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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
One of my favorite books, but one of the worst movie adaptations.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
adventurous
dark
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:
Yes
For more book reviews: http://alisbooklife.wix.com/freeyourread
When your mom "allegedly" kills her boyfriend, you're now a foster-kid, skipping from home-to-home with another sob story.
Goodreads readers ranked this book a 3.90 and I'd recommend it if you're into:
crime
sexual abuse
foster-care
Let me preface that this book has been on my list to read for at least 3 years now... so maybe the expectations were too high. Had the book been shorter with consistent detail, I could've easily made this a 4-star.
Pros: The plot, the basis for this story was good - almost great. The foster care system isn't attacked often, and when it is, it's always spun positively. The story itself was captivating, and primarily why I kept reading. I needed to know the outcome of life in the system, and if there was an "out of the system." The general description from the author throughout the book was enough to give you visions, enough that you could space out and see the scene in your living room.
Cons: The book did one of two things - drug on and on (and on) about the same few days for 50 pages, or we literally could coast through 6 months in 6 sentences. The consistency in the 'routine' description is frustrating because I felt rushed through some parts without any update where it could've been helpful, or I felt like the next month would never occur.
Towards the end, the letters we receive from the mother are inconsistent compared to the rest of the book. We went from a 2-3 paragraph letter to pages of letters. The inconsistency felt as if the author was trying to fill pages (which was hardly necessary). I just really fell out of love with the book at this point and admittedly, skipped through the paragraphs that were more like poetry than necessary points to the story and character growth.
The biggest issue I had with this book was its length. A book can be good and be long. But it's hard to do without droning on about the same thing every 40-50 pages, which is what I felt once we got to the halfway point. I felt as if I was constantly reading the same story every 75 pages with different names, maybe a different picture was painted, but it all ended up being the same.
When your mom "allegedly" kills her boyfriend, you're now a foster-kid, skipping from home-to-home with another sob story.
Goodreads readers ranked this book a 3.90 and I'd recommend it if you're into:
crime
sexual abuse
foster-care
Let me preface that this book has been on my list to read for at least 3 years now... so maybe the expectations were too high. Had the book been shorter with consistent detail, I could've easily made this a 4-star.
Pros: The plot, the basis for this story was good - almost great. The foster care system isn't attacked often, and when it is, it's always spun positively. The story itself was captivating, and primarily why I kept reading. I needed to know the outcome of life in the system, and if there was an "out of the system." The general description from the author throughout the book was enough to give you visions, enough that you could space out and see the scene in your living room.
Cons: The book did one of two things - drug on and on (and on) about the same few days for 50 pages, or we literally could coast through 6 months in 6 sentences. The consistency in the 'routine' description is frustrating because I felt rushed through some parts without any update where it could've been helpful, or I felt like the next month would never occur.
Towards the end, the letters we receive from the mother are inconsistent compared to the rest of the book. We went from a 2-3 paragraph letter to pages of letters. The inconsistency felt as if the author was trying to fill pages (which was hardly necessary). I just really fell out of love with the book at this point and admittedly, skipped through the paragraphs that were more like poetry than necessary points to the story and character growth.
The biggest issue I had with this book was its length. A book can be good and be long. But it's hard to do without droning on about the same thing every 40-50 pages, which is what I felt once we got to the halfway point. I felt as if I was constantly reading the same story every 75 pages with different names, maybe a different picture was painted, but it all ended up being the same.
Die Verfilmung zu diesem Buch begleitet mich seit dem ich elf Jahre alt bin (bin nun 26) und ist einer meiner absoluten Lieblingsfilme. Die Geschichte war mir vor dem Lesen dieses Buches also bekannt, allerdings wusste ich auch, dass es im Buch noch ganz viel mehr zu erfahren gibt, da der Film natürlich nicht alle Szenen beinhalten konnte.
Was ich an diesem Buch ganz besonders finde, ist die Beziehung zwischen Astrid und Mutter Ingrid, während diese im Gefängnis wegen Mordes an ihrem Liebhaber einsitzt. Astrid geht durch einige Pflegefamilien und erlebt in jeder so einiges, was sie prägt. Interessant ist, wie sehr Astrid auf ihre Mutter fixiert war und es auch mit der Zeit immer noch ist, trotz der Trennung. Spannend zu lesen, wie sie dazu kommt, ihre eigenen Gedanken zu denken und die ihrer Mutter in Frage zu stellen. Wie sie Stück für Stück zu einem Individuum wird, bemerkt, dass sie eigentlich eines ist.
Die Charaktere sind das Meisterstück dieses Buches und überstrahlen die tolle Handlung um Längen. Für mich ist dieses Buch perfekt. Es ist gekonnt poetisch an einigen Stellen, detailreich geschrieben, aber nie zu genau oder zu ausschweifend, charakteristisch eine absolute Glanzleistung und einfach mitunter das beste Buch, welches ich je gelesen habe. Wenn man mal etwas literarisch Hochwertiges lesen möchte, das einen berührt, schockiert, mitreißt, von der eigenen Realität entfernt und gleichzeitig auch unterhält, der sollte zu diesem Buch greifen, weil es unfassbar genial ist. Ein Geniestreich.
Was ich an diesem Buch ganz besonders finde, ist die Beziehung zwischen Astrid und Mutter Ingrid, während diese im Gefängnis wegen Mordes an ihrem Liebhaber einsitzt. Astrid geht durch einige Pflegefamilien und erlebt in jeder so einiges, was sie prägt. Interessant ist, wie sehr Astrid auf ihre Mutter fixiert war und es auch mit der Zeit immer noch ist, trotz der Trennung. Spannend zu lesen, wie sie dazu kommt, ihre eigenen Gedanken zu denken und die ihrer Mutter in Frage zu stellen. Wie sie Stück für Stück zu einem Individuum wird, bemerkt, dass sie eigentlich eines ist.
Die Charaktere sind das Meisterstück dieses Buches und überstrahlen die tolle Handlung um Längen. Für mich ist dieses Buch perfekt. Es ist gekonnt poetisch an einigen Stellen, detailreich geschrieben, aber nie zu genau oder zu ausschweifend, charakteristisch eine absolute Glanzleistung und einfach mitunter das beste Buch, welches ich je gelesen habe. Wenn man mal etwas literarisch Hochwertiges lesen möchte, das einen berührt, schockiert, mitreißt, von der eigenen Realität entfernt und gleichzeitig auch unterhält, der sollte zu diesem Buch greifen, weil es unfassbar genial ist. Ein Geniestreich.
It could've been so much better if it were shorter.
For all the hype about this book I was a bit disappointed. I didn't sympathize with the main character as much as I think the author would have liked.