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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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:
Yes
Wow - this book will stay with me for a long time. The writing was absolutely exquisite, and I bookmarked so many quotes (listed below). Despite knowing from the outset that there was a suicide plot line, I was surprised and moved by how dark and realistic things got. For some reason I didn't think Phoebe would actually take the pills , but her whole journey felt so raw and realistic that it ended up making sense that she did. In fact, I loved how frank Phoebe was able to be throughout the whole book with the reality of the rock bottom she was in. It felt so believable it was breathtaking.
I absolutely adored both Phoebe and Gary, and since I felt that their connection was so authentic and strong from the first time they met, it was gratifying to see them both acknowledge that and ultimately develop feelings for each other. I'm, of course, glad thatthe wedding was called off , but I'm even happier that Lila and Gary reached that decision on their own, and that there wasn't a 'speak now or forever hold your peace' moment or an 'I'm calling this off because I'm in love with Phoebe' moment, because the author could have easily gone that way. I also like that there wasn't a forced, saccharine HEA, but rather that the author heavily foreshadowed the Phoebe's and Gary's eventual life built together but didn't spell it out entirely.
Finally, I want to say that I loved Juice. Her quirky, standoffish personality felt spot on for a tween who was still dealing with the heavy grief of losing her Mom at such a critical age. It was also just beautiful to see how well Phoebe slotted so easily into the mother role Juice had been desperately needing to fill, all without Phoebe having really any real-life experience of what to do. It affirmed for me that a woman doesn't have to be a biological mom to have a motherly instinct - they just need to treat a kid like a human, with respect, dignity, and patience. At the end of the book, I feel so incredibly hopeful for the wonderful life Phoebe is going to get to live despite the very dark start. It gives me a sense of hope for my own life too, after starting over midway through unexpectedly.
Chapter 2, 17:10: "She didn't know what her problem was, and she hated how eager she was for Bob to tell her. How much of her life had she spent in this moment, waiting for someone else to decide something conclusive about her."
Chapter 6, 1:57: "But luckily, Pheobe's phone is dead. She decides never to look at her phone again. She doesn't see the point in staying alive only to do all the same things that made her want to die."
Chapter 10, 33:38: "The wife is the reason the man becomes the architect. The mistress is the reason the architect keeps building."
Chapter 11 41:23: "Ever since I've arrived here, I've had this feeling that we're just pretending to still be friends...re-enacting the friendship the way it used to be, when we were actually close," Lila says. That was how Phoebe felt at the end of her marriage. They re-enacted the beginning, went on date nights, invited each other to things. Matt was always saying "Sure, yes! Come to happy hour!" but she could feel how he didn't really care if she came. Her presence had somehow become irrelevant to her own husband. And how are people supposed to tolerate that kind of pain? How are you supposed to go from being the center of someone's world to being irrelevant? To sobbing in your best friend's arms unthinkingly, to being afraid to call them after your father dies. Pheobe doesn't know. She, too, was caught unprepared by that kind of loss.
Chapter 18, 12:17: "I think we talk about happiness all wrong. As if it's this fixed state we're going to reach. Like we'll just be able to live there forever. But that's not my experience with happiness. For me it comes and goes. It shows up and disappears, like a bubble."
Chapter 18, 13:07: To collect is to care more than most. But it is also to hoard. To take things out of the world and make them only yours.
Chapter 18, 19:32: She wonders if her feelings for Gary could be a new form of love - one she's never known before. Love without expectation. Love that you are just happy enough to feel. Love that you don't try to own, like a painting. But she doesn't know if that is a real thing. She hopes it is.
Chapter 19, 10:39: She remembers her own wedding. How just making all those decisions together in some way married them. Each handshake was a way of saying "I do. I do. I do."
Chapter 24, 14:08: Gary: "It spooks me. That I didn't call off the wedding. After the rehersal dinner, when I came to you, I knew something was wrong." Pheobe: "So what happened?" Gary: "I didn't trust myself. I didn't trust what I was feeling." Pheobe: "Funny how you can live long enough, go through enough, and learn how to stop trusting yourself." Gary: "And by funny, I assume you mean terrifying? Because I wasn't happy, but I didn't think that was a problem. Because I was convinced happiness wasn't real. Until I met you. But I didn't trust that feeling either. I just met you. It was my wedding week. And then your husband showed up, and so after I left you in your room, I waited for hours to see if you would text me. Like that would decide it. Like it was some kind of test of the universe? If she texts me, this is real. If she texts me, I'll call it off. I'll take the plunge." Pheobe: "But I didn't." Gary: "I should have done it anyway."
It is not an easy thing to do - walk away from what you've built and save yourself. Destroying Pheobe's marriage felt like destroying herself. Walking out of the classroom felt like killing the 22 year old who tried to save her own life by applying to graduate school. It is so much easier to sit in things and wait for something to save us. For the past two years, Pheobe sat in the bad things the way she used to sit in the snow as a child. An hour would go by, and it would be very hard for her to get back up. Eventually, she looked down at her toes, and became confused. "Why are they frozen?" It was her father who picked her up, said it's time to come inside. But now she has to learn when it's time to come inside. She has to learn to check in with her toes when nobody else is looking. To care for them when no one else will."
I absolutely adored both Phoebe and Gary, and since I felt that their connection was so authentic and strong from the first time they met, it was gratifying to see them both acknowledge that and ultimately develop feelings for each other. I'm, of course, glad that
Finally, I want to say that I loved Juice. Her quirky, standoffish personality felt spot on for a tween who was still dealing with the heavy grief of losing her Mom at such a critical age. It was also just beautiful to see how well Phoebe slotted so easily into the mother role Juice had been desperately needing to fill, all without Phoebe having really any real-life experience of what to do. It affirmed for me that a woman doesn't have to be a biological mom to have a motherly instinct - they just need to treat a kid like a human, with respect, dignity, and patience. At the end of the book, I feel so incredibly hopeful for the wonderful life Phoebe is going to get to live despite the very dark start. It gives me a sense of hope for my own life too, after starting over midway through unexpectedly.
Chapter 2, 17:10: "She didn't know what her problem was, and she hated how eager she was for Bob to tell her. How much of her life had she spent in this moment, waiting for someone else to decide something conclusive about her."
Chapter 6, 1:57: "But luckily, Pheobe's phone is dead. She decides never to look at her phone again. She doesn't see the point in staying alive only to do all the same things that made her want to die."
Chapter 10, 33:38: "The wife is the reason the man becomes the architect. The mistress is the reason the architect keeps building."
Chapter 11 41:23: "Ever since I've arrived here, I've had this feeling that we're just pretending to still be friends...re-enacting the friendship the way it used to be, when we were actually close," Lila says. That was how Phoebe felt at the end of her marriage. They re-enacted the beginning, went on date nights, invited each other to things. Matt was always saying "Sure, yes! Come to happy hour!" but she could feel how he didn't really care if she came. Her presence had somehow become irrelevant to her own husband. And how are people supposed to tolerate that kind of pain? How are you supposed to go from being the center of someone's world to being irrelevant? To sobbing in your best friend's arms unthinkingly, to being afraid to call them after your father dies. Pheobe doesn't know. She, too, was caught unprepared by that kind of loss.
Chapter 18, 12:17: "I think we talk about happiness all wrong. As if it's this fixed state we're going to reach. Like we'll just be able to live there forever. But that's not my experience with happiness. For me it comes and goes. It shows up and disappears, like a bubble."
Chapter 18, 13:07: To collect is to care more than most. But it is also to hoard. To take things out of the world and make them only yours.
Chapter 18, 19:32: She wonders if her feelings for Gary could be a new form of love - one she's never known before. Love without expectation. Love that you are just happy enough to feel. Love that you don't try to own, like a painting. But she doesn't know if that is a real thing. She hopes it is.
Chapter 19, 10:39: She remembers her own wedding. How just making all those decisions together in some way married them. Each handshake was a way of saying "I do. I do. I do."
Chapter 24, 14:08: Gary: "It spooks me. That I didn't call off the wedding. After the rehersal dinner, when I came to you, I knew something was wrong." Pheobe: "So what happened?" Gary: "I didn't trust myself. I didn't trust what I was feeling." Pheobe: "Funny how you can live long enough, go through enough, and learn how to stop trusting yourself." Gary: "And by funny, I assume you mean terrifying? Because I wasn't happy, but I didn't think that was a problem. Because I was convinced happiness wasn't real. Until I met you. But I didn't trust that feeling either. I just met you. It was my wedding week. And then your husband showed up, and so after I left you in your room, I waited for hours to see if you would text me. Like that would decide it. Like it was some kind of test of the universe? If she texts me, this is real. If she texts me, I'll call it off. I'll take the plunge." Pheobe: "But I didn't." Gary: "I should have done it anyway."
It is not an easy thing to do - walk away from what you've built and save yourself. Destroying Pheobe's marriage felt like destroying herself. Walking out of the classroom felt like killing the 22 year old who tried to save her own life by applying to graduate school. It is so much easier to sit in things and wait for something to save us. For the past two years, Pheobe sat in the bad things the way she used to sit in the snow as a child. An hour would go by, and it would be very hard for her to get back up. Eventually, she looked down at her toes, and became confused. "Why are they frozen?" It was her father who picked her up, said it's time to come inside. But now she has to learn when it's time to come inside. She has to learn to check in with her toes when nobody else is looking. To care for them when no one else will."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Miscarriage, Abandonment
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-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
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Wedding People was an inspiring story about learning how to become who you truly are. I enjoyed the overall message and the moments of self-discovery throughout the book. That said, it didn’t fully grab me the way I hoped—it had some beautiful parts, but also sections that felt a little slow. Still, I appreciated the theme of growth and authenticity, and I think readers looking for an uplifting, thoughtful story will enjoy it.
The Wedding People was an inspiring story about learning how to become who you truly are. I enjoyed the overall message and the moments of self-discovery throughout the book. That said, it didn’t fully grab me the way I hoped—it had some beautiful parts, but also sections that felt a little slow. Still, I appreciated the theme of growth and authenticity, and I think readers looking for an uplifting, thoughtful story will enjoy it.
emotional
funny
fast-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
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
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
Honestly, I really liked this. These people are messy AF, but it sort of works. I don’t know that I would want to know or spend time with any of them, but reading about them was great.
dark
medium-paced