I used to LOVE Amy Reeds books. I had given lol her books a solid 4+ stars up until recently. I adored The Nowhere Girls and that’s where her work started to taper off for me. This book and her latest one just didn’t hit me the same. I’m not sure if that’s due to age or story content but it has greatly saddened me that her books aren’t looking like they will be for me anymore.

Although this was a very interesting book at times at others it felt very wordy. I think it could have been way shorter. On the other hand the characters and story were very well done. This is a book about truth, friendship, with a little hint of magic. I think for the right reader this would be a hit out of the park.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles.
I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

Magical realism. Two teens trying to find their place in the world. Didn't really connect to characters or story.

I found this a fairly interesting read. Although, initially, I found myself unable to finish, when I pushed through I found some more relatable elements throughout. I must say, the plot was not something I typically gravitate towards, but since I always find myself more interested in the characters, rather than the plot, I gave this story a go. Both Billy and Lydia share a lot of trauma and discomfort in their lives, while their personalities don't entirely mesh, their past and histories are what give them a connection. I still don't entirely understand what in the world was going on with that plot, but I stuck it out to see where the characters would end up. I was left wondering if the strange occurrences the characters experienced (unicorns?) were actually happening, or just some kind of shared drug experience. All in all, if this story had a more traditional setting, and focused the plot more on the actual forgotten American town that the two bond over, I think it would've curbed my enjoyment far more. But for now, I appreciate what the author was going for, and the journey they wanted to take the reader on.

I don't know about this one. It took me forever to read. I just couldn't get into it. There was way too much going on. Too many characters that had some major issues. It just seemed to move too slowly for me. Once I got about 3/4 of the way through, it seemed to pick up, and then I was enjoying it to some extent. I did like the two main characters. I really didn't like the ending though. Nothing was explained. It just all sort of ended. I feel like I wasted my time with this book.

I love YA when it's done well and Amy Reed delivered in style. An excellent story and an incredible journey.

I received an advance digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Ms. Reed's new book is dark, surreal and a completely engrossing. A tale that will be confusing at times and keep you guessing.

4 out of 5 stars. Recommended reading.

It was a bit hard to tell at the beginning and sometimes throughout, which of them was speaking (it is told in alternate chapters) which seems odd considering how they are presented as so intrinsically different people (optimist and pessimist). But I super enjoyed the two main characters, their birth and found families, the Dragons vs. Unicorns edge, the setting, and the story. It was an interesting and supernatural bent on the can't we all just get along theme along with an insane Cheeto president starting WW3, phone-zombification, and over-adulation of fame/famous people.

The surrealism of this book both shone an interrogator's determined light on some intense internal and external darknesses as well as helped make the darkness...something a reader could process? It's difficult to put into words. I was moved by how well Reed articulated things that reflected my own experiences, and helped make my own experiences a little more process-able, too. This is a deep dive into what it takes to survive when your near-extermination comes not from some faceless bad guy but from the people closest to you, and yourself. This is a book that can help readers transform pain. <3

Thank you Netgalley for sending me this arc. I will be reviewing this book in the near future with an honest rating and review.

I wanted to love this book. The premise was interesting and Amy Reed wrote one of my favorite books of 2017 – The Nowhere Girls [full review here!]. And I remembered that book took me a while to get into, so I probably gave this one more than its fair shake. Attempting to read it actually pushed my reading schedule way back, and now I’m off by a whole week and probably won’t catch up without setting aside a couple of books that I hoped to read in July or August.

That’s how much I wanted to love this book and tried to read it. But I just couldn’t get into it.

The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World is about Billy and Lydia and two towns that hate each other but are forced together. And then there’s all the supernatural stuff going on. I’m going to try to break it down, but we’ll see how successful I am. Billy is from Rome, Washington, a poor little town known for one thing – the band Rainy Day Knife Fight, whose lead singer is Billy’s uncle Caleb. Lydia is from Carthage, Washington, the town neighboring Rome, which is also poor and sad and only known as the setting for the book series Dragons vs. Unicorns, written by some guy who had never even been there. The Carthage schools closed, so all the Carthage kids had to move over to the Rome schools, which was causing all kinds of fighting. But Billy and Lydia, two outcasts, became unlikely friends.

And then Billy’s famous uncle went missing. And then a weird tornado hit the town, and Billy and Lydia were out hiking when it struck. And then Caleb shows up in Billy’s house. All the while, Billy and Lydia keep noticing that something isn’t right with the town, isn’t right with the fog that’s rolling in… and they’re starting to think that they’re the only two who see it.

boy and girl

I DNFed at 36%.

Why I DNFed
Listen, THERE IS SO MUCH GOING ON. The set up was so complicated that I was almost a quarter of the way through by the time anything actually happened. That tornado I mentioned? The way the book is marketed makes it seem like that’s the first thing that happens in the book. And it kind of is! But it doesn’t happen until that 25% point, which is already more than 100 pages into the book. At the point I’m at in life, I don’t have time or energy for slow-burn books like this. It’s why I don’t tend to read literary fiction right now, for instance. I stick to YA and romance because I like the tropes that power those genres. So honestly, it’s not really this book’s fault. It’s not you, book. It’s me.

Would I pick this up again?
Yes, for sure. I’m intending to return to it later in the year, when the big push of new releases dies down a tad. I want to know what happens, but right now, I had to move on. And I love Amy Reed’s writing A LOT, so this really says nothing about that aspect of the book at all. This is more of a DNF for now than a DNF forever. And I’ll write another review when I eventually finish it, because I have a feeling the end of this one could be quite the wild ride.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review. I’m sorry my life is so crazy right now. I’ll return to this book and update my review, I swear.

Have any of you DNFed a book because your life couldn’t handle it right then? Let me know in the comments!

Happy reading!

DNF at 13%

I don't think this is a bad book, but it just isn't the right book for me. These characters simply aren't compelling, I don't like how blunt and plain the prose is, and the setting didn't do much to capture my attention. Naive characters like Billy don't usually gel with me, and Lydia's tough-girl attitude started grating on me from about a sentence and a half in.

If I'm skimming before 15%, I don't think it's worth my time, and my review wouldn't be thorough enough to really add anything to the conversation.

Trigger and Content Warnings (in the first 13%): Mentions of drug use and overdosing, loss of a loved one, abandonment, poor living conditions, living in poverty, racism

The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World centers around two outcasts who suddenly become friends when rival high schools are forced to combine. Lydia and Billy both have family situations bordering on neglectful, and they bond over this shared pain.
I think younger readers may enjoy this more than me, as I found it slightly boring and wasn't digging the whole subplot of unicorns and dragons. A friendship so special that it actually impacts the environment of a whole town is a great concept, but overall I thought it was just okay.

It’s very unfortunate that books that are only available in PDF expire. Although I downloaded it, I can no longer access this title and can’t download again now that it’s been archived. May I respectfully request that you make your titles available for a Kindle download so they don’t expire? Thank you.

DNFd I want to try this again SO badly. I think I just could NOT get into it, but I love love love Amy Reed

I loved this book more than I could possibly describe!

I connected with the main characters on a spiritual level -- especially Lydia. The overall plot was so interesting and weird, but in the best way.

It was the perfect mix of humor and anguish and healing. I truly enjoyed it so much.

I tried to read this book a few times now but unfortunately just couldn't get into it at all. I might be the only who who feels this way, but I found Billy, one of the main characters, to written way too young. Billy is supposed to be a high school senior, but he just comes across as much, much younger. He sounded more like a middle school age boy than someone who is nearly an adult.

This was a fun, but somewhat oddball YA contemporary with a magical realism feel.

The setting is strange and mysterious and vaguely reminiscent of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. For those who have read that series, I feel that there can be a bit more understanding of the magical realism component. Reed plays with the scenery and the Dragons vs. Unicorns storyline to create something fun that feels a bit tongue in cheek. There are some definite dark overtones to this as the fog rolls in and everything takes on an eerie, foreboding feel.

Reed's primary protagonists are quintessential teens with some heartbreaking backgrounds. Billy has never really felt loved by anyone, yet he is the unfailing optimist who cares for everyone else while allowing himself to be severely taken for granted. Lydia is a talented girl who doesn't quite feel at home in her own skin, though she makes all outward attempts to appear as though she does. She sports a rough exterior and struggles to accept love from those who truly care about her. I loved these kids. I felt so incredibly sorrowful at their circumstances, but felt that I came to know them well through the narrative. I rooted for them both in different ways and felt both frustration and pride in their actions. They were well-written, dynamic characters who felt believable. The supporting characters were also well thought out, though admittedly not always very likable. Reed seems to be quite good at creating characters with distinct flaws.

The story contains several concurrent events swirling around each other, keeping the narrative moving and intense. This stays consistent from beginning to end with moments of severe tension. The magical realism component created a bit of confusion, but for me that worked in a good way. It kept me guessing as to both what was going on and what was going to happen.

Parallels to modern circumstances with regard to political occurrences and environmental concerns played a minor part through the majority of the book, but became stronger and clearer as to their involvement in the book as the end neared. I certainly did not see where this section of the book was headed from the beginning, but I very much enjoyed how it was all wrapped together with a solid, though somewhat quirky ending.

For those who enjoy something different, are fans of YA, and love a bit of magical realism, this is a fantastic read. I look forward to reading more from Amy Reed in the future. 4.5 stars.

Thanks to Partner NetGalley for the digital ARC of Amy Reed’s The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World in exchange for an honest review. The book releases July 9.

From the opening of Amy Reed’s The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World, we know that her story will be both firmly rooted in our reality and also slightly off from that reality. The epigraph comes from L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and focuses on people’s preference for home, even if that home is “dreary and gray” (loc. 38). As the novel begins, we’re immersed in the world of Billy and Lydia, dual protagonists whose points of view alternate to tell the story. Billy is from Rome, and Lydia is from Carthage. These dueling sister towns in Washington hold a sort of joint claim to fame: Christie Romney’s Unicorns vs. Dragons YA teen fantasy series (which is set in Carthage) and Caleb Sloat’s band Rainy Day Knife Fight (Caleb, Billy’s uncle, grew up in—and escaped from—Rome).

The world here is gritty; both teenagers are familiar with poverty and hunger, and both are outcasts who are deeply lonely. Billy’s grandmother has raised him in a home of hoarding and neglect, while Lydia’s father Larry is a single dad. After her mother died in a car accident in the midst of abandoning them, Lydia has built emotional walls around herself, choosing loneliness over vulnerability. Billy, conversely, is constantly reaching out only to be turned away by everyone. When Billy approaches Lydia after the consolidation of their schools, Lydia responds with her typical bristly comeback . . . but she also leaves the door open to friendship.

We come to know Billy as someone who is constantly trying. He tries to be better, to learn more, to be kinder, more helpful. He relies on the “twenty-four-hour AA meeting channel” (loc. 284) and television therapists for advice because no one in his life cares enough to offer any. Lydia, meanwhile, has walled herself off from her father just as she has from everyone else. Her only hope seems to come in the dancing that serves as her emotional outlet and her inspiration.

The friendship between Billy and Lydia, which is absolutely my favorite part of the book, grows slowly as their world becomes stranger. The leader of the U.S. is the King, and his behavior becomes more outrageous as the plot unfolds (yes, there are some shadows of our real political situation here!). Billy’s house turns against him, disintegrating and seeming to hold something threatening in its walls. Lydia is followed by a shadowy figure of which she can’t quite get a clear view. And then there’s the fog, which grows thicker and smells and becomes more malicious as the story continues. Through all of this growing magic, Billy and Lydia nurture—sometimes grudgingly—their friendship, fighting through the easy urge to turn against each other when their lives go wrong. Watching them come to know each other and to understand the other’s weaknesses and strengths is a beautiful journey.

I really appreciated the gradual growth of the dark magic that surrounds Rome and Carthage: there’s much that’s sinister in this novel, but none of the fantasy evil overshadows the malevolence rooted firmly in reality, in the casual cruelty of the people who are supposed to care most for these teenagers or in the easy aggression of their peers. Amy Reed is brilliant at making us feel the loneliness and sadness against which Billy and Lydia fight, and because that depression is so vivid, I found the moments of hope and courage and earnestness to be so, so moving. The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World isn’t easily categorized into a single genre and should therefore appeal to a multitude of readers.