A Very Ranty Review About The Names They Gave Us
Hey friends!
Today I wanted to talk to you about The Names They Gave Us by
Emery Lord! This was the first time I had read her work but I knew she was
quite popular and has a large fan base. I had heard this book was amazing from
other bloggers before reading it, and if you can’t tell by the title, I was not
impressed.
If you did enjoy The Names They Gave Us, I am sorry for how
badly I’m going to tear this book apart, so if you don’t want to read this, I won’t
hate you because I understand!
About the book.
Book: The Names They Gave UsAuthor: Emery Lord
Pages: 384
Published on: June 2017
Australian RRP: $17.99
Synopsis: When it all falls apart, who can you believe in?
Everything is going right for Lucy Hansson, until her mom’s cancer reappears. Just like that, Lucy breaks with all the constants in her life: her do-good boyfriend, her steady faith, even her longtime summer church camp job.
Instead, Lucy lands at a camp for kids who have been through tough times. As a counselor, Lucy is in over her head and longs to be with her parents across the lake. But that’s before she gets to know her coworkers, who are as loving and unafraid as she so desperately wants to be.
It’s not just new friends that Lucy discovers at camp—more than one old secret is revealed along the way. In fact, maybe there’s much more to her family and her faith than Lucy ever realized. (source)
Published on: June 2017
Australian RRP: $17.99
Synopsis: When it all falls apart, who can you believe in?
Everything is going right for Lucy Hansson, until her mom’s cancer reappears. Just like that, Lucy breaks with all the constants in her life: her do-good boyfriend, her steady faith, even her longtime summer church camp job.
Instead, Lucy lands at a camp for kids who have been through tough times. As a counselor, Lucy is in over her head and longs to be with her parents across the lake. But that’s before she gets to know her coworkers, who are as loving and unafraid as she so desperately wants to be.
It’s not just new friends that Lucy discovers at camp—more than one old secret is revealed along the way. In fact, maybe there’s much more to her family and her faith than Lucy ever realized. (source)
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Thank you to Bloomsbury Australia for providing me a review copy however this is an honest review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.
Disclaimer: if you find this review offensive in ANY way (even though that was not my intention AT ALL) please do contact me and we can discuss it! I don't want my words to harm you and this was simply my opinion.
{ writing }
The writing of this was one of the biggest parts of what
frustrated me! Firstly, there was nothing gripping about this book. It’s not
that it was ‘hard’ to get into – it just didn’t have any pull to it and there
was nothing that helped you empathise with the characters.
Another really HUGE thing I found that bugged me the entire
time I was reading was that Lord tells rather
than shows. Lucy is supposed to love
her mother, and while that’s told many times throughout the book, it is never
shown through actions. It doesn’t feel realistic to me and it got to the point I
would roll my eyes every time Lucy lamented about how sad she was about her
mother’s cancer.
I’m NOT in any way
trying to be insensitive about the issue! Of course she feels sad! But I would
want it showed rather than just told and it didn’t feel authentic for me.
{ idea + plot }
The idea of this felt the same as any other YA novel. The cancer
didn’t feel original – and I understand it’s a huge part of life and it affects
many people – but the take on it felt copied from other YA novels and it was
not Lord’s own take on it! (Not sure if I’m making sense but basically what I mean
is it seems she has copied all these different ideas from other YA novels
featuring characters who have cancer and hasn’t researched the topic properly
herself)
I also didn’t relate to the religious aspects. This is one I
won’t comment on because I don’t feel I really can – but I’m not really
religious – so I couldn’t understand the concepts of faith explored in the book
and it just made me feel even more disconnected from the story.
Also, the ending sucked. I am sorry. Highlight to view the
mild spoiler. OK BUT WHY WOULD YOU HAVE SUCH AN OPEN ENDED ENDING LIKE THAT?
You have made me sit through this entire book to not even give me a conclusion?
I don’t mind open ended endings at all but this one was just TOO much!!!!
{ characters }
This was another HUGE thing that annoyed me! The characters
were so annoying?
Lucy was ok in some parts but in other parts, she felt too
much like a ‘goody-two shoes’ to the point where I was like, is this girl even
real? And before you say anything, I AM a goody-two shoes! Like a really huge
one – but definitely not to the extent Lucy is. I couldn’t relate to her as a
character and she felt so distant to me.
I didn’t get Lucy’s parents! Why on earth would you send
your daughter away when you’re sick? Wouldn’t you want to spend time with
her??? I couldn’t understand ANY of their decisions or how they kept lying to
her and how she kept forgiving them!!
I do acknowledge that every person is different and we all
have different things that are acceptable and unacceptable to us but this book
was NOT for me, especially since I couldn’t stand any these characters!
The only people I didn’t mind are Keely and Jones! They both
felt more realistic and flawed and overall, nicer more rational people!
{ overall }
I think this is the rantiest review I have written in a
while and I don’t like to do them for the fear of offending people who did
enjoy the book but I am sorry I NEEDED TO SHARE HOW I FELT! The story felt so
stuffy??? This book was not for me. I couldn’t connect to the story or
characters, it felt so so unauthentic and ugh I don’t know if I’m going to read
any more Emery Lord.
OVERALL RATING:
★★
Have you read The Names They Gave Us? What did you think?
21 happy thoughts
I saw "ranty review" in the title and I came running so fast xD
ReplyDeleteI haven't read an Emery Lord novel but that's mostly because she (only writes contemporaries?) and I'm more of a fantasy reader. I saw this one when I attended ALA but I immediately put it down because contemporaries that cover serious subjects aren't always my cup of tea.
I'm sorry you didn't like this one more but fabulous review <3
Thank you so much Faith! Haha glad to hear you enjoyed my review! <3
DeleteEh. I'm SO on the fence with this book, the feedback has been so mixed. Some love it, some really... don't. Thanks for your honesty! I have this weird feeling that I'm going to be in the same boat with you if I do get to reading it... so maybe I'll just save myself the trouble and pass on this one. :S
ReplyDeleteCass @ Words on Paper
Thanks for reading nonetheless Cass and I've actually not heard that many negative things about this one so I'm kinda surprised to hear other bloggers didn't love this!
DeleteI'm incredibly sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy this book. I haven't read it yet, but I read two of Emery Lord's books last year and highly enjoyed them so I was totally anticipating this book. Thank you so much for posting your review though, it's always good to see all sides of perspectives! Just show how diverse our opinion can be! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you for listening Kezia and I do hope if you read this, you enjoy it, even if I didn't!
DeleteI'm reeeeally glad I decided not to try this one now. XD eeek. I really didn't like When We Collided last year and tbh I don't like super religion-y books. Plus yes WHY would you send your kid away if you were dying?? That seems horribly selfish too, because like wouldn't your kid just want to be with you while they could? 0_0 The story seems kind of illogically messed up. D:
ReplyDeleteEXACTLY! I didn't get it and it felt SO illogical to me! Phew glad I'm not the only one!
DeleteWhat a shame! I really enjoyed it but you do make some good points here, your post now has me questioning why anyone in their right mind would send their child away while they were sick. Great post, though!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading and commenting! <3 <3
DeleteI'm so sorry this book didn't live up to the hype. I must admit I was excited at first to read this book but then I was a bit wary of the religious aspects. I honestly don't mind exploring religion in books but there's also a chance it can feel a bit preachy and that's something that gets on my nerves. I also think that showing rather than telling would have made her situation a bit more emotional. Great review.
ReplyDeleteYES EXACTLY! I found I couldn't relate and it just wasn't for me! Thankn you so much for reading Lois!
DeleteI had to read this even though I completely LOVED this book. I understand that it might not be for everyone, but it touched me in so many ways and it was exactly what I needed to read when I did. No book can be for everyone, though!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Thank you for reading this nonetheless Nicole and I am so glad to hear you enjoyed it!
DeleteSo we definitely have different opinions on this book however I wanted to stop by and say I love the photos you took for this book! Your ARC cover is stunning!
ReplyDeleteUgh, I'm so sorry this was a disappointment. :/ the only Emery Lord book I've read is The start of Me and You and I was definitely not impressed. That's why I was hesitant to start this one. I think there are numerous other cute and sweet contemporaries out there that will bring out the feels, unlike this one. Awesome review!
ReplyDelete- Aila @ One Way Or An Author
Aaah. I have this book on my TBR to read, and now I'm not sure if I want to bother. I started reading When We Collided last year, but just really didn't get on with it. I always intended to go back, but I just can't be bothered, I wasn't enjoying it. But I know so many people love Lord, and although The Names They Gave Us was going to be quite religious, and that's not usually my bag, I thought I would give it a go because so many people are a fan of her books. But now... maybe not? I mean really, I wasn't exactly sure anyway, and I didn't get into When We Collided, and now this review... yeah, I think I might leave it. But awesome review, Anisha! I don't think anyone would be offended by you expressing your opinion here. :)
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean! And phew I was a little bit worried because I wouldn't want to hurt anyone.
DeleteI'm seeing a lot of the people here not liking Emery Lord's books so I'll pass on these ahah. I guess because I go to a Catholic school and all, books with religious aspects don't bother me much. I'm sorry these comments are random, I'm running out of things to say ahah
ReplyDeleteHAHAH omg the spam though Steph <3 <3
DeleteI personally really really enjoyed it, I couldn’t put it down. Maybe it’s because I can relate to the character and some of the plot, for example anxiety. I liked that Lord included that because anxiety is something that has contrasting views, and I’ve been personally suffering a lot recently and that chapter where they were at a party and Anna wanted to go, and also the part where Anna was having a rough day; they really spoke to me and gave me another source telling me anxiety was okay. I’m also new to religion so it was also nice to get another insight to that. I also loved the touches of musical theatre Lord added, such as Moham’s Hamilton top, being the theatre geek I am, I was delighted to see such a subtle detail. I also think the subtle plot around Anna’s story and how Lord dealt with transgender and negativity was very sensitively done and I feel it’s very important more aspects of LGBTQ+ are added to books. I, myself, am asexual so I particularly feel comforted when a subject relating to my community is touched upon, not over-dramatised and just gives an extra layer that *that* part of my life or anyone else’s is important but not the be all and end all to how you view someone. I see you’re points and I was quite disappointed at the ending, I’d love a sequel. Part of my anxiety is related to health so I really do want to know how Lucy’s mother turns out. Either way it could go, Lord could definitely make a compelling story whether it be grief or the survivors guilt that her mum turned out okay, and of course I’d love to see a plot about the half sister and more camp stories!
ReplyDeleteLeave me a comment below! And feel free to leave your website URL so I can come visit!