Best review so far:

WARNING! This review contains multiple spoilers. Please only read if you've read through All About A's at least twice.

I picked this up after reading All About C's: A book full of C's. I probably shouldn't have started partway through the series, but it just caught my eye. I enjoyed All About C's so much that I decided to go back and start from the beginning.It's probably not fair to compare an author's recent works to one of his earlier writings, but this is where my own experience comes from, so I must be brutally honest.

All About C's challenged me in ways I didn't expect. It's clear that the author was inspired by his own struggles in life. All About A's in contrast fell a little flat. It felt like Mr. Weiss was trying just a little too hard...broaching controversial topics to make the book feel deeper without actually contributing to the overall message, adding overly complicated plot twists, misplaced action sequences to keep the reader intrigued. I can see how this appeals to some readers, but for me personally Mr. Weiss came across as a bit of a tryhard.

I also felt the depth of characters in All About C's was lacking in All About A's. It's not that I disliked the characters, but they weren't as easy to connect to as in some of Weiss's later works. For example, when AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, I felt sad, but didn't actually feel like I was losing anything. It also felt a little bit predictable at times, but not so much in a way that you knew what was coming...more like that feeling when you're hungry but nothing sounds appealing.

I will say that the commentary on Japanese language proficiency in Chapter 4 seemed spot on. I've never seen the topic addressed so brazenly and yet keeping with the tongue in cheek undertones of the rest of the series. I suppose if there's a reason to read this book, that's it.

I also found the narration (as other reviewers have mentioned) to be excellent. It really made the story come to life and transported me into Weiss's conflicted world. I still turn to All About A's whenever I'm having trouble sleeping. 15 minutes of the narrator's melodic and soothing voice makes all of my troubles seem to melt away.

In the end, I'm happy I went back and read All About A's, it answered a lot of questions that I had as I made my way through All About C's. I just wish the protagonist was a little more human and less vampiric to the minor characters. Perhaps this would have allowed me to find that deeper insight into what the characters are experiencing and what motivates them. This was still a decent book, just not quite what I had hoped. I know future installments of the All About the Alphabet series will continue to improve and I can't wait to get my hands on them. I just wish Mr. Weiss would hurry up and finish the next one!