LOVE MAY FAIL (Matthew Quick) - May 27/19

I'll admit I wasn't enjoying this too much in its first half. It's super long and padded-out and the characters, mostly Mr. Vernon, are impossibly quirky. But once Portia and Craig got together (and Vernon exited temporarily), the whole thing became tolerable and even quite gripping in spots. *** out of ****

ELEANOR & PARK (Rainbow Rowell) - May 15/19

I definitely really enjoyed this one. I might even have loved it. Rowell does a superb job of capturing the feeling of first love, and the two protagonists are so perfectly developed and defined. There's a lot of chemistry between them, too. I do kind of wish Rowell hadn't made Eleanor's life quite so horrible - she has an awful home life *and* she's bullied at school - but it all felt pretty real and authentic. The abrupt ending wasn't entirely satisfying, admittedly, but it does sound like there's gonna be a sequel at some point. I can't wait. ***1/2 out of ****

THIS SIDE OF PARADISE (F. Scott Fitzgerald) - May 7/19

Guess I hate F. Scott Fitzgerald. This thing is the worst. It's super pretentious and the changing styles ensures it feels like it's been cobbled together out of disparate elements. I hated everything about this book. no stars out of ****