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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
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
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
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
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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:
Complicated
Claire Lombardo is such a talented writer. Her writing is crisp and rich, punctuated with the main character’s musings through constant dashes. I loved this book so much. The fraught mother-daughter relationship resonated with me deeply. I liked this a lot more than Lombardo’s other novel which toggled between perspectives frequently. Lombardo captured Julia and her imperfections beautifully, while chronicling the family’s past and future struggles artfully. I will be thinking about this book in the months to come.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Really lovely and so packed with feeling! Endearing, flawed characters
Julia Ames grows up w a mother who lacks the energy to be maternal. When the book opens, she’s in her thirties, married to a warm, caring husband. Julia often comes off as prickly and jaded with Gen X punky style (note title lyrics). As a new mother, she doubts her abilities and worries that she will be like her mother, Anita.
The book moves bw past and present scenes, building to a dramatic scene of betrayal in each time period.
The dramatic moments meant far less than the mundane scenes about motherhood, friendship, and marriage. I saw how the two dramatic moments were necessary for narrative spikes. Julia and her husband Mark grow toward and recede from one another. A friendship Julia enters with an older woman, Helen Russo, is another key piece. Some of the chaps from Julia’s youth seemed like they were included to fit the then-and-now pattern.
This is a big-hearted portrait of a cynical, self-abrading woman that had me in tears at the end.
The book moves bw past and present scenes, building to a dramatic scene of betrayal in each time period.
The dramatic moments meant far less than the mundane scenes about motherhood, friendship, and marriage. I saw how the two dramatic moments were necessary for narrative spikes. Julia and her husband Mark grow toward and recede from one another. A friendship Julia enters with an older woman, Helen Russo, is another key piece. Some of the chaps from Julia’s youth seemed like they were included to fit the then-and-now pattern.
This is a big-hearted portrait of a cynical, self-abrading woman that had me in tears at the end.
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did like the characters and their development but the book felt really unnecessarily long.
I really loved this book!! The descriptive details just blew me away! The pain Julia felt regarding her mother speaks a lot to relationships between mothers and daughters. And it wasnt black and white. It was very nuanced. Her good memories of her Mom kept creeping in despite her anger. Her Mom was a very realistic character as well. We actually can see her side of the story despite the fact that it's mainly about Julia. There were a lot of strong emotions and heavy drama. I especially loved Julia's relationship to Helen. A lot of people find a surrogate mother of sorts in our lives and that is also an important part of this story. Essentially I feel this book is about mental health struggles which is something we all go through and I feel should be talked about more. The only part I didnt care for was the ending which seemed to drag on and on. It took us all the way to the end of her life and then suddenly pops back to another time. Through out most of the story, I could hardly put it down and I highly recommend it. I wish it had ended after Julia and Helen reunite.