Above [Hardcover]

Book Review (ARC)
This is definitely one of those books that you will either love or hate. It just didn't work for me. It was really hard for me to follow along with the style of writing. Matthew is telling the story, as that's what he does, and he uses a broken down form of English, which made it time consuming and irritating to wade through. Had it been presented in normal-everyday English I probably would have liked the story a lot better, and as I write this review, the 3/5 rating that I gave the book is feeling pretty generous.

What I did like about the story was the separate chapters in which we hear the story of all of the other characters in the book. Their individual stories were more interesting than the major storyline. In the beginning I couldn't tell if Matthew was feeling love as a father figure for Ariel, or what was going on. I didn't have a grasp of what their age ranges were or what the author was trying to express with their feelings. I really, really, really wanted to like this story, but it just didn't work for me.

Reviewed by Jessica for Book Sake.

I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting from Above, but it wasn't this. I wanted to like this book, I really did. The cover is compelling, the blurb is filled with all kinds of promise...but the book just didn't deliver or feel completely right. The issue didn't have anything to do with the plot or the characters, but the writing style.

Above is written from the first person prospective of Matthew, an uneducated mutant who has lived much of his life in the isolated underground community known as Safe. And the writing style fully reflects Matthew's thought process. Written in an almost stream-of-consciousness style, Above's style reads like a broken translation of another language from a not-well-versed translator. It's incredibly difficult to read or fully comprehend, and there is so much slang used here (without much of an explanation) that's it hard to understand what's going on for the first 50 or so pages of the book. I found myself re-reading several passages just to get a sense of what the slang meant based on the context. There were some things that I didn't fully understand for the duration of the entire novel.

This really affected the setting as well. It was impossible for me to get any sense of where the characters were, or what they world they lived in was like. I got that they were different, which was bad, but there didn't seem to be any more depth beyond that. It just really bugged me that I couldn't see the world or the characters at all.

Which brings me to some of the redeeming qualities of this book: the characters and the unique storytelling. (Reading this book wasn't a complete waste, by the way, but really frustrating and confusing.) This book is set up in a unique way. Instead of just following a singular plot line, the protagonist shares the stories of the other characters, which made them come alive and made this story about each character's individual struggles for acceptance, rather than the overarching plot. I found this approach refreshing, though somewhat disjointed.

Above certainly wins points for originally and for excellent characters, but really lost me with the style. Try at your own risk, but be warned...

First Impressions: Cover love doesn't even describe how much I swooned over this book! I needed to have it and it didn't even matter to me what the book was about, at least not until I read the synopsis. Then I really wanted it, because the plot sounded awesome. It sort of reminded me of those scary old mental institutions where people use to shove all of the outcasts of society, and those people were consequently tortured and experimented on just because they were different or ill. I was very happy when my copy of Above showed up so I could start reading it.

First 50 Pages: This book was very challenging for me to read and comprehend. In fact, I think it was the hardest book I've read in a very long time. It took me forever to finish the whole book and I felt mentally exhausted by the time I was done. I'll just come out and say it. I don't think the majority of people, especially teens, are going to be able to follow along with the writing style and I think that many people are going to try to read Above, maybe get through the first few chapters, and then give up trying to understand it. Let me explain more.

Characters & Plot: This story revolves around two very different worlds; The world of Above and the world of Safe. The people who live in Safe are basically refugees trying to escape the harsh realities of Above, where they do not fit in, are mistreated, and where people are frightened of them. They come to Safe to be, well, safe. It's a haven for them.

The people who come seeking refuge in Safe are basically chimeras, at least that is the way I was picturing them in my head. Each character has one or multiple unique attributes that make them very different from everyone else, with some attributes being more obvious than others. The ones with no physical irregularities are called Sick, and some are able to pass for being normal. Others have no way of hiding what they are, like Ariel and her wings or Atticus who has crab claws instead of hands. Regardless, they are all looking for shelter from a very harsh world. Nobody really knows why these people are different and nobody really explains it either. It is just the way that they are.

What I liked about this is the message that it sent. That is okay to different and that not everyone has to be exactly the same. That there is no such thing as being normal and that people who are different shouldn't be treated different just because they aren't the same. Being different doesn't mean that a person doesn't have feelings and emotions. The author really drives these basic themes home in the book, which will make you step back and examine how you treat people who you view as different. I use to work with children with disabilities. It always amazed me how awful some people would treat those kids just because they were different. For those reasons, this book is wonderful, if you can get past the challenging writing style.

And it was a very difficult writing style. Matthew was our main character and the story is told from his point of view. Matthew speaks very differently in his thoughts and out loud. There is no rhyme or reason to his language and all of the basic rules of English are broken. There are missing punctuation marks, fragmented sentences, inappropriate use of verbs, inappropriate capitalization, and so on. Many times I had to go back and reread a section multiple times just so I could understand what Matthew was trying to say or what he was thinking. This isn't a terribly long book, but by having to reread just about everything, it took me twice as long to read Above then it would have if it were...normal. This was an intentional act from the author to coincide with the themes and messages of this book. It's not going to be for everyone. Some people will hate the way this book is written.

Final Thoughts: I really hope that people will be able to appreciate the complexity of this novel and at least attempt to read it. Leah Bobet is a fantastic writer, and I hit the nail on the head with my basic first impressions of this novel. The whole story really does take the mental institution thing to a higher level. After I had finished the book, I sat down and thought about it quite a bit. I think that Above will be very unappreciated, which is a shame. I do think that this book isn't appropriate for a younger teen because of some violence and harsh language. If you are on the fence about reading this one, try to find it in your local library first before purchasing it just in case the writing style bothers you.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 11 reviews  3.7 out of 5 stars