Review: The Unlikelies by Carrie Firestone

Don’t be fooled by the cute pastel ice cream cover. This book is a lot darker than it seems.

The Unlikelies is about a teen names Sadie Sullivan who is sure that her summer is going to be boring since all of her senior friends have gone away. That is, until she saves a baby and goes viral. She gets an award and bonds with the other recipients through making the world a better place. But is it possible to go too far?

The beginning is really… assertive. When I picked up this book I was expecting it to be a lot lighter that it was but after the first ten pages I knew this book wasn’t what I expected. The writing is really quick and smooth (sort of like a thriller novel) so I really liked the pace in comparison to other contemporary reads but some people may find it choppy.

I felt the romance in this book was really forced. Its like it was added in as an afterthought to appeal to the masses. In my opinion, it probably could’ve been without the whole romance subplot.

I also wished that we got more info into Sadie’s heritage. Again, her ethnicity/religion just seemed like a convenient add on to appeal to readers when it really didn’t add anything to the story.

I actually really liked the diversity of the other characters in her little group. The came from a variety of backgrounds and I fell in love with them and their little quirks. They were pretty well fleshed out for how quickly the book went on and I think they made the book more interesting.

I actually found the Mr. Upton subplot quite enjoyable. It was interesting but not overdone. Some may say that it was unrealistic but as long as its interesting, I don’t care.

The whole heroin plot was engaging and interesting to read since it varied so much from the light feel the rest of the book had. It also really showed the true morals of the character and really gave an insight of how badly addiction affects not only the victim but everyone around them. This may have been my favourite part of the book because it was best written.

As for their seemingly unstoppable fame at the end, I was expecting it and it disappointed me. I hate when authors write a good book about people doing good things for no reason and then inevitably make them famous. Even if their deeds aren’t widespread, it should still be heartwarming enough. Whatever personal connection I made to the characters was shattered because now I couldn’t relate to having such a large influence. Not only that but when characters don’t seize the opportunity to show themselves, it sort of make the book seem a lot more glamourized. I think that the author should’ve left it as a local thing because the whole fame scenario left a bad taste in my mouth.

Final Thoughts: Read the book if you want a fast paced engaging novel about… bad things turning good? Don’t read if you’re expecting a light, heartwarming, or cute story.

4/5