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amvorbach's review against another edition
5.0
Truly enjoyed this book, in particular for what it conveys about the power of friendship and acceptance.
enoughspoonsforreading's review against another edition
3.0
*3.5
Struggled through the beginning but liked the second half.
Struggled through the beginning but liked the second half.
emily_loves_coffee's review against another edition
5.0
THIS WAS SO GOOD! Wow. This sat on my bookshelf for years. For some reason I assumed it was going to be like Where'd You Go, Bernadette? and so I avoided it. Nope. Not at all. It was amazing. A perfect blend of heavy topics and humor. I laughed several times ("The Lord giveth and taketh away" being said in reference to going to country club for a buffet made me spit my coffee out). I loved the story and the well-developed characters. Highly recommend.
wooten88's review against another edition
5.0
Let's get some PRAISE HANDS for this book. Seriously. If you trust me for book recommendations, read this. One of the best narrators I've ever had the pleasure to meet, indeed one of the most delightful cast of characters. I am inspired and humbled by Eleanor's story, and if you've ever felt lonely, different, or damaged, struggled to deal with events from your past, or just taken delight in making a friend (especially as an adult, when new opportunities for friendship are rare), this is a book with which you won't be able to help connecting. It's also a really good example of why, no matter what, it's never a bad idea to be kind to people--you really never know when a little kindness can make all the difference.
eprater's review against another edition
5.0
Fire tests gold... beautifully written. Some passages made me physically laugh, and pages later, I was gutted over some heartbreaking parts. I fell in love with Eleanor's candid remarks, her stoic way of life, and all of Raymond's quirk. Such an amazing debut novel.
starryclaudia's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
tiffanyskidmore's review against another edition
5.0
This book was a delight! Meaningful and dealing with heavy subject matter, it made me laugh, pause, feel lots of feels, and think. I couldn’t put it down!
loveinkind's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.0
lanieq's review against another edition
3.0
Mixed feeling overall. I found Eleanor unlikeable for most of the book, largely because she's so condescending and judgmental of everyone around her for the most superficial reasons. You figure out kind of early on why this is, but it doesn't make it any less annoying. I did have a lot of empathy for her, understanding what it's like to be socially awkward and to grow up in an abusive home, and how you internalize the voice of your abuser(s) so that you don't even realize it's their voice and not your own. This, along with the fact that a lot of her takes on things were humorous, and the genuinely kind people who come into her life, kept me going. But then, despite how horrific her childhood was and the fact that at 30 years old she's spent most of her life burying her trauma and has had no real relationships with others, she seems to make dramatic progress after a few months of outpatient therapy. She grows a lot as a person, but then near the end still mentally refers to an overweight person on the bus as a "fatty". And the totally unnecessary twist near the end, that never gets any real attention after it's revealed, just one throwaway sentence about how this is something she'll need to work on with her therapist. Usually when there is a dramatic twist, it throws everything that came before in a whole new light. But in this case, it really doesn't add much of anything and instead left me with a feeling of having been lied to over the previous 400+ pages.
whitweaver's review against another edition
4.0
It took me longer than I would have liked to get into the story, but once I was in I couldn’t put it down. Really liked this new kind of heroine and her story.