Reviews with content warning for Addiction - Tom Lake

I adored this book. It was such a lovely treat to listen to, I could just dwell in the audiobook for as long as it would go on. It was a slow and calming read with a lot of nostalgia and romance (in the sense that life was romanticized, past and present, because of the good that came out of it in the end). It made me want to have more children and revel in their individuality and dreams and share with them my own past and dreams. It made me want to get involved with community theatre again. It made me want to move to Michigan and work on a cherry tree farm. There are definitely hardships/traumas mentioned, but not explicitly, since Lara is telling the story after years have gone by and she has a broader perspective. She also dictates how her story is told to her grown children and keeps a couple secrets to herself, though the reader gets let in on those secrets covertly. There isn’t really a climax or big reveal, though a few small twists and turns as you follow the story. I felt like Lara’s fourth daughter listening in on this story being told and I’m in a bit of a book hangover now that that world is over for me. It felt so realistic.

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lalalauren_'s review against another edition

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lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? No

5.0

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hannahksc's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I enjoyed this book, it’s well written and easy to read (or listen to, as I listened to some of it) however sometimes you have to guess at which character is speaking. The story itself was nice but it didn’t have a strong hook, and though I enjoyed reading it, I probably could have put it down part way and not thought of it again. (Though I didn’t because it was for my book club) There were a few random parts

such as Emily’s reason for not wanting children

It’s fine to not want children, but to have a small climate change speech out of the blue and then never mention it again was weird. I also thought “what was the point of that, other then to be randomly depressing” when the talked about Brian and then the abortion.

Overall I enjoyed the book other then the two mentioned parts, and am glad I read it.

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moack_5's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective 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? No

4.0

An interesting walk through the life of a young woman. Involving fame, career, family, and sickness. A retelling of a story of fame to a sweet family.

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athenap92's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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maceydowns's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

feeling a bit like this book taught me the same lesson as everything everywhere all at once — but maybe that’s just the lesson I’m seeking right now.

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katietregs's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Quite sentimental. Not a lot of twists and turns. The writing is good, but most of the characters feel quite flat. Very pro farm. My main takeaway is that this woman loves farm.

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careyyann's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective slow-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? It's complicated

2.5

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