Bianca
Written on Jun 28, 2017
For fans of Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, Girl, Interrupted, and A.S. King, National Book Award-finalist Adele Griffin tells the fully illustrated story of a brilliant young artist, her mysterious death, and the fandom that won't let her go.
From the moment she stepped foot in NYC, Addison Stone’s subversive street art made her someone to watch, and her violent drowning left her fans and critics craving to know more. I conducted interviews with those who knew her best—including close friends, family, teachers, mentors, art dealers, boyfriends, and critics—and retraced the tumultuous path of Addison's life. I hope I can shed new light on what really happened the night of July 28.
—Adele Griffin
- ISBN10 1616955961
- ISBN13 9781616955960
- Publish Date 23 August 2016 (first published 12 August 2014)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Soho Press Inc
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 256
- Language English
- URL https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781616955960
Reviews
pagingserenity
Written on Feb 18, 2015
The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone made Addison seem so real. Like she was a legit real person and not just a character. I actually thought I was reading a biography until I tried to look her up.
It was obvious a lot of work went into creating Addison and her world. The book was filled with pictures of her, the people in her life, her art, magazine covers, etc. This really helped with the world building as it made her really seem like she was actually alive at one point of time.
The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone isn't written like your average fiction novel. It’s essentially a biography about a character that is conducted through interviews given by other people which was nicely done.
Speaking of characters, I liked Lucy, Addison’s best friend since childhood, and Lincoln, her last boyfriend, the most as they seem to really be the only ones that genuinely cared her without expecting anything in return. Too bad I can’t say the same for some of the other characters.
You can read my full review at Paging Serenity
Sam@WLABB
Written on Nov 1, 2014
This book focuses on Addison Stone and her untimely (or was it?) death. The story is pieces of interviews with those who knew Addison, emails Addison wrote, transcriptions and pieces of interviews with Addison, all put together to reconstruct her life and death for us. The format was very interesting and pleasing to read. And the story! I was sucked right into to the light that is Addison Stone and I wept, real tears, for Addison Stone. My heart broke, for Addison Stone. She was so real to me. This was a great read.
This one gets book hangover status
lizarodz
Written on Aug 13, 2014
The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone is made to feel like an investigative piece and it consists of a series of interviews, emails, author notes, and magazine articles. To top it all, the book is peppered with pictures of Addison and her art. Oh, and if you want to see some of them, plus the trailer and a video from the model that portrait Addison, head over to this website. Really, go check it out and I’ll wait right here.
Back already? Good. Addison Stone was an artist. She had an exceptional talent for painting, especially creating insightful portraits. From the beginning of the story – and as you can deduce from the title – we know that Addison has passed away in a tragic accident. The story itself takes us from her childhood, all the way to her last hours and beyond to see what’s happened after her death. Addison was beautiful, charismatic, full of life, loyal to few, and hated by some.
I think that she moved on by herself way to early and without an iota or supervision or a steady support system or stability. I think that Lincoln was the best think that happen to Addison, BUT the benefit was not reciprocal. I believe that she was fiercely loved, and admired, but somehow that wasn’t enough.
On a serious note, Addison had a serious mental disease. It is alluded that she was schizophrenic, but it seems to me that she also had bipolar disease, and struggled with bouts of depression. She had a great support system in her friends (not so much her family), and two therapists as well. The problem is that she felt her meds kept her from being free and being herself. I think her crisis could be seen coming from a mile away.
For the most part, the setting is New York City, and we can see how in love Addison was with everything she got to experience there. She felt stifled in her small town life and she wanted something brighter, bigger, and full of energy and without rules or boundaries. The writing, as explained before, is different. Still, this format makes the reader feel like they’re reading a true story. I liked the writing and how insightful it was.
Overall, The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone is a unique reading and visual experience.
Suz @ Bookish Revelations
Written on Aug 6, 2014
I have honestly never read a book of this nature before and the idea of a fictionally written non-fiction book definitely intrigued me, so I jumped at the opportunity when it was offered as a review book from the publishers. Addison's story is full of mystery, intrigue, and emotional issues that she found herself grappling with. It's bold, daring, and full of amazing facets and details that lead up to her untimely young death and the mystery surrounding it. Every page of this story brought new things to light, introduced new people in Addison's life, boyfriends that have come and gone, things that happened, her rise to fame stemming around her brilliant and inspiring artwork, the daredevil that she was, and her own tumultuous issues that had arisen in the short span of her gorgeously creative life. There were many things about her that inspired me in so many fantastic and wonderful ways, that it's incredibly amazing when a book such as this one touches you in ways that it's almost hard to put into words.
I was essentially holding Addison Stone's life and death in my hands and the keys that would eventually unlock most of the mystery surrounding it. Wonderfully eccentric and beautifully flawed, readers will find themselves awed and inspired and maybe even a little motivated by Addison Stone. She was one of New York's "It Girl's" who was well on the rise for being known for her amazing street art that was unique in and of itself. I love how realistic and flawed her character was, the fact that there was so much controversy and mystery surrounding her untimely death, and that she was born to create and design beautiful art that moved and inspired others. She's different, this one, and it's absolutely brilliant.
The wonderfully beautiful images of art and photo's depicting Addison at various points in her life, are one of the key things that kind of made this book a little more special and unique. It's almost as if they're telling their own story as well, apart from the one that we're reading about regarding Addison and her life. She's not an easy character to relate to, she comes with a good amount of flaws and at times, her actions can come off a bit childish and immature where her ex-boyfriend Zach is concerned, but that is understandable because who wouldn't feel like that at some point towards an ex. Addison has her own brand of thinking and style of dealing with things, in some ways it almost seems as if she's some sort of enigma in her own right.
If you are looking for a fascinating read, that's incredibly unique, and unlike any other one that you've read before I would definitely recommend you picking up a copy of [b:The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone|18811411|The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone|Adele Griffin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1403175896s/18811411.jpg|26640288], as it's different from any other young adult fiction that you would read right now. The way that [a:Adele Griffin|311468|Adele Griffin|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1404247467p2/311468.jpg] writes this book, pours her heart into the characters and their recounts and possibly guilt leading to Addison's death, Addison herself and dealing with all of her demons, insecurities, and other issues, and the art is absolutely captivating and heartbreakingly beautifully epic. Really, I don't know what else I could say other than that, because for me this is definitely one of the best and most uniquely written stories that I've read in A LONG TIME and I realize that may be saying quite a bit right there. The best thing about this novel, is how it brings all different types of mediums together and spins this amazingly written story together in such a way that it captures your attention and pulls you further into the chaotic and emotionally intense world of Addison Stone.