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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve always enjoyed Stephen McCauley’s writing. This is a story of a family built on dysfunction, and that’s its strength. Dorothy, the flighty mother, who has always been taken care of by her gay brother, responsible Tom, and daughter/niece Cecily who’s struggling with work drama of her own, converge on Woodstock for a memorial party and the revelations that echo beyond. McCauley doesn’t play his cards for dramatic reveals or unforeseen plot twists. His gift is in his use of words. Reading his work is like sitting next to your snarky best friend whose commentary is not mean but spot on and hilarious.
3.5 stars rounded up.
I enjoyed this character study. Each of the main characters felt so real to me, imperfections and inconsistencies in all. The side characters, especially Fiona and Molly, were given enough backstory and context to understand their motivations. I struggled with certain aspects of the story - Cecily's romantic relationship that was lacking the depth we got in the familial relationships, and representation of an architect that felt researched but lacked early readers in the industry to flag the issues. But I adored the uncle who was a father figure to his niece, and the toll that role took on his life, and the idea of building a tiny house to your childhood specifications.
I enjoyed this character study. Each of the main characters felt so real to me, imperfections and inconsistencies in all. The side characters, especially Fiona and Molly, were given enough backstory and context to understand their motivations. I struggled with certain aspects of the story - Cecily's romantic relationship that was lacking the depth we got in the familial relationships, and representation of an architect that felt researched but lacked early readers in the industry to flag the issues. But I adored the uncle who was a father figure to his niece, and the toll that role took on his life, and the idea of building a tiny house to your childhood specifications.
3.5 stars. Had me hooked and couldn’t put it down mainly because I really wanted to find out what happened with Cecily and the school, but then the ending of the book happened and disappointment ensued. Besides that I mainly enjoyed Tom and Cecily’s mother as characters. Overall they painted a perfect picture of an overall imperfect family and that sometimes being too nice all of the time and never advocating for yourself can land you in some sticky situations. Cecily and her boyfriend were kinda there and making…choices. They were both meh characters but her plight is what kept bringing me back (and stressing me out). Fun read, would recommend as a palette cleanser or for those that liked books such as Nothing To See Here, The Midnight Library, or contemporary works in general
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Oof. This story follows 3 main characters who are a mess and co-dependent: Tom and Dorothy who are siblings, and Cecily who is Dorothy's daughter. Cecily is a professor being investigated by her college, Tom is older about to lose his job as an architect of tiny homes, and Dorothy has lived a flighty life and struggles to take care of herself. All were awful and flat, seemingly reduced to a set of traits to describe a character versus any actual character development that would give them an inkling of interest or cause a reader to care about them.
The only interesting thing in the whole story was Cecily's work drama, though as it was further revealed just drove home how passive her character truly is. All the characters need therapy and not in the fun or entertaining way that one could make a book out of, but in the banal way that adults need to know how to survive without destroying everyone around them. Cover and title are lovely but are unfortunately the only bright spots here.
The only interesting thing in the whole story was Cecily's work drama, though as it was further revealed just drove home how passive her character truly is. All the characters need therapy and not in the fun or entertaining way that one could make a book out of, but in the banal way that adults need to know how to survive without destroying everyone around them. Cover and title are lovely but are unfortunately the only bright spots here.
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No