As we all know, not every book is for every person. I thought I was going to like this one. A comparison had been made to Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, a book I liked. Eleanor was a quirky character as was Ava, but I found qualities I liked in Eleanor and just wanted life to get better for her. Ava also had a tragic circumstance to work through, but to me she wasn’t a warm person I could care about, and I wasn’t in her corner cheering her on as I was with Eleanor. The only person I really liked in The Very Nice Box was Jamie, someone Ava didn’t treat very well.
The book did have a plot with several conflicts. A group referred to as the Vandals was trying to sabotage STADA. Ava and Mat were both trying to come to terms with unpleasant occurrences in their lives. There was a link between Ava and Mat that the reader doesn’t find out about until toward the end. Throughout the whole book, the reader knows from the book summary that Mat is not who he appears to be. This left me with an uneasy feeling as I read, knowing things were not going to turn out well. Even though I didn’t like Mat, I didn’t care for what was done to him at the end. It didn’t leave me with any kind of a satisfied feeling. I’m sure many will like the book. It just wasn’t for me.
The book did have a plot with several conflicts. A group referred to as the Vandals was trying to sabotage STADA. Ava and Mat were both trying to come to terms with unpleasant occurrences in their lives. There was a link between Ava and Mat that the reader doesn’t find out about until toward the end. Throughout the whole book, the reader knows from the book summary that Mat is not who he appears to be. This left me with an uneasy feeling as I read, knowing things were not going to turn out well. Even though I didn’t like Mat, I didn’t care for what was done to him at the end. It didn’t leave me with any kind of a satisfied feeling. I’m sure many will like the book. It just wasn’t for me.