Scan barcode
katejacks's review against another edition
5.0
I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. It was chosen for my book club. However, once I started reading, I couldn't put it down. I was a big fan of Cora, the main character who leaves her life as a homemaker in Kansas City to go to NYC with a spoiled, young wannabe star for the summmer. I loved getting to know both characters. They both changed and grew throughout the book. Definitely a must read.
librarygurl's review against another edition
3.0
Part 3 is almost entirely pointless why do we have to have the entire life story when a chapter is a life will suffice?
chelseatm's review against another edition
2.0
When I read the description for this book, I was intrigued. It sounded like it'd be so interesting with its mix of fiction and fact. You think I would have learned my lesson with Sutton but I had high hopes and willingness to forgive historical fiction.
But I was wrong. I'm mad at myself for falling into the trap again. This book was...bland.
It was a dull rendition of a boring life. It seems like author, Laura Moriarty, beefed up the dull moments and downplayed the potentially exciting moments.
Where there could have been suspense, wonderment, or held breaths were fastforward moments erasing all salacious deliciousness. Instead, it was dry.
It sometimes seemed, as it often does with a mix of fiction and fact, that Moriarty was just as desperate to tell the story as she was to demonstrate how much she was researched about the era and to jam in all the important events of that time.
As well, for a book about Louise Brooks, it has so little to do with Brooks. It was like false advertising. But more than that, she worked on this Brooks character who was so hard and set in the beginning and gave her no chance at redemption or continuation. She stayed that same fifteen-year old that we saw through the eyes of the protagonist. I may be alone in thinking that was incredibly unfair of Moriarty. I'm sure other readers like me were as invested in Brooks as they were in Cora and then left hanging when we had no allusion of how she ended up personally - we were left with a biographical catalogue.
Overall, it's an easy read but that doesn't make it a need-to-read. I suggest put down this book and find something more interesting.
But I was wrong. I'm mad at myself for falling into the trap again. This book was...bland.
It was a dull rendition of a boring life. It seems like author, Laura Moriarty, beefed up the dull moments and downplayed the potentially exciting moments.
Where there could have been suspense, wonderment, or held breaths were fastforward moments erasing all salacious deliciousness. Instead, it was dry.
It sometimes seemed, as it often does with a mix of fiction and fact, that Moriarty was just as desperate to tell the story as she was to demonstrate how much she was researched about the era and to jam in all the important events of that time.
As well, for a book about Louise Brooks, it has so little to do with Brooks. It was like false advertising. But more than that, she worked on this Brooks character who was so hard and set in the beginning and gave her no chance at redemption or continuation. She stayed that same fifteen-year old that we saw through the eyes of the protagonist. I may be alone in thinking that was incredibly unfair of Moriarty. I'm sure other readers like me were as invested in Brooks as they were in Cora and then left hanging when we had no allusion of how she ended up personally - we were left with a biographical catalogue.
Overall, it's an easy read but that doesn't make it a need-to-read. I suggest put down this book and find something more interesting.
lurker_stalker's review against another edition
4.0
I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I still haven't read the blurb so I had no idea what to expect.
The author's voice and writing style made it easy for me to get into the book right away and the Cora's story held me until the very last sentence.
I don't read a lot of "chick lit" but every once in a while, a good character-driven story, free from murder and mayhem, is nice.
The author's voice and writing style made it easy for me to get into the book right away and the Cora's story held me until the very last sentence.
I don't read a lot of "chick lit" but every once in a while, a good character-driven story, free from murder and mayhem, is nice.
goodem9199's review against another edition
4.0
Really, really enjoyed this. Always had a bit of a facination with adoption, early 1900's and old-time movie stars, so this hit it all for me! Moriarty's writing flows so easily that you find yourself reading much more at one time than you may have planned to. Will definately be looking more into the life of Louise Brooks and the turn of the century orphan trains.
panda58's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
A lovely read!
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Audio book performed by Elizabeth McGovern
3.5***
In 1922, only a few years before she will become a famous film actress, 15-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita for a summer in New York City. Much to her annoyance, her parents have hired a neighbor to accompany her as chaperone. Cora Carlisle is 36-years-old, and her sons have left for college, so her husband can certainly do without her for a few weeks. But Cora has her own private reason for making the trip. She has her hands full with the impetuous and arrogant Louise, but while her charge is in dance class all day, Cora is able to work towards her own goals. What she learns – about herself and others – isn’t what she was expecting, but will change how she lives the rest of her life.
Louise Brooks is a real person and Moriarty uses some of the facts of her life as the framework for telling Cora’s story. The novel is really a character study of one woman’s awakening. When we meet her, Cora is focused on presenting a certain image (and later on maintaining it), and her neighbors and acquaintances all recognize her sterling character. She has a steady, loving marriage and two wonderful grown sons. She volunteers for the right charities and belongs to the right clubs. She has become the upstanding, traditional woman she appears to be and which everyone admires. But along the way she has completely lost touch with what she really wants or needs. As exasperating and exhausting as Louise makes things for Cora, the five weeks they spend in New York open Cora’s eyes to possibilities in her own life.
I was caught up in the story from the beginning. I liked the way Moriarty depicted Cora’s developing sense of self. A lifetime of doing what was expected of her, of remaining ignorant of facts or hiding behind small (and large) lies has shaped her, and it is not easy for Cora to step away from the public persona she has created – even in private. Parts One and Two introduce us to Louise and Cora, and detail the time they spend in New York. Part Three picks up when Cora returns to Wichita and covers 50+ years. There are large gaps in time from chapter to chapter, but we do continue to see Cora grow and the effects of her awareness on those around her. Still, the momentum of the story slows considerably in the last hundred pages.
Elizabeth McGovern does a fine job performing the audio version. The voices she gave the men or certain immigrants (Irish, Italian, German) added color and helped to differentiate those characters. It was not always as easy to tell the Mid-western women apart, but this was really a minor issue.
3.5***
In 1922, only a few years before she will become a famous film actress, 15-year-old Louise Brooks leaves Wichita for a summer in New York City. Much to her annoyance, her parents have hired a neighbor to accompany her as chaperone. Cora Carlisle is 36-years-old, and her sons have left for college, so her husband can certainly do without her for a few weeks. But Cora has her own private reason for making the trip. She has her hands full with the impetuous and arrogant Louise, but while her charge is in dance class all day, Cora is able to work towards her own goals. What she learns – about herself and others – isn’t what she was expecting, but will change how she lives the rest of her life.
Louise Brooks is a real person and Moriarty uses some of the facts of her life as the framework for telling Cora’s story. The novel is really a character study of one woman’s awakening. When we meet her, Cora is focused on presenting a certain image (and later on maintaining it), and her neighbors and acquaintances all recognize her sterling character. She has a steady, loving marriage and two wonderful grown sons. She volunteers for the right charities and belongs to the right clubs. She has become the upstanding, traditional woman she appears to be and which everyone admires. But along the way she has completely lost touch with what she really wants or needs. As exasperating and exhausting as Louise makes things for Cora, the five weeks they spend in New York open Cora’s eyes to possibilities in her own life.
I was caught up in the story from the beginning. I liked the way Moriarty depicted Cora’s developing sense of self. A lifetime of doing what was expected of her, of remaining ignorant of facts or hiding behind small (and large) lies has shaped her, and it is not easy for Cora to step away from the public persona she has created – even in private. Parts One and Two introduce us to Louise and Cora, and detail the time they spend in New York. Part Three picks up when Cora returns to Wichita and covers 50+ years. There are large gaps in time from chapter to chapter, but we do continue to see Cora grow and the effects of her awareness on those around her. Still, the momentum of the story slows considerably in the last hundred pages.
Elizabeth McGovern does a fine job performing the audio version. The voices she gave the men or certain immigrants (Irish, Italian, German) added color and helped to differentiate those characters. It was not always as easy to tell the Mid-western women apart, but this was really a minor issue.
rainbowbookworm's review against another edition
1.0
I bought this book expecting chick-lit, what I got was one woman's saga. First off, nothing is known of Louise Brook's real chaperone in New York. Moriarty made up the character of Cora. More than that, she made up an entire life for her.
As I mentioned while I was reading this book, I don't like Cora. Her high moral standards in the beginning of the book -SPOILERS- change suddenly and dramatically after her love affair with Joseph and this doesn't make her more likeable. The book should have ended after she found her birthmother or when Louise left New York, but no, it goes on to the 1970s, with a 90-something-year-old Cora happy about the first gay pride parades.
I didn't enjoy this book, Cora grated my nerves and bratty Louise even more so. In fact, most of the characters are not likable. I only finished the book because it was an audiobook and I listened to it during traffic.
As I mentioned while I was reading this book, I don't like Cora. Her high moral standards in the beginning of the book -SPOILERS- change suddenly and dramatically after her love affair with Joseph and this doesn't make her more likeable. The book should have ended after she found her birthmother or when Louise left New York, but no, it goes on to the 1970s, with a 90-something-year-old Cora happy about the first gay pride parades.
I didn't enjoy this book, Cora grated my nerves and bratty Louise even more so. In fact, most of the characters are not likable. I only finished the book because it was an audiobook and I listened to it during traffic.
shareen17's review against another edition
4.0
A woman spends a month in New York chaperoning a young Louise Brooks - future silent film star. This experience changes her world view and the course of the rest of her life.
cwalter01's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Good read.