Critical Eleven by Ika Natassa Book Review

I picked this book up because the movie adaptation for this book is in process. And I like the cast. My friends liked this book, so I thought why not give it a try? 

I've known about this book for a while now, even before the rumor about the movie came around. I've thought about picking this book up before, because I've heard numerous of people liking this book, but I never got around to do it. But when I saw the review on Goodreads, I became...hesitant. This book got mixed reviews. I see a lot of 5 stars, but I also see a lot of two stars. I saw people's reviews saying that they can't finish it, they have to put it down and never pick it back up, and that they have to skip a few parts because they just couldn't't take it. I'm the type of person that sometimes can get carried away by what people say about a book, but in this case, I'm not.

This book gives me Colleen Hoover vibe. Though, this book is not as good as Colleen's, but it's good enough to be a good book. I think this book reminds me of It Ends With Us by Colleen, but without the huge problem that's going on on that book. This book also reminds me of Ugly Love, it reminds me of a certain complication, but this book doesn't surpass that for sure.

But this book is really good, to be honest. I love the two POVs thing, and I said this on another review, because with two POVs I sunk deep into the story even better, especially with the matter that is talked about on the book. I like a book that makes me learn, a book that gives me more knowledge, this book has it, and at times a little bit too much knowledge. There are parts of the book that talk about something that completely doesn't have to be on there. Like there are a lot of parables on that book, for example, the things that Ale's father talked about. It's a good idea, but then after reading it, it got me thinking "so....what's the connection?". Maybe I'm not smart enough to understand, or don't know much to know what he's talking about, but I don't know. I think that's why I give this book 4 stars rather than 5.

I also don't like the ending. I feel like there's no closure whatsoever. It feels like it hangs. I want to read about how they talk about things, how they compromise, how they finally reconcile. And I didn't see that on the book. Nevertheless, I still liked it. And this is also the first Indonesian book that I've read in a long time. I can't remember what's the last Indonesian book I read, maybe because they don't matter that much to me. But this book is good, and I liked it.

4/5 stars!