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3.75 AVERAGE
3.75 AVERAGE
Even though there was a lot of death and grief in this book, there was so much life in everything. It was heartbreaking but also full of so much hope. So beautifully written that I felt it all.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s a good book but longer than I think it needed to be. The chapters in the first half were long enough to get hooked, but not drag. Towards the end I feel like it started to drag once the ending became more obvious. I also feel like there were a couple plot lines that were under explained, while also some that needed a few less pages.
It’s still worth a read and I did like it. Just not as much as I initially thought I would.
It’s still worth a read and I did like it. Just not as much as I initially thought I would.
4,04 on CAWPILE
tw / suicide, rape, animal death, depression, abuse
This was disappointing. The characters felt bland and their actions were not understandable to me at all. I see lots of people saying how emotional they thought this book was, maybe I am cold hearted but I felt close to nothing. It was so predictable like there was no twist or anything. Pretty sad.
tw / suicide, rape, animal death, depression, abuse
This was disappointing. The characters felt bland and their actions were not understandable to me at all. I see lots of people saying how emotional they thought this book was, maybe I am cold hearted but I felt close to nothing. It was so predictable like there was no twist or anything. Pretty sad.
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was an absolutely heartbreaking story about grief, family, forgiveness, and as the title implies, how to keep moving forward when faced with insurmountable challenges.
Incorporating the perspectives of Jonah’s last day alive, the third person narrative of Evangeline’s life, and first person view from Isaac made me appreciate each character and their intricacies so much. This story was a slow burn that really made me process the emotions and struggles of all of these characters, and appreciate them on a deeper level.
Everything about this story, while incredibly sad, felt very raw and real. JoAnn Tompkins so perfectly captured what it’s like to let yourself process grief, and more importantly, to let yourself feel joy again too.
Incorporating the perspectives of Jonah’s last day alive, the third person narrative of Evangeline’s life, and first person view from Isaac made me appreciate each character and their intricacies so much. This story was a slow burn that really made me process the emotions and struggles of all of these characters, and appreciate them on a deeper level.
Everything about this story, while incredibly sad, felt very raw and real. JoAnn Tompkins so perfectly captured what it’s like to let yourself process grief, and more importantly, to let yourself feel joy again too.
Interesting concept, decent delivery, ending left a little to be desired. It’s fine.
This book is not a mystery. So, if you're wanting to read it because you're looking for a great mystery this is not it. That said, I loved this book. I wanted to hug all of these characters and help them through their grief. Isaac is a divorced, lonely father whose son has died tragically. Next door, Lorrie is a widow of an abusive man; her son has also died. Their two boys were best friends, and the deaths are connected. As they are dealing with their grief and trying to understand what happened, a teenage girl named Evangeline appears with her own secrets. It's clear early on she's somehow involved, but no one knows how. While all these things are mysteries, this is not written like a mystery; these are just family secrets that unravel as the story goes on. Isaac is a stoic man, left alone with his aging dog, who is quite a character in his own right. I liked that Isaac is a Quaker; we get to see how his faith affects how he tries to deal with his son's death and the appearance of Evangeline. The book's chapters alternate between voices, with Isaac written in the first person and Evangeline written in the third person. We also get Lorrie's son Jonah's account in flashback chapters of the day he died. These alternating chapters aren't always done well, but it worked for me this time. The surviving people become a sort of "found family" as they try to cope with their own tragedies. I suspected this would be a five-star book for me from the beginning. The writing captured me immediately.
4.5 stars
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was slower paced and focused more on character development. Each chapter alternated perspectives to weave the story together. Definitely sad and heavy in content matter, but ultimately a great story about what it means to be family.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was slower paced and focused more on character development. Each chapter alternated perspectives to weave the story together. Definitely sad and heavy in content matter, but ultimately a great story about what it means to be family.