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mhall's review against another edition
3.0
3.5. Themes I remember from this collection of stories: being a high school outcast, motherhood, old dogs who develop health problems, abortion, rape, dementia. Women's fiction, about difficult stuff. The narrators are friends and relatives who show up in each other's stories.
kboyce24's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
4.75
farkle's review
4.0
Because we're not all made of sugar and spice and everything nice and that's okay.
jlholowaty's review
2.0
Not as good as I had hoped. I'm not usually a big fan of short story collections; however, I did enjoy how the characters were interconnected throughout the stories. Overall, the stories were rather dark. But I was interested and intrigued enough to continue reading. The last story"I'm Only Going to Tell You This Once" was my favorite. Very interesting to hear a mother tell her son a not-so-great story about herself as a young adult (of course, she told it as if it were a "friend"). Overall, not sure I'd recommend.
maureenmccombs's review
4.0
4.5 stars
This is a collection of connected short stories. The writing was honest and insightful. This is a super fast, engaging read and a nice palate cleanser after some of the darker things I have read recently. Definitely recommend.
This is a collection of connected short stories. The writing was honest and insightful. This is a super fast, engaging read and a nice palate cleanser after some of the darker things I have read recently. Definitely recommend.
natybee88's review
5.0
So well done. Beautifully crafted. I found her characters to be so real, so believable. The way the stories nudged together without intertwining was fascinating. I continuously found myself puzzling over how one character was connected to another and loving when the clue finally appeared, or, if it didn't appear, continuing to be curious. Anyway, first book in a very long time that was worth staying up late on a Friday night to finish.
emmkayt's review
3.0
Very readable interconnected stories - I moved through them quickly - but I didn't quite connect with them myself. Not that I necessarily mind whether I 'connect' with what I'm reading, but in this case I sensed I was supposed to read the stories with cries of recognition about the female experience (which apparently involves lots of disappointment and bitter lessons). Some very good parts indeed, but it didn't make as effective a whole as I had hoped.
buttontapper's review
5.0
Part of my self-designed summer reading list, with a brief capsule review here: http://buttontapper.com/2012/06/24/summer-reading-update-blueprints-for-building-better-girls/