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ccarboni06's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent! I had high hopes for this bc I loved this author’s debut, Hum if You Don’t Know the Words and I wasn’t let down. This author somehow tackles the hardest of subject matter without making it too much to bear. The misery that these characters face runs the gamut of the worst of the worst and yet their humanity and hope and the universal want for a better life for themselves and their children make it so you see yourself in them and wonder if you would rise to the occasion if faced personally with the same difficulties. Read this book people!!!!!!!!!!
simoneclark's review against another edition
4.0
Major trigger warnings for this book: sexual assault, attempted suicide, some curse words
What a heartbreaking story!! This book drew me in right away. That is something I didn't expect. It was very interesting to see this story set in the Nelson Mandela era South Africa. It also touched on the subject of AIDS as it emerged and turned into a pandemic during that time. It also includes religious aspects (both African and Christian) as well as adoption, grief, and loss.
What a heartbreaking story!! This book drew me in right away. That is something I didn't expect. It was very interesting to see this story set in the Nelson Mandela era South Africa. It also touched on the subject of AIDS as it emerged and turned into a pandemic during that time. It also includes religious aspects (both African and Christian) as well as adoption, grief, and loss.
rachelannak's review against another edition
5.0
Bianca can do no wrong. What a beautiful and heart breaking novel about what it means to be a mother and a sister.
jennrobyn's review against another edition
5.0
☀️ BOOK REVIEW ☀️
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⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5: If I could give this book a million stars I would!!
This books was a lot of different things to me. And perhaps that has to do with where I am in life or perhaps it’s the way it was meant to be read. Either way, it resonated with me and will stick with me long after this review is posted and long after I’ve read many more books.
“If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans” - Most humans will have a notion of how they want their life to be. Maybe some of us have more than a notion. Maybe we have a stuck in the mud, carved in stone, written in the stars plot, idea and plan that we fully intend to bring to fruition. But life is so much bigger than we can even fathom, and it has the uncanny ability to throw curve balls that make us duck, dodge and sometimes fall flat on our face and then get back up and go “crap I lost my path, this wasn’t what was supposed to happen”. And it is these moments that test us and our character. How are we going to roll with it? How are we going to adapt and react? It’s our adaptation and our reaction that make our character, and ultimately I believe, lead us to the places we are supposed to be, regardless of the plan we had for ourselves.
This book stirred in me a thoughtful conversation with myself about my faith, and how I have felt disconnected for a long time. Although, the book wasn’t necessarily a study in religion, it did make me meditate on how, as believers in whatever we believe in, we have to let go and let be. I was reminded that I cannot control all the things. I need to leave that up to higher powers and bigger planners. I’m too little to control and manipulate so much in the little time I have.
This book also opened my eyes to the fact that many of us may feel like we will never be destined for anything other than what came before us. And sitting in that mindset will most certainly stall us on our journey into an amazing future, albeit one we might not have planned. And that it is important to grab onto any tiny spark we may see, no matter how fleeting, because that could be the spark that lights our new path and the plan we are to be a part of.
I could speak to each individual character in the book but I would be here for days. But I will say that each person was so beautiful, and each of their layers were so necessary and so flawed but in the best of ways. For it was their flaws that gave them their biggest strengths and their most endearing qualities, to me. Each person taught me something and has left an impression on me.
I have not read a book this moving in long, long time. And I thank Mrs. Bianca Marais, for sharing this gorgeous journey with us readers!!! I hope you all love it as much as I did!
•
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5: If I could give this book a million stars I would!!
This books was a lot of different things to me. And perhaps that has to do with where I am in life or perhaps it’s the way it was meant to be read. Either way, it resonated with me and will stick with me long after this review is posted and long after I’ve read many more books.
“If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans” - Most humans will have a notion of how they want their life to be. Maybe some of us have more than a notion. Maybe we have a stuck in the mud, carved in stone, written in the stars plot, idea and plan that we fully intend to bring to fruition. But life is so much bigger than we can even fathom, and it has the uncanny ability to throw curve balls that make us duck, dodge and sometimes fall flat on our face and then get back up and go “crap I lost my path, this wasn’t what was supposed to happen”. And it is these moments that test us and our character. How are we going to roll with it? How are we going to adapt and react? It’s our adaptation and our reaction that make our character, and ultimately I believe, lead us to the places we are supposed to be, regardless of the plan we had for ourselves.
This book stirred in me a thoughtful conversation with myself about my faith, and how I have felt disconnected for a long time. Although, the book wasn’t necessarily a study in religion, it did make me meditate on how, as believers in whatever we believe in, we have to let go and let be. I was reminded that I cannot control all the things. I need to leave that up to higher powers and bigger planners. I’m too little to control and manipulate so much in the little time I have.
This book also opened my eyes to the fact that many of us may feel like we will never be destined for anything other than what came before us. And sitting in that mindset will most certainly stall us on our journey into an amazing future, albeit one we might not have planned. And that it is important to grab onto any tiny spark we may see, no matter how fleeting, because that could be the spark that lights our new path and the plan we are to be a part of.
I could speak to each individual character in the book but I would be here for days. But I will say that each person was so beautiful, and each of their layers were so necessary and so flawed but in the best of ways. For it was their flaws that gave them their biggest strengths and their most endearing qualities, to me. Each person taught me something and has left an impression on me.
I have not read a book this moving in long, long time. And I thank Mrs. Bianca Marais, for sharing this gorgeous journey with us readers!!! I hope you all love it as much as I did!
mctore21's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
4.0
lovesworldofbooks's review
4.0
WOW WOW JUST WOW!!!!! Now I understand why so many people love this book. Have you ever read a book but then afterward you need to marinate and can’t stop thinking about the characters? Well that was IYWTMGL.
What I liked:
- Even though, this book is set in the 1990s in South Africa however, I think it still applies today not only in South Africa.
- This 432 pages book is packed with important topics such as race discrimination, second chance, love, the meaning of family, wealth vs poverty, and more
- I liked Zodwa and Delilah right away but it took me a while to warm up to Ruth because I sure did not like her thoughts process. ( I don’t know how to express why it took me a while to like Ruth without spoiling.)
- Bianca Marais is such a great storyteller because her descriptions are so vivid. I feel like this was not the quick research that she did for these topics discussed in the book.
If you are looking for a book about friend, love, and make you cry then this book is it. I strongly recommend it.
What I liked:
- Even though, this book is set in the 1990s in South Africa however, I think it still applies today not only in South Africa.
- This 432 pages book is packed with important topics such as race discrimination, second chance, love, the meaning of family, wealth vs poverty, and more
- I liked Zodwa and Delilah right away but it took me a while to warm up to Ruth because I sure did not like her thoughts process. ( I don’t know how to express why it took me a while to like Ruth without spoiling.)
- Bianca Marais is such a great storyteller because her descriptions are so vivid. I feel like this was not the quick research that she did for these topics discussed in the book.
If you are looking for a book about friend, love, and make you cry then this book is it. I strongly recommend it.
glendareads39's review against another edition
4.0
Emotional, powerful and impactful read about three women In South Africa who lost children in different ways. During a dark period for the country with the AIDS epidemic and poverty during the 1990’s.
knead2read's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book. Be sure to read this author's first book before this one. It's not compley necessary, but it's nice because the two stories very slightly weave together.