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floppy_dog777's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
A beautiful and informative follow up to The Bean Trees that offers a more complete ending to the Greer Family’s story.
andreahaz's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
eenagy87's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.25
heartofoak1's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
craftygoat's review
4.0
A good book, but I didn't find myself loving the setting & language the way I have other Kingsolver books.
Themes:
- Lucky Buster's life intertwined with Turtle's: Taylor rescuing & returning children
- Cash & Taylor parallels: Leaving their tribe/family, and how that leads to disconnection, bad choices, unhappiness
- Importance of "family" (whatever that looks like) in raising children
- Personal failures - how Taylor & Annawake had to make mistakes and find their own way. Taylor thought she'd always pulled herself up by her bootstraps, but she'd also always had her support systems around her. Life is (too) hard on your own.
Quotes:
Alice: "When you're given a brilliant child you polish her and let her shine. The universe makes allowances. When Taylor called from a phone booth in Las Vegas with her soul broken in twenty pieces, Alice felt deeply betrayed. The universe has let them down."
Taylor: "I've hardly ever had a dime's worth of nickels but I always knew I could count on myself. If I bail out here, I won't even have that."
Annawake, on the constellation in the title: "The spirits put them up there to stay. To remind parents always to love their kids no matter what, I guess, and cut them a little slack." Alice looks up for a long time. "I swear there's seven," she says. "Maybe so," Annawake says. "The Six Pigs in Heaven, and the one mother who wouldn't let go."
Taylor: "I think of Jax and Lou Ann and Dwayne Ray, and of course you, and Mattie, my boss at the tire store, all those people as my family. But when you never put a name on things, you're just accepting that it's okay for people to leave when they feel like it. [...] That's what family is, the people you won't let go of for anything."
Ledger: "Annawake, you've got you a good heart. Run with it. Your whole life, you've been afraid of yourself."
Taylor, flooring it through a red light: "If she gets separated from the others now, she'll never know how her life is going to come out."
Themes:
- Lucky Buster's life intertwined with Turtle's: Taylor rescuing & returning children
- Cash & Taylor parallels: Leaving their tribe/family, and how that leads to disconnection, bad choices, unhappiness
- Importance of "family" (whatever that looks like) in raising children
- Personal failures - how Taylor & Annawake had to make mistakes and find their own way. Taylor thought she'd always pulled herself up by her bootstraps, but she'd also always had her support systems around her. Life is (too) hard on your own.
Quotes:
Alice: "When you're given a brilliant child you polish her and let her shine. The universe makes allowances. When Taylor called from a phone booth in Las Vegas with her soul broken in twenty pieces, Alice felt deeply betrayed. The universe has let them down."
Taylor: "I've hardly ever had a dime's worth of nickels but I always knew I could count on myself. If I bail out here, I won't even have that."
Annawake, on the constellation in the title: "The spirits put them up there to stay. To remind parents always to love their kids no matter what, I guess, and cut them a little slack." Alice looks up for a long time. "I swear there's seven," she says. "Maybe so," Annawake says. "The Six Pigs in Heaven, and the one mother who wouldn't let go."
Taylor: "I think of Jax and Lou Ann and Dwayne Ray, and of course you, and Mattie, my boss at the tire store, all those people as my family. But when you never put a name on things, you're just accepting that it's okay for people to leave when they feel like it. [...] That's what family is, the people you won't let go of for anything."
Ledger: "Annawake, you've got you a good heart. Run with it. Your whole life, you've been afraid of yourself."
Taylor, flooring it through a red light: "If she gets separated from the others now, she'll never know how her life is going to come out."
mader716's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
olivehead's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
jenni99b's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
thecatcherinthelye's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
ashleysweitz's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5