Reviews

Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner

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kvincent904's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

3.5 stars. I'm an outlier on this one but it's probably because I've read a lot of WWII literature, good and bad. This was a unique frame on the atrocities committed but I found the perspective switch clunky and thought it would have benefitted from being told in alternating chapters inside of two parts. Also, how do we not get an epilogue from Rosie meeting her daughter? Why do we instead have Helen telling us about the colors? Good, but not my favorite.

cathy61r's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful 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

4.25

Content Warnings

serendipity730's review

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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? No

4.75

bev2596's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

mary235's review

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emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

rr_author's review

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5.0

This was one of my favourite reads of 2023. It was touching, raw and so important.
Meissner was not afraid to write about some dark moments in not only German history, but also American history. Not enough of us know what was going on in North America when it comes to eugenics.
I immediately sympathized and cared for Rosie. I was so drawn into her narrative, all the horrible things she went through, and I rooted for her. When her part of the story was over, I did not want the POV to switch to Maria’s.
However, Maria’s story drew me in just as much. I genuinely cannot pick a favourite of the two women. Both were strong and flawed in their own ways, passionate and caring.
The side characters really shone. The villains were hateable, the plot twists were surprising, and there were so many characters I sympathized for and was so sad for!
The themes in this story were incredible. Regret, doing the right thing, valuing all life - from the unborn conceived in bad situations, to the born who had disabilities or “flaws” as Rosie’s synesthesia is called.
Overall, I think this is a very important book. I will be reading it again.
Content warning: There is a scene with a sexual assault. It didn’t find it too graphic, but you may want to skip or skim.