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bibliophile24's review
3.0
I enjoyed this book. If you absolutely hate anything about religious books, you might avoid it. At first I couldn't decide if the character was going to be atheist like myself, but I figured with all of the excellent ratings and reviews it probably couldn't be. :( It took a turn later in the book, but it wasn't the main character getting 'saved' or converting or anything. I usually find those so books so annoying, but I enjoyed that this one didn't do that. It just talked about religion a lot, for those of you who prefer a heads up.
jfbfsf's review
4.0
I want to give this 3.5 stars, but I'm going to bump it up to four because I liked it better than all of the other books I've read by this author.
All of her books are (mostly) set in the south, and feature some extreme characters and situations. As another reviewer aptly put it, reading her books you'd think everyone in the south is a "whackadoodle." That's a little offputting to me. I've never been to the south, so I'm certainly no judge of the accuracy her portrayals, but the characters and the situations can come across as so far fetched that the story loses credibility.
This book has touches of the same weirdness, but in a more palatable way, and the emphasis is not on their extreme wild southern-ness/weirdness.
The stories were compelling, and I was drawn in. There's a reveal/twist at the end that I didn't care for - it served to distance me from the characters involved and the story. It didn't seem plausible that I had come this far with them without knowing some very basic, important facts.
And another primary story/relationship wrapped up a little too neatly/conveniently.
But those were small disappointments towards the end of what was otherwise a touching, compelling story.
All of her books are (mostly) set in the south, and feature some extreme characters and situations. As another reviewer aptly put it, reading her books you'd think everyone in the south is a "whackadoodle." That's a little offputting to me. I've never been to the south, so I'm certainly no judge of the accuracy her portrayals, but the characters and the situations can come across as so far fetched that the story loses credibility.
This book has touches of the same weirdness, but in a more palatable way, and the emphasis is not on their extreme wild southern-ness/weirdness.
The stories were compelling, and I was drawn in. There's a reveal/twist at the end that I didn't care for - it served to distance me from the characters involved and the story. It didn't seem plausible that I had come this far with them without knowing some very basic, important facts.
And another primary story/relationship wrapped up a little too neatly/conveniently.
But those were small disappointments towards the end of what was otherwise a touching, compelling story.
sheffner07's review
3.0
What I liked:
Natty was so adorable and funny
The writing style and humor
The family dynamic was very well written and true to life
While not a traditional romance story, there was some different romance elements and the love of a family/mother/parents
What I didn’t like:
ALL SPOILERS
The sexual assault/rape storyline--enough said
And the ending of the Bridget/William storyline
Overall, a melancholy, emotional, mixed read for me--but I did like the author’s writing style and may check out another one of her books
Natty was so adorable and funny
The writing style and humor
The family dynamic was very well written and true to life
While not a traditional romance story, there was some different romance elements and the love of a family/mother/parents
What I didn’t like:
ALL SPOILERS
Spoiler
I would have liked Shandi realizing her feelings for Walcott to be more gradual, instead of suddenly at the endThe sexual assault/rape storyline--enough said
And the ending of the Bridget/William storyline
Overall, a melancholy, emotional, mixed read for me--but I did like the author’s writing style and may check out another one of her books
cook_memorial_public_library's review
4.0
A 2013 staff fiction favorite recommended by Jo (4 stasrs), Connie (4 stars) and Jane (5 stars). Read Jo's review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/727799983
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search?formids=target&lang=eng&suite=def&reservedids=lang,suite&target=someone else's love story jackson
Check our catalog: http://encore.cooklib.org/iii/encore/search?formids=target&lang=eng&suite=def&reservedids=lang,suite&target=someone else's love story jackson
mary_elizabeth's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
lisaeirene's review against another edition
3.0
I'm so on the fence about how to rate this book, whether to like it, hate it or...I don't know.
I loved "Almost Sisters". This is the second book I've read by this author. There were a lot of things that bothered me about the book but at the same time, she's really great at creating interesting characters and surprise endings.
Shandi is flawed, for sure, and she's young. And a young mother to a possibly genius 3 year old son. The son she conceived from non-consensual sex. The whole thing is weird and she alludes to it as getting pregnant while being a virgin (eye rolls). There was also a lot of religious/God stuff in this book that turned me off and I found myself skimming those parts.
The William character was interesting and I liked Paula and the stories of his love story with his wife, Bridget, and the twist at the end was good...but...it took awhile to get there and felt unresolved and not satisfying.
This book/story could have been really good and interesting, instead it felt like bits of good and interesting in a big mess. 2.5 stars
I loved "Almost Sisters". This is the second book I've read by this author. There were a lot of things that bothered me about the book but at the same time, she's really great at creating interesting characters and surprise endings.
Shandi is flawed, for sure, and she's young. And a young mother to a possibly genius 3 year old son. The son she conceived from non-consensual sex. The whole thing is weird and she alludes to it as getting pregnant while being a virgin (eye rolls). There was also a lot of religious/God stuff in this book that turned me off and I found myself skimming those parts.
The William character was interesting and I liked Paula and the stories of his love story with his wife, Bridget, and the twist at the end was good...but...it took awhile to get there and felt unresolved and not satisfying.
This book/story could have been really good and interesting, instead it felt like bits of good and interesting in a big mess. 2.5 stars
sciencewhizliz's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
Plot felt a bit contrived but it was entertaining.
abigaillhuff's review against another edition
4.0
I got this book as an ARC from the Indie bookstore I work for. From reading the reviews on this page I was skeptical but I really enjoyed the entertwined stories and who doesn't love a happy ending.
I like that Jackson tackled a couple of issues that aren't really talked about in this book and the touch of humor was a relief for some really tense subjects.
I like that Jackson tackled a couple of issues that aren't really talked about in this book and the touch of humor was a relief for some really tense subjects.