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anne_reader's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Grief, Pregnancy, Addiction, Suicide, Alcoholism, Cursing, Medical content, Infidelity, Abortion, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Sexual content
hihicass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Death, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Abortion, Suicide, Sexual content, and Child death
Minor: Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Cancer, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail
amybartoli29's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, and Grief
Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Cancer
maggies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Sexual content and Infidelity
Minor: Abortion, Grief, and Cancer
bella_cavicchi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
+1 for showcasing summer stock theatre, what I lovingly call the “wild west” of the theatre industry. My heart! With it always.
Graphic: Infidelity, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Grief, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Medical content
Moderate: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Cancer
Minor: Child death and Abortion
cassiealexandra's review against another edition
4.25
The story framing was very interesting to me. I liked that it took a look at Lara’s coming-of-age through the lens of her telling her grown daughters about it. I appreciated the look at nostalgia, suffering (worldwide), legacy, contentment, and the sweet and deep love between husband and wife and family. I was also surprised by the moments of humor in a somewhat serious read.
There were a couple of plot points that seemed to come out of nowhere for me; they seemed nearly unnecessary. The pacing also seemed to slow down at a couple points and I would have preferred it staying steady. I also got confused at a couple of points because of the way the story was framed and reading by audio. I think some of these confusing moments could have been cleared up had I read it in print. And speaking of the audio, I hate to say it, but I had a difficult time with Meryl Streep. I couldn’t keep myself from picturing her instead of picturing our character, Lara, and that was a slight distraction throughout.
Overall, I did enjoy this book and appreciated the writing style and themes, but I think I may have liked the experience more in print.
— NOTES —
Genres: literary fiction
POV: first-person, singular
Content: pandemic, infidelity, death of loved ones (a couple other things that are spoilers)
Romance: mostly vague implied intimacy and a couple minor sexual situations
— MY RATING CONSIDERATIONS —
(all out of 5)
Pace: 4
Enjoyment: 4
Craft: 5
My Gut Feeling: 4
Total Stars: 4.25
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, and Grief
Minor: Abortion and Suicide
emilywemily6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Death, Bullying, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Addiction, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Drug use, Vomit, Sexism, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Sexual content
Minor: Abortion and Classism
maceydowns's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Addiction, and Medical content
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Cancer, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Rape
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Grief, Infidelity, and Racism
tashtasher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, Suicide, Alcohol, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Death, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Grief, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death and Racism
juliacsmith's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Minor: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abortion, Alcohol, Grief, Medical content, Racism, Sexism, Child death, Cancer, and Vomit