The Disenchantments

This cover screams Fun in the Sun! This blurb screams Road Trip and Music! So I was going into this expecting a light, fun, read. It's nothing like that. It has it's fun moments for sure, but the story is very sad bordering on depressing with a deep "finding oneself" message. This is not a bad thing at all. In fact I often enjoy books with this vibe, but going into this with opposite expectations really threw me for a loop.The story is told in Colby's point-of-view. He and his best friend Bev ha [...]

Something that 18-year-olds and potheads have in common (if they're not one in the same) is that they think everything they say is so DEEP and PROFOUND. The problem is that I don't belong to either group.The Disenchantments is the story of four friends and bandmates who hit the road after three of them (Colby, Bev, and Meg) graduate from high school. Colby, the lone boy, is our narrator and manager of the Disenchantments. On the eve of the trip, Bev tells Colby that despite their plans to visit [...]

2.5 stars. I liked the whole road trip/touring thing and the Pacific Northwest, but really couldn't stand the characters for the most part. I'm tired of reading about the "problems" of privileged rich kids. And these guys took it one step further towards unrealistic since they all felt like cliches or caricatures. Like they were the idea of a cool, happy moment instead of people. If you like the typical YA plot of rich kids finding themselves and their place in a very comfortable world, then thi [...]

3.5*Loved the quirky characters and the whole band touring thing, but at times I found the characters to be almost unbelievably 'cool'. They were just a bit too picture perfect at times I guess, if that makes sense. Video review to come.

Some books snug up to my heart. They imprint themselves on me to the point where they become a personal experience, appealing to a part of me that wonders and thinks and feels deeply. Nina LaCour's finely written book The Disenchantments crept up on me hooking me into some deep and contemplative thinking. Colby, the narrator, muses to himself, “I want to find the right fit. I'm getting closer, but I also know that I might never really have everything figured out. I might be searching forever [...]

I was nervous going into this as I've had mixed luck with LaCour's work. She has a stunningly beautiful prose, but her stories are a hit or miss for me. Because of this, I've held off on reading THE DISENCHANTMENTS for the longest time & only picked it up as it caught my eye scanning through the library rack. "Well, this has been on my TBR for several years now, I might as well just give it a try." Now I can see it was a mistake waiting that long. Although, perhaps not. Sometimes things hit [...]

Disenchanting? Most definitely. So I guess this one is aptly named. Actually 1 1/2 stars barely.I won't be reading this author again. I didn't feel that I was reading the voice of a guy for the most part. Other than when some other guy says hey bro, I started to wonder if Colby was, in fact, a girl with a gender neutral name, particularly since the love interest, Bev, makes out with boys or girls. Speaking of the love interest, in order for this story to work, the author needs to sell me on the [...]

Very enjoyable. I liked the writing style. I couldn't really connect with the characters, but other than that it was a fun read.

Short review: every single character in this book's relationship status on Facebook is, hopefully, "It's complicated".Long review:Dear Colby, protagonist of this book,Nearly ten years ago, I made plans to move to my dream big city. My best friend decided she would too, with the plan of arriving a few months after me. It sounded like the best future in the world. Then suddenly when I talked about it she grew uncomfortable and shuffly, and one day she refused to talk to me and refused to say why. [...]

My review can also be found on my blog Collections.3.5 starsI felt pretty disconnected at times with The Disenchantments. I love reading from the male POV, and even though I rooted for Colby, he didn't do much for me. Colby's in love with his best friend Bev, and for most of the book, I had a hard time understanding why. Bev was distant and didn't seem to care about Colby's feelings. I just couldn't get myself to like her. Eventually, Bev explained why she had been acting that way. And I got it. [...]

Rating: 4.5 I loved this! PERFECT book to read in the summer! It's so fun and easy to read.

I finished this book in February. It's April and I still think about it. I think that says enough, right? Well, here's a few more things to consider: there's a scene early in the book -- the band's first show in some dude's basement -- that had me smiling the whole way. Upon reading that scene, I knew that this was not going to be a slog through romantic angst or trauma or manufactured danger. This was going to be a quest for understanding and purpose (because the world is always demanding we "h [...]

This review originally appeared on Clear Eyes, Full Shelves.When we are young, we are whimsical dreamers.Our parents and the adults in our lives encourage this fanciful mindset. They tell us that with hard work, we CAN INDEED be elected President of the USA, possibly even without winning the overall popular vote. We WILL INDEED see our favorite football team win the Super Bowl in our lifetime, since there’s no way they could possibly lose 4 years in a row. But as we get older, we are encoura [...]

Rating: 3.5 StarsIt is difficult for me to fathom now, looking back, that I considered abandoning this novel many times during its first quarter. The Disenchantments starts out as a dull book, which hardly seems possible as it begins with a group of friends setting on a road trip to make music, but dull it certainly is. And then, suddenly, everything begins to pick up and from that point on, it hits you – or it hit me, at any rate – like a ton of bricks that this book; this book is so, so go [...]

Bev was a total bitch and Colby was clueless.Now, if "You two are not meant to be" wore a ski mask, shoved Colby into its white van and took him to a desert and beat him on the head repeatedly with a blunt object, Colby still wouldn't know it was "YOU TWO ARE NOT MEANT TO BE YOU IDIOT". The End because that's all there is to this story because 1. Colby's "epiphany" didn't move me and 2. I couldn't care for any of the characters. Even that punk chick and her sister and that tattoo dude.God, how I [...]

We felt so small with the city lights stretching forever below us, and we yelled at the top of our lungs because we were just these small humans but we felt more longing than could ever fit inside us.I have mixed feelings about this book. I like it, and I don't.First things first. I HAD NO IDEA COLBY WAS A GUY. Not a single clue. I didn't know until he said "she's a girl and I'm a guy." I had to stop reading to process that fact that Colby is not a girl, but a guy. From the synopsis, I assumed C [...]

Addictive and beautiful, The Disenchantments is one of my favorite contemporaries this year.The Disenchantments kicks off with two best friends Colby and Bev graduating from high school. Colby is ecstatic because in one week, he will be touring Europe with his best friend Bev. They have planned the tour since the beginning of high school year, and he can hardly wait for them to spend a year together in amazing countries in Europe. Before the much-awaited journey in Europe, the two best friends w [...]

The Disenchantments is kind of a quiet book; on the surface it seems to be a fun road-trip/bonding story, but Nina LaCour turns it into so much more. She has this way of taking your emotions and giving them a great big squeeze—there’s an enormous amount of power packed into her writing and the plights of the characters. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up at certain points in the story; sometimes because of the connection I felt to the characters’ emotions, but sometimes just because [...]

In the book ‘The Disenchantments’ by, Nina LaCour, Bev and Colby have a strong friendship that goes out all the way till graduation. After graduation, They decide not to go to college and just go to Europe together with Bev’s band. On the road they stop at a hotel and stay the night. During the night, Bev stays in Colbys room, and they “Sleep” together. After they leave Colby finds out he has developed feelings for Bev. On the way to Europe Bev has something to tell Colby Find out what [...]

4.5/5i found myself doing something i’d not done in the longest time while reading a book. i normally just zip through these then throw out the points that’s left an impact on me. usually, i come away with what i liked and didn’t like (an isa meets so and so plus highlights, if you will.) but this one? this one had me reaching for my pen to jot down thoughts i didn’t want let by. and while i’ve ended up with another one of my meet the characters (here: colby and bev) thing, i’m not c [...]

I just finished the ARC of Nina LaCour's new book, "The Disenchantments" - due out it in February of 2012. I am so honored to be one of the first to read itHaving just spent quite a bit of time with Nina LaCour recently, and having just gotten back from a trip to the San Francisco area, it was hard for me to separate all of that from the book because there is so much of Nina LaCour and the Northern California area in the book - the music, the art and photography, the ultimate hopefulness of the [...]

You can read this and many other reviews on my YA book blog The White Unicorn! Guys I wanted to love this book, I really did. Road trip with a band followed by an adventure to Europe. That's my dream life, but what isn't my dream life is this book. I'll admit that I would have given the last 90 pages a 3 unicorn rating, but it was what came before that that made this book not work for me. I think had the book started with the last 100 pages and continued, I would have been much more pleased with [...]

This book made me think of traveling with my husbands band and even helping out when I can. Ah! The good ol' days. I honestly believe that I was their biggest fan. You will instantly fall in love with these idiosyncratic characters. They will bring up memories from your past and make you reminisce about better times. Now only if I can talk my husband to join a band and travel the world

Really loved this book. It was exactly what I needed. There are few books that make it to my all time favorites and this is one of them.

Actual rating 2.5 stars

DNF AT ABOUT 50% Nina, you know I love you, but I struggled through this book for nearly a week and it’s just. boring. It’s boring. I didn’t really like Colby or Bev, they were both messy and kind of annoying. I think right now I’m just looking for something with more action and drama.

Ich liebe solche Bücher wie ‘The Disenchantments’. Hier steckt so viel Spaß und Gefühl drin, dass man sich einerseits fühlt als wäre man selbst mit dabei und andererseits empfindet man den ganz starken Wunsch, wirklich dabei zu sein.Jeder, der Bücher über Road Trips und Musik liebt, sollte sich sofort dieses Buch schnappen, es sich gemütlich machen, am besten noch irgendeine rockige Girlband dabei aufdrehen und sich in diese wunderbare Geschichte fallen lassen und ein kunterbuntes Ab [...]

Thinking about it, I get the feeling that Colby's perspective, while male, is really written for girls. Though he has his own problems, so much of his interior development involves Bev, Meg and Alexa that I can't imagine any guy picking this up. It makes it less realistic, yes, but at least it doesn't detract at all from my enjoying the story, as a girl.Colby's head is a thoroughly comfortable place to be. He has his tantrum-y moments, and he also has his insightful moments that make you go, Ye [...]

I realize that when I give five stars to a book, it's usually done one of a few different things to me: maybe it kept me on the edge of my seat, made me gasp or cry or laugh out loud. Sometimes, though, and I think these might be my secret favorites, it's just made me feel full in a way that's hard to explain. It's not teary, necessarily, although it often makes me want to cry a little. I'm talking about books that let you feel your feelings without slapping you in the face with them. For me, th [...]

I think I read this at the perfect time and in the perfect setting, in my garden on a sun lounger in the sun in one sitting. I feel like in any other situation I would've enjoyed it but it wouldn't have hit me the same way it did. At first I wasn't sure about it however when I settled into it I felt like I was going along with them on their road trip and really felt connected to all the characters and not just one above the rest. I always love nina lacour's writing style and how she encompasses [...]