Das Glück Wächst Nicht Auf Bäumen (2000) - Plot & Excerpts
2.5/5 starsThis synopsis completely threw me off, because honestly it was so different. It's about Zoe and Hannah, who have been best friends their entire life. They're stuck in their deadbeat New Jersey town with little to go for in their lives. Finally, Zoe brings Hannah on a road trip to help he experience life. Zoe had always been the larger than life friend and she teaches Hannah intangible concepts like karma, insouciance and destiny. But this is not a happy summer road trip story. It's weird and random, mostly because Zoe has a serious mental disorder, she's bipolar and she hallucinates. This is a mental illness story so it's dark and complicated. I went into it, expecting and ready for a road trip book that would lift me out of a premature reading slump. Only this book made it so much worse with its dark themes. It took me nearly a month to read this and I'm hoping now that I've finished it, I'll get out of my seriously bad slump. I appreciated how each chapter was an intangible concept and some of them were a pleasure to read. It was interesting to see the world through their eyes. But most of the time, I was bored and confused because of Zoe's character. She was so in need of medical attention because of her disorder and Hannah was hoping to save her herself. I can see what the author was trying to do and I don't think she executed it well enough. The book took such weird, unexplainable turns because of Zoe and yes, I liked seeing how this disorder affected her but at the same time it was too "different" at times. I didn't like the romance either and while I liked Hannah's character, I didn't love her either. I think she got better by the end but she let Zoe run wild and I know they loved each other but I wished she was stronger. I've got a bit of mixed feelings from this book. Mostly, I really liked it. A few parts... Eh.I'm quite familiar with the sense of being trapped in a town. This book captures it perfectly, along with the feeling of finally escaping it only to return later on. The characters were flawed and, to some extent, likable. And I love road trip books. But some of the situations that happened in this road trip are a bit hard to believe, which contrasts the accuracy of their lives in that small New Jersey town. I'm not a fan of that contrast.The romance between Tommy and Hannah also felt a bit hard to believe, too, once out of New Jersey. Most of the things felt that way, now that I think about it. Maybe it was done to emphasize Small Town, New Jersey's dullness, and it worked, but it caused everything else to seem incredible, too large for reality.3/5
What do You think about Das Glück Wächst Nicht Auf Bäumen (2000)?
I didn't bother finishing it. To much random crap that did not flow clearly in my mind.
—test100
Great young adult book addressing mental illness (bipolar disorder)
—sperreault3292
Not quite ready to give this one a rating yet!
—payal
