Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
A bit blah
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
I generally love Jodi Picoult and look forward to her stories as books I can’t put down. I wish I could have said that was the case for this one but there really wasn’t much to like here- this was one was so disappointing.
1. It’s genuinely way to soon to be writing about COVID- especially in this dramatic, completely overblown way. It’s hard to get swept up in a story that’s just a hysterical fantasy of what we’ve been dealing with every day for the past going on three years- ESPECIALLY knowing what we know now about the virus, and the different variants, and that masking isn’t effective and that natural immunity is far more robust than anything else. Having lived for going on three years with this thing now, and it totally not being the next Black Plague it was described to us as this whole part of the story just reads like a huge eye roll. The scene in the book where her boyfriend yells at her for visiting her dying mother in the nursing home who is positive for the virus after she has recovered from it and he exclaims “what? You think you know better than Fauci?!” Was honestly laughable.
a) the political preachiness of this was nauseating honestly, all the sprinklings of “black and brown communities” her best friend being “black and gay and Southern” just- enough already.
2. I loved the Sotheby’s/ Yoko Ono storyline actually.
3. Totally not attached to anything that happened in Galapagos, it felt fake and contrived. The fact that she wakes up and it’s been some kind of alternative reality was not at all surprising to me unfortunately, which is a bummer because I know that’s supposed to be the big twist. But it just didn’t read realistically at all- the whole time. His character especially just seemed totally cliche and the whole “I felt electric with him and started to question/ forget about my boyfriend back home” is just such a tired trope. It works sometimes- but here in this story was just way too cliche to be interesting. I found myself skimming their chapters because they just bored me they were so predictable. And the daughter being a lesbian and cutting? Just. So. Tired.
4. I ultimately wanted more depth from all the characters- I think best story arc was the mother/ daughter sort of redemption story. None of these characters felt relatable- and if they were at all, ever, they’re people I would avoid in real life.
1. It’s genuinely way to soon to be writing about COVID- especially in this dramatic, completely overblown way. It’s hard to get swept up in a story that’s just a hysterical fantasy of what we’ve been dealing with every day for the past going on three years- ESPECIALLY knowing what we know now about the virus, and the different variants, and that masking isn’t effective and that natural immunity is far more robust than anything else. Having lived for going on three years with this thing now, and it totally not being the next Black Plague it was described to us as this whole part of the story just reads like a huge eye roll. The scene in the book where her boyfriend yells at her for visiting her dying mother in the nursing home who is positive for the virus after she has recovered from it and he exclaims “what? You think you know better than Fauci?!” Was honestly laughable.
a) the political preachiness of this was nauseating honestly, all the sprinklings of “black and brown communities” her best friend being “black and gay and Southern” just- enough already.
2. I loved the Sotheby’s/ Yoko Ono storyline actually.
3. Totally not attached to anything that happened in Galapagos, it felt fake and contrived. The fact that she wakes up and it’s been some kind of alternative reality was not at all surprising to me unfortunately, which is a bummer because I know that’s supposed to be the big twist. But it just didn’t read realistically at all- the whole time. His character especially just seemed totally cliche and the whole “I felt electric with him and started to question/ forget about my boyfriend back home” is just such a tired trope. It works sometimes- but here in this story was just way too cliche to be interesting. I found myself skimming their chapters because they just bored me they were so predictable. And the daughter being a lesbian and cutting? Just. So. Tired.
4. I ultimately wanted more depth from all the characters- I think best story arc was the mother/ daughter sort of redemption story. None of these characters felt relatable- and if they were at all, ever, they’re people I would avoid in real life.
I'm being generous with 1.5*
While I knew this would take place during covid, I pushed through that cause usually Picoult's books are great. This detailed covid way too much. The second half of this was horrible. It was a cliche trophe, and it completely ruined the story.
The only reason this got a 1.5 was because I enjoyed the storyline of her on the island.
What a disappointment and a waste of time.
While I knew this would take place during covid, I pushed through that cause usually Picoult's books are great. This detailed covid way too much. The second half of this was horrible. It was a cliche trophe, and it completely ruined the story.
The only reason this got a 1.5 was because I enjoyed the storyline of her on the island.
What a disappointment and a waste of time.
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes