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2.91 AVERAGE
2.91 AVERAGE
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Lo & Sam's better book bingo/winter reading challenge 2025: "a book with YES in the title"
TWs: r*pe (actual word is written in my review below), inappropriate sexual relationships, and more
Unfortunately, this book is a "no" for me. I found the nanny & young boys relationship mostly endearing --- it's the rest of it that's a huge problem for me. The short of it is /spoilers/ the live-in nanny (who is hired by the grandmother to support twin elementary boys) has sex with the grandfather on more than one occasion à la an affair, has sex with the 18-year-old virgin son (out of drunkenness coupled with a desire to help the young man become a man?), and then experiences an attempted-rape followed by rape by the father, who then comes out as gay and dismisses this as a last attempt to see if he could be with a woman. Then she's pregnant by one of the three men in the family.
The author wrote the MC as sexualizing herself to all three generations throughout the novel, which was used as an "invitation" for two of the three instances outlined above. All of this is portrayed as very agreeable to the nanny (she left home to move to another country for a reason! she always wanted a child and was previously deemed infertile! these men all know themselves better and are finally living their truest lives!). Furthermore, much of this is blamed on the coldness of the grandmother, who then tries to starve herself when she finds out about her husband's affair.
So, very little of the consequential plot line is okay in the slightest. Very strange to pick up this book for a feel good read (with cover reviews such as "lots of fun, joyous" and "so charming"). Don't read it! Or if you do, reflect on some of this shit beyond the narrative of the story!
TWs: r*pe (actual word is written in my review below), inappropriate sexual relationships, and more
Unfortunately, this book is a "no" for me. I found the nanny & young boys relationship mostly endearing --- it's the rest of it that's a huge problem for me. The short of it is /spoilers/ the live-in nanny (who is hired by the grandmother to support twin elementary boys) has sex with the grandfather on more than one occasion à la an affair, has sex with the 18-year-old virgin son (out of drunkenness coupled with a desire to help the young man become a man?), and then experiences an attempted-rape followed by rape by the father, who then comes out as gay and dismisses this as a last attempt to see if he could be with a woman. Then she's pregnant by one of the three men in the family.
The author wrote the MC as sexualizing herself to all three generations throughout the novel, which was used as an "invitation" for two of the three instances outlined above. All of this is portrayed as very agreeable to the nanny (she left home to move to another country for a reason! she always wanted a child and was previously deemed infertile! these men all know themselves better and are finally living their truest lives!). Furthermore, much of this is blamed on the coldness of the grandmother, who then tries to starve herself when she finds out about her husband's affair.
So, very little of the consequential plot line is okay in the slightest. Very strange to pick up this book for a feel good read (with cover reviews such as "lots of fun, joyous" and "so charming"). Don't read it! Or if you do, reflect on some of this shit beyond the narrative of the story!
In "According to Yes", we meet 38-year old Rosie from the UK who escapes from love, family, life and everything else by getting on the first plane to NY city to start life anew. In the big apple, she starts working with a chaotic disrupted upperclass American family, ruled and reigned by "grandma Glenn" who does not in any way seem to tolerate anything that even remotely resembles "fun". She terrorises her husband, her son, her 3 grandsons and maid Iva, and pretty soon also Rosie, who works as a nanny for the young twin boys. Much to Glenn's despair does Rosie develop a really nice relationship, first with the twins, then with all the people in the household and she disrupts the order that used to be and brings - oh no - love in the household. Everything goes well, until some unexpected event turns everything upside down and the fragile balance collapses.
"According to Yes" is a difficult book to rate. You can love it or hate it. I do both.
I totally love the book for the way it describes a dysfunctional family in which all members drive each other crazy yet need and love one another; the way relationships, how fragile they may be, are described. I love the book for the way Rosie, as a total chaotic outsider, manages to steal the hearts of all family members, one by one and how she often gives society a "fuck you" whenever necessary. I love the humor used in the book and the wonderful passages that can be found throughout it, like the one below:
"... How did they slide into this joyless way? It must have been a slow creep, he can't recall a particular moment, a landmark of despair or depression that would have been a clear indicator. Nothing actually happened. It just became this way. And it's not so terrible that he feels the need to get out. She is who she is and he is who he is, just ... sort of less than they were. Tracing paper versions of their vibrant former selves. Less colourful, less lit, less everything ...."
I HATE the book because it is so typical American predictable. All's well that ends well, and you feel it coming from the moment the bubble bursts. I hate the book for the wrong put emphases, boring details that come up over and over again, while other more interesting topics (like : hey, your dad is gay, by the way) are mentioned as if they were of none importance at all. But most importantly, I hate the book for the way Rosie let me down, as character by doing what she did (which I cannot say without spoiling the plot).
Yet overal, a nice read that I enjoyed.
"According to Yes" is a difficult book to rate. You can love it or hate it. I do both.
I totally love the book for the way it describes a dysfunctional family in which all members drive each other crazy yet need and love one another; the way relationships, how fragile they may be, are described. I love the book for the way Rosie, as a total chaotic outsider, manages to steal the hearts of all family members, one by one and how she often gives society a "fuck you" whenever necessary. I love the humor used in the book and the wonderful passages that can be found throughout it, like the one below:
"... How did they slide into this joyless way? It must have been a slow creep, he can't recall a particular moment, a landmark of despair or depression that would have been a clear indicator. Nothing actually happened. It just became this way. And it's not so terrible that he feels the need to get out. She is who she is and he is who he is, just ... sort of less than they were. Tracing paper versions of their vibrant former selves. Less colourful, less lit, less everything ...."
I HATE the book because it is so typical American predictable. All's well that ends well, and you feel it coming from the moment the bubble bursts. I hate the book for the wrong put emphases, boring details that come up over and over again, while other more interesting topics (like : hey, your dad is gay, by the way) are mentioned as if they were of none importance at all. But most importantly, I hate the book for the way Rosie let me down, as character by doing what she did (which I cannot say without spoiling the plot).
Yet overal, a nice read that I enjoyed.
This was weird and uncalled for.
Like why?
It’s written like fairy tale, but a bad complicated out of context one.
Like why?
It’s written like fairy tale, but a bad complicated out of context one.
Not badly written but I found the entire premise of this just a bit disconcerting.
Sex scenes uncomfortable. Questionable consent and age differences.
Loved the friendship between twins and Rosie, more of that, less sex.
Loved the friendship between twins and Rosie, more of that, less sex.
funny
lighthearted
Sorry but I couldn’t even bring myself to finish this book