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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
I truly loved Frankel’s characters and her command of language but found the storyline moved too slowly for my liking.
Perhaps this is YA but it feels like I'm being hit over the head with the David and Goliath plotline. To the point where I'm bored by it. The book seems a hundred pages too long.
The writing was good, but the characters didn't draw me in enough to keep me fully engaged with the less than believable plot.
The writing was good, but the characters didn't draw me in enough to keep me fully engaged with the less than believable plot.
Seattle Book Bingo 2021 - Activism or Social Justice
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Certainly slow going, but I couldn’t put it down at the same time. Loved the entire cast of characters and the town itself - the pull between past and future, adulthood and adolescence, though it did get bogged down in the sisters’ (mainly Mab and Mirabel’s) ruminations in the final act.
I loved Laurie Frankel's book This is How It Always Is. When I saw this I jumped at it. I had a hard time getting into this one. The characters are quite amazing. The story is a little corny and seems contrived in a lot of ways. All in all I am glad I read it.
hopeful
inspiring
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
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
One, Two, Three by Laurie Frankle is about sisters. Three sixteen year old sisters -- triplets -- one, Mab, two, Monday, and three, Maribel. The sisters were born and grew up in the small town of Bourne, a town ravaged by illness and birth defects caused by a chemical leak. Mab, the oldest, is cast as the able bodied sister. Monday seems clearly to be on the spectrum (while Frankle draws on some autistic stereotypes, she also challenges others); she loves order and runs the town library from her house (because the library closed when the town shut down). Maribel relies on a wheelchair and assistive device to communicate. Their father died before they were born, a complication from the plant. Their mother, Nora, has spent the last 16 years fighting for justice (in addition to being the town therapist, having a part time job in the local bar, and an odd obsession with baking, which is also linked to the town tragedy). The lawsuit Nora has nurtured for the whole of their lives is like a 4th sibling -- a part of the family -- and One, Two, and Three are the main characters in the next chapter of the Bourne tragedy.
Each chapter of the book is narrated by one of the three sisters. The story is full of small town characters you will fall in love with. I especially love the development of the triplets' relationship and the mostly complex way that Frankel depicts disability. The wealthy Templeton family might seem a bit like caricatures but honestly, Capitalism is the real villain of the book, so maybe not. Of course the mother Nora was one of the highlights of the book for me -- nurturing her quest for justice as she raises her daughters and cares for a town. Frankel's depiction of her is so real -- so believable -- that I wanted to bring her a meal and do a load of laundry so she could take a nap.
I can't give away the ending because it is so damn perfect. Read the book. You won't be sorry.
Each chapter of the book is narrated by one of the three sisters. The story is full of small town characters you will fall in love with. I especially love the development of the triplets' relationship and the mostly complex way that Frankel depicts disability. The wealthy Templeton family might seem a bit like caricatures but honestly, Capitalism is the real villain of the book, so maybe not. Of course the mother Nora was one of the highlights of the book for me -- nurturing her quest for justice as she raises her daughters and cares for a town. Frankel's depiction of her is so real -- so believable -- that I wanted to bring her a meal and do a load of laundry so she could take a nap.
I can't give away the ending because it is so damn perfect. Read the book. You won't be sorry.
Listened to this on audiobook, narrated by Emma Galvin as Mab, Jesse Vilinsky as Monday, and Rebecca Soler as Mirabel.
You know that quote, "The one unforgivable sin is to be boring"? Unfortunately, this novel is gravely guilty of that.
Very little actually happens in this book, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing - I can enjoy a good character-driven novel if it's written well - but One Two Three spends so much time trying to impress you with how dramatic and dire every little thing is. Over and over and over again. The narrative flow is to have a chapter for each triplet in order - one, two, three, then repeat - but for some reason this often resulted in each sister retelling what the previous sister just narrated in her own words. This is especially painful when listening/reading to two or more of these chapters back to back - it's frustrating to realize you're just reading a repeat of the last chapter, and yet the narrators still want to impress upon you how incredible their story is. If everything is presented as high drama, then nothing is dramatic - it all just becomes exhausting and tedious. This really disappoints me because the story's actual subject matter is a very important one that's worth writing about - I just don't feel it was done well here.
So much of the actual story line feels too convenient. Without getting into spoilers, it's a little baffling how so much progress is made literally only because the antagonists all decide to give away key pieces of information to our protagonist - completely of their own volition - even when it makes no sense. The ending as well was kind of... strange. No spoilers here, but it seemed way too convenient that there were so many open doors in front of our protagonists in the last chapter, and that there were literally no repercussions at all for what happened.
Story and pacing aside, my biggest gripe with this book was how insufferable Mab was. It's like she can't decide whether she has a hero complex or a victim complex. She's sarcastic, impatient, and worst of all just outright mean to her sisters, especially to Monday. Her chapters are also the most prone to repetitive similes and thesaurus abuse. Every single paragraph is peppered with sections like: "It's not quite like a this, almost like a this, or maybe even a this - so-and-so would say (insert SAT prep word here)." It's like listening to someone try to write their first creative essay. I'll admit that part of my frustration with her character may be that she was voiced by Emma Galvin, whom I've realized is not to my taste at all. Galvin's reading style puts a lot of emphasis on emotional inflection - her readings are very breathy and shaky, almost like she's about to start crying, and she ends every sentence as though it were a doubtful, half-hearted question. It's just tiring to listen to. I can't take her "male character" voice seriously either - it has a comical effect so I always picture the men she narrates as doofs.
On a positive note, I did enjoy the chapters told by Monday and Mirabel. Monday in particular had a wonderful way of looking at the world, and getting to be in her head was always a pleasant reprieve after another annoying Mab chapter. Unfortunately, these two sisters always feel second place to Mab, who's often presented as the main protagonist.
I almost dropped this book on multiple separate occasions, but the high praise it received made me stick it through just to see if it would eventually get better. In the end, I feel that it unfortunately only got more tiresome, and by the last chapter I ended up just letting it play in the background while multitasking.
Also, a heads up if you also want to listen to this as an audiobook - be aware that there is a lot of arguing and shouting in this book, which is not super pleasant to listen to.
A few other notes below that may contain spoilers:
It was extremely uncomfortable hearing about two 16-year-olds awkwardly leading up to and then frequently having sex, especially considering there was no chemistry between them that would make that kind of relationship make sense. We're just told that their relationship is magical and wonderful, not shown anything at all that indicates that.
Mirabel was done so dirty - she was by far a more interesting character than Mab, but we hardly get to see her do anything. She's always just witnessing things. Couldn't she have been given more meaningful relationships she gets to engage in? I get that this is an important part of her background, but wouldn't this story have been a great opportunity to allow her to find some of what she's been looking for?
You know that quote, "The one unforgivable sin is to be boring"? Unfortunately, this novel is gravely guilty of that.
Very little actually happens in this book, which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing - I can enjoy a good character-driven novel if it's written well - but One Two Three spends so much time trying to impress you with how dramatic and dire every little thing is. Over and over and over again. The narrative flow is to have a chapter for each triplet in order - one, two, three, then repeat - but for some reason this often resulted in each sister retelling what the previous sister just narrated in her own words. This is especially painful when listening/reading to two or more of these chapters back to back - it's frustrating to realize you're just reading a repeat of the last chapter, and yet the narrators still want to impress upon you how incredible their story is. If everything is presented as high drama, then nothing is dramatic - it all just becomes exhausting and tedious. This really disappoints me because the story's actual subject matter is a very important one that's worth writing about - I just don't feel it was done well here.
So much of the actual story line feels too convenient. Without getting into spoilers, it's a little baffling how so much progress is made literally only because the antagonists all decide to give away key pieces of information to our protagonist - completely of their own volition - even when it makes no sense. The ending as well was kind of... strange. No spoilers here, but it seemed way too convenient that there were so many open doors in front of our protagonists in the last chapter, and that there were literally no repercussions at all for what happened.
Story and pacing aside, my biggest gripe with this book was how insufferable Mab was. It's like she can't decide whether she has a hero complex or a victim complex. She's sarcastic, impatient, and worst of all just outright mean to her sisters, especially to Monday. Her chapters are also the most prone to repetitive similes and thesaurus abuse. Every single paragraph is peppered with sections like: "It's not quite like a this, almost like a this, or maybe even a this - so-and-so would say (insert SAT prep word here)." It's like listening to someone try to write their first creative essay. I'll admit that part of my frustration with her character may be that she was voiced by Emma Galvin, whom I've realized is not to my taste at all. Galvin's reading style puts a lot of emphasis on emotional inflection - her readings are very breathy and shaky, almost like she's about to start crying, and she ends every sentence as though it were a doubtful, half-hearted question. It's just tiring to listen to. I can't take her "male character" voice seriously either - it has a comical effect so I always picture the men she narrates as doofs.
On a positive note, I did enjoy the chapters told by Monday and Mirabel. Monday in particular had a wonderful way of looking at the world, and getting to be in her head was always a pleasant reprieve after another annoying Mab chapter. Unfortunately, these two sisters always feel second place to Mab, who's often presented as the main protagonist.
I almost dropped this book on multiple separate occasions, but the high praise it received made me stick it through just to see if it would eventually get better. In the end, I feel that it unfortunately only got more tiresome, and by the last chapter I ended up just letting it play in the background while multitasking.
Also, a heads up if you also want to listen to this as an audiobook - be aware that there is a lot of arguing and shouting in this book, which is not super pleasant to listen to.
A few other notes below that may contain spoilers:
It was extremely uncomfortable hearing about two 16-year-olds awkwardly leading up to and then frequently having sex, especially considering there was no chemistry between them that would make that kind of relationship make sense. We're just told that their relationship is magical and wonderful, not shown anything at all that indicates that.
Mirabel was done so dirty - she was by far a more interesting character than Mab, but we hardly get to see her do anything. She's always just witnessing things. Couldn't she have been given more meaningful relationships she gets to engage in? I get that this is an important part of her background, but wouldn't this story have been a great opportunity to allow her to find some of what she's been looking for?
I listened to this audiobook and not only is it a great story, but the narrator did a fantastic job of making it easy to keep the characters straight.
This is an interesting story of a small town hit hard by greed, lies, and the repercussions to the townspeople because of it - told from triplet teenage girls' POV.
The triplets have very different personalities, and they shine in this story. Great research, great depth to the characters, and a fulfilling story of hope, grief, choices, and the trust and love that builds a town... and a family.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this great audiobook.
This is an interesting story of a small town hit hard by greed, lies, and the repercussions to the townspeople because of it - told from triplet teenage girls' POV.
The triplets have very different personalities, and they shine in this story. Great research, great depth to the characters, and a fulfilling story of hope, grief, choices, and the trust and love that builds a town... and a family.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy of this great audiobook.