Every Exquisite Thing

"I liked this book a lot. Every Exquisite Thing was exactly the book I needed to get me back into reading. It was was quick, it was complete, and it was SATISFYING. <br/><br/>What it was about To me: The transformative "awakening" we experience when we first realize that in the map of life there are alternative routes--and the anxiety filled, often depressing aftermath of that blissful moment, in which we are faced with paths leading everywhere. --A feeling I think most high school and college graduates can relate to.<br/><br/>Nannette is a complacent 18 year old senior star soccer player coasting through her privileged life doing what is expected of her (she calls herself privileged btw), until a favorite teacher gives her a counterculture novel "The Bubblegum Reaper" that completely changes the way she looks at her future (the "there's more to life than college and soccer?" Epiphany). <br/><br/>This is, in typical Quick fashion, a book about people. About norms and confusion and fears and lies and doubt and pride and all those AWESOME (not) things associated with adolescence. (Love is also a large part of the novel but not in the cheesy boy/girl dynamic we are so often given in YAs) The chapters are short, each scene working toward giving us a better understanding at who Nannette is as she's trying to figure it out herself. Each character has their own distinct voice (yay!) and part to play, and though many of them (such as the best friend and the parents) are painted in straightforward portraits, I can forgive that when I remember that this IS a first person narrative, and thus biased.<br/><br/>*only reason I gave this 4 instead of 5 stars was the character's obsession with the ambiguous ending to The Bubblegum Reaper. And the fact that that's still something that nags her even toward the end of the book. STOP NAGGING THE POOR OLD MAN BOOKER. GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE. And also I started with "I liked this book a lot," not, "I loved this book." So ya.<br/><br/>*sidenote: OMG THE NAKED HARDCOVER GAHHHHH love."

"My favourite book of all time. I think I’ve read it almost 8 times? I’m not quite sure why, but the characters are addicting. You just want to be in the story. So amazing. "

"This is a YA Bildungsroman novel in which Nanette undergoes many hardships to figure out exactly who she is and who she wants to be. Quick perfectly captures the internal teenage struggle to decide whether to assimilate with the crowd or find what makes you truly happy and fulfilled. Definitely recommended."