What a great book. I liked the unique characters, written by some great young adult authors. Lovely to discover some new authors from this book too.

Think this was a very interesting concept, and I am a fan of some of these authors, but unfortunately the execution just wasn't what I hoped for.

The premise was interesting, and i liked the introduction of the various. characters. But the characters could've been fleshed out a little more. They felt very flat, as there was so many point of views. The plot and pacing was okay, but I wasn't invested in the story as much as i would've liked to be.

Read Oct 19

I loved the concept for this and the fact that it’s a collaborative novel (I’m assuming one person wrote each character to give them a unique voice and then another to do plot, tie things together etc) is a really unusual thing.

Six teenagers of vastly different backgrounds end up sharing an elevator and then an experience that connects them forevermore… I loved learning more about each character throughout the book and seeing them grow and mature such as Kaitlyn’s acceptance of her gradual loss of sight and Hugo’s struggle to be more than his wealth. The only thing is it could have done with being longer and having a more rounded ending.

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book. I purchased it for the school library.

I however did not finish reading it myself as it didn’t draw me in enough. I do believe some students will enjoy it, however I think the authors standalone novels will be more popular.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

A great read, loved all the different stories. I had fun time trying to guess which author wrote which story

Such an interesting concept for a book, some of UKYA’s top contemporary authors collaborating together. I loved the character group but it did feel a bit disjointed at times; you’d just start to get to know a character and it would jump to someone else. It’s quite a short book to have six main characters and you couldn’t really submerge yourself in the story.

I have missed reading YA, and with the combination of these brilliant authors writing the same story was clever and brilliant. I quickly became attached to the characters, and I loved reading different writing styles. I think there should be more YA books like this.

Thank you very much for the opportunity to read this book, unfortunately I couldn't get into it at all and found that it jumped around quite a bit (obvious, given the subject matter) - maybe it was because it was written by so many people but to me it felt quite disjointed and I never really got a good feel for anyone. I abandoned this halfway through so won't be leaving reviews on social media out of fairness.

I loved this! I’m so sad it took me so long to read it because I thoroughly enjoyed it! I’ve never read anything by so many different authors, I thought it was brilliant!

I loved the concept of this, with seven authors writing this book where the reader has no idea who wrote what, but it was just too much. It would have been better with fewer characters and more depth. The style paired with it being set over 5 years made it difficult to connect with the characters or the story.

I was initially interested in reading this book, however my tastes have shifted and I do not think I will be able to get to it now. Many thanks to the publisher for sending me a digital copy!

In brief:
- Diverse cast of characters, not all of which are likeable (Hugo in particular but obvious that he'll go on a bit of a 'journey'
- Visual impairment, mother with Alzheimer's, poor/pregnant, fat, former child star, bisexual, alcohol/drugs
- Like how the chapter illustrations change over time for each character
- Like the WhatsApp/Instagram/internet snippets at the start and end of year sections
- All go on a predictable 'journey' of growth and discovery
- Abrupt ending

Dawson, Kaitlyn and Joe, Velvet, Hugo and Sasha.
Six strangers get into a lift at one of the UK's TV centres, each there for a different reason.
What happens next will change their lives.

Floored was an interesting novel.
I liked getting to know the different characters and reading as their lives changed.
The group dynamic was interesting.
The plot was good and the writing styles seemed pretty similar and were easy to follow.
This was a pretty easy read but it didn't grip me.

Overall this was an enjoyable read.

I loved the idea, but this is definitely not for me... I know it's young adult, which I will always read, but maybe because this is contemporary, I can't deal with how young and awful the characters are :/

I really enjoyed this!

The story starts with 6 teenagers packed into a lift with an old man. The old man suddenly dies and the 6 are tied together forever. The book then jumps to each anniversary after and how their relationships change and evolve. The best part of this was that I felt that this little microcosm of British teenagers was quite authentic. There are no people of colour which apparently would have been too big of a step but there is some interesting representation in Kaitlyn who is losing her sight. The other thing I noticed was that there is some variety in classes. Atleast two people were definitely working class and it's strange but I don't remember ever coming across a working class teenager in a YA novel. It was really nicely done.

As the story jumps into the future, I thought the characterisations were spot on and realistic. I liked Hugo's storyline the most and he was easily the most entertaining character throughout the novel. The other characters too, grew like normal teenagers. It's a really good slice of life book and I would definitely recommend to other young adults.

Did not finish - I really wanted to like this one but it didn’t really work for me. The chapters were too short, I couldn’t get enough of a feel for a character & it was frustrating to feel like the story wasn’t progressing because we kept seeing the same thing over and over

You just knew from the list of authors involved that this would be good, and it didn't disappoint. Told from the viewpoints of the six characters, it documents how one event can bind you to others, for better and worse, and how little, every day actions can have lasting consequences. Each character had a distinctive voice - I didn't have a favourite. The book is set over a few years, so we get to see them mature. There are funny moments, sad ones, serious subjects tackled and of course some romance. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Floored - Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Tayna Byrne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson and Eleanor Wood

I read the sample of this last time I went to YALC, so I was eager to read the full thing, which is why I requested this the moment I saw it on Netgalley.

The Breakfast Club meets One Day in Floored, a unique collaborative novel by seven bestselling and award-winning YA authors: Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson and Eleanor Wood.

When they got in the lift that morning, they were strangers. Sasha, who is at the UK's biggest TV centre desperately trying to deliver a parcel; Hugo, who knows he's by far the richest – and best-looking – guy in the lift; Velvet, who regrets wearing the world's least comfortable shoes to work experience; Dawson, who isn't the good-looking teen star he was and desperate not to be recognized; Kaitlyn, who's slowly losing her sight but won't admit it, and Joe, who shouldn't be there at all, but who wants to be there the most.

And one more person, who will bring them together again on the same day every year . . .

This was such good fun and a really interesting concept! We have six POVs, but each of them had such a distinct voice it was pretty easy to follow along and get lost in the story. This all kicks off at a TV station, where Velvet and Kaitlyn have turned up for work experience, Joe who has run away from his school group, former TV child star Dawson is visiting his mum, Hugo the son of a politician is visiting his mum and Sasha is just trying to deliver a parcel. The six of the end up in a lift together with a man who keels over and dies before they reach their destination. Its a pretty intense meet-cute and this group are such unlikely friends you might wonder how they managed to make a whole book out of it.

This has been labeled Breakfast Club mixed with One Day and it does have the best bits of both of those two things combined. We have a group of misfits who somehow end up bffs and we only see them once a year on the anniversary of the terrible event. I think Dawson and Velvet were my favourite two perspectives, but there was so much going on with each of them and they're a pretty diverse set of characters, so there is something for everyone.

I'm super glad I finally got to finish the book and find out how these guys grow together and how their stories ended. I'm just sorry I took so long to get to it!