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paigecm's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.75
readingpicnic's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Kincaid’s writing is sooo incredible. This is a continuance of my weird girlhood fixation, and Annie John is definitely a strange little girl whom I adored the perspective of. No critiques, I devoured this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Ableism
clarehilsz's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kirjoihinkadonnut's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
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
2.75
jujuwithbooks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
floralfox's review against another edition
4.0
I just read on Wikipedia that Kincaid said Annie and Gwen's relationship was not a homosexual one, but one where they were "practicing" and it would always be assumed that they would go on to lead heterosexual lives. I found this interesting. I thought Annie and Gwen had, literally, (well, in the childish way) fallen in love with each other. I thought the way this was treated in the novel, nonchalantly, was excellent. I'm almost disappointed that this was not how it was intended, though I do like that there is a new way to look at these girls' relationship.
I thought the reveal towards the end that Annie was called "Little Miss" because her mother was also named Annie was excellent. First we were introduced to them and their closeness, then their gap and separation, where they seem completely opposite (or Annie purposefully goes against anything her mother praises or likes). The name reveal made me open my eyes and see that they were really quite similar.
I thought the reveal towards the end that Annie was called "Little Miss" because her mother was also named Annie was excellent. First we were introduced to them and their closeness, then their gap and separation, where they seem completely opposite (or Annie purposefully goes against anything her mother praises or likes). The name reveal made me open my eyes and see that they were really quite similar.
alesun09's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
kamckim's review against another edition
3.0
I really didn’t think it was that big of a deal. Some passages were interesting in a Jungian way, but I can’t identify with any of Kincaid’s mother-daughter dynamics. I need to do some more reading and critical research to understand it. I’ve always felt that my mother’s home is my home, and I’m happy to say that I’m grateful for her love and support over these years. I don’t think I’ve ever been “ambivalent” about our relationship. My story is not another’s story, though, so I’m glad to have heard someone else in her own voice.
joelkarpowitz's review against another edition
3.0
A coming of age story about a young girl in Antigua navigating her growing independence and her up-and-down relationship with her mother. So, you know, right down my alley.
Then again, that's what books are for, in part, right? Getting outside your own experience, growing in empathy, seeing the world from eyes wildly different from your own. Kincaid's writing is readable, honest, and thought-provoking, even if it's relatively light on "plot." Still, Annie John is as "true" a character as I've read recently, full if the paradoxes, and pride and doubt that seems to beset many teenage girls. (Of course my experience is second-hand, but as a high school teacher I've had a lot if contact with young women this age.) it's a short read, but a compelling one. Worth a look.
Then again, that's what books are for, in part, right? Getting outside your own experience, growing in empathy, seeing the world from eyes wildly different from your own. Kincaid's writing is readable, honest, and thought-provoking, even if it's relatively light on "plot." Still, Annie John is as "true" a character as I've read recently, full if the paradoxes, and pride and doubt that seems to beset many teenage girls. (Of course my experience is second-hand, but as a high school teacher I've had a lot if contact with young women this age.) it's a short read, but a compelling one. Worth a look.