It Looks Like This Review

Title: It Looks Like This
Author: Rafi Mittlefehldt
Series: Not Applicable
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: 10 April 2018
Source: Pan Macmillan South Africa
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
Rating: 3.25 Stars
Reading Timeline: 18 June 2018 - 20 June 2018

Goodreads Synopsis:

A new state, a new city, a new high school. Mike's father has already found a new evangelical church for the family to attend, even if Mike and his plainspoken little sister, Toby, don't want to go. Dad wants Mike to ditch art for sports, to toughen up, but there's something uneasy behind his demands. Then Mike meets Sean, the new kid, and "hey" becomes games of basketball, partnering on a French project, hanging out after school. A night at the beach. The fierce colors of sunrise. But Mike's father is always watching. And so is Victor from school, cell phone in hand. In guarded, Carveresque prose that propels you forward with a sense of stomach-dropping inevitability, Rafi Mittlefehldt tells a wrenching tale of first love and loss that exposes the undercurrents of a tidy suburban world. Heartbreaking and ultimately life-affirming, It Looks Like This is a novel of love and family and forgiveness--not just of others, but of yourself.

Book Review:

Pre-reading Thoughts:

I got this book as a surprise from Pan Macmillan and I am so excited to actually jump into this. I decided to jump into this almost immediately because it is Pride Month and this book fits in perfectly.

Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan South Africa for providing me with a copy of this book. Just a small disclaimer for those reading this review. I have received this book for free. Please note that this does not affect my opinion in any way. All thoughts are my own.

Writing Thoughts:

The writing was... different. I didn't love it. It was difficult for me to read the book sometimes. It felt heavy. It's told in the first perspective past tense, I think? All I know is that the dialogue weirded me out a bit because it doesn't have inverted commas. But a huge bonus is the detail. Oh my gosh. I loved it so much. I lived for the detail. It was absolutely amazing. However, the book is filled with statements which didn't carry a lot of emotion.

Plot Thoughts:

The plot was slow. It took a while for things to start. It is definitely one of those books that have a slow building plot but I think it really worked for the most part. It allowed us a really in-depth view into the main character's family and his feelings. I think that this allowed us to get to know him and see the struggles he goes through with a conservative family and ideals. 

Character Thoughts:

Mike was an interesting character. I found him to be a bit on the bland side. He described certain things with so much detail but he lacked some personality. We didn't really get to know him but rather, we got to know his family and everyone else. 

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I liked this book. It wasn't an absolute favourite but it was still good. The writing style threw me off a bit but the detail that came with certain scenes made me so happy. The plot was slow-burning which made this quite a heavy read but it also made you take everything in. It made you experience everything with the main character. I found that Mike was interesting. He saw the world around him in such a colourful way but when it came to himself, he was quite bland. Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan South Africa for providing me with a copy of this book. 

Yours in Reading,

Melleny

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