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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was such a brilliant, emotionally resonant, pensive and slightly dark collection of stories focussing on girlhood and growing up. Every story is incredibly distinct and beautifully realized. It deals with complex issues like dealing with the loss of a parent, sibling rivalry, the very cruel things that children are capable of doing to one another, friendship and sisterhood. Some might find this collection a little too dark, a little too bleak, but I found it incredibly realistic. While overall, the entire collection is really strong, I've highlighted some of my favourites below.
In The Isabel Fish young girl is in a car crash with her brother's girlfriend and she survives while the girlfriend dies. The story then follows the repercussions of that incident and the toll it takes on her relationship with her brother.
The Smoothest Way is Full of Stones follows two cousins, one of whom has recently taken a very devout/religious lifestyle. When the two girls find an adult book, the devout one becomes increasingly interested to sin while the other begins to adhere more to a religious lifestyle.
~
In Care, two children go to an amusement park with their mother who is suffering from Cancer along with the family of their mother's high school boyfriend. This story is incredibly moving and filled with regret as the young girl watches her mother wane while the mother reflects on lost chances from her younger days.
In Note to Sixth Grade Self is a heart-wrenching story of a woman looking back in her life and writing a letter to her six-year-old self, on how she could have dealt with being bullied.
The first story, Pilgrims, in my opinion, is possibly the darkest story in the collection. If you find that a little too dark, try a couple of other stories before deciding if the collection is for you.
Rating: 4.5/5
In The Isabel Fish young girl is in a car crash with her brother's girlfriend and she survives while the girlfriend dies. The story then follows the repercussions of that incident and the toll it takes on her relationship with her brother.
The Smoothest Way is Full of Stones follows two cousins, one of whom has recently taken a very devout/religious lifestyle. When the two girls find an adult book, the devout one becomes increasingly interested to sin while the other begins to adhere more to a religious lifestyle.
~
In Care, two children go to an amusement park with their mother who is suffering from Cancer along with the family of their mother's high school boyfriend. This story is incredibly moving and filled with regret as the young girl watches her mother wane while the mother reflects on lost chances from her younger days.
In Note to Sixth Grade Self is a heart-wrenching story of a woman looking back in her life and writing a letter to her six-year-old self, on how she could have dealt with being bullied.
The first story, Pilgrims, in my opinion, is possibly the darkest story in the collection. If you find that a little too dark, try a couple of other stories before deciding if the collection is for you.
Rating: 4.5/5
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
These stories sometimes start off slow but suspense reliably builds every time. I especially enjoyed "The Smoothest Way Is Full of Stones" and "Stars of Motown Shining Bright." This is not a collection you can speed read through because of how many complex feelings it evokes.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Didn't realise it was short story collection
Short stories about the jealousies, cruelties and not-knowing-what-to-do feelings and experiences of being a young woman. The stories are well written and engaging. Three stars for being so darn emotionally heavy without a lot of redeeming characters.
Have had this book for a long time.....I'm a fan of Orringer, but not a bit fan of short stories. Some of the stories I was glad they were over, others, I wish they'd been a full book.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced