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3.18 AVERAGE
3.18 AVERAGE
Oh boy, this book is such a mess.
What are we promised in the synopsis? A story of Sasha and Ray, teenagers who share siblings, but are not related (which is emphasised probably 100 times throughout the book). What do we get instead? Multiple points of views for probably every single member of the family, that are changing in the middle of the chapter without any logical explanation, random scenes and plotlines that are completely unnecessary and little to no Sasha and Ray.
Let's focus now on each storyline separately:
Sasha and Ray (they identified as two halves of the same person when they started working in the supermarket, so I'll count them as one): honestly the romance between them made no sense at all. For 17 years they never met, they lived in the same room, had some idea of one another but they've never met. But then suddenly the meet for a moment and can't stop thinking about each other. Then after another few weeks they meet again and boom! they're in love. Honestly, it would make SO MUCH MORE SENSE if they just only stayed best friends? I don't see them falling in love at all and because there's no build up it feels extremely forced.
Emma: so she's dating a nice guy but for some reason she has to hide it. She didn't even have any good reason. Another forced storyline. Well I don't see much future for them since they've known each other only for 3 months and they broke up after the first problem showed up.
Mattie: well, I feel sorry for her. But again I feel like there was no build up for her story, although it's probably the best part of this book. BUT she has a love interest and I feel like it should be more developed. She's in love, he doesn't see her, then suddenly they talk and he becomes nice to her. OKAY BUT WHAT'S NEXT.
Quinn: OH MY GOD.
We also have their parents (five of them, to be specific), but they're all the embodiment of a cliche. We have mom that is mean and she also cheated because she "didn't feel happy", we have dad that his main feature is that he's rich, we have another mom that is the shadow of her husband and his ex-wife and we have another dad that we know nothing about because he's that boring. Oh, and we also have yet another dad but we only find out about him after 20 years and it turns out that he has a life of his own.
Basically I feel like this book was a bunch of random ideas thrown everywhere but none of the storie was actually told. The only advantage of this book is that it's quick.
What are we promised in the synopsis? A story of Sasha and Ray, teenagers who share siblings, but are not related (which is emphasised probably 100 times throughout the book). What do we get instead? Multiple points of views for probably every single member of the family, that are changing in the middle of the chapter without any logical explanation, random scenes and plotlines that are completely unnecessary and little to no Sasha and Ray.
Let's focus now on each storyline separately:
Sasha and Ray (they identified as two halves of the same person when they started working in the supermarket, so I'll count them as one): honestly the romance between them made no sense at all. For 17 years they never met, they lived in the same room, had some idea of one another but they've never met. But then suddenly the meet for a moment and can't stop thinking about each other. Then after another few weeks they meet again and boom! they're in love. Honestly, it would make SO MUCH MORE SENSE if they just only stayed best friends? I don't see them falling in love at all and because there's no build up it feels extremely forced.
Emma: so she's dating a nice guy but for some reason she has to hide it. She didn't even have any good reason. Another forced storyline.
Spoiler
Then because their parents fight they break up but after few weeks they realise that they can't live without each other and they decide to get married.Mattie: well, I feel sorry for her. But again I feel like there was no build up for her story, although it's probably the best part of this book. BUT she has a love interest and I feel like it should be more developed. She's in love, he doesn't see her, then suddenly they talk and he becomes nice to her. OKAY BUT WHAT'S NEXT.
Quinn: OH MY GOD.
Spoiler
That death scene was probably the worst death scene I've ever read. Usually I cry even when some side character dies and here I felt nothing. Also I feel like she had no story at all. The only thing I remember about her is that she pierced her nose and I don't even know what was that for, because that was one scene (that was written as if it was something important) and then it didn't lead up to anything. And I feel like the author killed her just because she didn't have any idea what to do with her.We also have their parents (five of them, to be specific), but they're all the embodiment of a cliche. We have mom that is mean and she also cheated because she "didn't feel happy", we have dad that his main feature is that he's rich, we have another mom that is the shadow of her husband and his ex-wife and we have another dad that we know nothing about because he's that boring. Oh, and we also have yet another dad but we only find out about him after 20 years and it turns out that he has a life of his own.
Basically I feel like this book was a bunch of random ideas thrown everywhere but none of the storie was actually told. The only advantage of this book is that it's quick.
Love Ann Brashares, but this unfortunately wasn't that good. It had a lot of stories that made it hard to fall in love with any one character. Had she focused on one main character and have everything happen through their eyes, I may have been more engaged.
I got the audiobook from the library I had no idea what happened
I was confused about half the time reading this book and I didn't relate to the characters at all. There is one dramatic point nearing the end of the book, and it wasn't even upsetting. The characters were flat and uninspiring. I found this disappointing as I loved the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series.
Nu vă așteptați să citiți povestea unor adolescenți, fiindcă este povestea unei familii... întortocheate, care trece prin puține suișuri și multe coborâșuri. Sunt copii care trăiesc în două lumi, alții în trei, alții care au pierdut șirul. Multe conflicte și puține momente în care familia chiar înseamnă o comunitate. O societate.
Sasha și Ray nu au voie să se vadă niciodată. Emma, Quinn și Mattie trăiesc în familii diferite și, totuși, sunt ale lor. Doar una nu va mai fi niciodată la fel. Fata din urmă descoperă altceva care îi va da lumea peste cap. În centrul acestor probleme stau Lina și Robert. Evie, mama Sashei, nu simte iubirea fiicei ei atât de mult pe cât și-ar dori. Adam, soțul Linei, pare mai mult un personaj de fundal. La toate acestea se mai adaugă și venirea lui Jimmie în viața Emmei.
Nici acum nu m-am hotărât dacă ar fi trebuit să îi dau două steluțe cărții căreia i-am oferit trei. Ultimele 70 de pagini aș spune eu că au fost de efect, au avut nivelul de dramă pe care mi-l doream, m-au ținut în priză, nu aș spune același lucru despre restul romanului.
Un element al poveștii care mi-a mai plăcut este Quinn, cea care aduce "viață" în familia (familiile) lor, un fel de legătură între oamenii care s-au separat. "Căutătoarea de suflete."
Sasha și Ray nu au voie să se vadă niciodată. Emma, Quinn și Mattie trăiesc în familii diferite și, totuși, sunt ale lor. Doar una nu va mai fi niciodată la fel. Fata din urmă descoperă altceva care îi va da lumea peste cap. În centrul acestor probleme stau Lina și Robert. Evie, mama Sashei, nu simte iubirea fiicei ei atât de mult pe cât și-ar dori. Adam, soțul Linei, pare mai mult un personaj de fundal. La toate acestea se mai adaugă și venirea lui Jimmie în viața Emmei.
Nici acum nu m-am hotărât dacă ar fi trebuit să îi dau două steluțe cărții căreia i-am oferit trei. Ultimele 70 de pagini aș spune eu că au fost de efect, au avut nivelul de dramă pe care mi-l doream, m-au ținut în priză, nu aș spune același lucru despre restul romanului.
Un element al poveștii care mi-a mai plăcut este Quinn, cea care aduce "viață" în familia (familiile) lor, un fel de legătură între oamenii care s-au separat. "Căutătoarea de suflete."
This book is quietly charming in its simplicity, even if the relationships are completely screwed up. But it seemed to be more about the family's dynamic than the family members (except, of course, in parts that focused in on Sasha and Ray), and that didn't really work for me. The plot also felt just a little bit off, not sure exactly how but it wasn't as engaging as it could've been.
The story is based on a unique situation: parents of 3 girls divorce, each remarry and have another child. As part of the divorce, the two new families share a summer home, one week on one week off. The two newest children share sisters but never meet each other. During one summer a sister arranges for Sasha and Ray (the new siblings) to share a job at a local grocery store. As a result of this, and a random brief meeting at a party, Sasha and Ray begin emailing each other. This is my favorite part of the book! I love the concept that they are both so closely related but also not related at all. I love that they live these parallel lives and have a connection through the spaces they share. As with Traveling Pants, Ms. Brashares doesn’t let the reader live in this humorous world but instead interjects wide swaths of reality.
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review.
A copy of this book was provided by NetGalley and Random House in exchange for an honest review.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Well, it took to about page 50 before I was completely hooked, I finished it in about 2 hours after that. Everything that happened, I didn't expect or I did expect it but didn't really think it would happen...but it did. This book is definitely one I can relate to in countless ways, in fact I think it fit me pretty perfectly in the sense of having a beautifully broken mess of a family. I think maybe that's why I enjoyed this book so much, a lot of times in literature the divorce bit gets played out in the cliche way of a nasty split but I thoroughly enjoyed how this novel centered on the kids and the relationships between them. I recommend this to anyone, but more specifically to kids of divorced families with a whole assortment of siblings ranging from step to half to full and to anything in between.
Oh and ps...page 288 ;-)
Oh and ps...page 288 ;-)