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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
An utterly engaging and intriguing narrative of poems about a child--later a young woman--and her ability to see beauty in death, despite the social and familial pressures not to do so. The writing is evocative and visual--and visceral--and the reading experience that it provides is unique and lasting.
A beautiful story of grief and loss, both of family and friends. A story about the need for belonging somewhere, the need for a group that is ours. Lottie griefs in her own way, and although it sometimes seems to go too far, with help from her family she can turn it into something beautiful. Just like she always intended to do.
The only reason I have not given this book five stars is, that the cycle of aunt Hilde not liking Lottie's way of grieving and throwing all of her loved belongings away, Lottie starting anew and aunt Hilda not liking it and throwing it all away etc. got a bit too repetitive after a while.
I received a free copy through Netgalley, in return for an honest review.
The only reason I have not given this book five stars is, that the cycle of aunt Hilde not liking Lottie's way of grieving and throwing all of her loved belongings away, Lottie starting anew and aunt Hilda not liking it and throwing it all away etc. got a bit too repetitive after a while.
I received a free copy through Netgalley, in return for an honest review.
A lovely and gentle story of loss, love, family, friendship and different ways in which we cope with grief.
This book has a beautiful cover and is completely written in verse.
Charming, insightful and refreshing.
This book has a beautiful cover and is completely written in verse.
Charming, insightful and refreshing.
I feel bad for another dnf, but these books just haven't been clicking with me lately.
I read the first 45% of this book fairly quickly, it flew by and I could just keep going and going. However, after I had stopped, I wasn't able to make myself pick it back up again. I realized I just didn't have a connection with the characters nor was intrigued by the story and family history that this book seemed to be building to, and with the book needing to be nearing more action/reveals/tension, I didn't think I was going to end up being invested when everything went down.
It's hard to pinpoint where this lack of interest came from. I think some of it definitely came from the general subject matter of the story (or the hobby through which the inner story of our MC is dealt with). While I knew this book would be about taxidermy, dead animals, etc., I guess I hadn't expected the detail? I guess I had assumed it would be backgrounding the larger family story rather than the other way around, and in reality I just don't enjoy reading about dead animal collecting, studying, and attempts at taxidermy of these dead animals. It just made me really uncomfortable at points, and I found myself skimming longer passages that involved these types of scenes. And unfortunately... this was most of the book. At least I know this for next time though, avoid books with a focus on dead animals?
I also wasn't fully enraptured by the verse. I've loved a lot of novels written in verse (most from Ellen Hopkins), but I just didn't mesh well with this particular take. I feel like verse is a little more hit or miss with me than prose, just as poetry is as well, and I honestly didn't feel like this novel benefited much from the verse (from what I read of it, of course). It seemed to read more as just broken up sentences than an actual style, and it just wasn't lyrical for me. I do think others will enjoy it though!
All in all, this book just wasn't for me, but I don't feel like I can judge it 'objectively', as much as anyone ever judges a book objectively. It just had too many things that weren't my taste, but I do feel like this book will find a home on some readers' shelves.
I read the first 45% of this book fairly quickly, it flew by and I could just keep going and going. However, after I had stopped, I wasn't able to make myself pick it back up again. I realized I just didn't have a connection with the characters nor was intrigued by the story and family history that this book seemed to be building to, and with the book needing to be nearing more action/reveals/tension, I didn't think I was going to end up being invested when everything went down.
It's hard to pinpoint where this lack of interest came from. I think some of it definitely came from the general subject matter of the story (or the hobby through which the inner story of our MC is dealt with). While I knew this book would be about taxidermy, dead animals, etc., I guess I hadn't expected the detail? I guess I had assumed it would be backgrounding the larger family story rather than the other way around, and in reality I just don't enjoy reading about dead animal collecting, studying, and attempts at taxidermy of these dead animals. It just made me really uncomfortable at points, and I found myself skimming longer passages that involved these types of scenes. And unfortunately... this was most of the book. At least I know this for next time though, avoid books with a focus on dead animals?
I also wasn't fully enraptured by the verse. I've loved a lot of novels written in verse (most from Ellen Hopkins), but I just didn't mesh well with this particular take. I feel like verse is a little more hit or miss with me than prose, just as poetry is as well, and I honestly didn't feel like this novel benefited much from the verse (from what I read of it, of course). It seemed to read more as just broken up sentences than an actual style, and it just wasn't lyrical for me. I do think others will enjoy it though!
All in all, this book just wasn't for me, but I don't feel like I can judge it 'objectively', as much as anyone ever judges a book objectively. It just had too many things that weren't my taste, but I do feel like this book will find a home on some readers' shelves.
Beautiful. I think any errors of understanding were due to my lack of experience with poetry.
This was a fantastic book to read. I didn't realise it was a verse book until I opened it up but I don't think a book like this could have been written any other way. Beautiful story, beautiful characters and beautiful writing. I really need to read something happy now!