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useyourgoodeye's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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? N/A
4.5
This book has characters that you will fall in love with and feel their triumphs and tragedies alongside them. Very well written and engaging!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Cancer
Minor: Death, Infidelity, Addiction, Car accident, and Child death
stefappleton's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cancer, and Addiction
rachelkreadsbookz's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death
Moderate: Violence and Child death
eklinar's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, and Pregnancy
Trigger warning for still birth/infant lossc_serpent's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
"When you want to make a reader feel pity, try to be somewhat colder-- that seems to give a kind of background to another's grief, against which it stands out more clearly. Whereas in your story the characters cry and you sigh. Yes, be more cold . . . the more objective you are, the stronger will be the impression you make." -Anton Chekhov, Russian playwright and writer
This book was okay. I looked up a picture of the author and he looked like what I expected. It ended the way I expected. The characters did things that made sense, and these things were recounted in a banal, sometimes mawkish literary voice, and then it was over.
I think Chekhov wouldn't like this book. I think the subtext in this book was just the text. When you do that to a story, you're sort of ironing it. Making it flat. Or maybe it just came flat, and Joella never bothered to inflate it. I'm not sure which, and unfortunately, I don't really care that much.
This book was fine. It didn't move me. It sort of felt like wasted time, but that's okay, because I listened to it almost entirely at work. The narrator, Sean, seems like a nice man and he did all right. The writer, Joella, seems uninspired and I don't think I'll pick up his books again.
Three stars, because that's half of the stars, but really it should be 2.5. Since I cannot be bothered to find a pair of scissors with which to cut the star in half, three stars will have to do.
This book was okay. I looked up a picture of the author and he looked like what I expected. It ended the way I expected. The characters did things that made sense, and these things were recounted in a banal, sometimes mawkish literary voice, and then it was over.
I think Chekhov wouldn't like this book. I think the subtext in this book was just the text. When you do that to a story, you're sort of ironing it. Making it flat. Or maybe it just came flat, and Joella never bothered to inflate it. I'm not sure which, and unfortunately, I don't really care that much.
This book was fine. It didn't move me. It sort of felt like wasted time, but that's okay, because I listened to it almost entirely at work. The narrator, Sean, seems like a nice man and he did all right. The writer, Joella, seems uninspired and I don't think I'll pick up his books again.
Three stars, because that's half of the stars, but really it should be 2.5. Since I cannot be bothered to find a pair of scissors with which to cut the star in half, three stars will have to do.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
thesouthwestkindle's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Terminal illness and Cancer
Minor: Car accident, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Addiction, Child death, and Infidelity
katievh's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Grief
Moderate: Miscarriage, Infidelity, Child death, and Drug abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Car accident, and Death of parent
amandalorianxo's review
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
3.0
When I heard Ethan Joella’a novels were going to be added to the BOTM collection, I decided to give his first one a go. This definitely doesn’t feel at all like a plot based book. It reads like a collection of novellas/short stories centered around a specific group of people living in Connecticut. Some of the content was tugging at me (my heart almost broke with Luke & his experiences) so be prepared for sadness planted early on (cancer diagnosis, character using drugs, death, pregnancy, infidelity, lost love.) I think if this had a plot to tie it all together I would have enjoyed it more but this could have been slightly shorter in terms of page length.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Car accident, Infidelity, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death
aus10england's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Eh????? This was good for the right person I suppose. I found it very hard to follow, and then it was over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Cancer
Moderate: Miscarriage
meyink's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Cancer, Death, and Grief