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wooseoks's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Suicide
readwithchar's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Suicide
bookswithbront's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book manages to toe an incredibly difficult line: being both incredibly charming and completely gut wrenching. It tells the story of Maddie, a 25-year-old Ghanaian woman living in London, who's the primary caretaker for her father who has Parkinson's.
Maddie is an incredibly well-written, real-feeling character: at times to the point of being infuriating to read. Her naïveté is understandable — she's grown up incredibly sheltered and is just learning to make her own decisions for the first time at 25 — but can be frustrating as a reader, when you can see situations more clearly than she can and have to wait for her to realize she's being mistreated or taken advantage of. Because the book is written solely from Maddie's perspective, however, it did leave many of the other characters feeling one-dimensional. And when Maddie finally realizes at the end of the book that "my actions can affect other people," it feels like too little, too late.
When thinking about what I liked most about this book, I feel drawn to its two emotional extremes. On one hand, I appreciated the raw, realistic depiction of what grief can do to a person, especially when that grief is complicated with feelings of regret. On the other, I most enjoyed the lighthearted scenes when Maddie was experiencing things like flirting, dancing in a club, or getting high for the first time. The "in betweens" of these two ends of the spectrum — tended to drag on for me, but they also made the story feel incredibly true to life, so I understand their purpose.
All in all, this is a stunning debut from Jessica George. Even more than the story itself, I appreciated her voice, her humor, and her writing style, and I'll gladly read whatever she publishes next.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!
Maddie is an incredibly well-written, real-feeling character: at times to the point of being infuriating to read. Her naïveté is understandable — she's grown up incredibly sheltered and is just learning to make her own decisions for the first time at 25 — but can be frustrating as a reader, when you can see situations more clearly than she can and have to wait for her to realize she's being mistreated or taken advantage of. Because the book is written solely from Maddie's perspective, however, it did leave many of the other characters feeling one-dimensional. And when Maddie finally realizes at the end of the book that "my actions can affect other people," it feels like too little, too late.
When thinking about what I liked most about this book, I feel drawn to its two emotional extremes. On one hand, I appreciated the raw, realistic depiction of what grief can do to a person, especially when that grief is complicated with feelings of regret. On the other, I most enjoyed the lighthearted scenes when Maddie was experiencing things like flirting, dancing in a club, or getting high for the first time. The "in betweens" of these two ends of the spectrum — tended to drag on for me, but they also made the story feel incredibly true to life, so I understand their purpose.
All in all, this is a stunning debut from Jessica George. Even more than the story itself, I appreciated her voice, her humor, and her writing style, and I'll gladly read whatever she publishes next.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Biphobia and Suicide
breacommelafromage's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
This was a really difficult read emotionally, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I think this is one of those books I am going to struggle to write a review for because of how hard it hit me emotionally. But it’s a wonderful exploration and explanation of grief, and grieving lost childhoods when you’ve been forced into responsibility and care giving at such a young age. I related to Maddie more than I think I wanted to, but for better or worse I think I just walked away from the book feeling validated in my own experiences with grief.
I think this is one of those books I am going to struggle to write a review for because of how hard it hit me emotionally. But it’s a wonderful exploration and explanation of grief, and grieving lost childhoods when you’ve been forced into responsibility and care giving at such a young age. I related to Maddie more than I think I wanted to, but for better or worse I think I just walked away from the book feeling validated in my own experiences with grief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide
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