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kaffee_auf_ex's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Beautifully written, yet so incredibly problematic.
Every adult in this book only exists to abuse Elle. Even strangers only exist to punch her or break into her house and assault her. All the adults are abusive towards children. Trauma is there for pure shock value and to be edgy.
Reese Witherspoon teased that there would be a fascinating love triangle. She absolutely broke my trust. You call this a love triangle?
- mild spoilers ahead -
Does it deserve to be a love triangle if the husband and mother team up to abuse Elle? If we are told that she loves him but everytime she things to herself that she loves him it is in a situation in which he was being toxic because that's all he ever is? He is a red flag walking from the very moment he comes into her life. All he ever does is gaslight her and never take her seriously but instead bully her together with her mother who is incredibly abusive.
And maybe this could be okay if there was something that we get out of all that. If she ever realised he was being abused or really call out her mother for the incredible amount of abuse. But she never does.
And I won't even talk about Jonas not being a consent king because compared to all of the rape and abuse going on, he is the nicest person in the book if you don't count Anna who is my favourite character.
The story is unnecessarily long and filled with some more abuse that we don't need. Yes, there's an abusive spouse of a parent. Oh wait, they get remarried and we get another abusive spouse because the first wasn't enough. Oh, here's a family friend or whatever behaving inappropriately towards children.
And here is some abuse that another family member face that is not directly relevant but still told to us in graphic detail like all of the rape is because, well, shock value.
It's so sad that a woman can't have character growth without sexual drama but wait - there's no character growth. Elle is one of the worst main characters I have ever read because she is passive from the beginning even when her own passiveness hurts more people than just herself and she never learns. She never calls out abuse for what it is.
Let me summarise what this book is: Straight cis rich white people abusing each other and especially children because they don't have enough struggles in their lives to keep athem entertained and plot convenience. Easily the least diverse book I have read in my live because it doesn't feature anything else than straight cis rich white people.
One mayor question remains: Why did the author waste her incredible writing talent for such an edgy and tone deaf story? To sell more books? To have more chances at having it picked up for TV adaption? Because damn, that woman can write. She really sucked me in. I hope for her to get some perspective and write something less problematic because yes, I would like to read more of her writing, just a whole different story.
Every adult in this book only exists to abuse Elle. Even strangers only exist to punch her or break into her house and assault her. All the adults are abusive towards children. Trauma is there for pure shock value and to be edgy.
Reese Witherspoon teased that there would be a fascinating love triangle. She absolutely broke my trust. You call this a love triangle?
- mild spoilers ahead -
Does it deserve to be a love triangle if the husband and mother team up to abuse Elle? If we are told that she loves him but everytime she things to herself that she loves him it is in a situation in which he was being toxic because that's all he ever is? He is a red flag walking from the very moment he comes into her life. All he ever does is gaslight her and never take her seriously but instead bully her together with her mother who is incredibly abusive.
And maybe this could be okay if there was something that we get out of all that. If she ever realised he was being abused or really call out her mother for the incredible amount of abuse. But she never does.
And I won't even talk about Jonas not being a consent king because compared to all of the rape and abuse going on, he is the nicest person in the book if you don't count Anna who is my favourite character.
The story is unnecessarily long and filled with some more abuse that we don't need. Yes, there's an abusive spouse of a parent. Oh wait, they get remarried and we get another abusive spouse because the first wasn't enough. Oh, here's a family friend or whatever behaving inappropriately towards children.
And here is some abuse that another family member face that is not directly relevant but still told to us in graphic detail like all of the rape is because, well, shock value.
It's so sad that a woman can't have character growth without sexual drama but wait - there's no character growth. Elle is one of the worst main characters I have ever read because she is passive from the beginning even when her own passiveness hurts more people than just herself and she never learns. She never calls out abuse for what it is.
Let me summarise what this book is: Straight cis rich white people abusing each other and especially children because they don't have enough struggles in their lives to keep athem entertained and plot convenience. Easily the least diverse book I have read in my live because it doesn't feature anything else than straight cis rich white people.
One mayor question remains: Why did the author waste her incredible writing talent for such an edgy and tone deaf story? To sell more books? To have more chances at having it picked up for TV adaption? Because damn, that woman can write. She really sucked me in. I hope for her to get some perspective and write something less problematic because yes, I would like to read more of her writing, just a whole different story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Death, Child abuse, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, and Bullying
Moderate: Child death and Terminal illness
joey1914's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Rape, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Infertility, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Death, and Adult/minor relationship
marissa_roo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The mixed chronology feels intentional as flashbacks help tell the present tense story. It feels authentic, and fair to the protagonist - there are flaws, issues, challenges, and imperfection. It is hard to come down on any one side and judge her for being human! The ending is up for debate - some find it too vague, others think it is clear; I think you will come to whatever assumption you formed throughout the journey. Very nostalgic, mature, and contemplative story about growth; we are who our lives have made us.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence and Sexual assault
Minor: Emotional abuse
yammmw's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Sexual content
karlisimp's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Wow. The ending was unlikeable and I didn’t think it made much sense. However the writing was phenomenal and the plot even more interesting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Death, Rape, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Animal death, and Child death
frozenduck's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, Child death, Incest, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, and Pedophilia
julielouise234's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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
4.0
It wasn’t a happy narrative; the narrator had a broken family life and suffered abuse from a family member.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Sexual assault
cathybbookshelf's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
avelavalamp's review against another edition
This book is about WASPs, but the author made casually racist choices in her descriptions of non-WASP characters. She lost me when she said “the Puerto Rican girls eyefuck me.” Why say this about nameless characters in a health clinic and only appear in three lines? Why use this extremely harsh language when the narrator’s stepbrother is ACTUALLY molesting and raping her or when the childhood friend she loves ACTUALLY does want to f*ck her and she wants him to?! The term “eyefuck” would’ve been appropriate in both scenarios, and yet it’s never used—it’s reserved for the Puerto Rican girls seeking reproductive care—to make them seem “scary” for no reason ?! Add to that using terms like “crackhead” to describe an actual human, women consistently insulting one another with “don’t be such a cow” (fatphobic) and mid-book randomly assigning Jewish identity to the main family with no development? Microagressions abound.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Child death, Sexual violence, Stalking, Incest, and Sexual assault
cbthebooktrotter's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Every once in a while, I come across a book that engulfs me and consumes my every being; every where I go I am thinking about this book; where I cannot wait to find out what happens but at the same time I put off reading it because I don’t want it to end! As I got closer to the end of the book, I just found myself closing it up, and dragging it as much as I could. I wanted more!
Paper Palace, a story of a 50 year old, Elle, who has reignited her love with her childhood best friend, Jonas; a relationship that never came to fruition due to extensive trauma from her past. The book follows Elle over the course of 24 hours while she tries to make the decision of whether to remain faithful to her husband and children, or finally let herself see what her life would be with Jonas. The author sends us back in time during those 24 hours to understand what happened in the past to keep Jonas and Elle apart.
Paper Palace was exactly the book I didn’t know I needed. It was so beautifully written. The author used so much imagery I could feel like I was physically in the Back Woods. It was a beautiful, difficult, traumatic, heartbreaking book. I will warn you that there are some dark and heavy topics and this is not a book for everyone. Please research CWs on this one.
I can't explain why I loved it so much, maybe because I am a sucker for the friends to lover romances - especially the ones that happen at a certain time (one of my favorite books of all time is "One Day").
I see some reviews for this book that aren't great; and I understand that this is one of those books that won't be for everyone. But I loved it. I was torn with the ending though. I found myself at 72% of the book rooting for Elle to make one decision, then reading the last 28% and wanting her to make the other choice. And then I got to the end. I have been marinating the end for the past 24 hours and as much as I hate ambiguity, I feel, in this case, I prefer not having all the answers. I do also wish that we had more time with Elle and Jonas when they were younger to really fully grasp their love for each other. I think the author was so focused on all the bad that happened when they were younger that I feel there was some depth in their relationship missing from the story telling. Anyways, I have so many feels and so much I want to say and talk about with this book. For anyone who has read it and would like to talk about Elle's decision at the end, please DM me!
5 stars for my first book of the year! and definitely categorizing this one as one of my favorite books.
Paper Palace, a story of a 50 year old, Elle, who has reignited her love with her childhood best friend, Jonas; a relationship that never came to fruition due to extensive trauma from her past. The book follows Elle over the course of 24 hours while she tries to make the decision of whether to remain faithful to her husband and children, or finally let herself see what her life would be with Jonas. The author sends us back in time during those 24 hours to understand what happened in the past to keep Jonas and Elle apart.
Paper Palace was exactly the book I didn’t know I needed. It was so beautifully written. The author used so much imagery I could feel like I was physically in the Back Woods. It was a beautiful, difficult, traumatic, heartbreaking book. I will warn you that there are some dark and heavy topics and this is not a book for everyone. Please research CWs on this one.
I can't explain why I loved it so much, maybe because I am a sucker for the friends to lover romances - especially the ones that happen at a certain time (one of my favorite books of all time is "One Day").
I see some reviews for this book that aren't great; and I understand that this is one of those books that won't be for everyone. But I loved it. I was torn with the ending though. I found myself at 72% of the book rooting for Elle to make one decision, then reading the last 28% and wanting her to make the other choice. And then I got to the end. I have been marinating the end for the past 24 hours and as much as I hate ambiguity, I feel, in this case, I prefer not having all the answers. I do also wish that we had more time with Elle and Jonas when they were younger to really fully grasp their love for each other. I think the author was so focused on all the bad that happened when they were younger that I feel there was some depth in their relationship missing from the story telling. Anyways, I have so many feels and so much I want to say and talk about with this book. For anyone who has read it and would like to talk about Elle's decision at the end, please DM me!
5 stars for my first book of the year! and definitely categorizing this one as one of my favorite books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault