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3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
This book was a hard one for me. The issues and struggles that the writer portrays are important but unfortunately, the way they were written leaves much to the imagination. I found myself floundering a lot and I couldn't really figure out why, and then it hit me - these were horrible, selfish characters thrown into a convoluted plot line. This is why I couldn't connect.
The Whole Thing Together is a family drama - heavy on the drama. There were two people who were married and had 3 girls, then they divorced and each remarried and had other children. The divorced parents HATE each other (they constantly show this) and don't talk. But they share a summer house every year - one week at a time. Yes, you read that right. One week it's the moms, the next it's the dads, then its the moms, then its the dads...This made no sense to me at all. Talk about disruptive.
This story focuses heavily on Sasha and Ray - the kids of the parents new marriage. Sasha from the dad and Ray from the mom. But they aren't related (they tell us all the time). But yet, they share the same bedroom at the summer house, not at the same time of course, and feel like they know each other even though they've never met. In this case, knowing each other = crushing on each other. That right there was already weird. Throw in the fact that they sounded exactly the same in their chapters that it was hard to tell them apart from each other...yeah no.
The family itself could have been a great story. A multiracial family with children trying to find their identity and struggling with hidden truths. Instead, this book was riddled with body shaming, insensitive portrayal of multiracial characters, undertones of racism (the mom literally marries the dad to piss of her parents because he's 'dark'). It just became too much. Add in the fact that the way the parents treated each other, and in front of their children no less, was so disgusting, it's amazing anyone can can be happy. Grow up and stop shaming each other. You're freaking adults who have both moved on, act like it.
The ending could have been impactful except that the characters were so one-dimensional that in the end I felt sad but not heartbroken. It didn't help that Sasha and Ray were more concerned with seeing each other and how they looked then with the devastating event taking place. There was just so much disconnect. Had Brashares taken the time to really nurture her characters and allow them to live instead of just throwing drama after drama after drama at them, I may have rated this higher.
The Whole Thing Together is a family drama - heavy on the drama. There were two people who were married and had 3 girls, then they divorced and each remarried and had other children. The divorced parents HATE each other (they constantly show this) and don't talk. But they share a summer house every year - one week at a time. Yes, you read that right. One week it's the moms, the next it's the dads, then its the moms, then its the dads...This made no sense to me at all. Talk about disruptive.
This story focuses heavily on Sasha and Ray - the kids of the parents new marriage. Sasha from the dad and Ray from the mom. But they aren't related (they tell us all the time). But yet, they share the same bedroom at the summer house, not at the same time of course, and feel like they know each other even though they've never met. In this case, knowing each other = crushing on each other. That right there was already weird. Throw in the fact that they sounded exactly the same in their chapters that it was hard to tell them apart from each other...yeah no.
The family itself could have been a great story. A multiracial family with children trying to find their identity and struggling with hidden truths. Instead, this book was riddled with body shaming, insensitive portrayal of multiracial characters, undertones of racism (the mom literally marries the dad to piss of her parents because he's 'dark'). It just became too much. Add in the fact that the way the parents treated each other, and in front of their children no less, was so disgusting, it's amazing anyone can can be happy. Grow up and stop shaming each other. You're freaking adults who have both moved on, act like it.
The ending could have been impactful except that the characters were so one-dimensional that in the end I felt sad but not heartbroken. It didn't help that Sasha and Ray were more concerned with seeing each other and how they looked then with the devastating event taking place. There was just so much disconnect. Had Brashares taken the time to really nurture her characters and allow them to live instead of just throwing drama after drama after drama at them, I may have rated this higher.
Brashares' tone is ever enticing for me, but the plot lacks: this work reads a LOT like The Last Summer (of You and Me) to the point that it took away from this book.
The emotional language was also better in that book. So read it instead.
The emotional language was also better in that book. So read it instead.
3.5 out of 5. I picked this up without really reading the summary. It wasn't at all what I thought it would be but it was a great story nonetheless. It dives into a crazier family than mine. Even I had trouble figuring out exactly how the family worked. It was a tale about separate families, the struggle of divorce and parents fighting, the effects of family disconnect, and so much more. I enjoyed getting to know this screwed up family.
lighthearted
medium-paced
What a fascinating family, and what a doozy of an ending. I felt invested in every single child's story equally, and was happy to move from one perspective to another.
Except maybe Quinn. I didn't really care for her "heritage" arc; her fascination with where she came from (although I guess we are all fascinated by where we come from). Her interest in her Bengali roots was cool, but felt like a personality quirk more than anything else. I also wasn't particularly enamoured by her whole "look into their soul" persona. I guess I should've expected a stunt like what happened to her at the end of it all, but it still felt like a cheap plot point. In my mind, she was the least interesting sibling. She was boring and too good and idealized throughout, so you can't feel anything for her at the end except exactly what you're "supposed" to feel. Quinn needs more personality!
I loved Emma's story. Jamie was so, so good. Don't we all deserve a Jamie? I'm glad with where they ended up, and I love the insight into Jamie's family. We all have our family troubles, I guess. Nothing is ever that simple. But what was with that ending? Is Jamie's family the problem? Or was she pregnant?
Let's talk about Mattie's story. I loved her tremendous growth throughout the book. I liked how her personality caused a life-changing truth to surface, and how that made her re-evaluate everything in her life. And I'm glad with what she concluded, and how her parents responded. Also, I am a huge fan of Matthew Reed (aren't we all?), and I wanted to see them fall hopelessly in love. Can we please get an "after-the-hail-storm" epilogue?
Sasha and Ray's stories are absolutely intertwined. It's so interesting to see everyone wake up about them. Themselves first, at the party. Then Quinn. Then Emma and Mattie. But what about everyone else? They have a foundation unlike anyone I've ever heard of in real life, or in books or the media for that matter. A common history binds us all together, but not quite as intimately as the shared history between these two. I wish we got to see a bit MORE than what we got, but beggars can't be choosers, I guess.
At the end of the day, I think the situation that occurred was the only possible way for Lila and Robert to lay arms. I can't help but feel like I wanted something else (something mind-blowing!), to come from Ann Brashares, because it felt like the most obvious answer. Also, there were a few inconsistencies (e.g. Ray calling his father "Adam" instead of "Dad" near the end of the book), but with such a complicated family, those issues wasn't detrimental to the book in the grand scheme of things.
Except maybe Quinn. I didn't really care for her "heritage" arc; her fascination with where she came from (although I guess we are all fascinated by where we come from). Her interest in her Bengali roots was cool, but felt like a personality quirk more than anything else. I also wasn't particularly enamoured by her whole "look into their soul" persona. I guess I should've expected a stunt like what happened to her at the end of it all, but it still felt like a cheap plot point. In my mind, she was the least interesting sibling. She was boring and too good and idealized throughout, so you can't feel anything for her at the end except exactly what you're "supposed" to feel. Quinn needs more personality!
I loved Emma's story. Jamie was so, so good. Don't we all deserve a Jamie? I'm glad with where they ended up, and I love the insight into Jamie's family. We all have our family troubles, I guess. Nothing is ever that simple. But what was with that ending? Is Jamie's family the problem? Or was she pregnant?
Let's talk about Mattie's story. I loved her tremendous growth throughout the book. I liked how her personality caused a life-changing truth to surface, and how that made her re-evaluate everything in her life. And I'm glad with what she concluded, and how her parents responded. Also, I am a huge fan of Matthew Reed (aren't we all?), and I wanted to see them fall hopelessly in love. Can we please get an "after-the-hail-storm" epilogue?
Sasha and Ray's stories are absolutely intertwined. It's so interesting to see everyone wake up about them. Themselves first, at the party. Then Quinn. Then Emma and Mattie. But what about everyone else? They have a foundation unlike anyone I've ever heard of in real life, or in books or the media for that matter. A common history binds us all together, but not quite as intimately as the shared history between these two. I wish we got to see a bit MORE than what we got, but beggars can't be choosers, I guess.
At the end of the day, I think the situation that occurred was the only possible way for Lila and Robert to lay arms. I can't help but feel like I wanted something else (something mind-blowing!), to come from Ann Brashares, because it felt like the most obvious answer. Also, there were a few inconsistencies (e.g. Ray calling his father "Adam" instead of "Dad" near the end of the book), but with such a complicated family, those issues wasn't detrimental to the book in the grand scheme of things.
Oh man. Is that really the ending? If so I would like to request some closure for my ripped open heart. Love love love this book though and the family that I can definitely relate too.
I liked this book, but I feel like it's not something that I haven't read before. It was still captivating and I really loved some of the relationships.
Obviously, I loved Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and am constantly looking for another great book from Ann Brashares, but this one disappoints slightly. The premise is interesting from the start and a is overall well written, but I didn't connect as much with the characters and couldn't keep them straight at times.
The following list is why I rated this 1 Star
*Racism
*Sexism
*Body shaming
*Incestuous relationship (sort of..but still yuck)
*Idiotic characters
*One dimensional characters
*Third person narrative DONE WRONG
*Predictable
Okay that's it bye for now! 👋
*Racism
*Sexism
*Body shaming
*Incestuous relationship (sort of..but still yuck)
*Idiotic characters
*One dimensional characters
*Third person narrative DONE WRONG
*Predictable
Okay that's it bye for now! 👋
2/5 Ik vond de personages, het verhaal en de schrijfstijl helemaal niets. Vooral de eerste twee, want ik had echt het idee dat ik er HELEMAAL NIETS van begreep. En een bepaalde gebeurtenis wat mij enorm boos maakte, maar wat ik had kunnen verwachten van deze auteur.