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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
Listened to audio and the back and forth time frame was confusing. Storyline was a bit disjointed.
The introduction bit in [b:The Mother Next Door: Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy|211003817|The Mother Next Door Medicine, Deception, and Munchausen by Proxy|Andrea Dunlop|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1718938514l/211003817._SY75_.jpg|217233055] piqued my interest so I decided to check this book out right after I finished with that non-fic book. In addition to that, I also googled her sister whom she said is accused of Munchausen by Proxy and the inspiration of the 2 books. The first chapter was quite interesting but after that the 'Now' chapters were boring and I decided to skip them ALL and just read the 'Past' chapters. Wouldn't you know it, I didn't miss anything important! The whole book just feels underwhelming TBH.
Spoiler
except for Ava's death when I then need to find out how but it's only an excerpt of a newspaper article
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia
Minor: Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Is there a perfect quarantine read that isn’t YA or a thriller? Yes. And it is ‘We Came Here To Forget’ by Andrea Dunlop. This novel gets a solid A+ from me.
I will say there is a trigger warning that this book deals with Munchausen by proxy and harm to a child. It’s not the entire book but it’s there so keep that in mind if it might be hard for you to read that.
The story follows Katie Cleary, an Olympic downhill skier who has taken off to Buenos Aires to escape recent tragedy and a nasty breakup in her life back in the States.
The book is told from Katie’s perspective and flips back and forth between present day Argentina and the past family tragedy.
I don’t want to give away ANYTHING in this book because it’s so wonderful. Trust me when I say it has it all; drama, thrills and twists, heartbreak, tango and romance. It’s a beautifully written book that I will absolutely read again.
The ending is one of my favourites as it doesn’t tie everything up with a pretty bow. You get just enough of a happy ending without feeling like this is so far from reality. The very last sentence in the book is so poignant and holds true for what we are going through right now in the world.
Call your local independent book store and purchase this book ASAP and get your hands on this novel (contact-less, duh). You will not regret it.
I will say there is a trigger warning that this book deals with Munchausen by proxy and harm to a child. It’s not the entire book but it’s there so keep that in mind if it might be hard for you to read that.
The story follows Katie Cleary, an Olympic downhill skier who has taken off to Buenos Aires to escape recent tragedy and a nasty breakup in her life back in the States.
The book is told from Katie’s perspective and flips back and forth between present day Argentina and the past family tragedy.
I don’t want to give away ANYTHING in this book because it’s so wonderful. Trust me when I say it has it all; drama, thrills and twists, heartbreak, tango and romance. It’s a beautifully written book that I will absolutely read again.
The ending is one of my favourites as it doesn’t tie everything up with a pretty bow. You get just enough of a happy ending without feeling like this is so far from reality. The very last sentence in the book is so poignant and holds true for what we are going through right now in the world.
Call your local independent book store and purchase this book ASAP and get your hands on this novel (contact-less, duh). You will not regret it.
mysterious
medium-paced
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'll preface this by saying that I discovered this book through the author's podcast, which details the experiences with her sister that ultimately influenced the character of Penny. Although I eventually stopped listening to the podcast, I think it inevitably influenced how I read this book.
I found the story captivating, but the writing itself felt a bit flat at times, and the ending felt very rushed. The characters' emotions and experiences felt more told than shown, and the sense of place was underdeveloped, in my opinion. I would've loved to see more of what Buenos Aires feels like as a city. I think my appreciation for the narration from "Katie's" perspective came from my prior knowledge about the author's experiences, and it seemed more obvious when she was "writing what she knew," to use a common writing cliché. I think if the characters in "Liz's" chapters had been more developed and if the ending had been given more time to play out naturally, this could easily have been a 4 to 4.5 star read.
I found the story captivating, but the writing itself felt a bit flat at times, and the ending felt very rushed. The characters' emotions and experiences felt more told than shown, and the sense of place was underdeveloped, in my opinion. I would've loved to see more of what Buenos Aires feels like as a city. I think my appreciation for the narration from "Katie's" perspective came from my prior knowledge about the author's experiences, and it seemed more obvious when she was "writing what she knew," to use a common writing cliché. I think if the characters in "Liz's" chapters had been more developed and if the ending had been given more time to play out naturally, this could easily have been a 4 to 4.5 star read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Medical content, Grief
Moderate: Body shaming, Chronic illness, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really didn't like the main character, whether as Katie or as Liz. The split perspective drags on in the first half of the book while waiting for the big reveal didn't work for me. In the end, I like Calli and Gemma and Blair, but had no use for the rest of them.