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A review by andintothetrees
This Is How You Remember It by Catherine Prasifka
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
First book of 2025 and... I didn't love it.
Minor(ish) spoilers for the whole book ahead, so don't read this review if you want to go into the book knowing nothing.
There were a few things this book did well - the descriptions of tween/early teen friendship issues/bullying, which brought me right back to that stage of life (although in my case no phones were involved); and it made me think about young people and internet use in general, without offering any easy answers (especially as I have tween-age children) - sure you can say "just don't let them use it" but that brings its own issues of isolation when the internet and "real life" are so entwined. Keeping lines of communication and understanding open between the generations seems to be the ideal, and not something that happened in the main character's family.
The writing style is rather opaque and utilises various literary techniques that aren't necessarily easy on the reader - the novel is told entirely in the 2nd person (got to admit I hated this, though I did get used to it after a while), it jumps around in time without any clear markers, and the main character doesn't have a name. There is also a magical realism element which I *really* disliked and didn't seem to fit at all. It was a humourless book and whilst I am not opposed to reading about "dark" topics (in fact to some extent I seek that out) there has to be some balance or it all just feels depressing.
There isn't much plot at all and a lot of the second half in particular centres around a will they/won't they romance that tbh I just couldn't care about and was largely hindered purely by the two people concerned avoiding speaking to each other openly.
It didn't help that none of the main characters were particularly interesting or likeable. Even the MC was completely bland. She went through some traumatic experiences which did shape her and I'm not discounting that. But apart from these experiences, her internet usage and her relationships with a handful of friends/family members, we know nothing about her. What are her interests, her hopes and dreams?
A lot of people have enjoyed this book, so it perhaps is the case that it just didn't work *for me* and my preferences for fiction. I'm probably a bit too old for it too, as a lot of the positive reviews of this book reference how nostalgic people found it, and as an elder Millennial phones weren't ubiquitous until I was nearing 30, and whilst I used the internet at school and university it was because I was a nerd, not because it was what everyone did.
Plot/compellingness 2/5
Themes 3/5
Characters 1/5
Emotional resonance 2/5
Writing style 2/5
Minor(ish) spoilers for the whole book ahead, so don't read this review if you want to go into the book knowing nothing.
There were a few things this book did well - the descriptions of tween/early teen friendship issues/bullying, which brought me right back to that stage of life (although in my case no phones were involved); and it made me think about young people and internet use in general, without offering any easy answers (especially as I have tween-age children) - sure you can say "just don't let them use it" but that brings its own issues of isolation when the internet and "real life" are so entwined. Keeping lines of communication and understanding open between the generations seems to be the ideal, and not something that happened in the main character's family.
The writing style is rather opaque and utilises various literary techniques that aren't necessarily easy on the reader - the novel is told entirely in the 2nd person (got to admit I hated this, though I did get used to it after a while), it jumps around in time without any clear markers, and the main character doesn't have a name. There is also a magical realism element which I *really* disliked and didn't seem to fit at all. It was a humourless book and whilst I am not opposed to reading about "dark" topics (in fact to some extent I seek that out) there has to be some balance or it all just feels depressing.
There isn't much plot at all and a lot of the second half in particular centres around a will they/won't they romance that tbh I just couldn't care about and was largely hindered purely by the two people concerned avoiding speaking to each other openly.
It didn't help that none of the main characters were particularly interesting or likeable. Even the MC was completely bland. She went through some traumatic experiences which did shape her and I'm not discounting that. But apart from these experiences, her internet usage and her relationships with a handful of friends/family members, we know nothing about her. What are her interests, her hopes and dreams?
A lot of people have enjoyed this book, so it perhaps is the case that it just didn't work *for me* and my preferences for fiction. I'm probably a bit too old for it too, as a lot of the positive reviews of this book reference how nostalgic people found it, and as an elder Millennial phones weren't ubiquitous until I was nearing 30, and whilst I used the internet at school and university it was because I was a nerd, not because it was what everyone did.
Plot/compellingness 2/5
Themes 3/5
Characters 1/5
Emotional resonance 2/5
Writing style 2/5