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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
the tone of this book was so insufferably smug and condescending that it would have completely overshadowed its other good elements — if it had had any
1.5 stars for the occasional catty line that got a chuckle
out of me
1.5 stars for the occasional catty line that got a chuckle
out of me
5, even though it deserves way more
this is one of the best books ive ever read in my life
i need more
this is one of the best books ive ever read in my life
i need more
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Family dynamics man. Cecily is a young/new professor at a liberals art College where she is under investigation for misconduct and relationship problems. Tom, her uncle, has lost his relationship for consistently dropping everything to come to her rescue. Her mom, a free spirit, not reliable but 100% supportive. The 3 fall back to patterns that don't work and learn to grow. Strong characters and character driven.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I initially gave this a 4/5 stars because it kept me interested all the way through. I found the title IX investigation to be by far the most interesting part of the story although it unfortunately only took up a 4th of the book’s time, if that. I actually think I’ll change the rating to a 3/5 after reflecting more on what I didn’t like.
The characters and story were engaging enough, but I agree with a lot of reviews here that there wasn’t a real full circle moment of the arc, it felt more of a vignette of events occurring from point A to point Z that we followed. My biggest peeve was there was 1 “twist” that was hardly a twist at all, just “who’s the father” which turned out to be a pretty pedestrian result all things considered. I was waiting for a second shoe to drop and it never did. I was *convinced* that Charlotte would tell Tom that he was Nolan’s father but sadly the thread of them sleeping together led nowhere.
Speaking of Nolan, what a bizarre case of a useless character. He never actually appeared in the story except in a flashback involving a hilariously awkward molestation that had all of the impact of walking in on someone on the toilet, and the same brief effect of “well that was weird, anyway back to the actual story” to the point where I was bemused as to why it was included at all, and otherwise his name was only used as a bargaining chip of sorts that mattered much more to the characters than the audience.
There was also a flashback of Dorothy’s former business partner who seemed much more interesting than her present day one and I was hoping she would make an appearance but sadly she was yet another loose thread left unattended.
Overall an ok read that got some moments of genuine feeling from me (Fiona is as infuriating as she is ultimately pathetic) but there were a lot of leading points of potential that I felt were unfortunately un-utilized.
The characters and story were engaging enough, but I agree with a lot of reviews here that there wasn’t a real full circle moment of the arc, it felt more of a vignette of events occurring from point A to point Z that we followed. My biggest peeve was there was 1 “twist” that was hardly a twist at all, just “who’s the father” which turned out to be a pretty pedestrian result all things considered. I was waiting for a second shoe to drop and it never did. I was *convinced* that Charlotte would tell Tom that he was Nolan’s father but sadly the thread of them sleeping together led nowhere.
Speaking of Nolan, what a bizarre case of a useless character. He never actually appeared in the story except in a flashback involving a hilariously awkward molestation that had all of the impact of walking in on someone on the toilet, and the same brief effect of “well that was weird, anyway back to the actual story” to the point where I was bemused as to why it was included at all, and otherwise his name was only used as a bargaining chip of sorts that mattered much more to the characters than the audience.
There was also a flashback of Dorothy’s former business partner who seemed much more interesting than her present day one and I was hoping she would make an appearance but sadly she was yet another loose thread left unattended.
Overall an ok read that got some moments of genuine feeling from me (Fiona is as infuriating as she is ultimately pathetic) but there were a lot of leading points of potential that I felt were unfortunately un-utilized.
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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
emotional
reflective
slow-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