Author: Don Zolidis
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Hardcover, 352 Pages
Published October 2018
Summary: The worst thing that's ever happened to Craig is also the best: Amy. Amy and Craig never should've gotten together. Craig is an awkward, Dungeons & Dragons-playing geek, and Amy is the beautiful, fiercely intelligent student-body president of their high school. Yet somehow they did. Until Amy dumped him. Then got back together with him. Then dumped him again. Then got back together with him again. Over and over and over. Unfolding during their senior year, Amy and Craig's exhilarating, tumultuous relationship is a kaleidoscope of joy, pain, and laughter as an uncertain future-and adult responsibility-loom on the horizon. Craig fights for his dream of escaping Janesville and finding his place at a quirky college, while Amy's quest to uncover her true self sometimes involves being Craig's girlfriend?and sometimes doesn't. Seven heartbreaks. Seven joys.Told nonsequentially, acclaimed playwright Don Zolidis's debut novel is a brutally funny, bittersweet taste of the utterly unique and utterly universal experience of first love.
Rating: 4/5 Stars
Hardcover, 352 Pages
Published October 2018
Summary: The worst thing that's ever happened to Craig is also the best: Amy. Amy and Craig never should've gotten together. Craig is an awkward, Dungeons & Dragons-playing geek, and Amy is the beautiful, fiercely intelligent student-body president of their high school. Yet somehow they did. Until Amy dumped him. Then got back together with him. Then dumped him again. Then got back together with him again. Over and over and over. Unfolding during their senior year, Amy and Craig's exhilarating, tumultuous relationship is a kaleidoscope of joy, pain, and laughter as an uncertain future-and adult responsibility-loom on the horizon. Craig fights for his dream of escaping Janesville and finding his place at a quirky college, while Amy's quest to uncover her true self sometimes involves being Craig's girlfriend?and sometimes doesn't. Seven heartbreaks. Seven joys.Told nonsequentially, acclaimed playwright Don Zolidis's debut novel is a brutally funny, bittersweet taste of the utterly unique and utterly universal experience of first love.
*I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.* When I found out that Don wanted me to read Amy and Craig, I was absolutely delighted, because it was a book that had actually been sitting on my TBR for quite some time, ever since I found out about it through some mutual Twitter friends. (Those #BookTwitter connections, y'all!) So without further ado, let's get into this review!
As the summary explains, this story takes you through the seven breakups of high school couple Amy and Craig -- some funny, some heartbreaking, some confusing, some extra dramatic. There are moments that make you laugh, make you cry, make you gasp, and yes, even make you cringe, because Craig might be a good boyfriend, but he's definitely a very awkward individual. (But I actually liked that about him -- it made him fun!)
I really enjoyed reading this book. What's the most interesting about their story, in my opinion, is the fact that it isn't told in chronological order. The breakups aren't told in 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 sequence, which really shook things up and kept it interesting! When I found out about that at first, I was definitely a bit worried that I was going to be really confused and not understand the story's liner plot, but it was actually put together really well and still managed to flow as an understandable, cohesive story, even if things weren't necessarily in chronological order. I also really liked Craig's interactions with his friends, because they were so kind and funny and reminded me a lot of my own friends from high school!
Something else that I really enjoyed about this book was Don's writing style. The book kept me laughing from start to finish, with all of the sarcastic quips and funny little comments from both Craig and his friends. It reminded me a lot of Don's own Twitter account and the way he talks, which was definitely visible in this novel. It kept me entertained throughout the whole story and definitely contributed to my rating and praising of the book, because there were some moments where I genuinely laughed out loud.
The only thing that I wasn't crazy about with this book was Amy, to be entirely honest. I didn't like her very much as a character because of how much she broke Craig's heart. I understand that there were definitely some times that she had her own reasons for doing so and she was going through her own struggles, but the fact that she never seemed to open up to Craig and always seemed to screw him over really made me dislike her. And then she would just decide to start things up again without ever really acknowledging hurting him in the first place! I definitely really grew to like Craig in this story, so naturally I disliked Amy. She just screwed with his heart so much that I wanted him to just ditch her and stop having his heart broken already, LOL!
(This is not a spoiler, I promise!) Since the first page of the book literally tells you that Amy and Craig don't end up together with a happily ever after, I was bummed because I'm a total hopeless romantic. Reading the entire story already knowing that there wasn't hope in the end was tough as someone super into adorable love stories like that, but it ended up still being worth it because I enjoyed the story, laughed a lot, and really grew to love Craig and his friends.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig, and I'm incredibly grateful that Don Zolidis was kind enough to reach out and offer us a review copy. I'll definitely be recommending this book to any of my friends that are looking for a hilarious story that draws you in and is chock-full of sarcasm to keep you entertained!
As the summary explains, this story takes you through the seven breakups of high school couple Amy and Craig -- some funny, some heartbreaking, some confusing, some extra dramatic. There are moments that make you laugh, make you cry, make you gasp, and yes, even make you cringe, because Craig might be a good boyfriend, but he's definitely a very awkward individual. (But I actually liked that about him -- it made him fun!)
I really enjoyed reading this book. What's the most interesting about their story, in my opinion, is the fact that it isn't told in chronological order. The breakups aren't told in 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 sequence, which really shook things up and kept it interesting! When I found out about that at first, I was definitely a bit worried that I was going to be really confused and not understand the story's liner plot, but it was actually put together really well and still managed to flow as an understandable, cohesive story, even if things weren't necessarily in chronological order. I also really liked Craig's interactions with his friends, because they were so kind and funny and reminded me a lot of my own friends from high school!
Something else that I really enjoyed about this book was Don's writing style. The book kept me laughing from start to finish, with all of the sarcastic quips and funny little comments from both Craig and his friends. It reminded me a lot of Don's own Twitter account and the way he talks, which was definitely visible in this novel. It kept me entertained throughout the whole story and definitely contributed to my rating and praising of the book, because there were some moments where I genuinely laughed out loud.
The only thing that I wasn't crazy about with this book was Amy, to be entirely honest. I didn't like her very much as a character because of how much she broke Craig's heart. I understand that there were definitely some times that she had her own reasons for doing so and she was going through her own struggles, but the fact that she never seemed to open up to Craig and always seemed to screw him over really made me dislike her. And then she would just decide to start things up again without ever really acknowledging hurting him in the first place! I definitely really grew to like Craig in this story, so naturally I disliked Amy. She just screwed with his heart so much that I wanted him to just ditch her and stop having his heart broken already, LOL!
(This is not a spoiler, I promise!) Since the first page of the book literally tells you that Amy and Craig don't end up together with a happily ever after, I was bummed because I'm a total hopeless romantic. Reading the entire story already knowing that there wasn't hope in the end was tough as someone super into adorable love stories like that, but it ended up still being worth it because I enjoyed the story, laughed a lot, and really grew to love Craig and his friends.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading The Seven Torments of Amy and Craig, and I'm incredibly grateful that Don Zolidis was kind enough to reach out and offer us a review copy. I'll definitely be recommending this book to any of my friends that are looking for a hilarious story that draws you in and is chock-full of sarcasm to keep you entertained!
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