Book Review: Solitaire - Alice Oseman

Title: Solitaire

Author: Alice Oseman

Release Date: March 30th 2015

Publisher: HarperTeen

Age Group: Young Adult

Source: ARC from publisher

Goodreads

In case you're wondering, this is not a love story.

My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that's all over now.

Now there's Solitaire. And Michael Holden.

I don't know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don't care about Michael Holden.

I really don't.

Solitaire is one of those books that just reeks "ominous". Everything from the cover to the summary and even the other reviews that I've read made me expect the emotional rollercoaster that this book is, but something about it just didn't work.

The book starts off slow as we are introduced to the characters. Tori, our main character, is the kind of teenager that I never enjoy reading about in fiction: angsty and demotivated. She has a lot of nothingness in her that seeped through the pages of the book, and at the same time it is her voice that will keep readers glued in. But although she had my attention, I had a hard time relating to her or any of the other characters, and I believe that is the reason why I failed to finish reading this the first time I picked it up: it was so damn slow and, in some parts, pointless.

We're so used to disaster that we accept it. We think we deserve it.

The story picks up when Solitaire, a prankster blog, starts wreaking havoc in Tori's school. At first the pranks are harmless and Tori, being as depressed about life as she is, could not care less about it. But as the pranks progress and people are harmed, Tori gets the resolve to find out who's behind the blog and put a stop to it. This is the part where I started rolling my eyes every few pages or so because it made no sense at all. I'm going to keep it at that before I spoil it for any of you guys.

It's so easy to assume you know everything about a person.

Although I have my reservations, Solitaire is one book that I will recommend to those looking for a read similar to The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but I would suggest picking it up with lowered expectations because I have never been this irritated by a happy ending.

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