1.26k reviews for:

Sipsworth

Simon Van Booy

4.17 AVERAGE

lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
hopeful lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

A sweet story 
emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No
atjanedoe's profile picture

atjanedoe's review


The audiobook is British and that’s enough after a while
turnthepaige726's profile picture

turnthepaige726's review

4.0
lighthearted fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
nice_to_spiders's profile picture

nice_to_spiders's review

4.0

A cute and cozy story, but I'm docking a star for the chapter when Helen becomes a vegetarian. Not because I don't think it was plot-influenced or because I'm morally opposed to vegetarianism (hell, I'm pescetarian), and I think taking care of a small animal and realizing that they're smarter and have more personality than we give them credit for is a reason that many go meatless. However, Helen sees sausages at the grocery store and immediately goes full Morrissey, believing that humans don't naturally eat meat, fantasizing about spray painting the windows of butcher shops, and ultimately concluding that humanity would be better if everyone stopped eating meat.

It's just... bizarre. I wouldn't be surprised if Simon Van Booy was vegetarian himself, because a lot of her proselytizing sounds like someone who has been on the salad-shooter side of the debate for a few decades. I think there's plenty to complain about with regards to factory farming and the intelligence and emotional capabilities of livestock, but it brought the book to an abrupt halt because it did not feel like the thoughts of a curmudgeonly old woman who only just befriended a mouse. I think it'd be more realistic if she just thought "Oh, the mouse I brought in is rather smart, maybe chickens and cows can have a similar intelligence and I don't think I should eat them" and left it at that rather than immediately start thinking about getting arrested for protesting meat consumption.
emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated