Awkward Read-Aloud - For ME
342603
I like the concept of the book.  I LOVE the diversity in the book.  I enjoyed the art.  However, I found the words to not really flow.  I feel awkward reading it -- especially when long phrases are repeated three or four times in a row.
2119499
I honestly can't comment on the writing or story. I bought the audio book, and the reading performance is so terrible, I couldn't listen to more than a few pages worth. It seems like the reader pauses for a minute between each sentence. I'm sure it's more like a few seconds, but it was enough to make me crazy. I've read and/or listened to the other four books with no issues.  Not sure what changed here.
2452537
I received a copy of this title to listen and review for Wicked Reads

5 stars to the narrator
3 stars on the premise/execution
3.5 stars in total

First, I need to state how I've never truly enjoyed an audio book, as I find it hard to fall into the story. I need to see the words written if I'm listening at the same time. This is due in part to the fact that I have a hearing-impaired person in my household, and I read the TV while watching it. If fact, the CC is turned on for my personal TV, and I have to look at the screen to fully immerse myself into whatever I'm watching- no multitasking for me when it comes to books, movies, or shows.

So I give myself a pat on the back for completing such a long book in audio, even if I didn't fully digest a lot of it- since I couldn't read and listen, I did multitask listening while working using Photoshop and/or playing a game on my cellphone. (I leveled up on FV Tropic Escape many times during the book)

I've read and enjoyed T.J. Klune books in the past, but always found it hit&miss depending on my mood on whether or not I connected with the storyline. If you're new to Klune, know that the books can be way over-the-top. If you're not in the right mindset, it may come off as forced. For me, How to be a Normal Person fell into the forced category because of my current mood over the 11+ hours it took to listen.

I loved Gus. He was self-deprecating, and his inner monologue was hilarious because of it. I did find myself chuckling or snorting out loud while listening. The House Hunters jokes had me splitting a gut. He was quirky and saw the world through a different lens.

Truthfully, my issue, and it may have been exacerbated due to the fact that this was audio, I'm not big on the details. A lot of authors have a ton of unnecessary details to set a scene, and there is a large grouping of readers who not only need that, but love it. I'm just not one of them. As an INTJ personality, I find inane tedious, whereas the rest of the population would find the anecdotes hilarious. (I'm like the lone person at a party, sitting in the corner, getting progressively more annoyed as the people get drunker and start finding themselves hilarious- the more they laugh, the more I want to break our friendships. Like I'm the lone sane person in an asylum). For me, every word was written for the result of a laugh, when I'm a reader who values deeper subject matter, and find unsuitable things funny from time to time. Less is more for Erica, and How to be a Normal Person was definitely the opposite of less.

If I had been reading the novel, my eyes would have skimmed past it, but as I was listening, I had to hear every word- as I said above, being audio exacerbated my issue with this sort of writing style.

The storyline was just okay for me. There wasn't much going on really, just everyday events and quirky commentary and observations by equally quirky characters, and it just stayed in the same gear for the entire novel. A little goes a long way for me, and this was a 'lot'.

What kept me engaged and helped me complete the novel was the audio narrator. He did Gus proud. and I could listen to him for hours (which I did. HA!)

Take my review with a grain of salt, as audio may not be my thing, and it may have contributed to the fact that I couldn't fall into or absorb the story as if I were reading it. But Gus was a gem, and the narrator sparked something in me to give audio another go, because perhaps it was just a case that this book wasn't for me, as other Klune books have been in the past.
740374
With all the accolades on Twitter about this book, I was expecting a truly exceptional book. While original in plot, I found it difficult to get through. The narrator's voice irked me, as did the frequent misused words. That may be an issue with the Kindle edition, but it was really distracting. Just not that compelling a read for me.
1141159
Old-time English, difficult to understand, but maybe it was just me.
319792
I remember reading this as a girl and being quite perplexed. I loved fantasy and other-world stories, but this one seemed so random and topsy turvy, I couldn't fully engage with it. I realize that is a matter of taste, but I like my fantasy to make more sense. This felt uncomfortably like a somewhat unpleasant dream. Nevertheless, I'm curious to try it again, as an adult, and see if my reaction is different. Since it is being offered free by Amazon classic editions, there's no risk of wasting my money. So...why not?
4606995
For the Love of Livvy has a mildly diverting plot, but sadly, it reads like something I might have written, which is why I'm a reader, not a writer.  There are sparks of good dialogue, some characters with potential, but way too many gerunds, oddly worded sentences, and trite phrases.  "Lifting it onto the sofa, I laid it on its side" and "Hustling to the kitchen, I grabbed my shoulder bag and keys, and headed out the door" and "Awakening, I found my body entwined with Richmond's" (the way too many gerunds). "The space was relatively small, only enough room for one or two bags and withdrew my hand" and "Just as I slouched farther into the chair, the outer front door slid open and a brief knock landed on my door" and "Huge hands grabbed me and brought me back from the black swirling pit swirling" (the oddly worded sentences.) "Unleashing the molten lava inside me" "my mind traveled a hundred miles an hour (the trite phrases). And everyone is always smirking or tilting their eyes! I read about ten chapters, then skimmed the rest to pick out the details of the plot from the mess of gerunds, odd sentences, and trite phrases.
237869
Seriously, go ahead, pronounce the "th" in "clothes" again. The performer generally overpronounces words and I can usually ignore it, but this one is making me crazy. Doesn't help that the book massively overexplains everything. I'm regretting using my audible credit and may not be able to force myself to finish.
474331
Let me start off by saying that I purposely seek out unabridged versions of books in order to expose my children to the best vocabulary and literature, and our family has a decent vocabulary and reads lots of classics.  Nevertheless, I just want to warn any parents who mean to read this book aloud to their children that the vocabulary is quite difficult and obscure throughout.  This is especially true for those who aren't familiar with English colloquialisms.  I usually deem difficult vocabulary worth navigating for a good story, but I personally did not find this story to be engaging at all.  Honestly, I dreaded reading it and its end came painfully slowly.  I'm in the minority, though, judging by the average reviewer rating.

Michael Hague's illustrations are beautiful and help to keep a child's interest.  I began with the Kindle version of the book, but quickly realized that we'd need to upgrade to a version with pictures.  To the book's credit, when I asked if my 8yo would like to finish the book a couple times in our reading, both times she said yes.

For a similar book with more manageable but still colorful vocabulary, I'd recommend The House at Pooh Corner or Winnie-the-Pooh, especially as a read aloud to children ages 4-8.
4878761
I love the main idea and the illustrations are eye-catching, but...the layout (speech bubbles, different fonts, etc.) all on one page makes it difficult for small children to follow. Definitely not a read-to-self - at least not initially.
4332058
This book sounded so interesting when I read the description...the struggle of a young Jewish boy who has the hopes of his entire family pinned on him from an early age....

Then I got the book, and I thought this plot sounded great, but I don't know how a book this big can tell that story without saying too much. Then I started reading the book despite my reservations, and I started to encounter quaint regional dialect that used interpretative spelling and sentence structure versus to convey accents and regionalisms. I can't stand this. It is distracting and irritating and kept me from continuing all the way to the end of the volume.

I give the book two stars instead of one because of Isaac. I did like him.
2279870
I'm a huge fan of odd books, and I'm always looking for a new book to add to my "wonderfully weird" list. This one looked like it had great potential, but it was a little too weird for even my tastes.

The beginning reminded me so much of a corny Goosebumps episode, for one. Also, I didn't care for the bad attitudes. There was too much name calling for my tastes. Dorknose was a favorite to be used. I'm not even overly picky about perfect behavior by any means. I have 3 little boys, after all, but the meanness bugged me in this book.

My biggest issue, though, is the fact that it made me uncomfortable during the first half or so of the book. Dr. Fell takes these children into his doctor room to give them a physical, though they are obviously uncomfortable about it. Their parents stay in the waiting room. He says their young bodies are going through changes and he needs to make sure everything is alright. What happens in the room stays a mystery until later in the book, but it made me seriously uncomfortable and sick to my stomach at the time! Am I telling you not to read it because of that? No, of course not. I think my uncomfortable feeling is a serious concern to think about when recommending this to other kids, though, especially based on their pasts. Personally, because of it, I won't recommend the book to any child, nor will I let it hang around in my home. Again, I'm not saying everyone will feel the same way, especially based on the reviews so far, nor do I think that was the intention of the author in any way.

It probably goes without saying considering this is a middle grade book, but Dr. Fell isn't what he appears to be in the beginning. He's just a creepy guy trying to hurt kids in other ways. The second half of the book is definitely still creepy for a child's book, but it was better, and I did enjoy it more. I just couldn't overly like the book after the oddness of the beginning.

I really do wish I didn't get such an uncomfortable feeling from the book, and while I do know plenty will roll their eyes at my complaint, I do encourage you to put it into consideration when recommending it to children. It won't be a book for everyone. Just read it ahead of time and use your best judgment.
3818262
I'm far from an expert on literature, but if you read this book aloud, it's immediately obvious how awkward the writing sounds. It isn't that the rhymes don't work, but the rhythm/flow of the words is spectacularly bad. My daughter doesn't seem to care about this, it's only the adult reading with her that seems to suffer. It's like nails screeching down a chalkboard when one phrase sets a clear rhythm and then the next dashes your expectations with a of jumble words that flow like a car in stop and go traffic.

Also, I get that the book tries to have a positive message with 0 starting with doubts but is able to overcome them and achieve positive outcome by joining with 10, but the plot makes absolutely no sense! Why couldn't 0 climb the tree initially like everyone else? Why do the bumblebees suddenly leave after 0 and 10 merge? Shouldn't they continue being territorial? It makes literally no sense.
583313
With limited time on my hands, I bought the audio book. Ugh.
The mispronunciations abound.  I had to stop listening. Names, foreign languages, mathematics, and even English words.
I've turned to the book.
2787156
This wasn't the best fit for us, unfortunately.

First of all, I felt super stupid trying to read it with the confused looks of horror on my children's faces. They didn't really get it. As an adult, I did, but I wish that the story had did a better job explaining it to the child. I kept expecting the ending to clear things up, but it didn't. As I ended it, my oldest(delayed 5): "What's he doing?" I tried to explain, but he wasn't buying it. My 3 year old pretty much had the same response.

It was just odd and awkward to read. Maybe it would go over better with extras and playing out the scenes. (??)

The pictures are cute, but overall, it wasn't for us.
1494448
I bought this audio as I preferred to listen rather than read.  But I found myself rewinding and playing the audio over and over, not because the subject is interesting, but because you can't understand what the author is saying as he speed reading.  I barely understood what he says to the point I've given up after five minutes of listening to it.  To the author, slow down, there's a reason there's a period (.) at the end of the sentence.
1156251
Language is shocking for me!  I may be a prude but I'm part of a great group who don't appreciate this, especially in audio format.  I have vision problems.  To each his own, but I'd like a warning.