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A review by mar555
Lying Out Loud by Kody Keplinger
4.0
This was totally 3.0 stars for me, but the [frequent] appearance of Wesley and Bianca and the one-time appearance of Nathan and Whitley and Cash and Lissa gives it a bonus
Lying Out Loud... where do I begin?
I have deeply loved each and every one of Kody Keplinger's DUFF companions--Kody is unbelievably at giving me OTPs to worship and obsess over. So of course the bar for this novel was pretty high. Unfortunately, it didn't quite reach it.
I'm not gonna give this book a full, detailed review, because I really don't have much to say about it except that I am kind of disappointed.
First of all, that magical spark that every other KK couple has--it wasn't there. And I really searched for it. There was basically no chemistry between Sonny and Ryder; the transition from his obsession with Amy to his crush on Sonny felt more like he just wanted someone and Sonny just happened to be there, because, leading me to my second point, Sonny was an average character. Not like Ryder was anything above tolerable either, but first things first.
Sonny. I am not a picky reader, but damn was that girl shitty for a main character. I really did not see where her friendship with Amy came from, because to me it seemed more like parasitism. Sonny just took and took and took from Amy, and even though we know she loves her, we don't see her doing absolutely anything nice for her throughout the whole book. Amy gives her food, shelter, and love, and Sonny never once gives anything back, except, of course, for crap. So that relationship didn't work for me. Sonny was just such a self-centered character, and although I do feel bad for her, there just wasn't real sympathy there. There wasn't anything about her that inspired any sort of feeling inside of me but slight annoyance. I know this is just a fictional character, but I do hope for her and KK's sake that this was all because of her family situation at the moment of the book. Because she is loved, and very much, and I would've loved to see why.
And then there's Ryder. Whatever Sonny could have possibly seen in him that inspired her to put her relationship with Amy in jeopardy is beyond me. He was obnoxious and pretentious and cocky, and the only thing he and Sonny have in common is that their relationship with their parents sucks. That is basically all I saw drawing them together, and it was just not enough. I really did never see a side to him that could've compelled me to fall for him the way I fell for Wesley and Nathan.
And last and also least, Amy. About her, all I have to say is that she was just not believable to me. I just cannot picture a 17 year old that bland and manipulable. I actually had to remind myself multiple times that she was supposed to be 17 instead of 14. Although who knows, maybe there are people like that.
It breaks my heart to write a negative review to one of my favorite authors, especially one as special as Kody, but this book did not cut it for me. Nobody's perfect though, and one of her books was bound not to be amazing. Maybe if this had been written by another author I wouldn't be so disappointed. I really did love the other couples' appearances though. So much.
This book didn't entirely suck. Like I said, if any other less talented author had written it, it would've been okay. But I know that Kody can do so much better.
Lying Out Loud... where do I begin?
I have deeply loved each and every one of Kody Keplinger's DUFF companions--Kody is unbelievably at giving me OTPs to worship and obsess over. So of course the bar for this novel was pretty high. Unfortunately, it didn't quite reach it.
I'm not gonna give this book a full, detailed review, because I really don't have much to say about it except that I am kind of disappointed.
First of all, that magical spark that every other KK couple has--it wasn't there. And I really searched for it. There was basically no chemistry between Sonny and Ryder; the transition from his obsession with Amy to his crush on Sonny felt more like he just wanted someone and Sonny just happened to be there, because, leading me to my second point, Sonny was an average character. Not like Ryder was anything above tolerable either, but first things first.
Sonny. I am not a picky reader, but damn was that girl shitty for a main character. I really did not see where her friendship with Amy came from, because to me it seemed more like parasitism. Sonny just took and took and took from Amy, and even though we know she loves her, we don't see her doing absolutely anything nice for her throughout the whole book. Amy gives her food, shelter, and love, and Sonny never once gives anything back, except, of course, for crap. So that relationship didn't work for me. Sonny was just such a self-centered character, and although I do feel bad for her, there just wasn't real sympathy there. There wasn't anything about her that inspired any sort of feeling inside of me but slight annoyance. I know this is just a fictional character, but I do hope for her and KK's sake that this was all because of her family situation at the moment of the book. Because she is loved, and very much, and I would've loved to see why.
And then there's Ryder. Whatever Sonny could have possibly seen in him that inspired her to put her relationship with Amy in jeopardy is beyond me. He was obnoxious and pretentious and cocky, and the only thing he and Sonny have in common is that their relationship with their parents sucks. That is basically all I saw drawing them together, and it was just not enough. I really did never see a side to him that could've compelled me to fall for him the way I fell for Wesley and Nathan.
And last and also least, Amy. About her, all I have to say is that she was just not believable to me. I just cannot picture a 17 year old that bland and manipulable. I actually had to remind myself multiple times that she was supposed to be 17 instead of 14. Although who knows, maybe there are people like that.
It breaks my heart to write a negative review to one of my favorite authors, especially one as special as Kody, but this book did not cut it for me. Nobody's perfect though, and one of her books was bound not to be amazing. Maybe if this had been written by another author I wouldn't be so disappointed. I really did love the other couples' appearances though. So much.
This book didn't entirely suck. Like I said, if any other less talented author had written it, it would've been okay. But I know that Kody can do so much better.