Reviews

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

emilyb_chicago's review against another edition

3.0

The book is split into four sections, each covering one of the four siblings who visited a fortune teller in the first pages of the book. I was evenly split on the sections - two of the sections I found wonderful and two I got through because of the better ones. For all that, I really enjoyed the skill it takes to write from different perspectives and even more appreciated the book's interplay between fate and free choice.

abbyprinceatwood's review

3.0

This was a really wonderful book. A fascinating story. I loved learning about these people and their heartbreaking choices. We learned so much about Simon and Klara early in the book and I felt like we missed out on so much of Daniel’s and Varya’s lives. I also feel like some important information was glossed over (Simon won a half marathon at 15? We literally never saw him run in this book. Klara has black outs? Is it because the drinking or something else? Is that why she thinks she can communicate with her brother and dad? I didn’t understand that part at all.)

whit_knee's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated

3.5

bethanyarriaga's review against another edition

I was intrigued by the premise but the execution fell flat for me. I wasn’t invested in the story and it felt a bit all over the place.

keely_ochs's review against another edition

4.0

• not as magical realism as I thought it would be
• really good characters/character development

ray_77's review

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

3.75

larb's review

3.0

I loved the first 1/3 of this book. After that, I found the story got a bit less interesting and I couldn’t relate to or really understand some of the characters choices. The premise is very interesting, but I felt that parts of it fell a little flat and didn’t quite live up to what I was hoping for. I enjoyed the book but felt it had some wasted potential.

soezanneh's review

reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty

Minor: Suicide attempt

emilyeehaw's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

after so many years of having this book on my tbr, i’ve read it! and i really enjoyed it!!!!! exactly the sad type of family story i eat up. 

i do wish we could have gotten more flashbacks of the siblings as children, but even without that, it was a lovely story about family. 

itsbridgette's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.25

The concept was interesting but it fell flat for me. I feel like it could have been 50 pages shorter. By the time we reached Varya’s story, I had already lost interest. The only reason why I’m not giving it less stars is because the author’s prose is good.