldn't make it, but she did toward the conclusion, finishing The Other Side of Tomorrow on a bittersweet note.… (más)
Representation: Implied Black, Brown, Asian, Latino/a and multiracial characters, side character with autism
Trigger warnings: Car crash, fire, physical injury, scars, near-death experiences, flood, hospitalisation of a child
Score: Six points out of ten.
I own this book. This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.
I remember adding Skin Deep to my TBR a while back, then I removed it, but afterwards, I saw it at a book fair, so I bought it. I put the novel off for a while, until I had to pick it up when I burned through some others, and read it. When I finished it, I thought it was only okay, and even though it has its strengths, I couldn't fully enjoy the narrative. It starts with the first character I see, Scarlett, whose last name I forgot, living an (as ordinary as possible) life one year after something happened to her (which I discovered later.) Skin Deep is of a non-linear writing style where all the events happen out of order, but that made it more frustrating to read, and though I appreciate the style since it allows flashbacks to happen, a linear style would be a better choice. There are scenes explaining what happened to Scarlett: she was in a car crash, almost burned to death and received treatment for her injuries. Scarlett thinks she will never be beautiful again, but does it matter? She initially thinks so, but I didn't (it might be that I'm not her gender.) Scarlett details how the society expects women to be attractive and nothing else, but don't expect men to be magnificent-looking, so long as they have a redeeming quality, like being a sportsperson. That is messed up.
Scarlett moves to a mountain cabin to escape society's expectations, and stays there for most of the story, and she thought she would be alone, but there are people living there, Cat (who has autism) and another person whose name I don't remember.) I didn't enjoy reading Scarlett in the first half because of her attitude, but she grew on me eventually like when she grew on those other characters. It was depressing to see all the flashback scenes where Scarlett survived with her life barely intact, but I must give credit to her since she's alive. There was a side plot point about a person who previously lived in the cabin Scarlett resides in now who wrote a story about a person who wanted to fly, but the ending was open. It left me thinking, did the person fall to her death at the end or fly? Who knows, but that wasn't necessary to the central plot. Toward the conclusion, there was a flood which conflicted Scarlett: did she want to die only caring about her physical appearance, or survive and not care about it? She chose the latter, and I'm glad she did, finishing Skin Deep on a high note.… (más)
Trigger warnings: Car crash, fire, physical injury, scars, near-death experiences, flood, hospitalisation of a child
Score: Six points out of ten.
I own this book. This review can also be found on The StoryGraph.
I remember adding Skin Deep to my TBR a while back, then I removed it, but afterwards, I saw it at a book fair, so I bought it. I put the novel off for a while, until I had to pick it up when I burned through some others, and read it. When I finished it, I thought it was only okay, and even though it has its strengths, I couldn't fully enjoy the narrative. It starts with the first character I see, Scarlett, whose last name I forgot, living an (as ordinary as possible) life one year after something happened to her (which I discovered later.) Skin Deep is of a non-linear writing style where all the events happen out of order, but that made it more frustrating to read, and though I appreciate the style since it allows flashbacks to happen, a linear style would be a better choice. There are scenes explaining what happened to Scarlett: she was in a car crash, almost burned to death and received treatment for her injuries. Scarlett thinks she will never be beautiful again, but does it matter? She initially thinks so, but I didn't (it might be that I'm not her gender.) Scarlett details how the society expects women to be attractive and nothing else, but don't expect men to be magnificent-looking, so long as they have a redeeming quality, like being a sportsperson. That is messed up.
Scarlett moves to a mountain cabin to escape society's expectations, and stays there for most of the story, and she thought she would be alone, but there are people living there, Cat (who has autism) and another person whose name I don't remember.) I didn't enjoy reading Scarlett in the first half because of her attitude, but she grew on me eventually like when she grew on those other characters. It was depressing to see all the flashback scenes where Scarlett survived with her life barely intact, but I must give credit to her since she's alive. There was a side plot point about a person who previously lived in the cabin Scarlett resides in now who wrote a story about a person who wanted to fly, but the ending was open. It left me thinking, did the person fall to her death at the end or fly? Who knows, but that wasn't necessary to the central plot. Toward the conclusion, there was a flood which conflicted Scarlett: did she want to die only caring about her physical appearance, or survive and not care about it? She chose the latter, and I'm glad she did, finishing Skin Deep on a high note.… (más)
Hayley Lawrence is fast becoming a favourite author of mind. In this novel, the reader follows the pain and heartbreak of Abby, a 15-year-old girl whose cancer has returned after thirteen years in remission.
"The Other Side of Tomorrow" tore me apart. My heart wept for Abby and her parents. The love they had for each other was strong and I was especially moved by the relationship Abby and her dad shared. He was a wonderful father.
As expected, I cried throughout much of this novel, especially the epilogue. Harrowing, compelling and raw, "The Other Side of Tomorrow" is not for the faint-hearted. An emotional read.… (más)
"The Other Side of Tomorrow" tore me apart. My heart wept for Abby and her parents. The love they had for each other was strong and I was especially moved by the relationship Abby and her dad shared. He was a wonderful father.
As expected, I cried throughout much of this novel, especially the epilogue. Harrowing, compelling and raw, "The Other Side of Tomorrow" is not for the faint-hearted. An emotional read.… (más)
Estadísticas
- Obras
- 5
- Miembros
- 26
- Popularidad
- #495,361
- Valoración
- 3.2
- Reseñas
- 7
- ISBNs
- 7
Trigger warnings: Divorce, pregnancy, childbirth, stillbirth, animal attack and implied physical injury and animal death
Score: Five out of ten.
I own this book. Find this review on The StoryGraph.
What They Told Me was my least favourite book from Hayley Lawrence by far. I had to buy it since no library had it, and wanted to love this one until I saw the low ratings and realised I've read a novel like this before. I glanced at the blurb, which didn't look that original. When I closed the final page, What They Told Me needed improvement. Skin Deep and The Other Side of Tomorrow were better than this.
It starts with Elliot living in a place called Crooked River with her family in the opening pages, that is until her parents divorce and soon plan to separate, much to Elliot's dismay. What They Told Me started well but after the first few pages it quickly deteriorates. The characters are only the beginning of the issues I saw in Lawrence's latest work, as they were hard to connect or relate with at first, especially Elliot, who I found hard to like. Her dialogue was irritating and she thought it was selfish for her parents to divorce, even though it isn't. Lawrence tried to make Elliot grow on me, and it eventually worked, but Elliot's earlier lines left a sour taste in my mouth. I suppose the author wrote Elliot that way to make it more realistic, but I prefer likable characters. I like that it's character driven (even though it's not literary fiction. It's YA.)
The pacing is slow for a narrative under 400 pages, but removing filler pages could quicken it and improve the reading experience. The plot is easy enough to follow, and I liked the theme of divorce and the message about not being able to control everything, but this is the third story I read about this topic. Coincidence? Perhaps, but I'm tired of reading pieces of fiction on the same subject. The other people, like Elliot's friend, Drake, were mostly in the background, and I wanted to see more of them, but the author didn't dedicate enough page time for them. The flow can get disjointed sometimes with non-linear flashbacks, but What They Told Me could work fine without them. Making the progression more linear would help me enjoy it more. The climax is bittersweet as Elliot realises she can keep some aspects of her life before the divorce, but not all, as her mother moves to a new house, leaving Elliot and her father behind.