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nettecjl's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I liked that the characters and the conversations they have feels realistic. I would like for Penelope to be a changed person at the end of it, but i suppose the book was once again more realistic about human nature.
lynecia's review against another edition
4.0
Though named for a street in Brooklyn’s famous Bed-Stuy section, Halsey Street, Naima Coster’s debut novel isn’t really about that burgeoning community. The books shifts from Pittsburgh, to Brooklyn to the Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic and back again. Brooklyn, and more specifically Bed-Stuy, these days is synonymous with gentrification. In fact, many have hailed this book being about gentrification, including myself before I read it. Though that’s a theme that runs through it, this book isn’t really about that either.
For me, this book is about family and belonging; longing and loneliness. Penelope Grand, an art school dropout suddenly returns to her hometown in Brooklyn from her self imposed exile in Pittsburgh after her father, Ralph experiences an accident and needs to be looked after. Adrift and lonely, instead of moving back into her family’s brownstone she decides to rent an attic apartment from a nearby family, The Harpers. We soon learn that Penelope’s mother, Mirella, is absent - she too, fleeing Brooklyn, back to her home in the Dominican Republic.
Coster tells this story from both the perspectives of Penelope and her mother - which honestly is a device I find hit or miss - but here, it feels as if Coster took care to really hone the voices of this mother and daughter and both characters emerge as equally strong voices.
Penelope is messy, angry, and harboring unforgiveness and reeling from abandonment issues.
Mirella is headstrong, yet cold and aloof - closed off with frustration at the marriage that unfulfilled her and the daughter she struggled to relate to.
When Mirella wants to reconnect, all hell breaks loose it seems and it is not really until the end where it’s really revealed what secrets and regrets really tore this family apart in the first place.
I really enjoyed wrestling with these two complicated women as I read; trust you won’t like either one of them! Penelope grapples with her feelings of aloneness in moody gin-soaked episodes, and makes mistakes we can see coming a mile away and Mirella is just so damn out of with her feelings in my opinion that when she does try to reach out to connect to her daughter its tentative and clumsy, but she tries.
My only real qualm was the ending’s plot twist which caught me by surprise and even though it was quite dramatic it still did not produce the emotional shift or growth in one of the characters that you’d expect. I still think about that part a lot. It’s life, right? Some people are just kinda messed up and get stuck trying to navigate life as best as they can.
alicebme's review
2.0
I appreciate that this book is about a regular person with regular 20 something issues. However, I didn’t really find any of the characters very interesting.
yarn_chicken's review
2.0
I felt that it was just okay. None of the characters showed any real growth. I wanted to like this more than I did. This took me a million years to read because I just kept putting it down.
suvata's review
3.0
I didn’t love it but it was better than OK.
You can get it for free at Kindle Unlimited.
You can get it for free at Kindle Unlimited.
britnyinvt's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed this book for the most part, but I was a little frustrated with the main character. I don’t feel like she learned anything from her experiences and her lack of character development was disappointing. The lack of accountability on her part made it hard to empathize with her, and her constant self sabotage got a little old after a while. The ending left a little hope for her to change that behavior, but it wasn’t enough to make me invested in her character.
I’m rating 3.5 stars but rounding up to a 4. I did enjoy the authors writing style and the plot sucked me in, but having a main character that I want to shake some sense into is why I’m not rating higher.
I’m rating 3.5 stars but rounding up to a 4. I did enjoy the authors writing style and the plot sucked me in, but having a main character that I want to shake some sense into is why I’m not rating higher.
bunrab's review against another edition
3.0
Dysfunctional and not in a funny way
I mean, I guess it was well written, but it's a depressing story about people who refuse to talk about problems or admit to their feelings, and who refuse to learn any better ways to cope. I think parts of it were supposed to be "heartwarming" and I just saw them as accidents where people barely connected in spite of themselves.
I mean, I guess it was well written, but it's a depressing story about people who refuse to talk about problems or admit to their feelings, and who refuse to learn any better ways to cope. I think parts of it were supposed to be "heartwarming" and I just saw them as accidents where people barely connected in spite of themselves.
ethanpoole's review against another edition
4.0
This book is about complex relationships between (i) people and (ii) people and their environment. Every character is both lovable and hatable at the same time. Their actions and motivations are complex and nuanced. I really enjoyed reading this book because it felt like an accurate reflection of a broken family and seeing one's hometown lose its character. A phenomenal debut novel!