I have scrolled down this review page on In Bloom countless times, only to see all of the reviews stating how much they enjoyed the book. Well, now I am going to ruin this 'clean streak' a little.
I did some research on Matthew Crow from which I only gained two pieces of knowledge, he is only twenty-seven and he is a writer part-time. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against Crow, his language was fantastic and he made the characters feel very real but personally, I found Bloom boring.
I have read too many novels which touched cancer and death. When I first read The Fault In Our Stars, I was in love with it and kept re-reading it, then I read two other books by the same author, both covering very similar topics and I just sat there thinking to myself 'What am I doing, I just wasted hours of my time reading what seemed like the same book a hundred times over.' Of course there is nothing wrong with covering a similar topic but it is just pointless unless you have made it original. So don't hate me but I found In Bloom extremely unoriginal.
The two main characters, Francis and Amber, were very much like Hazel Grace and Augustus. Crow did a fine job of making the characters feel real but so did John Green. I tried really hard to enjoy this book but it felt too copycat like and unoriginal.
I'd recommend this book to people who enjoy books similar to The Fault In Our Stars and Wonder, however I am warning you, it might feel like reading the same book again.
• Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop.
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