I wasn't sure what I was expecting - maybe a light young adult read - but this was not a light and fun story at all. Ricki wanted to fulfill his dream of reaching California, not so much to reach an specific dream, as she told Will, but because she wanted to show that she could do anything. I'll start off with the few little things that annoyed me. The main character, Hanna, a young teenager dealing with From a traditional review standpoint, this was an incredibly realistic portrayal of teenage emotions and relationships, and it was a wonderful story of generational friendship. I was slightly overwhelmed at first.
Both characters were so complex, both so flawed yet so full of life, I could not see them as mere fictional characters. And does Hanna really want to put up with all the bullshit and lies that Seth keeps telling her or could Jesse possibly be the one for her? The film is directed by David M. The circumstances in which they meet are horrific though. It made me laugh, cry, and gasp from surprise. When Tom and Will crashed their car on the run from the fake cop, Tom broke some of his ribs. The reason why they are only seen in Arctic and Antarctic latitudes, is that the magnetosphere protects the planet from the entry of these particles, but curiously, as the magnetic field is smaller at the poles, they filter out more easily there. She has thought of Helen as her grandma.
My problem with Hanna was that she realized she was making bad decisions but did it anyways. When Hanna was little, her parents relied on Helen to keep an eye on her. I already have one in my Top 25. Helen is a grandmotherly woman who lives next door to Hanna, a 15 year old girl who is going through the trials and tribulations of being a teenager. There is no happy ending but at least he made it to his girl in the end. Soon enough, she pays so many visits that the couple becomes a second family to her. In many ways, I should have seen that end coming but I became so lost in the story- so engrossed in what was happening right then- I put no thought in what was going to happen in the coming 30, 20, 10 pages.
After considering previous books I had read I realise what a gem this books really is. If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. It's one of those books that you just want to chat about afterward. One of the biggest problems I had with this book is that Helen's story reads like an adult novel, except sometimes it seemed as though she acted like a teenager. Remember back when you would have given anything for that one boy to notice you? My reactions while reading this wonderfully crafted tale of love, loss, and life: Wiess has one of the most unique writing styles I've ever encountered. To be sure, Netflix has earned critical praise for films like Mudbound and Set It Up, but some have criticized the streamer of aiming for quantity over quality with its originals.
The final sequence of the film is just bizarre, where Will finds Samantha holed up with a neighbor who has somehow fallen in love with her in the past week, and he tries to murder Will out in the woods so they can be together. Your heart will crumble into a million zillion pieces by the end of this book and you will sniffle into tissues as it builds to its climax. The same goes with Helen. I'll start off with the few little things that annoyed me. How It Ends provides a window into how it might look. Two days into this vision of national crisis and people are shooting each other for gasoline and basically taking the law into their own hands. But you love him, so why wouldn't you forgive him? So we totally understand the situation.
None of Wiess's characters felt one-dimensional, they were all very very well done. I stuck to my 100 page rule and by page 150, my eyes started watering and I couldn't put the book down. And it was beautiful and right and poignant and true. For their parts, Whitaker and James offer compelling enough performances, though they don't quite elevate the characters enough to make up for their one-note nature. From a traditional review standpoint, this was an incredibly realistic portrayal of teenage emotions and relationships, and it was a wonderful story of generational friendship. I was beyond pleasantly surprised to find a story, however, full of emotion and depth.
At present, my eyes are puffy and slightly bloodshot. She encourages Hanna to keep listening to the current book, How It Ends. At least until she meets Jesse, a misunderstood motorcyclist who can't seem to forget her and who manages to make her smile every time she sees him. Helen begins telling the story of her life and how she and her husband met through a book on tape that Hanna thinks is a work of fiction. Really awesome friends and the boy of her dreams. Through the listening of the book, Hanna begins to take a stand against her so-called boyfriend, and begins to find her own way in the world. Helen and Lon's love story made this book so much better.
Apocalyptic story with frequent violence: gunfire with point-blank killing, gun battles, fistfights, explosions, car chases, multiple fatal vehicle accidents, bloody injuries, on-camera deaths. To explain some of the other events including the weird weather patterns, the northern lights that Will saw at the cabin, the spinning compass, you have to look at the pole shift hypothesis. The situations, characters, and plot may change significantly by the time the film is released. As such, the interpersonal drama is trite, while the action only helps the story limp forward toward its conclusion. .