Reviews

The People We Choose by Katelyn Detweiler

sbojo32's review against another edition

3.0

The blurb definitely gave too much of this away. I would have been much happier had I not known basically the entire book. I did like the character of Calliope, but I felt that she was a little too self-involved. She grew up in this backwoods town that she defends all the time, but also wants to get out. She lives with her moms and knows she was donor-conceived. Her best friend is a lesbian in a town that doesn't welcome gays (yet, half the characters in the book are gay?).

There was just a few things that were odd. Her relationship with childhood best friend Noah seemed strained and again, selfish. Calliope was so selfish she basically ditched him and her other friend as soon as she met her love interest. The change from love interest to brother was bizarre as was how it all played out.

I liked the concept, but the execution was not great.

exundly's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

jasihay's review against another edition

4.0

Super quick read with really fleshed out characters and dense prose. I found myself thinking about this book when I wasn’t reading it and wanting to dive into it when I came home from work, which is rare for me! The only reason I’m giving it 4/5 stars because the biggest spoiler was on the book jacket. I would’ve rather gone into this blind without knowing about Elliot. Otherwise super great story! I’ll definitely be reading more of this author in the future.

jessloveslit's review against another edition

4.0

It will never stop tickling me to read about my hometown painted so lovingly in a novel. I will never stop supporting Katelyn Detweiler and all of her work. I love the imagination and the improbable scenarios that her characters find themselves in. When you read a book like hers, you realize the possibilities for story telling are endless. Her stories always have fresh ideas and perspectives.

I really liked this story. Thistle Tate took on the idea of toxic families and an imperfect narrator who is trying to make amends and tell her truth. This story shows a family that is almost too perfect and wholesome. The choice on how the relationships are shown in this story give me a lot to chew on.

I read through this in three days. Once I got to a certain turning point, I couldn't put it down. A fantastic summer read.

tiareleine's review against another edition

3.0

Very strange premise, but good characters and a decent exploration of the idea. Although, the SYNOPSIS revealed to use that Calliope and Max are biological half-siblings, and yet we had to wait HALF the book for them to find out. I get that we needed to experience them falling in love so we could understand their reaction to the reveal, and I get that this kind of reveal would be super revolting as a surprise and could be triggering so the publisher played it safe by being upfront about it, BUT that made the first HALF of the book pretty excruciating because WE KNOW this horrible information that they don't know and we have to watch them date (eww) thinking "please stop, please stop, please stop." I don't know what would have been a better approach, maybe this was the best one, but 3 stars for a decent book is maybe just what has to be given an icky premise.

sxl04260's review against another edition

challenging emotional lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I wish that the major plot twist of the whole book wasn’t revealed in the inside cover summary… I thought it would be covered quickly in the story, but it wasn’t until halfway through the book that it was finally revealed. 

maat_firven's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

mammaj's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.25

The build-up to the plot of the book was beautiful but once it reached its climax the rest of the story fell off. I didn't really enjoy how we got to the conclusion, it felt like something was missing.

karynreads's review against another edition

0.25

This book is incredibly insulting to donor-conceived individuals like myself. While reading this book, I felt othered and ashamed, and do not recommend it to any other donor-conceived people or people wanting to read an accurate portrayal of what it's like to be donor-conceived.

hcarson's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

4.5