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murderousscottishgremlin's review against another edition
funny
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A family portrait dipping between absurdity and realism. Contains some really potent prose/language.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Cancer, Suicide, Death of parent, and Abandonment
swalters34's review against another edition
4.0
This book was so good and so weird. The title should have warned me how deeply it would look into grief, but I was still unprepared. Kristen Stewart would make a killer Jessa-Lynn
ephe16's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
nataliegracebates's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.5
Found this book pretty dull honestly. The taxidermy stuff made for an intriguing setting at first but then all the paragraphs about it just started feeling like filler. If they were supposed to act as metaphors then I wasn't making whatever connections I was supposed to. The relationship dynamics in the flashbacks were more interesting than anything going on in the present and yet didn't really seem to land anywhere.
onyxx26's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
tarantella's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jfaberrit's review against another edition
4.0
Even with the arresting title and the unusual choice of subject matter, this is actually a much more conventional literary novel than one might suspect, but a strongly written one that really does work. It does stand out as the most sensuous novel I've seen in years, one where everything has a small and texture and a feel and sometimes even a taste. It's definitely a Florida novel, populated by Florida Men and Florida Women, but the more lower-cased versions of them in some cases -- florida man and florida woman? I think the balance was actually pretty great: it's funny, but not in the Carl Hiaasen/Tim Dorsey/Dave Barry in your face way; it was a little gross in places, but nothing worse than your typical Hospital-based TV show; it had some pain and grief, but is hardly melodramatic or a tearjerker. Instead, it's a very personal story of a protagonist who is feeling lost and trying to find her way amidst other semi-lost people trying to make their way too, with humor and occasional grace.
tatertash28's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
hauntedhexgirll's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.25
This book dealt with grief, how we remember people in ways that we want to that may not be accurate to the truth or to someone else’s truth, that people can have a duality about them. Jessa’s dad could be a strong man she admired and also be a controlling husband to her mother at the same time. That experiences with people can be so personal. That we accept love that we want even if it isn’t good for us. We give ourselves completely and unconditionally to people who will only give them a fraction of themselves in return.
This story is about a family who is messed up, angry at each other, lost, and not knowing how to move forward or to heal. But in the end, they love each other enough to try. That their love outweighs the anger.
Jessa isn’t always a likable character, same can be said about every character in this book honestly. But they feel like real people. They feel like people that you love so much despite the fact that they make you so mad you could rip your own teeth out.
This book was a bit slow since it’s so character driven, their day to days are all pretty similar, which is to be expected in a story about a family just trying to learn how to function again after so much hurt. It was very well written, it felt like real people, and you could tell there was so much care and time put into this book.
This story is about a family who is messed up, angry at each other, lost, and not knowing how to move forward or to heal. But in the end, they love each other enough to try. That their love outweighs the anger.
Jessa isn’t always a likable character, same can be said about every character in this book honestly. But they feel like real people. They feel like people that you love so much despite the fact that they make you so mad you could rip your own teeth out.
This book was a bit slow since it’s so character driven, their day to days are all pretty similar, which is to be expected in a story about a family just trying to learn how to function again after so much hurt. It was very well written, it felt like real people, and you could tell there was so much care and time put into this book.