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tabatha_shipley's review against another edition
3.0
What I Did Like:
-Serenity as a character is wonderful. I loved her in Leaving Time and I love this backstory.
-The stuff with the elephant in Alice’s short story is wonderful.
-Jodi’s descriptions and writing are always beautiful. Her language is perfect and her figurative language paints masterpieces.
Who Should Read This One:
-Leaving Time fans who want more of these characters or who had questions about these characters.
My Rating: 3 Stars. Overall the stories weren’t bad, but they really don’t stand alone. For this reason they have a very niche audience.
For Full Review (including what I didn’t like): https://youtu.be/hMbzGELhiY8
-Serenity as a character is wonderful. I loved her in Leaving Time and I love this backstory.
-The stuff with the elephant in Alice’s short story is wonderful.
-Jodi’s descriptions and writing are always beautiful. Her language is perfect and her figurative language paints masterpieces.
Who Should Read This One:
-Leaving Time fans who want more of these characters or who had questions about these characters.
My Rating: 3 Stars. Overall the stories weren’t bad, but they really don’t stand alone. For this reason they have a very niche audience.
For Full Review (including what I didn’t like): https://youtu.be/hMbzGELhiY8
lexithelion's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.25
Jodi's writing is once again incredible. This short story's theming and tie-ins to the sequel full-length novel Leaving Time are exquisite and it is so clear how much research went into this. It did seem a bit slower than Leaving Time because the entire story is from Alice's perspective, which had the slowest moving and most drawn-out plotline of all the characters from the novel. However, the relationship Alice has with her own mother in this prequel is a great setup for Alice to become a mother herself later in her timeline.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Grief, Abandonment, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Medical content, Cancer, Infidelity, and Death
Minor: Death of parent
ma_kale_a's review
informative
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
emwil13's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this novella, but was surprised at the abrupt ending without much of moral of the story or proper wrap up
rainbowbookworm's review against another edition
3.0
I finished it and I liked it, but I want to see it's relevance when I read Leaving Time.
book_nerd_1990's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
_lilbey_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? No
3.5
vanessab78's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
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? It's complicated
5.0
jcamilla's review against another edition
4.0
“There is a reason people say being a mother is the hardest job in the world: You do not sleep and you do not get vacation time. You do not leave your work on your desk at the end of the day. Your briefcase is your heart, and you are rifling through it constantly. Your office is as wide as the world, and your punch card is measured not in hours but in a lifetime.” (I will come back to address this wonderful quote in Larger than Life a bit later in my review).
It is most definitely a gripping and moving story about an elephant grief and memory researcher and a baby elephant, who grow immensely attached to each other. Many sweet moments with a very cute elephant. But, I have also included above one of my favorite quotes from the novella, which is when Alice reflects on her motherly role to the elephant Lesego. There are some flashbacks to her own relationship and experiences with her mother, but to sum it up, they did not have the most loving or supportive relationship. This quote not only reflects on the larger topic of mother-daughter relationships that are addressed in the story, but also sweepingly summarizes how impactful a mother's role is in her children's and her own life.
Even though I want to be a better daughter, I am still immature in that I forget the fact summed up by Picoult's quote when I throw temper tantrums, when I get lazy and wish my mom does more for me, when I am extremely ungrateful. This quote serves as a reminder that when a mother chooses to bring a new life into the world, she willingly loves and gives her time and energy to her child. There is no role that is more expansive and consuming, and no humanly love that is greater.
Anyway, back to the actual novella: things do take a turn for the worse in the story, though the story doesn't come to an end with this novella. Maybe I'll read Leaving Time, which is a novel by Picoult with a huge connection to Larger than Life, this time about main character Alice's daughter.
I wish I had started reading Jodi Picoult sooner. Love her writing style and the lessons about life that she so effortlessly weaves into her stories.
It is most definitely a gripping and moving story about an elephant grief and memory researcher and a baby elephant, who grow immensely attached to each other. Many sweet moments with a very cute elephant. But, I have also included above one of my favorite quotes from the novella, which is when Alice reflects on her motherly role to the elephant Lesego. There are some flashbacks to her own relationship and experiences with her mother, but to sum it up, they did not have the most loving or supportive relationship. This quote not only reflects on the larger topic of mother-daughter relationships that are addressed in the story, but also sweepingly summarizes how impactful a mother's role is in her children's and her own life.
Even though I want to be a better daughter, I am still immature in that I forget the fact summed up by Picoult's quote when I throw temper tantrums, when I get lazy and wish my mom does more for me, when I am extremely ungrateful. This quote serves as a reminder that when a mother chooses to bring a new life into the world, she willingly loves and gives her time and energy to her child. There is no role that is more expansive and consuming, and no humanly love that is greater.
Anyway, back to the actual novella: things do take a turn for the worse in the story, though the story doesn't come to an end with this novella. Maybe I'll read Leaving Time, which is a novel by Picoult with a huge connection to Larger than Life, this time about main character Alice's daughter.
I wish I had started reading Jodi Picoult sooner. Love her writing style and the lessons about life that she so effortlessly weaves into her stories.