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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, Death of parent
Moderate: Abandonment
Thank you to Netgalley, Penguin General UK, and Viking for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review
Michelle is a kindergarten teacher, she and her mother were abandoned by her father when she was a child, he was an alcoholic and abusive. She learns of his death through the obituary in the paper, and she later gets a call from a lawyer who is handling the estate that her late father left her 5.5 million but she has to meet conditions in order to inherit the money.
Charlotte is a therapist, who ideally should have all the tools to handle her father's death, but she is struggling, and when she learns her father left her nothing in the will she spirals. But little does she know her father had a plan for her after his death, and coming face to face with her half sister may be the key to them both finally healing from the devastation their father left in their lives.
I think the author did an incredible job of writing very flawed and broken people. Both Michelle and Charlotte were absolutely awful people, and I hated them for practically the whole book. I had a lot of trouble relating to them and did not feel sympathy for them which was my main problem with the book. The author also really nailed the therapy portion of the book, and how is takes rock bottom to really recognize you need to make a change. The book just did not invoke any emotion from me.
Michelle is a kindergarten teacher, she and her mother were abandoned by her father when she was a child, he was an alcoholic and abusive. She learns of his death through the obituary in the paper, and she later gets a call from a lawyer who is handling the estate that her late father left her 5.5 million but she has to meet conditions in order to inherit the money.
Charlotte is a therapist, who ideally should have all the tools to handle her father's death, but she is struggling, and when she learns her father left her nothing in the will she spirals. But little does she know her father had a plan for her after his death, and coming face to face with her half sister may be the key to them both finally healing from the devastation their father left in their lives.
I think the author did an incredible job of writing very flawed and broken people. Both Michelle and Charlotte were absolutely awful people, and I hated them for practically the whole book. I had a lot of trouble relating to them and did not feel sympathy for them which was my main problem with the book. The author also really nailed the therapy portion of the book, and how is takes rock bottom to really recognize you need to make a change. The book just did not invoke any emotion from me.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a story about disfunctional families, how your beliefs and upbringing can impact on you as an adult. The catastrophic impact addiction can have on an individual and their sense of reality and what is right and wrong. The benefits of therapy.
I found this a hard read at times but l loved it.
I found this a hard read at times but l loved it.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book I have a love hate relationship with. The main characters were all a little hard to love, which is done on purpose.
I loved following the journey of these two very complicated sisters and processing their similar childhood traumas with them in very different ways. Following their process of mourning and healing was LOL entertaining and also very cringe in other moments. Itβs a roller coaster!!
As much as I didnβt LOVE the characters, I found myself really wanting them to figure things out and create healthy relationships.
Highly recommend if looking for a unique, faster paced contemporary novel with dark humour, quick banter and relatable challenges (most of the time lol).
AND title is spelt with the U!!! ππππ
I loved following the journey of these two very complicated sisters and processing their similar childhood traumas with them in very different ways. Following their process of mourning and healing was LOL entertaining and also very cringe in other moments. Itβs a roller coaster!!
As much as I didnβt LOVE the characters, I found myself really wanting them to figure things out and create healthy relationships.
Highly recommend if looking for a unique, faster paced contemporary novel with dark humour, quick banter and relatable challenges (most of the time lol).
AND title is spelt with the U!!! ππππ
An interesting read, touching on themes of addiction and dysfunctional families with a cast of mainly unlikeable characters.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book
My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Something about this book made me keep reading. It was nearly midnight, and I couldn't put it down.
Mickey is a kindergarten teacher; she loves working with the children, and that much is obvious. But when she takes young Ian off the school premises because his mother hasn't shown up to collect him, she jeopardises her job.
Arlo is mourning her father, and the life of a young girl who committed suicide under her care. She's a therapist, and to hear her and her mentor talk about it, she's a good one. That one mistake, the death of Laura, is tied inexplicably to the death of her father, and while we can see that they are connected, we don't get to truly see that until closer to the end of the book, when all is revealed.
Mickey discovers that her absentee father has died through his obituary in the newspaper. He left her and her mother to pay off his incredible debts and suffer the fallout of his alcoholism when she was incredibly young, and she doesn't seem to feel much more than incredible (and understandable) resentment towards him. Sadly, she has been struck by the same disease as him; she can't get through a day without drinking heavily, but she is in denial.
When Tom (her father's lawyer) tells her that if she completes seven sessions with a therapist, she will inherit his $5.5 million fortune, she's initially a little hesitant, but on the back of losing her job, she agrees.
I can't help but feel her dad, even in death, was being a little cruel. Sending his older, abandoned daughter to therapy with his younger one, the girl who was charged with his care as he died slowly of liver failure.
My heart broke for Mickey as she started to realise that she did have a drinking problem. She went through all the stages of denial, reaching acceptance when an avoidable accident occurs that ends up hurting someone she does care about. Through her life, she has isolated herself, pushed everyone away and been forced to attend therapy, feeling responsible for Ian and his reluctant carer Chris. Meeting Arlo (though she's unaware of who the younger woman is) is painful.
The relationship between the two women is complex, as neither is initially aware of who the other is. Arlo is resentful of the sister who didn't care for their father but got all his money, and Mickey is angry at the family that got the life she and her mother were denied. Yet, both suffered.
Wow, I have a lot to say about this book, but I guess what's most important is that it's a painful study in family dynamics. The misunderstandings, the resentment due to a belief that one got something the other didn't, when in reality they both suffered for their father's dependence on alcohol and his lack of true consideration for anyone but himself. I guess the real lesson to take away here is that you have to take responsibility for yourself, but having a support network helps you cope with the tough stuff.
I would definitely recommend, and while I did find myself getting angry with, and groaning at, the actions of the characters as they made mistake after mistake on their journey to the right place, that's a good thing!
Mickey is a kindergarten teacher; she loves working with the children, and that much is obvious. But when she takes young Ian off the school premises because his mother hasn't shown up to collect him, she jeopardises her job.
Arlo is mourning her father, and the life of a young girl who committed suicide under her care. She's a therapist, and to hear her and her mentor talk about it, she's a good one. That one mistake, the death of Laura, is tied inexplicably to the death of her father, and while we can see that they are connected, we don't get to truly see that until closer to the end of the book, when all is revealed.
Mickey discovers that her absentee father has died through his obituary in the newspaper. He left her and her mother to pay off his incredible debts and suffer the fallout of his alcoholism when she was incredibly young, and she doesn't seem to feel much more than incredible (and understandable) resentment towards him. Sadly, she has been struck by the same disease as him; she can't get through a day without drinking heavily, but she is in denial.
When Tom (her father's lawyer) tells her that if she completes seven sessions with a therapist, she will inherit his $5.5 million fortune, she's initially a little hesitant, but on the back of losing her job, she agrees.
I can't help but feel her dad, even in death, was being a little cruel. Sending his older, abandoned daughter to therapy with his younger one, the girl who was charged with his care as he died slowly of liver failure.
My heart broke for Mickey as she started to realise that she did have a drinking problem. She went through all the stages of denial, reaching acceptance when an avoidable accident occurs that ends up hurting someone she does care about. Through her life, she has isolated herself, pushed everyone away and been forced to attend therapy, feeling responsible for Ian and his reluctant carer Chris. Meeting Arlo (though she's unaware of who the younger woman is) is painful.
The relationship between the two women is complex, as neither is initially aware of who the other is. Arlo is resentful of the sister who didn't care for their father but got all his money, and Mickey is angry at the family that got the life she and her mother were denied. Yet, both suffered.
Wow, I have a lot to say about this book, but I guess what's most important is that it's a painful study in family dynamics. The misunderstandings, the resentment due to a belief that one got something the other didn't, when in reality they both suffered for their father's dependence on alcohol and his lack of true consideration for anyone but himself. I guess the real lesson to take away here is that you have to take responsibility for yourself, but having a support network helps you cope with the tough stuff.
I would definitely recommend, and while I did find myself getting angry with, and groaning at, the actions of the characters as they made mistake after mistake on their journey to the right place, that's a good thing!
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes