Review: Starry Night by Isabel Gillies

Starry Night

Author: Isabel Gillies
Series: Standalone
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Genre: YA Contemporary
Format: ebook
Release Date: September 2, 2014
Source: egalley received from publisher via NetGalley
Rating: 1.5 Stars
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***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way changed my opinion of the book. The review below is my open and honest opinion.***   

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Sometimes one night can change everything. On this particular night, Wren and her three best friends are attending a black-tie party at the Metropolitan Museum of Art to celebrate the opening of a major exhibit curated by her father. An enormous wind blasts through the city, making everyone feel that something unexpected and perhaps wonderful will happen. And for Wren, that something wonderful is Nolan. With his root-beer-brown Michelangelo eyes, Nolan changes the way Wren’s heart beats. In Isabel Gillies's Starry Night, suddenly everything is different. Nothing makes sense except for this boy. What happens to your life when everything changes, even your heart? How much do you give up? How much do you keep?

My Review:  

Um where do I start? This book was a disaster. I honestly don't know how or why I finished it. Here's the thing. I wanted to know what was going to happen. I wanted to hear how all of this was going to crash and burn. But I was cringing the whole time reading and getting so angry I was ready to throw my Kindle across the room. 

Let's start with the writing. What a train wreck. I normally don't comment on the writing in books because I myself, while an aspiring writer, am not an actual writer myself and I know it's not easy so I don't like to judge. But I could not handle the writing in this book. It was bad, to say the least. For some reason there were no contractions (please tell me I'm not the only one who noticed this) so all the dialogue felt robotic and formal. It was weird and frustrating and annoying. Secondly, the main character's voice sounded so young. Younger than the 15 years old she was. She sounded more like she was in middle school. Drove me crazy. 

The main character actually just really drove me crazy. She was stupid, idiotic, and completely flat. She basically lived her life based on what other people wanted out of her. I mean seriously some of the decisions she made??? Even at 15 I knew better than that. I at least knew enough to discuss with my parents or my friends. But no. What does this girl do? She gets a boyfriend. Falls in love in one day. Ditches all her friends. Stops communicating with her parents. And blows off all her hopes and dreams. And then after all this, you would think that she would learn her lesson, but I really felt like she didn't. I mean, she sort of did, but mostly she just seemed like the same immature person that she was before. 

The guy was a major dick. That's all I have to say about that. 

And here's the part that made me the most angry. The casual way that these young teens had sex. Let me tell you a little story. It's about to get real personal up in here. I lost my virginity at a young age. Not super young, but too young looking back. And let me tell you, the guy was a jerk (of course) and it broke me. I did not get over it easily. It was a HUGE deal. And these characters were just casually having sex, some of them with waaaay older guys and it was just no big deal. No consequences. No nothing. This is not what we should be teaching teens. Are you freaking kidding me? There were also drugs and alcohol involved and no consequences for these either. 

All in all, this was a pretty terrible book. The only positive thing I can say is that I did really want to know what happened. I think it was like when you watch something really horrible and you can't look away even though you desperately want to. So yeah. Hopefully my next read will be a thousand times better. Happy reading all!

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you get upset about the casual way these teens had sex?