I had been wanting to read this book for so long now. I wanted to read it before I ever laid eyes on the BBC series. The story about two Irish teens (and follow their lives all through university and for a while after that), Connell and Marianne, who go to the same school but are from different backgrounds and social classes.
I really loved the beginning. It's painfully intimate at times and so frustrating. The miscommunication in the book might make you wanna throw it at a wall sometimes. At first, I felt, okay this is realistic! This happens to people in real life as well. But when combined with the fact that there is no actual plot, it can get very annoying.
I loved the writing. I loved Lorraine and Joanna the most. Marianne and Connell are alright. The characters are not really discussed in depth. At least, not as much as their poor choices. It did feel realistic and gave me such an ache when I started reading. It hit me in all the right places (especially Marianne's story). Then it just kept getting worse. Connell is so damn annoying at times. I have a love-hate relationship when it comes to his character.At times, it felt like I really shouldn't be knowing such intimate things about people that aren't really me. At the same time, I felt like there was so much about them that I didn't really know at all.
Overall, the book is nice. It's actually really good. But I really wish Rooney talked more about Marianne and Connell and why they are the way they are or what actually lead to these choices, in depth. I really thought that this was going to be my first five star book this year (and it wasn't, I gave it 3 stars on Goodreads). But I definitely think it's worth a read. So do read it if you've not yet watched the series and are about to or you loved the series and you just wanna get to know them through writing.