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chimichannika's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
A very emotional, touching, sweet, riveting, heartfelt tale of love— romantic, yes, but just as much about familial and platonic love, as well. A few moments stuck out to me as an, oh yes, this is a very white, cishet, British book (not just in terms of turns of phrase, but the sensibilities/mindset of the narration) and at first I was a bit concerned it was going to go for the whole gay best friend trope with Bobby and Robin being her adorably in love gay neighbors, but they ended up being wonderfully three-dimensional characters and kind of the emotional bedrock of the book. I wish we could’ve gotten more on the noodles shop—what kind of noodles? Ramen? Udon? Pho? It’s never made clear, as all we really know about Bobby’s culture is his family name—Han—and that he owns a noodle shop franchise, and I wanted more info on them! there’s also a weirdly phrased allusion to Bobby’s aunt in the very first chapter that took me out of the story and seemed vaguely derogatory and racist. Thankfully this seemed to be a one-off occurrence and the book is mostly unproblematic throughout. My other detractor was that the character repeatedly refers to the adage that “blood is thicker than water” and with this book having both UK and US editors, I would’ve hoped someone would’ve caught that or at least had Iris learn the full phrase, which literally means the opposite of how she uses it in this book. this isn’t nearly as upsetting as the weird racist comment at the start, but it still brought me out of the story each time it happened.
Apart from these things, though, it was still a riveting book that I didn’t want to put down— the depictions of the utter depth, acceptance, loyalty, and love that the Belotti family had for one another had me in tears at several points, as did the beautiful friendship bonds in the book, as well. This is my second of Josie’s books that I’ve read, the first being The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, and in both of them she manages to depict all of the complicated emotions surrounding grief so relatably and so well. The scene near the end of this book where Iris felt at a good place emotionally to release her mother’s ashes was so beautifully, emotionally, poignantly written, as was the love that was so blatantly evident between them, as well. I also particularly loved the line midway through the book that reads: “..I’ve learned since losing my mother that there is always a missing piece at any festivity or celebration. Other things and other people do not fill in that space, the river simply flows around it.” beautifully written. ♡
Another thing I particularly appreciated about this book was the characters’ choices and motivations— while I didn’t agree with some of the choices characters made, or like to think I would’ve done things differently, I didn’t have a clear answer for what the “right” or “best” solution would be in the situations in the book; there was no clear, easy resolution, and it not only made the characters and their choices more sympathetic, but also made them seem more realistic, too.
All in all a sweet, emotional, riveting book, and the only reason it’s getting a 4.5 instead of 5 from me is for the detractors mentioned at the start of my review. I’m also very happy to report that nothing except good things ever happens to the kitty, and he is very well loved and cared for throughout the entire book ♡ a brief heads up that this book contains depictions of abuse and escaping/surviving abuse that may be triggering to survivors, but also a note that the survivor gets her abuser-free, safe future at the end of the book ❣️ please be sure to check the trigger warnings on this book if this is something that may cause you distress while reading 🫶🏻
p. s. the music references in this book were fun to see (although the “famous piano piece” being The Entertainer did give me a good chuckle!) and I kept thinking throughout this book that this novel definitely deserves a spotify playlist with the songs mentioned in the book all compiled in it! maybe a fun fan project to undertake upon a reread sometime :)
Apart from these things, though, it was still a riveting book that I didn’t want to put down— the depictions of the utter depth, acceptance, loyalty, and love that the Belotti family had for one another had me in tears at several points, as did the beautiful friendship bonds in the book, as well. This is my second of Josie’s books that I’ve read, the first being The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, and in both of them she manages to depict all of the complicated emotions surrounding grief so relatably and so well. The scene near the end of this book where
Another thing I particularly appreciated about this book was the characters’ choices and motivations— while I didn’t agree with some of the choices characters made, or like to think I would’ve done things differently, I didn’t have a clear answer for what the “right” or “best” solution would be in the situations in the book; there was no clear, easy resolution, and it not only made the characters and their choices more sympathetic, but also made them seem more realistic, too.
All in all a sweet, emotional, riveting book, and the only reason it’s getting a 4.5 instead of 5 from me is for the detractors mentioned at the start of my review. I’m also very happy to report that nothing except good things ever happens to the kitty, and he is very well loved and cared for throughout the entire book ♡ a brief heads up that this book contains depictions of abuse and escaping/surviving abuse that may be triggering to survivors, but also a note that the survivor gets her abuser-free, safe future at the end of the book ❣️ please be sure to check the trigger warnings on this book if this is something that may cause you distress while reading 🫶🏻
p. s. the music references in this book were fun to see (although the
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Cancer, and Drug use
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