The storytelling is subtle, clues are carefully hidden in plain sight, the ante is upped above and beyond, the writer isn't afraid to abandon all conventions of political correctness and the whole thing is tied up in a rather satisfactory way. I enjoyed it immensely.

This was a very strange and disturbing book that was just not for me. Yasmin is a teen who has no friends and worships Alice, a popular girl, from afar. When Yasmin notices a man watching Alice, she begins to concoct scenarios in her mind. She believes he has nefarious plans for Alice, yet she alerts no one. When Alice disappears, Yasmin is certain this man took her, yet she desires that he turn his eye her way and believes that she has strong romantic feelings for him. This is the story of a very confused girl.

I couldn't get past the first fifty pages. I found the concept of a teen watching a man whom she believes is planning to kidnap another teen distasteful. I could not connect to the main characters. It did not appeal to me at all.

Thank you for the opportunity to read THINGS WE HAVE IN COMMON by Tasha Kavanaugh. I regret that I have been unable to read this book in a timely manner or provide a review at this time due to interference by a chronic health problem.

Captivating narrative voice... but I was frustrated that the narrator didn't have the growth or change that I hoped would come for her. It raised enough questions for me about her relationship with Alice that I really wanted more to fully understand Yazmin.

Tasha Kavanagh does a fabulous job of dealing with many teenage issues such as depression, overeating, being lonely and being bullied.. At the same time creating a mystery that is a real page turner.

HOLY…

This was completely mind blowing! You know what? Forget this review, forget everything you are doing or going to do and just go get this book now. I promise you, you never saw anything like this before!

I just ended the book and my heart is racing. You know when you feel so accelerated, that you think you might be trembling, but you look at your hands and you’re not? That’s how I am now. I freaking love this book so much! It was thrilling, odd and sad. And definitely mindfucking.

Our principal character Yazmin (Yaz) didn’t have an easy life. She doesn’t have any friends, endures bullying because of her size, and since her father died she lives with her mom and her stepdad, whom she isn’t a fan of. As an escape from her life, she obsessively watches her classmate Alice. And not being enough, she has some bits and bobs that belong to her.

Because she pays so much attention too Alice, she ends up seeing something else no one sees. She sees a man observing Alice and right away she knows, the way he is looking at her is not normal. She “knows” that he desires her and that he will take her away. But she doesn’t really know if that is real or her imagination and neither do we… Instead of worrying, she fantasizes about it. How she will be the one saving Alice’s life and how Alice will recognize that she is in love with her. So she becomes obsessive with the man.

After some time, that actually happens and Yaz doesn’t know what to do. Should she tell? Would anyone even believe her or would they again say, she is a freak? You start asking yourself if what’s happening is actually real or if it is just Yaz’s imagination. Because you just can’t relay on her words.

This is the type of book that will keep you guessing and that will keep your grip throughout the pages. It’s clear that Yaz is not a normal person. In my opinion it’s because of all she has been through and what we see is the results of it. But although you see what she has to endure everyday, she also makes a lot of poor choices with her life. She is a very weird and interesting character.

But the best part of this book for me was the end. That end is completely different from all the books I’ve read until today. It was shocking and just amazing. Probably the end is not for everybody, but I was definitely amazed.

This book is incredibly unique and I absolutely loved it. It’s sad and thrilling and it will make you read non-stop. I absolutely loved it and I would definitely recommend it!

Things We Have in Common is one of the most original books I've read lately. The premise is unique, effectively taking a coming-of-age story making it into a creepy tale with a surrounding mystery. It easily explores how obsession can lead down a menacing road. I really enjoyed this story.

"This is a placeholder PDF. Optimized PDF coming soon."

There is no review to be posted as there was not book (as noted by the quote above) as you c an see by the message you get when you open the novel.

I'm sorry to have been unable to read this.

Dianne

I do not give out 5 stars very often. To be honest, I generally consider the rating scale to be 1-4.5 and only include the 5 when a book really speaks to me, challenges me, makes me think, or does something different. Because of that, I feel like I have to justify the rating when I do give it. And that's the problem: it's hard because 5 stars is, for me, a deeply personal and emotional rating. There is no checklist of criteria that makes a 5 star book. I just loved this.

Why did I like Things We Have in Common so much?

Firstly, it's a bit of a mindfuck. It's about a British teenager called Yasmin who obsessively watches her classmate - Alice. Enduring bullying due to her size, Yasmin is an outcast at school and in the home of her stepfather. Alice serves as a beacon of light in her dark world and Yasmin becomes ever more attached to her, even going so far as to collect her fallen hair bands.

But Yasmin also sees something else. She sees the man watching Alice; the man she knows instinctively is there to take her. Of course, this is all a game in Yasmin's head. Until it isn't. Until Alice really does disappear and Yasmin wonders whether she should say something; whether she will be believed; or whether she herself might come under suspicion.

It's not as dark as it could have been and as I thought it might be. Most of the book reads like a slightly strange YA Contemporary. But what I loved most was all the uncertainty. How reliable is Yasmin's narration? How much of the man she observed was a story she created in her own mind?

Most of all, I love books that challenge my perception of characters. Books that introduce us to really complex people that I can’t decide if I despise or not. It is honestly a very difficult feat to make the reader care for a character that makes as many poor choices as Yasmin does. There were so many reasons to dislike her, but I really bought into her as a sympathetic character. I really felt her grief after her father's death, and the crushing weight of the bullying and ridicule she faced every day.

There are very few "fat" MCs in YA, and even fewer where the book isn't solely about them dealing with their weight. In this, Yasmin's size and her relationship with food are mentioned throughout but are not the focus of the plot. When it was talked about, I thought it was well-developed and sensitive, considering the relationship between depression and overeating - and how fat-shaming does not help, no matter how "concerned" you think you're being.

"I turned away again and closed my eyes. I wasn’t going to rise to it. I’ve done all the crying and despising myself that it’s possible for a person to do, followed by all the promising and list-making and will-powering, and all any of it does is make me want to eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and eat and EAT."


There are also POC, gay and trans secondary characters that appear throughout the book.

I know there will be people who hate the ending; in fact, I think the ending is kind of meant to be hated. I thought it was equal parts awful and perfect. In some ways, it could be read as an inevitable tragic conclusion to bullying and abandonment (which is safe to say without giving away spoilers).

A thought-provoking, strange and sad book.