I love a good ghost story and think this brought up some interesting ideas about grief and the afterlife. However, I didn't believe the characters and feel a bit short-changed with the way the main character (Winter) was described and how she behaved.

My main grievance with this book was the awful portrayal of teenage girls and how they interact with one another. I mean... a few pages in and not-like-other-girls MC Winter is already "making enemies" with the other girls at her school because she doesn't wear designer clothes or makeup... and apparently that makes her the target of bullying? And the way she stops getting bullied is by mounting a fake fight with a friend over the most popular boy in school... and winning. This then makes her popular and no longer bullied because now the other girls respect her.
Seriously. This guys needs to stop writing teenage girls. I'm lowkey convinced that he wrote Winter as his fantasy woman and fantasizes about women fighting over him the same way he made Winter fight over her now boyfriend.
Honestly, you don't even need to read the whole book. You can skip over chapters of poorly written teen-drama at a time and still know what's going on.
Brilliant idea, poorly executed.

I'm a sucker for angst, and this book did not let me down. The characters were very believable and their personalities developed in believable ways throughout the story.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed reading Fractalistic. However, two things bugged me. Firstly, the blurb is misleading. Secondly, the use of Spanish and the translations to English got a bit much. It was obviously supposed to add to the atmosphere and remind the reader of the book's setting, however it got a little irritating. I thought that Julia and Rafa were great characters, and I enjoyed the banter between Winter and Rafa. I did feel that more could have been explained at times, especially with the 'tech' stuff. This is also quite a dialogue driven book, which is not my favourite. Fractalistic was still an enjoyable book, and one that I would recommend.

I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I was expecting this to be more of a science fiction type book but what I got was so much more. This is a story about the change in a family dynamic between a father and daughter when the wife/mother passes away. It explores what we are willing to believe and sacrifice for any chance at reconnecting with a loved one. This follows the journey of love and love lost and how we cope and rebuild.

I absolutely adored this, I don’t always read a lot of male authors especially young adult aimed because I don’t always feel they write as well, but this blew me away. It’s so good, so relatable, well written, an addictive read full of great characters, family, friendship, sci-fi what more could you want

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

First off. I LOVED the cover of this book. It's beautiful.

Unique storyline, fabulous characters, great talent.

My full review of this book will be published on my blog on June 24th. Text of the review below.

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know already that it’s not often that I will pick up a book that’s written by an author who appears to be a cis het white man… but seriously, if that cover doesn’t draw you in, I’m not sure what will. Shoutout to Shayne Leighton, who designed this, and most of the other Parliament House Press Covers, for grabbing my interest in Fractalistic, by Gerardo Delgadillo, which I got as an eARC through NetGalley.

For me, Fractalistic did have some tell-tale signs regarding the author’s privilege. None of the feminine characters in the book had the understanding of technology that the MC’s male love interest did. The male love interest’s future was also of great concern, whereas the futures of the female characters was never discussed in seriousness. In addition, although the book featured a racially diverse cast, the Spanish used because of the Mexican setting was all translated nearly word for word, and other aspects of diversity were lacking. All of the characters in the book were cisgendered, and the multiple romantic storylines were all heterosexual.

The other aspect of this book that was disappointing was that the technology itself was not well-described. I was surprised to read that the author is himself a coder, since it felt to me as though it was written by someone without a thorough understanding of the subject matter, but obviously it was a problem of translation and not of comprehension.

Even with the books flaws, I have to say that I ate it up. It’s a YA/adult crossover, so I would recommend it to mature readers of any age. Fractalistic is an absolute fever dream, and it was a spooky pleasure to let it wash over me. What was even more of a pleasure was that the surprising conclusion of the book was emotionally satisfying and had a lot of poignant things to say about the experience of mental illness. As a reader who has experienced many symptoms of neurodivergence and mental illness throughout my life, this book felt resonant and reflective of my experiences, and it was really enjoyable to read. Fractalistic comes out on July 9th, and is available for pre-order. CW for death of a parent, psychosis, gaslighting and manipulation.

“Dad doesn’t complain, but he’s in another kind of pain–the most torturous one, the one that makes your heart slow to a stop.”

I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Parliament House Press. Trigger warnings: death, death of a parent, death of a spouse, suicide, drowning, severe illness, hospitals, mental illness, depression, trauma, grief, bullying.

Winter and her parents moved to Mexico hoping that the alternative treatments there would cure her mother’s illness, but months after her death, Winter and her father haven’t been able to recover. Her father is obsessed with his experiments with a computer program called Fractalistic, which he hopes will allow him to communicate with his dead wife. Worried about her father’s drinking and obsession, Winter confides in a boy at school, Rafa, who’s excellent with computers. He tells her that fractal technology has been used to treat false memory, and Winter is more confused than ever. When she runs the program behind her father’s back, she’s able to see and speak to her mother. Is it only Winter’s imagination, or is she truly communicating with her mother’s spirit? What other secrets could her father and Fractalistic be hiding?

This wasn’t as weird as I was hoping it would be, and since the weirdness of the description is what drew me to it, that was a major downfall of the novel for me. Despite the premise, there’s very little sense in the novel that supernatural things are happening (even when strange things are happening), so I wouldn’t go into Fractalistic looking for that. Instead, it’s a contemporary novel about grief, losing a parent, and struggles with various kinds of mental illness–which is by no means bad. However, I don’t think it delves deeply enough into the mental illness questions that it raises, and everything is smoothed over a little too neatly at the end. (It takes exactly one day to resolve something that I suspect would take a lot more time and treatment.)

If the novel is a little shallow on the mental illness representation, it’s equally so on the computer technology. I think it assumes readers are already familiar with it, and I never felt we had adequate explanation of what fractals even are or what fractal software is supposed to do. The writing is a little repetitive, and it returns often to the same descriptions for characters (she’s tall and has an accent, she speaks in broken English, etc.). Winter’s friendships happen quickly, but I enjoyed seeing female characters bonding on-page (even if Winter thinks a hundred times that she doesn’t trust Julia). I was less enthusiastic about the romance, but that’s me; Rafa’s a decent love interest and a believable teenage boy, so I’m sure it’s perfectly fine for people who enjoy romantic subplots.

My favorite part of the novel is the strong sense of place. Delgadillo’s Mexico is complex and full of lush descriptions, from its slums and big cities to its suburbs and forests. I can’t even remember the last time I read a book that didn’t take place in America (shame on me), and it seems like we have to actively seek those out to find them in the U.S. There’s also frequent Spanish and translations, which made my Duolingo owl very happy. Even though the main character isn’t POC, most of the rest of the characters are, and the cultural representation is a nice change. It’s a fine novel; I would encourage readers who are looking for something a little different to pick it up if it sounds interesting.

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

Amazing, this book has it all, Bonding, romance, family issues, scifi and mystery! Page Turner couldn't put it down!