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Supermassive
Eighteen-year-old Ing is torn apart by two conflicting emotions: his numbing grief for his dead mother and his enduring love for a boy named Ellis. Four years ago, while visiting his grandmother in a remote part of Norway, his mother died the same day he kissed Ellis, his summer friend. Convinced that moving to Norway will solve his issues, Ing faces his first setback when he can’t bear to talk about his mother or go anywhere near the river where she drowned. The second blow comes when he meets Ellis at school and Ellis acts like nothing happened between them.
Ing resolves to rekindle their friendship, but his infatuation only grows as he gets to know the stunning and matured Ellis. When heart-shattering secrets surface, Ing’s resolve to bare his soul to Ellis starts to unravel. Forced to face his mother's death, he second-guesses his decision to move. His growing closeness with Ellis also frightens him, because if Ellis rejects him, he'll have no one left to love. Ing must decide what losses he is willing to endure and what chances to take in order to gain resolution.
Ing resolves to rekindle their friendship, but his infatuation only grows as he gets to know the stunning and matured Ellis. When heart-shattering secrets surface, Ing’s resolve to bare his soul to Ellis starts to unravel. Forced to face his mother's death, he second-guesses his decision to move. His growing closeness with Ellis also frightens him, because if Ellis rejects him, he'll have no one left to love. Ing must decide what losses he is willing to endure and what chances to take in order to gain resolution.
260 pages, Paperback
First published July 16, 2014
656 people want to read
About the author
Nina Rossing
6 books183 followersNina Rossing lives in Norway, where the winters are long and the summers short. Despite the brilliant nature surrounding her, she spends more time in front of her computer, or with a book in her hands, than in the great outdoors (though you may find her out on her mountain bike if the weather is good). She works as a high school teacher, which in her opinion is probably the best job in the world.
Nina is an avid and eclectic reader whose bookshelves are bursting (and so is her e-reader). After thinking about writing for many years, she now finds time to live out her dream after her kids are in bed. She prefers creating young adult stories where obstacles are overcome and endings are hopeful.
Nina is an avid and eclectic reader whose bookshelves are bursting (and so is her e-reader). After thinking about writing for many years, she now finds time to live out her dream after her kids are in bed. She prefers creating young adult stories where obstacles are overcome and endings are hopeful.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
September 29, 2014
This book is an interesting take on growing up and coming to terms with past trauma. The tragedy in Ing, the MC's, life is that his mother's car went off the road into the river when he was 14. Her body was never found, and his father, and to some degree Ing himself, are in limbo. They can't move on or grieve properly, because to do so is to extinguish that little fragment of hope that somehow, somewhere, she might still be alive.
Ing travels from his father's post in Singapore to live with his grandmother in Norway. He hopes to finish high school, and to escape the painful way his father is distancing himself from Ing, turning away from the son who looks too much like his dead mother. But coming back to Norway means coming to the site of his mother's loss. It also means coming back to Ellis, the boy Ing kissed, once, at fourteen. The boy he can't forget.
The bulk of the story is about a web of relationships - about Ing's grandmother and classmates, about his friend Ellis's playboy soldier brother and Ellis's Goth little sister, his depressed best friend, a strange ex-girlfriend and all. And running under it Ing's twin issues, of trying to move past his mother's death, and trying to figure out how to act around Ellis.
The biggest problem I had with this story was in pacing and language. It read far more like adult fiction than YA. It opened very slowly with description and background, poetically presented. No matter how mature Ing was, there were a lot of passages I couldn't imagine as the narrative of a teenager. They were sometimes lovely, or evocative, or insightful. But language and images were not what I'd expect from any 18-year-old. And they juxtaposed against moments that did feel like teenage thought, uneasily at times.
Part of that may be my own unfamiliarity with European teens. I've heard it said that North American teens stay between child and adult worlds longer, more insulated from the world, and more likely to take life on simplistic terms. Is that a stereotype, or a reason for the unfamiliar tenor of the story? I don't know. For example, a teen narrator using the term "cannot" instead of "can't" throws me out of the POV. But if this were thought of as a translation to English from another language, perhaps that vernacular issue would go away.
So if you like leisurely, literate writing, complex social group dynamics, and coming of age, you may well enjoy this story.
Ing travels from his father's post in Singapore to live with his grandmother in Norway. He hopes to finish high school, and to escape the painful way his father is distancing himself from Ing, turning away from the son who looks too much like his dead mother. But coming back to Norway means coming to the site of his mother's loss. It also means coming back to Ellis, the boy Ing kissed, once, at fourteen. The boy he can't forget.
The bulk of the story is about a web of relationships - about Ing's grandmother and classmates, about his friend Ellis's playboy soldier brother and Ellis's Goth little sister, his depressed best friend, a strange ex-girlfriend and all. And running under it Ing's twin issues, of trying to move past his mother's death, and trying to figure out how to act around Ellis.
The biggest problem I had with this story was in pacing and language. It read far more like adult fiction than YA. It opened very slowly with description and background, poetically presented. No matter how mature Ing was, there were a lot of passages I couldn't imagine as the narrative of a teenager. They were sometimes lovely, or evocative, or insightful. But language and images were not what I'd expect from any 18-year-old. And they juxtaposed against moments that did feel like teenage thought, uneasily at times.
Part of that may be my own unfamiliarity with European teens. I've heard it said that North American teens stay between child and adult worlds longer, more insulated from the world, and more likely to take life on simplistic terms. Is that a stereotype, or a reason for the unfamiliar tenor of the story? I don't know. For example, a teen narrator using the term "cannot" instead of "can't" throws me out of the POV. But if this were thought of as a translation to English from another language, perhaps that vernacular issue would go away.
So if you like leisurely, literate writing, complex social group dynamics, and coming of age, you may well enjoy this story.
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September 4, 2014I wrote this book, so it's not like I should rate it :-)
April 29, 2017
DISCLOSURE
I received this ebook for free in exchange for an honest review through the Goodreads YA LGBT book club’s Read-to-Review program. Although I did not meet the original deadline, the author kindly agreed to give me extra time to submit a review.
NOTE to the reader
Since this is my first Goodreads review, I will ask you to be patient and forgive my mistakes. Let me remind you (because some people here seem to forget this basic fact sometimes) that this is my personal (and therefore subjective) view on this. Your interpretation of the book and the writer’s intentions may differ. And that’s OK. That’s how books work.
Also, don’t worry about spoilers — they’re all behind spoiler tags =)
To be honest, having read no reviews or blog posts by Nina Rossing before, I had fairly low expectations for this book. The gorgeous cover and the enticing blurb convinced me to read it, though, and I certainly did not regret it. Reading this book took me a month due to my very busy life, but I actually finished it in just two sittings, two sessions of binge-reading. I got this ebook for free, but I’m going to buy a paperback soon.
Supermassive tells the story of Ing, a Norwegian teenager who has to face the loss of his mother and his first love. After her death, which occurs the very same day he kisses his best friend Ellis, he moves to another country with his absent father, an aid worker, leaving his grandmother Magni and his summer friend behind. Unable to overcome his pain after four years, he decides to return to his hometown in Norway and face his past, but he finds both the memories of his mother and his yearning for Ellis unbearable.
This is definitely, as the author herself has said, for “readers who like more introspective contemporary stories”. This is a book about feelings, about loss, grief, love, friendship and, of course, obsession. The narrator is clearly depressed, and as he desperately tries to sort out the lack of closure of his mother’s vanishing, he still has to face ordinary teenage problems.
Nina Rossing’s writing style is simply beautiful. Although I did find it somewhat intrusive and distracting at the beginning, I became used to it and began to love it after the first few chapters, as I gained a deeper understanding of Ing’s state of mind. It is worth noting, however, that after showing passages to friends and teachers, some people complained that the dialogue is not realistic:
I will concede that I have never heard a teenager speak like that in real life, but the reason why Ing and Ellis are able to express themselves in this way is, I believe, because of their passion for reading and because of what they have been through.
I agree with other reviewers that the story is certainly slow and it does sometimes focus extensively on subplots, actually sidelining the main characters. However, I disagree with their opinion that that is a bad thing. Romance is absent from most of the story because Supermassive is not just a feel-good happily-ever-after romantic novel, it is a coming-of-age story about suffering and how to deal with depression when your world is crumbling and you have (almost) no one to rely on. Certainly not the person you would really like to lean on…
If I had to judge the plot and the setting, I would probably give this book a solid 4-star rating. However, I am raising it to five stars for two reasons.
Firstly, because this book made me cry. Several times. I actually cried while reading a chapter at school after finishing my classwork. Twice.
The other reason is perhaps the most important aspect I would highlight about Supermassive. As a gay young man, I felt identified. I may not have lost a parent in a horrible accident, but Ing’s unrequited love is almost universal. Every teenager experiences something like this, but it is nevertheless still hard to find positive examples of LGBT experiences on mainstream media.
This is a feeling that should be familiar to everyone, but I have had very few chances to see people like me dealing with it. Supermassive is important because it is a book about a gay character whose main problems have nothing to do with his sexual orientation. Supermassive is important because it provides positive and realistic characters that gay youth can relate to — childish though it may be, I totally fell in love with Ellis in the way teenagers fancy book characters.
When asked why there is a lack of LGBT characters in YA fiction, writer Patrick Ness once said, “Fear, society, all kinds of things. Thank God it's changing. Gay kids need them urgently”. Nina Rossing has written exactly the kind of book I (along with many other people) needed to read, just when I needed it the most.
Thank you, Nina.
I received this ebook for free in exchange for an honest review through the Goodreads YA LGBT book club’s Read-to-Review program. Although I did not meet the original deadline, the author kindly agreed to give me extra time to submit a review.
NOTE to the reader
Since this is my first Goodreads review, I will ask you to be patient and forgive my mistakes. Let me remind you (because some people here seem to forget this basic fact sometimes) that this is my personal (and therefore subjective) view on this. Your interpretation of the book and the writer’s intentions may differ. And that’s OK. That’s how books work.
Also, don’t worry about spoilers — they’re all behind spoiler tags =)
To be honest, having read no reviews or blog posts by Nina Rossing before, I had fairly low expectations for this book. The gorgeous cover and the enticing blurb convinced me to read it, though, and I certainly did not regret it. Reading this book took me a month due to my very busy life, but I actually finished it in just two sittings, two sessions of binge-reading. I got this ebook for free, but I’m going to buy a paperback soon.
Supermassive tells the story of Ing, a Norwegian teenager who has to face the loss of his mother and his first love. After her death, which occurs the very same day he kisses his best friend Ellis, he moves to another country with his absent father, an aid worker, leaving his grandmother Magni and his summer friend behind. Unable to overcome his pain after four years, he decides to return to his hometown in Norway and face his past, but he finds both the memories of his mother and his yearning for Ellis unbearable.
This is definitely, as the author herself has said, for “readers who like more introspective contemporary stories”. This is a book about feelings, about loss, grief, love, friendship and, of course, obsession. The narrator is clearly depressed, and as he desperately tries to sort out the lack of closure of his mother’s vanishing, he still has to face ordinary teenage problems.
Nina Rossing’s writing style is simply beautiful. Although I did find it somewhat intrusive and distracting at the beginning, I became used to it and began to love it after the first few chapters, as I gained a deeper understanding of Ing’s state of mind. It is worth noting, however, that after showing passages to friends and teachers, some people complained that the dialogue is not realistic:
“I talked to your grandmother a couple of weeks ago, and although ecstatic about you coming, she also confided she’s concerned about your social life,” he says as he hands me back my reader, smiling playfully. As if nothing’s the matter. “She mentioned that you need to have a bit of fun, and she asked me whether I could be bribed into taking you under my socially adept wings.”
I will concede that I have never heard a teenager speak like that in real life, but the reason why Ing and Ellis are able to express themselves in this way is, I believe, because of their passion for reading and because of what they have been through.
I agree with other reviewers that the story is certainly slow and it does sometimes focus extensively on subplots, actually sidelining the main characters. However, I disagree with their opinion that that is a bad thing. Romance is absent from most of the story because Supermassive is not just a feel-good happily-ever-after romantic novel, it is a coming-of-age story about suffering and how to deal with depression when your world is crumbling and you have (almost) no one to rely on. Certainly not the person you would really like to lean on…
If I had to judge the plot and the setting, I would probably give this book a solid 4-star rating. However, I am raising it to five stars for two reasons.
Firstly, because this book made me cry. Several times. I actually cried while reading a chapter at school after finishing my classwork. Twice.
The other reason is perhaps the most important aspect I would highlight about Supermassive. As a gay young man, I felt identified. I may not have lost a parent in a horrible accident, but Ing’s unrequited love is almost universal. Every teenager experiences something like this, but it is nevertheless still hard to find positive examples of LGBT experiences on mainstream media.
Obsessed, I am, with him. Will I break down if he finds himself a girlfriend? Oh yes, I will. A done deal. If I cannot have him, I’ll vanish, crumble, sink into the ground and find a hole no one can convince me to get out of. That’s how strongly I feel, that’s how stupid I am.
This is a feeling that should be familiar to everyone, but I have had very few chances to see people like me dealing with it. Supermassive is important because it is a book about a gay character whose main problems have nothing to do with his sexual orientation. Supermassive is important because it provides positive and realistic characters that gay youth can relate to — childish though it may be, I totally fell in love with Ellis in the way teenagers fancy book characters.
When asked why there is a lack of LGBT characters in YA fiction, writer Patrick Ness once said, “Fear, society, all kinds of things. Thank God it's changing. Gay kids need them urgently”. Nina Rossing has written exactly the kind of book I (along with many other people) needed to read, just when I needed it the most.
Thank you, Nina.
March 14, 2015
3.75*
Holy slow burn batman… sometimes I love slow burn. Sometimes, not so much… Luckily this time, I was interested enough in the story that I didn’t really notice the lack of romance for most of the story. There did come a point, however, where it got to be a little repetitive, and I wanted to the male leads to finally stop circling each other and do something.
Supermassive is a coming of age tale of that pairs long lost childhood friends four years after their one and only kiss. Ellis is the love of Ing’s life, but rejection during that kiss left Ing with lingering trepidation upon his return to his ancestral home of Norway. He also must deal with the persistent effects of his mother’s death four years previous.
Read More:
http://www.prismbookalliance.com/2014...
Holy slow burn batman… sometimes I love slow burn. Sometimes, not so much… Luckily this time, I was interested enough in the story that I didn’t really notice the lack of romance for most of the story. There did come a point, however, where it got to be a little repetitive, and I wanted to the male leads to finally stop circling each other and do something.
Supermassive is a coming of age tale of that pairs long lost childhood friends four years after their one and only kiss. Ellis is the love of Ing’s life, but rejection during that kiss left Ing with lingering trepidation upon his return to his ancestral home of Norway. He also must deal with the persistent effects of his mother’s death four years previous.
Read More:
http://www.prismbookalliance.com/2014...
December 31, 2014
My apologies to the author for taking so long to review this one, normally I type something up on my phone as soon as I finish a book so I don't forget but I wanted to give this one my full attention since I was given a copy in exchange for a review so I waited and then did what I always do and forgot. I loved the book though, I see in the other reviews and in the group read of it in the ya lgbt group that a lot of people call it a slow burner romance but honestly I wouldn't call it a romance at all. There is a love story there but it is not the main story and really just helps to make his complicated life that much more complicated. The book was well written with great characters and I very much enjoyed it.
September 10, 2014
For starters, I am a boy, not gay, and decided to try some genres. This book got me by the not-erotic and not-guys-making-up cover and I guess it could be called a spark when I first saw the book. The writer, Nina Rossing, has an amazing way of writing and I have not found so many writers that have had their writing style this good. Next plus is that it was all from the point of Ing and I am really glad for that. If it were not from his point then I do not think his deep thoughts and his, let us say, deep-laid dreams (though I think that Ellis dreamed much more) would be revealed.
Okay, to the story now: It was very good. At the beginning Ing lived a hollow life, his father always engulfing himself in his work not to face the fact that his beloved was dead. Ing felt the same for his mother, caught in the past, unable to move on, reach the next stage. He wanted to escape the fact. But at the long last he decided to face it head-on, by leaving his current place, Singapore, and going to Norway to see his grandmother.
He faces many challenges there, including his friend Ellis, whom he kissed four years ago. Ellis acts as if nothing happened then and they "rekindle their friendship," as the cover says. Though Ing experiences many hardships, a stunning confession from Ellis , some vague confessions from him, gets rid of the ghost of his mother and gets close to Ellis there seems to be much more...
The end got me-REALLY GOT ME.In a good way, of course. The last two chapters were the most amazing, with the thrilling conclusion closing in and the tatooes being revealed. "Supermassive. My life is just, Supermassive." - WOW, the best line ever. I love books with ends that simultaneously are the titles. And this was it. This was the thing which made me give it another-the fifth-star.
To minuses now, however. I felt a little sorry that the father of Ing did not recover himself and a quarrel between him and Ing was a little lacked there. Then there is the fact that though Ing is gay and Odin knows Odin does not make fun of him or do anything of that sort. I found it a little too smooth, because if there was this guy that found out that another is gay all would laugh at him, bully him and make fun of him. Maybe the fact that Odin did not make fun of him was due to the rural area. I do not know. And the last thing is that I felt that the end was a little too hurried and pressed down to those 20 sites. No, more like there were too many revealations at the end, yes, that is it. Although it was a great ending, and this opinion of mine is minuscule, but I felt like I should write it down.
Thank you greatly for writing this book Nina Rossing and I am looking forward to more of your books. :)
Okay, to the story now: It was very good. At the beginning Ing lived a hollow life, his father always engulfing himself in his work not to face the fact that his beloved was dead. Ing felt the same for his mother, caught in the past, unable to move on, reach the next stage. He wanted to escape the fact. But at the long last he decided to face it head-on, by leaving his current place, Singapore, and going to Norway to see his grandmother.
He faces many challenges there, including his friend Ellis, whom he kissed four years ago. Ellis acts as if nothing happened then and they "rekindle their friendship," as the cover says. Though Ing experiences many hardships, a stunning confession from Ellis , some vague confessions from him, gets rid of the ghost of his mother and gets close to Ellis there seems to be much more...
The end got me-REALLY GOT ME.In a good way, of course. The last two chapters were the most amazing, with the thrilling conclusion closing in and the tatooes being revealed. "Supermassive. My life is just, Supermassive." - WOW, the best line ever. I love books with ends that simultaneously are the titles. And this was it. This was the thing which made me give it another-the fifth-star.
To minuses now, however. I felt a little sorry that the father of Ing did not recover himself and a quarrel between him and Ing was a little lacked there. Then there is the fact that though Ing is gay and Odin knows Odin does not make fun of him or do anything of that sort. I found it a little too smooth, because if there was this guy that found out that another is gay all would laugh at him, bully him and make fun of him. Maybe the fact that Odin did not make fun of him was due to the rural area. I do not know. And the last thing is that I felt that the end was a little too hurried and pressed down to those 20 sites. No, more like there were too many revealations at the end, yes, that is it. Although it was a great ending, and this opinion of mine is minuscule, but I felt like I should write it down.
Thank you greatly for writing this book Nina Rossing and I am looking forward to more of your books. :)
November 21, 2014
The first third of the novel really hooked me. Sad, sadder, saddest...but the descriptions of how Ing lost his mother, the beauty of Norway (which I have visited) and the sense of loss was so palpable, it was quite moving and I hoped for a more upbeat although realistic middle and ending.
Coming to terms with death is never easy, much less coming to terms with someone you care for. The parts with his grandmother and her acceptance of his orientation were wonderfully written, simple and yet complex.
Having said that, the dialogue seemed a little forced, not quite 'teenage-like'. While I wouldn't say it was bad--it wasn't--it also wasn't quite what I expected.
Ms. Rossing has an excellent eye for detail and bringing out the frailties of the human condition. She has a bright future as a writer if she can continue on in this manner.
Coming to terms with death is never easy, much less coming to terms with someone you care for. The parts with his grandmother and her acceptance of his orientation were wonderfully written, simple and yet complex.
Having said that, the dialogue seemed a little forced, not quite 'teenage-like'. While I wouldn't say it was bad--it wasn't--it also wasn't quite what I expected.
Ms. Rossing has an excellent eye for detail and bringing out the frailties of the human condition. She has a bright future as a writer if she can continue on in this manner.
August 8, 2014
Writing was original and refreshing. It did take me a few pages to pick up the style and flow with it, but it's worth it. I loved the setting, and I read this while camping in very hot France and I loved the cold contrast.
Really liked the way Ing came out to his grandmother and she just accepted it. Real slow burn :)
Really liked the way Ing came out to his grandmother and she just accepted it. Real slow burn :)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 20, 2014
It was sad how when Ing had just began to understand his feelings for his best friend Ellis his life drastically took a turn for the worse when his mother died that ended up separating them. Her death by drowning seemed to paralyze Ing and his father until his grandmother stepped in. Ing knew that he had to return home if he was ever going to regain his life and in that action he showed his strength of character. Dealing with the past is never easy, but seeing how Ing and Ellis dwelt with their lives gave me hope that people can change. The friendship Ing found at school and his grandmother's love helped Ing to overcome his his pain. The visual descriptions of Norway brought it to life with all of it's wild and unique flavor. As Ing and Ellis's story unfolded it was like dealing with first love all over again with all of the drama and heartache everyone feels.
May 24, 2019
Poetry on every page
Every spare moment was lost in this book. The story was beautifully written and words made me feel like I had synesthesia. Tasting and digesting every sentence like an addictive drug. I needed to know if Ellis and Ing would find love. 5.0 for tattoos.
Every spare moment was lost in this book. The story was beautifully written and words made me feel like I had synesthesia. Tasting and digesting every sentence like an addictive drug. I needed to know if Ellis and Ing would find love. 5.0 for tattoos.
will-return-to-later
July 27, 2014DNF at 15%. I might return to this later but it just isn't grabbing me.
February 10, 2019
This book took me a minute to get into, the writing felt a bit stilted to begin with, but as the story warmed up, so did my enjoyment. I think the fact this was Rossing's first book lends to the reason the voice didn't really flow straight away.
This book is marketed as a romance, but the family aspect - the grief of losing a mother and having an apathetic father, mixed with the love, warmth and fun of a grandmother - is definitely more at the forefront.
Ing has moved around his whole life, his parents being aid workers they move from country to country frequently. Four years ago he lost his mother in Norway, during one of their annual trips to visit his grandma. Now he's decided to move back permanently, live with his grandma, go to school and try to get over the loss of his mum...oh, also there's that boy Ellis, who he hasn't seen since they kissed, the same day his mother crashed her car into the lake.
What I didn't like - I mentioned this at the beginning, but the writing felt a bit clunky, and didn't flow for the first few chapters. I think it was more jarring because it's from Ing's point of view, it just didn't feel like at 18 year old telling you about his life. But again, like i said, it did get better (or maybe I just didn't notice anymore?) as the story progressed.
I also think there maybe could have been a little bit more connection between Ellis and Ing, we see from Ing's point of view, so of course we know how he feels, but I felt like we could have done with seeing a few more sparks from Ellis, especially considering
What I did like - I enjoyed Ing's journey of self discovery, being at peace with what happened to his mother and becoming part of the small town community. There's a wonderful scene where he lies in the snow on his own in the dark, looking up at the aurora borealis which was just magical. I wanted to be laid there next to him!
I liked the friend dynamic, everyone had their own little personality traits and we as readers saw the shift as Ing became more and more of a permanent fixture in the friend group.
I loved how we saw two different sides to Ellis and his brothers relationship, how things can get muddled and confused, and suddenly you can have animosity towards someone for no real reason when you get down to it. It was very refreshing when Aron kind of told his own story
I'm already dying to see northern Norway, and this book makes that need even stronger!
This book is marketed as a romance, but the family aspect - the grief of losing a mother and having an apathetic father, mixed with the love, warmth and fun of a grandmother - is definitely more at the forefront.
Ing has moved around his whole life, his parents being aid workers they move from country to country frequently. Four years ago he lost his mother in Norway, during one of their annual trips to visit his grandma. Now he's decided to move back permanently, live with his grandma, go to school and try to get over the loss of his mum...oh, also there's that boy Ellis, who he hasn't seen since they kissed, the same day his mother crashed her car into the lake.
What I didn't like - I mentioned this at the beginning, but the writing felt a bit clunky, and didn't flow for the first few chapters. I think it was more jarring because it's from Ing's point of view, it just didn't feel like at 18 year old telling you about his life. But again, like i said, it did get better (or maybe I just didn't notice anymore?) as the story progressed.
I also think there maybe could have been a little bit more connection between Ellis and Ing, we see from Ing's point of view, so of course we know how he feels, but I felt like we could have done with seeing a few more sparks from Ellis, especially considering
What I did like - I enjoyed Ing's journey of self discovery, being at peace with what happened to his mother and becoming part of the small town community. There's a wonderful scene where he lies in the snow on his own in the dark, looking up at the aurora borealis which was just magical. I wanted to be laid there next to him!
I liked the friend dynamic, everyone had their own little personality traits and we as readers saw the shift as Ing became more and more of a permanent fixture in the friend group.
I loved how we saw two different sides to Ellis and his brothers relationship, how things can get muddled and confused, and suddenly you can have animosity towards someone for no real reason when you get down to it. It was very refreshing when Aron kind of told his own story
I'm already dying to see northern Norway, and this book makes that need even stronger!
May 6, 2017
I really liked Ing.
I loved the first 2/3 of the book. The ending was a little blah for me. I wanted more.
I loved the first 2/3 of the book. The ending was a little blah for me. I wanted more.
April 26, 2016
Supermassive: something that is all powerful, amazing, beautiful, inevitable.
This journey is a young man's search for himself. Four years after losing his mother, Ing is having a hard time dealing his grief and disconnected from his father who is also struggling with his own grief. Ing makes a final, no-turning-back, decision to face his fears and let his sorrow go or face failure. This decision takes him from Singapore to a small town in Norway, on his own odyssey, because he knows there is a good chance that going to Norway, he will run into Ellis, his lost love. There are no giants or dragons here but the monsters inside are very real.
Nina Rossing has a special talent for capturing the thoughts of high school-aged Ing; all his fears and doubts, all of his discovery and exploration while in the small, isolated town in which his grandmother lives. She takes us through all the agony of first love and also of some cruel high school experiences. From the eyes of Ing, who comes from the city, we see the odd acceptance and safety a small community provides and this all takes place in beautiful Norway.
I fell in love with this small group of high school kids. Each one is unique and complex and mostly tolerant of each other's learning curves. The every day school dramas and Ing's observations regarding his new (old) high school are so well detailed that it is just like being there. You can see the beauty of Norway through Ing as he describes the scenery. There is so much to love about this story!
This story is for anyone eager to delve into love, loss and the wonderful bond of family and friends. - See more at: https://www.yainsider.com/b/supermass...
This journey is a young man's search for himself. Four years after losing his mother, Ing is having a hard time dealing his grief and disconnected from his father who is also struggling with his own grief. Ing makes a final, no-turning-back, decision to face his fears and let his sorrow go or face failure. This decision takes him from Singapore to a small town in Norway, on his own odyssey, because he knows there is a good chance that going to Norway, he will run into Ellis, his lost love. There are no giants or dragons here but the monsters inside are very real.
Nina Rossing has a special talent for capturing the thoughts of high school-aged Ing; all his fears and doubts, all of his discovery and exploration while in the small, isolated town in which his grandmother lives. She takes us through all the agony of first love and also of some cruel high school experiences. From the eyes of Ing, who comes from the city, we see the odd acceptance and safety a small community provides and this all takes place in beautiful Norway.
I fell in love with this small group of high school kids. Each one is unique and complex and mostly tolerant of each other's learning curves. The every day school dramas and Ing's observations regarding his new (old) high school are so well detailed that it is just like being there. You can see the beauty of Norway through Ing as he describes the scenery. There is so much to love about this story!
This story is for anyone eager to delve into love, loss and the wonderful bond of family and friends. - See more at: https://www.yainsider.com/b/supermass...
September 16, 2016
I read Supermassive after recently reading Fjord Blue, which I loved. For me, I wasn't quite as hooked on Supermassive, but it was still a pretty good read. I particularly enjoyed that this book was also set in Norway, which is very unusual and different within an English-language YA novel. It was the setting, so different from anything I have ever experienced living in Western Australia, that has really set author Nina Rossing apart.
I look forward to seeing what Rossing writes next, and I cross my fingers in hope that those too are set in the Scandinavian countryside.
I look forward to seeing what Rossing writes next, and I cross my fingers in hope that those too are set in the Scandinavian countryside.
October 13, 2014
It was a sweet story that had some problems with the follow through. Ing was a very endearing character and his relationship with his grandmother was a terrific one. The description of the beautiful Nordic landscape made me want to reach out to my local travel agent. The vicissitudes and cruelty of teenage life were ably captured and characterizations were well done.
But it was profoundly boring and rudderless for large swathes of the text. It took a while for me get used to style and tone of the author, which was quite jarring in the beginning. I could barely put in 50 pages of reading without feeling the need to occupy my mind with something else. I was not convinced by romantic element of the novel at all. Very little was shown of it and what little there was happened in the last 20 pages of the text. There was too much left unsaid.
But it was profoundly boring and rudderless for large swathes of the text. It took a while for me get used to style and tone of the author, which was quite jarring in the beginning. I could barely put in 50 pages of reading without feeling the need to occupy my mind with something else. I was not convinced by romantic element of the novel at all. Very little was shown of it and what little there was happened in the last 20 pages of the text. There was too much left unsaid.
March 3, 2015
Really loved the first half of this book. The descriptions of Norway are wonderful, and the main characters reintegration to the country is a great way to introduce the reader to it. Dealing with Ing's past and emotional trauma was good. I wasn't a fan of a lot of the dialogue--it felt awkward and not exactly teenager-ish. The last half of the book felt a little dragging -- holy slow burn, Batman! -- but overall well written. I liked the characters a lot.
August 28, 2015
The dynamic between Ing finding resolution in his mother's death and in his lust for Ellis is well balanced. It wasn't super angsty and annoying. The ending seemed a bit like 'Insta-love' because, even to me, Ellis' feelings were unclear. The writing style of authors published by Harmony Ink is distinctly different from more 'mainstream' YA. But I loved it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2014
It was okay reading material but could be better. Somehow that writing stile did not appeal to me. From my point of view reader is to much inside main character thoughts and to little is actually happening. There should be more action or something. I don't know.
dnf
November 17, 2016jó, már régen töltöttem le és nem emlékeztem a tartalomra, bár a kiadóból tudtam, hogy meleges, de szóval másfél fejezet alatt nem jöttem rá, hogy fiú a főszereplő. :)))
túl lassú és önismétlő volt, nem tudott lekötni, úgyhogy inkább kéremoszoltam.
túl lassú és önismétlő volt, nem tudott lekötni, úgyhogy inkább kéremoszoltam.
December 4, 2016
A fun read.
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