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librarygurl's review against another edition
4.0
I get why people I know like it, but it didn't wow me. I feel like this is the story my great-grandmother and grandmother would have enjoyed (and probably my mother as well).
jen_jacob's review against another edition
5.0
I love Anita Diamant and she doesn't write nearly fast enough for my liking! Every one of her books makes me feel as if I'm in my favorite place on earth - Boston and Cape Ann - and this novel was no exception. I learned to love Addie as I followed her through her life and got quite attached. Addie is a true inspiration and her words of wisdom to her granddaughter are so positive.
nucleartumbleweeds's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
book_concierge's review against another edition
5.0
Digital audiobook performed by Linda Lavin
85-year-old Addie Baum is interviewed by her “favorite” granddaughter for a project. And so she begins to relate her life from the beginning. Her parents emigrated in the late 1890s from Russia, along with her two older sisters. Addie was born in Boston in 1900 and has lived her entire life in that city. In many ways this was an ordinary life, but Addie’s telling shows how even “ordinary” people can have extraordinary events in their lives.
I just loved this book. I loved Addie – feisty, intelligent, curious, determined, adventurous, compassionate. She’s a loyal friend and confidante. She’s also practical about her decisions, but still willing to take a risk. I was completely mesmerized by her storytelling.
Diamant gives us the most detail about Addie’s single life from about age fifteen to age thirty. The narrative compresses significantly when she’s married and begins her family, though this is also when she takes one of the biggest risks: pursuing her education and a career.
While I’ve visited Boston a couple of times, I’m certainly not intimately familiar with it, but Diamant paints such a clear picture of Addie’s Boston (and environs) that I feel I know it.
Linda Lavin does a spectacular job of narrating the audiobook. I really felt as if I were hearing Addie relate these stories of her young self.
85-year-old Addie Baum is interviewed by her “favorite” granddaughter for a project. And so she begins to relate her life from the beginning. Her parents emigrated in the late 1890s from Russia, along with her two older sisters. Addie was born in Boston in 1900 and has lived her entire life in that city. In many ways this was an ordinary life, but Addie’s telling shows how even “ordinary” people can have extraordinary events in their lives.
I just loved this book. I loved Addie – feisty, intelligent, curious, determined, adventurous, compassionate. She’s a loyal friend and confidante. She’s also practical about her decisions, but still willing to take a risk. I was completely mesmerized by her storytelling.
Diamant gives us the most detail about Addie’s single life from about age fifteen to age thirty. The narrative compresses significantly when she’s married and begins her family, though this is also when she takes one of the biggest risks: pursuing her education and a career.
While I’ve visited Boston a couple of times, I’m certainly not intimately familiar with it, but Diamant paints such a clear picture of Addie’s Boston (and environs) that I feel I know it.
Linda Lavin does a spectacular job of narrating the audiobook. I really felt as if I were hearing Addie relate these stories of her young self.
sadiesw_'s review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Stories centered around Jewish women make me very happy.
Addie reminds me of my bubbe.
Addie is a Boston girl like me!
Addie reminds me of my bubbe.
Addie is a Boston girl like me!
alidottie's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book! I enjoyed Addie's story from the start and how I admire the women who did something outside what was expected of them in the first half of the 20th century!
adrienneleigh's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
kb943's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
4.0