I think I knew I was going to dislike Richard from the beginning because he always repeats himself by saying, "see" or, "okay?" or "right". It took all my strength not to jump into the book and punch him in the face. Hollis Seamon could have made this a killer book with such a sad and serious topic but instead she failed to do so. I was left underwhelmed and very upset with all the characters. And not in a good way.Writing a realistic contemporary novel there has to be a realistic relationship between the main character and most likely the love interest. Unfortunately, the romance in Somebody Up There Hates You feels more like a fairytale than something that could happen in real life. Richard and Sylvie are already 'together' when the novel starts with little hints and snippets of how they met but not a full explanation of how they became so close and became a couple. There isn't much if any character building either. All of the characters feel extremely stiff and are boring and I couldn't connect to any of them. Another thing that I really disliked about this novel is the fact that everything is all over the place. The relationship between Richard and Sylvie, Richard's life, all of it. Instead of reading one story I felt like I was reading ten different ones that randomly popped up out of nowhere. During many parts of the book I was left confused and uncertain about what I was reading.One thing I did like about the book though, is the relationship between Richard and Edward. It is so cute because they depend on each other so much, whether they know it or not. I also liked Edward because he reminds Richard a lot that everyone has problems and that he's not the only one going through a shitty time which I think everyone needs to be reminded from time to time. Somebody Up There Hates You isn't actually a story about a teen with cancer and how he fights through it. It's more of a story about two teens going through a crappy time and having sex before they die. That's about it. I recommend this only to people looking for a light read. Don't let the summary fool you, it's not heart-wrenching nor is it moving.
