Reviews

The Alaskan Laundry by Brendan Jones

sophronisba's review against another edition

Could not get into this book at all and ultimately abandoned it. Tara felt like a cliche to me and the dialogue was awfully stilted to my ear. Maybe people more interested in the Alaskan fishing industry will have better luck with it.

piepieb's review against another edition

Not quite sure how to rate this. It sounded interesting, I really like the "Alaskan laundry" metaphor, and I loved the northern lights scene. I loved Keta the wolf dog, and I loved the friendship/romance between Connor and Tara. But the very-detailed scenes of fishing and working eventually became really dry and old. I don't think Tara was a very likeable character. In the end, I slogged through it anyway.

em_reads_books's review against another edition

4.0

Sometimes this got a little too, like, let me dump in everything I know about Alaska and fishing and boats. But overall it's not quite like anything else I've ever read, in a good way; Tara is a tough protagonist to love but totally worth following as she works.

I liked how unpredictable the arc was - Tara had her victories and setbacks along the way but never where I expected them. That could have felt disorganized in another book, but here it worked to keep me in suspense even when there wasn't a whole lot of plot going on. Hard to describe what really made it click with me...it's mostly a story about how running from your past and working hard sometimes works out, sometimes doesn't.

evannhannon's review

3.0

A run away from your problems and hope for the best tale. Interesting setting: Alaska and fishing boats...like hardcore stuff. It got kind of technical, which I found boring but is cool, if you find boat stuff cool. There's a dog which is super. Tara punches some people. It was mostly a bummer, like an emotional bummer. I didn't hate it. It just ended and I felt like I'd missed something. I'd definitely read more from the author. I'd love to go to Alaska but not have to work my ass off, just chill.

>It inspired me to go out and buy a cannoli but I couldn't find one, so I had a pumpkin macaron.

susannam's review

5.0

Terrific book and if there were six stars, I'd give this book six. It's the story of Tara Marconi, a young woman escaping from a bad home situation on the east coast. On the recommendation of a cousin, she's found work at a fish processing plant in a fishing town in Alaska. Life is tough there and she finds she has to prove herself over and over again, but keeps standing up every time she's knocked down. She has a huge chip on her shoulder, but her two years there finally allow light and healing in. Great characters. Great read. Six stars.

kcfray's review

adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0