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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Blood, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
probably closer to 4.5 stars because I have a love hate relationship with the way this one ends out. But a great read for those of us who's mental health, especially when seamingly generational, has been a confusing thing our whole lives.
Very smart book. LOL-funny at times with a lot of sadness and emotional depth. Loved the Martha / Ingrid sister relationship the most- would love a sequel focused on Ingrid.
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
this felt like a redemption story.
i found martha quite literally awful. she leans into victim mentality and exhausts the people around her. she acts terribly and lacks accountability.
but although the main character is utterly unbearable, the author has this ability to transcend her awfulness and tell a wholesome story. a story about how martha is awful and comes to discover her own awfulness, but starts to take steps to just go for it and be better. the authors paints this image of how martha is sinking her own ship whilst everyone around her is throwing life jackets at her until they run out.
the author had this way of really leaning into ambiguity. by not putting to words martha’s illness she abstracts from that being the sole reason of martha’s downward spiral, or accounting for her actions, how she treats others, and how she treats herself.
the ending is also ambiguous and really emphasises that two people together are really the only people in the world.
…
“he had an extravagant energy that animated him and anesthetized whoever he was talking to and was in on the joke of how beautiful he was.”
“because when suffering is unavoidable, the only thing one gets to choose is the backdrop.”
“he was old and did not believe in computers or women coming to work in trousers.”
“that i'm not good at being a person. i seem to find it more difficult to be alive than other people.”
“i’ve been a new man for six months.”
i found martha quite literally awful. she leans into victim mentality and exhausts the people around her. she acts terribly and lacks accountability.
but although the main character is utterly unbearable, the author has this ability to transcend her awfulness and tell a wholesome story. a story about how martha is awful and comes to discover her own awfulness, but starts to take steps to just go for it and be better. the authors paints this image of how martha is sinking her own ship whilst everyone around her is throwing life jackets at her until they run out.
the author had this way of really leaning into ambiguity. by not putting to words martha’s illness she abstracts from that being the sole reason of martha’s downward spiral, or accounting for her actions, how she treats others, and how she treats herself.
the ending is also ambiguous and really emphasises that two people together are really the only people in the world.
…
“he had an extravagant energy that animated him and anesthetized whoever he was talking to and was in on the joke of how beautiful he was.”
“because when suffering is unavoidable, the only thing one gets to choose is the backdrop.”
“he was old and did not believe in computers or women coming to work in trousers.”
“that i'm not good at being a person. i seem to find it more difficult to be alive than other people.”
“i’ve been a new man for six months.”