Jennifer LeBlanc (1)

Oh my goodness I haven’t laughed at a book like this in such a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The author filled it with so many vivid and unique characters, I can’t imagine where she came up with them all or how she managed to seamlessly toss them together into a rich and entertaining story. The characters truly made this book, though the stories behind them come a close second. The relationship between Augie & Rose is one for the books, and the ever changing relationship show more between Gertie & Diane is one that, unfortunately, I think many people have experienced on some level. Including myself. And Roses journey is one that many have experienced in varying forms as well. I don’t think there’s a specific genre that I could place this in, so it will be one I’ll be recommending to many.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Voracious Readers Only in exchange for an honest review. show less

♡ this review is featured on audiobook empire ♡

”The future shortly became the past, and one could never predict how things would turn out. What was important was the current moment—this moment, right now,”

Augie Isaac = my favorite kind of friendship

The Tribulations of August Barton is a coming of age novel that has both quirky and relatable characters. I found myself laughing in more parts than one.

— overall thoughts: 4.5 —

The entire cast of characters were fantastic and I show more fell in love with each one of them. Except maybe Rose, she was not exactly my favorite love interest and I wasn’t able to relate to her character that much. I do like the fact that the plot also focused on other characters aside from August like his grandma and relatives. The character interactions might have been one of my favorite scenes!

Surprisingly, the jokes hit me at all the right points which I did not expect. The writing style was great and fit the tone that the book was aiming for very well.

It was fascinating to watch August’s subtle character development, especially within the limited pages of a novella. Although, I found the representation of Augie’s anxiety to be a little bit too stereotypical and over the top. However, being inside Augie’s head was still extremely relatable and there were parts that even I saw myself in him. There were some scenes that didn’t seem realistic but given that the book is a humor contemporary I am assuming that it has something to do with that.

There were timeline skips that went a little bit over my head but it was easy to catch up to what was going on.

I absolutely love that song that Augie sang at one point. It sounded so authentic and fit the mood, the narrator did a splendid job. James Oliva’s voice is exactly what I would imagine August’s voice to sound like in real life so that was great. The sound effects were spot on. It helped me feel more submersed into the story. Even though it was a novella, the ending still left me fulfilled and it was a great experience.

The pacing was just right for a contemporary but I never found myself getting bored. Which has been happening to me a lot recently but I am glad to say that The Tribulations of August Barton managed not to get myself yawning.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a short and light coming of age novel that doesn’t shy away from saying what needs to be said. I might just check out the rest of the August Barton series now!

*I received this audiobook at no-cost from Audiobook Empire. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.*

⟹ INSTAGRAM | BLOG | KO-FI | BOOKSIRENS ⟸ show less

August Barton has anxiety. Bad! It's his freshman year in college, his parents are divorcing, his roommate makes fun of his super hero figures and his grandma is a retired prostitute who is bored in the nursing home where she currently lives.

I really liked this short read, a lot. I smiled, I laughed, I laughed out loud and I cried at the end. I especially liked the scene the writer created for the funeral.

Thanks the author and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for show more an honest, unbiased review. show less

I received this book free from the publisher via netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

Please see my full reviews available at www.coffeeandtrainspotting.com.

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