Wendy Wunder

Best friends Hannah and Zoe, seventeen, leave their down-and-out New Jersey town and drive west chasing storms, making new friends, and seeking the intangibles--audacity, insouciance, happiness--that their lives have lacked.

The Museum of Intangible Things

Hannah Yang

Okay, okay, I'm saying it: I read this mainly because of the cover. (Also the blurb, but come on. This has got to be my favorite book cover ever.) That being said, I'm totally glad I picked up The Museum of Intangible Things. Even the title is cute - how??

But before I begin, let me start by saying this story is not cute. It's not light and fluffy or a road trip / friendship book at all. Well, maybe friendship, but not the kind of boys-lipstick-bubbly-hipster friendship. In a way, it's exactly what the blurb promises, but darker.
"Yes. Tattoos. Now," she says, pouting a little like a toddler. "Either we get tattoos, or you two," she clumsily points at us, "get married." (Spoiler alert: there is no marriage. Tattoos it is.)The Museum of Intangible Things is about Hannah and Zoe, best friends forever. Hannah's got a lame, alcoholic, weatherman dad and a mom who's basically given up on life since the divorce. And a hot dog stand. Zoe's got bipolar disorder, no impulse control, and she thinks aliens are coming to pick her up and take her away when she's ready.

When everything in their pathetic life has gone down the dumps, Zoe says road trip, so they go. Zoe, ever the darling daredevil, decides that Hannah hasn't done anything much with her life and she's living the wrong way.

  "We're going on an insouciant adventure. Insouciance. That's your first intangible thing."
"I don't need intangible lessons," I say. "I feel things."
"Yes. But you feel the wrong things. Trust me. We're leaving now," Zoe says. "Packy packy!"
(Right, forgot to mention earlier: Zoe's little brother Noah has Asperger's, so he's basically a science genius but unable to comprehend things like pride, sadness, imagination, etc. Zoe made a museum of intangible things for him, so that he could learn this stuff.)

The first "part" of the book, before the road trip really begins (which is already like, 100+ pages) talks about what lead up to Zoe's ultimate sanity-shutdown and Hannah needing to leave. This was definitely the hardest part of the book to read through and I almost gave the book up because of it. Simple reason: Hannah. I was really disappointed in Hannah's character simply because she was so plain and boring. I know she's supposed to be the predictable, dependable, nice girl who offsets Zoe's craziness, but I felt like she didn't even have a personality. Considering that she's the narrator, it's hard to get into the book until she starts having some fun.

The road trip is basically the rest of the book. From crimes to kissing to newfound destinies, Zoe teaches Hannah about life's intangible things.

  Insouciance. Audacity. Gluttony. God. Knowing what you want. Saying yes to life. Destiny. Betrayal. Love. Luck.
I really loved this whole concept, but I also reaaally think Hannah's character could have been a thousand times more interesting. Maybe I'm biased because I expect a lot out of characters with my name?

Although Hannah was a huge disappointment to me (disappointment should be her next intangible thing) I loved Zoe. She was a bright, unpredictable, complex character and I especially loved her sibling relationship with Noah. I can't understand her, because I'm not as wild, but she definitely made the book interesting. I do not like how Hannah handled the situation. Zoe was clearly in no state to leave her house, let alone go on a road trip to do crazy stuff. Hannah sort of eggs her on until the end. I think her ending was the right one - although it hurt a little, that was the point. 

The ending was also good because it solidified the friendship that didn't always feel there. I know, I'm crazy, but at times I felt like Hannah and Zoe didn't know / understand each other at all. (Partially because of how insensitive I thought Hannah was to Zoe's condition) The ending made me more sure of their friendship. Sorry, I know this is vague, but no spoilers!

  When forced to make a choice, I chose her.
I didn't like the romance, though. Danny and Hannah made no sense together and I don't like how he found them and I don't like how they were so physical after ignoring each other for years and I don't like how he sounds like he adores her sooo much when he could have asked her out earlier. I don't get them at all. Hannah should have slapped the crap out of him. Or, Zoe could have done it for her. The story would have been way better without the eyeroll-inducing romance subplot.

Overall, I really did enjoy The Museum of Intangible Things. Not as much as I thought I would, because it was completely unexpected, but it still has a something special. The plot was smooth and made sense most of the time, and it was a unique and charming (though dark) story. The writing was fine, even if the characters could have been better. I would recommend it, but keep in mind that you shouldn't be expecting anything super cutesy.

emily allen

This book was fantastic. The characters had depth and the narrator (Hannah) had a strong and engaging voice. The book's description painted a vivid and beautiful picture, and the dialogue was witty and fun. The ending, at first, was sad and lacked some of the fantastic voice used throughout the rest of the book, but the very last paragraph, talking about Noah, completely made the book for me. 

I cried...

Corey White

The story was mostly wonderful, definitely heartbreaking.

Hayley 📖🌈💜🌸

3.5-4 stars. 

This was not at all what I was expecting. I'm not sure what I was expecting. But I'm 780% sure I'm now having some sort of quarter life crisis. I don't know how that relates to this book, but I'll just leave this here.

Elad Schulman

Let me list the reasons why I didn't like this book:

-Zoe
-Hannah
-The parents
-The road trip
-Danny
-Zoe

I had to skim, maybe, like 1/2 of the book. Never a good sign.

Best friends Hannah and Zoe flee their disappointing adolescence and hit the road; along the way, Hannah tries to keep Zoe sane, and Zoe dares Hannah to celebrate concepts sadly missing from her life: audacity, karma, God and love—magnificent, intangible things with no practical purpose but when embraced, can change everything.

Melsriana

Courtney 

jess

Loyalty. Envy. Obligation. Dreams. Disappointment. Fear. Negligence. Coping. Elation. Lust. Nature. Freedom. Heartbreak. Insouciance. Audacity. Gluttony. Belief. God. Karma. Knowing what you want (there is probably a French word for it). Saying Yes. Destiny. Truth. Devotion. Forgiveness. Life. Happiness (ever after). Hannah and Zoe haven’t had much in their lives, but they’ve always had each other. So when Zoe tells Hannah she needs to get out of their down-and-out New Jersey town, they pile into Hannah’s beat-up old Le Mans and head west, putting everything—their deadbeat parents, their disappointing love lives, their inevitable enrollment at community college—behind them. As they chase storms and make new friends, Zoe tells Hannah she wants more for her. She wants her to live bigger, dream grander, aim higher. And so Zoe begins teaching Hannah all about life’s intangible things, concepts sadly missing from her existence—things like audacity, insouciance, karma, and even happiness. An unforgettable read from the acclaimed author of The Probability of Miracles, The Museum of Intangible Things sparkles with the humor and heartbreak of true friendship and first love.

The Museum of Intangible Things

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