The Year After You

<b>This was a cute debut.</b> I had never read a young adult book set in the Swiss mountains before this one and I loved the atmosphere. The cover is particularly spectacular and sets the mood of the book perfectly. <br>Still, this book wasn't really my thing. <b>It read a lot like Anna and the French Kiss with the foreign boarding school setting, the group of friends, the love interest, the themes.</b> I know that a lot of people will love The Year After You as much as they love Anna and the French Kiss. I was one of those people when I read Anna back in 2015, but my taste in books has changed drastically since then.<br>The entire book read as a 2012 young adult book so that is probably why I didn't enjoy it that much.<br><br>The beginning was a bit slow so it was hard for me to care for the characters right away, but 50/70 pages in I finally started to like Hector a lot. <b>He was my absolute favorite character in the book</b>: he's arrogant, smug and gets away with everything, but that's his charm. However, the more I went on reading, the less I cared about him. He changed more or less at the halfway point and started acting too immature for his age. For example, when he wanted to leave without notice or during the elevator scene with Cara.<br><br>On the other hand, <b>I had trouble connecting with Cara for the entirety of the book.</b> I don't really know why, but she felt more distant than Hector even if she is actually the main character and the book is told from her perspective. Her backstory was really interesting and I liked the mental illness representation, but I didn't enjoy how the plot twist involved a particular thing that I can't mention because of spoilers.<br><br><b>The other two characters, Ren and Fred, were alright.</b> The book is more about Cara and Hector than about them, even if friendship is a big part of this book. The friendship was handled very well, but it was hard for me to get to know Ren and Fred. Fred was barely there and he was mean to Cara for no logical reason for the majority of the book. Ren was more part of the story but it still felt like I didn't get to read enough about her.<br><br><b>Nina de Pass' writing style I really liked.</b> It's simple and poetic. Nonetheless, there is still something that extremely bugged me because it was in every bit of dialogue. <b>When talking, every character would always, always, always refer to the character they're talking to.</b> <br>Examples:<br><br><blockquote> <i>"Cara, you need to calm down"<br><br>"It doesn't change anything, Ren"<br><br>"I can't do this, Ren"<br><br>"We all have baggage, Cara. I know that as well as anyone."<br><br>"I can't be a friend to you, Cara. I tried. It's just too difficult."<br><br>"You don't need to say it, Fred"<br><br>"Cara, he's the one who told you he wanted distance."</i> </blockquote><br><br><br>A full example of what a dialogue reads like:<br><br><img src="https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1553801967i/27280674._SY540_.jpg" class="gr-hostedUserImg" loading="lazy"><br><br><br><b>It wasn't bad at the beginning of the book, but it gradually got worse and to the point where I couldn't overlook it anymore and it straight up annoyed me and distracted me from the story.</b> Imagine reading a book with dialogues where everyone always begins or ends their sentences with the other person's name.<br><br><b>So, I actually recommend this book if you liked Anna and the French Kiss.</b> I just personally found it okay and a bit forgettable, but I'm sure a lot of people are going to love it.<br><br><i>I received an advanced reader copy through Netgalley. All opinions are my own.</i>

<b>5 Words: Friendship, grief, blame, second-chances, forgiveness.</b><br /><br />Content Warning: Grief, PTSD, homophobia<br /><br /><blockquote>She holds a hand up to stop me. "You're privileged, Cara. Don't confuse luck with circumstance - they are not the same thing."</blockquote><br />This book. This glorious, gorgeous book. It broke my heart and lifted my soul and I really don't think I can put in to words how much I loved it.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/2019/02/the-year-after-you-by-nina-de-pass.html" rel="nofollow noopener">Book Review: The Year After You by Nina de Pass</a><br /><a href="http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/2019/02/five-favourite-quotes-the-year-after-you-nina-de-pass.html" rel="nofollow noopener">Five Favourite Quotes from The Year After You by Nina de Pass</a><br /><a>Q&amp;A with Nina de Pass</a><br /><br />I think I'll start with the setting. I am a sucker for boarding school settings, the way that everything is so much more intense in close quarters, how relationships run at a different pace, the family-like quality of the people around you even (especially) if you don't like them or like them more than you think you should. And The Year After You absolutely excelled at manipulating the setting into emphasising the story. All at once the place is remote and lonely, crowded and loud, passions were heightened and everything held a new level of drama.<br /><br />Hope Hall is like a motley collection of broken people finding themselves and learning to love themselves. It's a place full of hope and a little expectation, with support networks and an incredible view and I want to go there please.<br /><br />The Year After You has the most amazing characters too. I loved Cara, even if I did find her frustrating at times. She is absolutely an unreliable narrator, and it is done in the best way. I absolutely adored her, but I wanted to give her a huge hug and a good shake and tell her to be honest all at the same time. I emphasised so much with her, and I loved the journey she took within herself between the pages. I felt her fear, her pain, her anger. She is open minded yet guarded, honest yet always lying. She is so incredibly complex and I love her dearly for it.<br /><br />I loved Ren and her loyalty. She's a soft lesbian Hufflepuff, and honestly so relatable. I want to give her a squish and thank her for being amazing. She doesn't have the easiest time at Hope Hall due, lets be honest, to shitty people. And at times she can be a bit shitty because of it but I don't blame her because Same.<br /><br />When it comes to the boys in the story, I actually have a lot of time for them both. They're juggling secrets, staying loyal, looking out for each other. They care, and they show that they care. They love their friends and they show that. And sure the road might get a little bumpy, but doesn't it always?<br /><br />I loved the fake relationships, the half truths, the slow burn, the steady revelations. The Year After You is like the perfect YA novel.<br /><br />And the writing itself, oh my. Excellent characters, excellent setting, excellent plot, excellent writing. I will absolutely read anything and everything this author writes next. I loved the expression on the pages, I picked out so many quotes. So. Many. Enough that I'll be sharing my top ten after the blog tour. It's lush and expressive, and full of feeling.<br /><br />Honestly, The Year After You by Nina de Pass is marvellous. It was my first read of the year, and over 20 books in is still my favourite. It will take a lot to knock this beauty off the top spot (I don't think that'll happen).

Really good book! There was not all that much happening at the very start and I felt it was a bit slow to get into, but past the first bit I really enjoyed it!<br /><br />I don't know what it was about the story, but I just felt compelled to keep reading, even though plot-wise there was not that much happening a lot of the time.<br /><br />A lot of the points presented were really meaningful!! There were a couple that fell flat, but overall it was really nice.<br /><br />And the characters were super complex which was also refreshing compared to a lot of YA books I've read lately.<br /><br />This was a really good contemporary, and I would definitely recommend!<br />The cover of this book is sooooooo pretty ???<br /><br /><i>Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with a review copy! All opinions are my own.</i>

Rating 3,75/5 ????<br /><br />Deși am văzut o mulțime de recenzii negative, mie chiar mi-a plăcut cartea. <br />E absolut perfeectăă pentru adolescenți. ? Mi-a plăcut modul în care a fost descrisă școala. Și să fim serioși, cui nu i-ar plăcea o școală la munte, cu o telecabină care duce până în oraș? ?<br />Nu am început cartea cu așteptări mari deoarece am auzit muuuulte păreri negative. Îmi era puțin teamă din cauza asta, dar am zis că tot vreau să o încerc. Acum cred că înțeleg de ce unora nu le-a plăcut cartea. Pare că promite ceva și de fapt nu îndeplinește acel lucru. Pe copertă citim că este "O poveste inaltatoare si sfasietoare despre vindecare dupa pierderea cuiva drag". Nu, nu mi s-a părut sfâșietoare și nu am plâns, însă a fost destul de profundă pe alocuri. Deci, nu începeți cartea cu gândul că va fi o lectură emoționantă, ci mai degrabă va fi o lectură ușoară despre adolescenți și pierdere. <br />Ah, mai trebuie să menționez că mi-a plăcut mult de Hector? ?<br />Update: Am lăcrimat puțin la ea. ?<br />Pentru cei care au pierdut o persoană dragă, cartea asta vă va plăcea.<br />M-a făcut să mă gândesc la vărul meu. Era cel mai bun prieten al meu înainte să aflu că are cancer și slabe șanse de supraviețuire. Ai mei mi-au spus foarte târziu că e bolnav..<br />După moartea lui, am avut o perioadă în care îi visam înmormântarea sau îl visam pe el, plângeam în somn. I think this is the worst heartbreak someone has to go through.. Efectiv nu sunt cuvinte care pot să încurajeze o persoană care a pierdut pe cineva.<br /> Dar să revenim la carte. O recomand adolescenților cu drag! E o lectur�� frumoasă despre pierderea unei persoane dragi, iertare și dragoste. ❤️

some heavy topics were dealt with in this book. but it was so good to read. a boarding school romance with a cocky love interest??? YESS <br />but more importantly, a book about a grieving girl who fins her footing again. actually, broken people who find there footing again.<br /><br />also, the setting in switzerland was cool to imagine hahha

This blurb sounds so good.<br /><br />This will be the heartbreak kind of book. Excited to read it.<br /><br />

This book really, really touched me. It was very relatable and emotional and hopeful and aaah I have so many feelings. I’m at loss for words at the moment but I would definitely recommend this. It helped me with understanding things and letting go. Thank you Nina de Pass for writing this, it’s so important!

I loved this a lot. This book deals with topics like mental ilness and guilt (PTSS). The author did a great job of writing the characters, they are very believable. The setting is a boarding school so that's always interesting. I love how you kept learning more about the main character's problems and why she isn't perfect. But she too deserves forgiveness!<br /><br />So, great book for young adults or just adults. Possible trigger warnings: guilt, homophobia, suicide, mental ilness.<br /><br />Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC, these are my honest opinions.

? NOTĂ: 2✨/5⭐️ ?<br />?<br />“Un an fără tine” a fost o carte pe care am luat-o deoarece mi-a plăcut foarte mult coperta (este supeerbă) și din zvonuri cum că ar fi o carte tristă și emoționantă. Aparent sunt puțin masochistă și vreau să plâng la cărți cum nu am mai făcut-o până acum.? ACOTAR nu se pune, acolo era prea mare atașamentul.??<br />?<br />Îmi asum “vina” că toată experiența mea cu această carte se datorează așteptărilor pe care le-am avut. Am văzut la multe persoane cărora le-a plăcut, încă un exemplu de cât de diferiți suntem și că ar trebui să ne bucurăm de aceste diferențe.? Recunosc că nici nu mi-am făcut temele înainte, așa că probabil așteptările mele au fost nerealiste. Credeam că este o carte despre pierderea cuiva drag, cu accentul pus pe suferința prin care trece personajul, experiența în sine și cum reușește să treacă peste această traumă. <br />?<br />Și despre asta a fost vorbă, doar că nu execuția la care mă așteptam.☹️ Mă așteptam să fie o carte dură, cu multă tristețe, heartbreaking, în care să ți se rupă sufletul pentru personaj și să nu vrei să fii în locul ei niciodată. Doar că am uitat că e YA, m-am cam sabotat singură.?<br />?<br />Așa că da, mie nu mi-a plăcut “Un an fără tine”. Nu am rezonat deloc, în niciun punct și a fost genul de carte unde mi-am dat ochii peste cap de foarte multe ori, mai ales în privința replicilor dintre personaje și mai ales cee din partea lui Hector.? Mi s-au părut foarte cringe și foarte copilărești, dar nu îmi dau seama dacă doar mi s-au părut mie sau de fapt sunt specifice YA-ului și eu ușor ușor încep să mă îndepărtez de această categorie? Nu știu sincer.☹️<br />?<br />Din păcate nu am reușit să empatizez nici cu personajul, pentru că la un moment dat totul mi se părea o dramă inutilă și nemotivată, care nu avea deloc ce să caute în visul meu de “carte tristă de recuperare după un eveniment tragic”. <br />?<br />Chiar îmi pare rău că nu am reușit să mă conectez cu această carte, deoarece am văzut că multora v-a plăcut. Dar mă bucur că am reușit totuși să ajung la ea și să o descopăr.? Ca de fiecare dată vă spun să nu vă lăsați influențați de acest review, deoarece a fost majoritar vina mea cu această carte și de aici și experiența cu ea. Dacă sunteți curioși, încercați-o, nu se știe niciodată ce experiență o să aveți voi cu ea.❤️

moc krasne! diky, tano&lt;3