michael crouch | Lost in a Good Book

Love, Creekwood by Becky Albertalli

Published: 30 June 2020 (print)/23 July 2020 (audio)
Publisher: Penguin/Penguin Audio
Pages: 128/2 hrs and 47 mins
Narrator: Michael Crouch, James Fouhey, Kate Rudd, Bahni Turpin
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Young Adult Romance
★ ★ – 2.5 Stars

A gorgeously romantic new novella set in the world of Becky Albertalli’s bestselling and beloved Simonverse novels- Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, The Upside of Unrequited, and Leah on the Offbeat.

It’s been more than a year since Simon and Blue turned their anonymous online flirtation into an IRL relationship, and just a few months since Abby and Leah’s unforgettable night at senior prom.

Now the Creekwood High crew are first years at different colleges, navigating friendship and romance the way their story began – on email.

I know I can’t complain that a book called Love, Creekwood would be filled with so much romance, but I wasn’t expecting the entire book to be these characters going on and on about how in love they are with each other? Is there no plot? The answer to that is no. There is no plot.

This is the universe from Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and even that book, the book of romance and pining, didn’t feel this annoyingly love obsessed. Especially given Simon and Bram are two years into their relationship, there is no reason they should be as distraught at being apart as they are.

These people are a few hours way from one another and they act like they will never see each other again. Which is absurd given how many times they do actually see each other. Some of them are lamenting being separate for three days or two weeks and it is exhausting to try and find a fun plot around the mourning and pining. There is a bit in there about a fun roommate and playing soccer which is never really expanded on but it was something.

I liked the email format, I liked getting snippets of their lives and references to things that have happened or will happen. It succeeds in telling you about their lives outside of the emails and you don’t need full context because the characters are talking to each other in places. The emails aren’t the sole point of information and are fun love letters on the side, even if they do branch into slightly different things as well. Which is sweet, and ties into the Simon origins, I’m just saying a bit more plot would have been nice than an entire book about characters talking about missing touching and smelling one another.

There was a moment of self-awareness when I think it was Leah or Abbey who mention that not seeing your girlfriend for six days is cause for people to bring out the world’s smallest violin and is a classic first world problem; so Albertalli knows the dramatics these people are exhibiting.

I did this as an audiobook which was fun because the multiple different narrators were all those who I’ve heard in other books, a bit of a who’s who in narration. It was quite fun because they are so familiar they reminded me of all the other great books I had heard them in and the different characters they voiced.

I appreciated the audiobook experience but I’d forgotten how rough it can be hearing emails through audio, especially and entire book of them. The downside of social media in books is hearing everyone’s email addresses read out in full every single time, which for group emails was a long wait to get to whatever the email was actually about. When I read books with emails it’s easy to skim and see the to and from, and subject if necessary and get straight into the message. Hearing the fun name at whatever dot com over and over was hard but I understand they can’t chose to abridge that for ease because that goes against what an audiobook is.

For those who loved the original Simon story (which I did to be fair), and the companion Leah on the Offbeat, it is nice to see the next stage of their lives, I’m just a bit bummed it was so focused on the being in love to the point of nothing else side. Even a novella, keeping the lamenting and including a bit more plot would have been nice, but again, goes against the fun of the email format.

You can purchase Love, Creekwood via the following

QBD | Dymocks | Booktopia

Wordery | Blackwell’s | Angus & Robertson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Published: 5 September 2017 (print)/5 September 2017 (audio)
Publisher: HarperTeen/Harper Audio
Pages: 373/8 hrs and 30 mins
Narrators: Michael Crouch, Robbie Daymond, Bahni Turpin
Format: Audiobook
Genre: Young Adult
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars

On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: They’re going to die today.

Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: There’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure—to live a lifetime in a single day.

I am so, so glad I kept reading this. I tried twice to get going but I don’t know whether it was too late at night or I wasn’t in the right mood on the day, but I almost didn’t keep reading. I’m glad I was rewarded for my persistence though because this is a beautiful story. This story answer the question about what would you do if you knew today would be your last day? Where would you go? What would you do? Who could you meet?

In this not so distant future the technology exists to let people know the day they will die. The problem is they don’t know until the day of when they get that fateful phone call. I loved that there was no explanation about how or why this system came into practice but it has been in long enough that people are used to it, but not so long either. I also loved how there were enough new technologies to allow people to experience things they never thought they would, and that society had evolved to allow spaces for those on their last days to enjoy themselves and be with others like them. This was also a brilliant way to explain and explore the world from so many different voices and experiences.

I will give away nothing but there is a beautiful heart in this story and with these characters. I loved the alternating points of view, not only from Rufus and Mateo but from the other perspectives we’re shown. Through these other eyes we see the wider world, other experiences and gain more insight into the way this future works with people knowing the day they will be dying. The three narrators do a fantastic job. Each one brings a different approach for their roles which makes the right tones sit with the right moments. Turpin’s role is separate from Daymond and Crouch but it still helps create a fantastic mood for this story. Daymond and Crouch bring these boys to life and I loved that I was caught up in the story and their narration allowed me to get lost in the story and not focus on anything else.

This is a story about connections and life and not even so much as living it like it is your last day regardless but also about making whatever you do count. Make it matter. There’s a mixture of opinion about whether it is better to know when you will pass away, and if you must know, certainly knowing a future date is better than knowing the day of. I loved there is no real explanation about how this all came about but I love that it is clinical, accepted, debated and still new.

There is so much to say about this wonderful beautiful story and yet not so much to say either. The best way to experience this book is to read it, book, audio or other. You won’t regret it and it will do wonders for your outlook on life.

You can purchase They Both Die at the End via the following

QBD | Booktopia | Book Depository

Dymocks | Wordery | Angus and Robinson

Fishpond | Amazon | Amazon Aust | Audible