Read the Way

I didn't have very high expectations for this one, but still I was disappointed. I've never read anything from either of these authors, so I wasn't sure what to expect from a writing standpoint.

This was just incredibly pretentious. The writing was pretentious. Both of the main characters came off very pretentious, especially Dash. There was an excessive number of literary references, mainly in Dash's chapters, most completely out of context.

Dash was whiny and "disillusioned", but nothing has really ever happened to make him that way. Lily was cute, but spoiled. She is a sensitive girl, a little too sensitive for my liking. But there wasn't much else wrong with her as far as I'm concerned. This book would have been GREATLY improved by Lily having been the only narrator. Dash's narrative voice just ruined this for me.

When I read contemporaries, I'm looking for realism. The whole notebook idea was a really good one, but things went downhill for me after they actually met. The ridiculousness was out of control. There wasn't much about this book or these characters that seemed entirely realistic.

There was definite potential here, but the overall execution left much to be desired.