Reviews tagging 'Animal death'

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows, Mary Ann Shaffer

35 reviews

blewballoon's review against another edition

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funny informative lighthearted reflective relaxing sad 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

5.0

I listened to this as an audiobook that had a large cast of narrators to cover all of the different voices, and I adored it. I didn't know much about the book going into it, I knew I had liked the movie and one of my favorite narrators (Rosalyn Landor) was included. It is much better than the movie. Despite being told in epistolary style, the characters feel so rich and real. It was easy to see how Juliet would grow to love them, and they to love her.
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livelyghost's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

It took me a while to get into this book because it’s written as a series of letters, but once I got more familiar with the pace it turned into a comforting piece. As a lady who loves eavesdropping, reading a series of personal letters was a fun treat. I frankly didn’t know the Channel Islands existed, much less that they were occupied by the Germans during World War Two. Hearing about what happening in fictional letters made it more personal and real. Juliet is very sunny and feels like your oldest, coolest friend. I would love to visit Guernsey to think about the history and these characters. 
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jja_b's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A charming read. I thought this was a very melancholic but sweet tale, and the characters’ experiences during the occupation were moving.

I did struggle with the writing style a bit at first (an epistolary novel I believe it’s called??) but I ended up really liking it. I think the film adaption is great, but I think I might prefer the book a lil more.
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naomi_k's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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abitofapoet's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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leithbookstagram's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

“what we call cheek and Americans call can-do spirit”

I wanted to read this book after watching the movie, so snatched this book up when I saw it in a charity shop! 

I almost stopped reading when I figured out, after 20 pages, that this book was completely written in just letters (minus one entry near the end - I won’t say what it is to save from spoilers). I didn’t know how I felt about reading this format and thought it would lead, quite frankly, to a crap narrative.

But I’m glad I read on.

This is a really lovely, heartwarming, short read. Yes, at times it was very emotional reading about the things these characters endured during Guernsey’s Occupation in WWII, but this story was actually really funny (in an old-fashioned comedy way) and lighthearted! 

I really loved reading all the history (although I don’t know how accurate this is so don’t quote me on anything) and found myself continuing to read to find out more about Guernsey’s Occupation.

Even though I was reading this because I loved the movie so much, there were some big differences between the two. To be honest, it was quite hard in some parts of this book to realise that the story was the same. I loved the movie so much and wanted this to replicate it, but this book is completely different.

The movie, in my opinion, was very focused on the romance element. This book was not and, to be honest, I didn’t expect the relationship to happen (I won’t spoil it for you!). The romance happened right at the end and was rushed into a few pages, it felt like it was just chucked in at the end. I would have actually rather the romance didn’t happen and I got an epilogue about Kit! 

I’m giving this book 5 stars because it has left me feeling absolutely lovely and this will definitely be a re-read at some point. I wasn’t that fond of the letter format at the beginning, but got used to it and it wasn’t hard to follow and understand what was happening. 

Forgetting about the letter format and the rushed romance, I loved this book and story. It is absolutely beautiful and I want to read more! 
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mmefish's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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

2.25

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rhosynmd's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-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

4.5

This book was so much more than I was expecting. 
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maaathiiilde's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.0

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novi's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

It is delightful, sad, and heratwarming. Just a story that's full of heart. Perfect if you love story about life in a small village/island with its interesting people; and if you just love books and readings. I wasn't expecting this book to be sad, I thought it's just gonna be like a chicklit. But it's more than that and it made me sad (in a good way, it means the book did its job). There are a lot of stories about war and its effects here (no bombs or politics, but the other parts of it), but it added more value and those stories are what made this book is so full of heart because every character is just so kind and resilience. But there are also some action, conflict, and drama, which were fun!
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