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shrreads's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
sarhemmm's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lightfoxing's review
4.0
Please take this tiny review in your hands and purchase or borrow this book and read it and know that you are reading a little treasure that does an excellent job of considering grief, growth, adulthood, friendship, requiring white noise to sleep, and our own individual centers of gravity.
bushraboblai's review
5.0
Another debut from a Toronto writer! There is so much that seemingly every person in literature has to say about the concept of female friendship. Men seem to fetishize it and feel resentful of the concept (something beautifully explored in the Irish TV show, Bad Sisters, although one can make the argument that sisterhood complicates the formula of female friendship significantly). People who fall out of the confines of the traditional definition of the female friendship feel isolated and the concept is definitely used as a weapon against them.
It also gives us some of the most introspective and soul-searing works of literature when writers go in exploration of the elusive thing. Simply put, in a patriarco-capitalistic society it is the only way women as a class of people move forward in life and receive support against all of the various obstacles and violences they must encounter simply because of the way their gender is socialized. Wives don’t get their support from husbands, daughters not from their fathers, sisters not from their brothers, and women don’t get that from their male friends. A female friend group is a survival mechanism. It is why so many woman pity and mock the foolishness of the ‘pick me’ woman. Because we know the consequences.
Sarah Jackson’s debut novel ‘A Bit Much’ explores most of the topics I have glided over. I really liked the exploration of impending grief, the lack of control we have over disability, and the unreliability of male friendships and women who choose societal advancement over your relationship.
Very smart, very sad, and very human.
It also gives us some of the most introspective and soul-searing works of literature when writers go in exploration of the elusive thing. Simply put, in a patriarco-capitalistic society it is the only way women as a class of people move forward in life and receive support against all of the various obstacles and violences they must encounter simply because of the way their gender is socialized. Wives don’t get their support from husbands, daughters not from their fathers, sisters not from their brothers, and women don’t get that from their male friends. A female friend group is a survival mechanism. It is why so many woman pity and mock the foolishness of the ‘pick me’ woman. Because we know the consequences.
Sarah Jackson’s debut novel ‘A Bit Much’ explores most of the topics I have glided over. I really liked the exploration of impending grief, the lack of control we have over disability, and the unreliability of male friendships and women who choose societal advancement over your relationship.
Very smart, very sad, and very human.
lilly71490's review
dark
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ruby42's review
4.0
I lost my best friend almost two years ago to cancer. To say I felt all of Alice and more is an understatement. I, too, am a self sabotager, an avoid painful things, hide when things hurt kind of person. I'm surprised as hell that I managed to get 90% of the way through before starting to tear up and manged to only choke up a bit at the end (which I didn't like because it left me hanging, but also understood because there's so much left unknown and tossed in the air when you lose someone you love).
I suppose that's because I've been living this for so long, it didn't sting like it could have. Maybe it's because I've started to heal more than I gave myself credit for. It was a beautiful book. A few characters that were unlikable, but in a way that made sense and showed their own inability to deal with real life.
I "knew" how this would end and it left me feeling like Mia got a raw deal. I've been Alice. I know that feeling of "how do I remember to breathe without you." It still stings.
Beautifully, painfully, honest emotions conveyed so authentically. Very well done.
I suppose that's because I've been living this for so long, it didn't sting like it could have. Maybe it's because I've started to heal more than I gave myself credit for. It was a beautiful book. A few characters that were unlikable, but in a way that made sense and showed their own inability to deal with real life.
I "knew" how this would end and it left me feeling like Mia got a raw deal. I've been Alice. I know that feeling of "how do I remember to breathe without you." It still stings.
Beautifully, painfully, honest emotions conveyed so authentically. Very well done.
hannadeboer's review
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
shea_proulx's review
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
coversofceilidh's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
nahyan's review
5.0
I’m so surprised that this book is a debut novel. I wasn’t able to put it down for even one second and flew through it in a day. Although this book can be called a sad-girl book, I thought it was so much more than that . Through Sarah Jackson’s darkly funny writing, the book explores the complexities of friendships and relationships in your mid-20s as a woman and it depicts all the ugly truths that come with these topics with humour. I loved how all the characters were layered and complex and felt so much; contrary to the impassive and ambivalent narrator trend we see so much in some of the booktok fav sad-girl books. As soon as I finished the book I felt like I suffered a loss because I was so engrossed in the protagonist’s life that I didn’t want the book to end.