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bethsbookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Wow - I loved, loved, loved this book.
Things I loved:
🪴 The writing!! The first thing that pulled me in was the writing. From the first page, I was hooked. From the first chapter, I was emotionally invested. As they say, the characters leaped off the page, and I felt like I was really living their lives with them. The writing is simple, yet rich, and has some stunning and beautiful details. I underlined so many quotes. For instance, "Now, this was comfort - a languid morning spent floating across a swimming pool, a two-story house with cabinets always filled with food, a chestful of toys for her daughter, a bookshelf that held an entire encyclopedia set. This was comfort, no longer wanting anything."
🪴 Speaking of the characters, they were vivid and dimensional and complex and somehow yet, lovable. I understood all of their reasoning and decisions; their motivations and traumas were so thorough. I loved how they all contrasted each other and complemented each other at the same time. The entire cast was so great, even the minor side characters. I could seriously read a whole series about each character.
🪴 The sisterhood relationship between Desiree and Stella. They were polar opposites, but not in a way that felt lazy or stereotypical. One was loud, one was quiet, but they changed and shifted as time moved along. Their relationship was codependent yet completely independent at the same time. They longed for each other and needed each other but also required space from one another to grow. Despite them being apart for most of the book, as a reader, you feel like you're reading about them side by side. The author so fluidly flipped between the two in a way that felt so natural yet so fitting to the story.
🪴 The exploration and portrayal of race. This book exposes both race and what it means to be a victim of it. But it also exposes colourism within the Black community and how people treat each other depending on the various skin tones. Stella and Desiree are both light-skinned Black women with the possibility to pass as white. Stella does, but Desiree doesn't. I can understand both women. One wants to escape racism and live a privileged life; the other wants to be true to herself. Both are valid, and it's racism's fault that this difficult choice exists in the first place. At the end of the day, identity is something we can control slightly, but our roots and true selves will always squeeze through the cracks our masks leave behind.
🪴 The theme of motherhood. Stella and Desiree aren't perfect mothers, but the theme of nature vs. nurture is so poignant yet subtle. I really liked taking notes on this throughout and noticing little things the author did to portray this.
I do think everyone will love something about this book. I hope you pick it up!
Graphic: Sexual assault, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
vasha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Sexism, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Grief, Alcohol, and Cursing
Minor: Deadnaming
audreychu's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Racism, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, and Sexism
jlaz_13's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.0
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Abandonment, and Sexual assault
Minor: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Hate crime, Dementia, and Death of parent
maess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Medical content, Racial slurs, Dementia, Physical abuse, Racism, Classism, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
caitlinderocker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Dementia, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Grief, Hate crime, Medical content, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Classism, Death of parent, Sexism, Rape, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, and Cultural appropriation
morganperks's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Classism, Murder, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Deadnaming, Dementia, Gaslighting, Racism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, and Hate crime
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content
noxygens's review against another edition
- 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
1.0
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Dementia, Classism, and Death
Minor: Xenophobia, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, and Toxic relationship
quinn12_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Grief, Violence, Dementia, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Murder, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, and Terminal illness
eloisey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Although I thought the actual premise was really interesting, the execution of it was not what I expected at all. Sometimes the writing was not clear and timelines were not consistent between chapters.
For example, you learn so much about Stella through the middle of the book but I would have preferred a more “compare and contrast” approach, with the other twin woven through this, instead of a big block of just Stella (who also happens to be the more boring 3rd person narrator imo) and then it goes more in depth about their daughters and their daughters boyfriends too. I felt like it should have kept it more simple, just about the twins more so than their children and boyfriends. Some parts of this felt more like a YA novel to me.
All in all I did finish it and didn’t mind reading it too badly, just had to push myself to sometimes.
TLDR: Great premise but slower pacing and different timelines made it a bit of a slog.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Hate crime, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual assault and Domestic abuse