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karak's review against another edition
2.0
just not good? Annoying protagonist. Annoying voice. Nothing happens.
hoates's review against another edition
3.0
Started better than it finished. It, along with its protagonist, sort of unravel.
ohgeeitschrissy's review against another edition
3.0
Finishing this book was a STRUGGLE. I kind of got into it and thought the main character (Frances? Marlene? MF? Who thought that nickname was a good idea...) would actually make some changes in her thought process or maybe just grow up the tiniest bit but no. The end of the book features her acting like a five year old despite being well into her teen years. The writing in the novel was excellent, which is why I had to give it three stars even though the plot development was really lacking. The pull quotes on the novel also really didn't help. Comparing this simpering, sulking Peter Pan-esque girl to Scout Finch was definitely a hard sell for me. I appreciated the reverence she had for her family's farm, but reverence is not a plot unfortunately.
kerry_connors's review against another edition
4.0
Jane Hamilton is one of my favorites, and this one did not disappoint.
mdsnyderjr's review against another edition
1.0
What. The. F#ck? I must be missing something here. It's a shame. I was so excited to see a new book. Loved Book of Ruth and Map of the World. I wouldn't even recommend this to somebody on a deserted island.
yarnylibrarian's review against another edition
1.0
I think the only reasons I kept reading this were the references to apples, yarn, and library stuff.
Specifically, the book is set on an apple farm in Wisconsin, and I love hearing about different apple varieties. This book did not hold a candle to At the Edge of the Orchard in terms of apple minutiae, though. The closest it got was the scene in which one cider maker guessed the apple variety in the "5th cloth" of the cider press. Plus, I was distrustful of this statement: "The Honey Crisp had just come on the scene, a variety my father had brought home from a conference in the last year to try. I knew that a Sykes Honey Crisp would be fracturey hard but have no flavor.... even under the best of circumstances the showy Honey Crisp was without character, a fruit only a philistine would grow" (184). What?!?? The Honey Crisps that are grown in my county are DELICIOUS. Can't get enough of them.
Occasionally, sheep were mentioned. The farm sells apples, pears, cider, honey, and "knitting worsted" - so that's the yarn bit. Oddly, no one ever knits or weaves or does anything with fiber in the book.
As for library references, I was intrigued that the main character's mother was on the board of the American Library Association and "had won Outstanding Librarian Award (for Populations Under Five Thousand)" (53). AND... the local public library has what the protagonist calls "Library Cart Drill Team," or "Cart Drill" for short. The author's description of this specialized sport is spot on:
I'm not lying- it's for real. We just won first place in our category at the 2016 Gettysburg Halloween Parade - third year in a row!
Specifically, the book is set on an apple farm in Wisconsin, and I love hearing about different apple varieties. This book did not hold a candle to At the Edge of the Orchard in terms of apple minutiae, though. The closest it got was the scene in which one cider maker guessed the apple variety in the "5th cloth" of the cider press. Plus, I was distrustful of this statement: "The Honey Crisp had just come on the scene, a variety my father had brought home from a conference in the last year to try. I knew that a Sykes Honey Crisp would be fracturey hard but have no flavor.... even under the best of circumstances the showy Honey Crisp was without character, a fruit only a philistine would grow" (184). What?!?? The Honey Crisps that are grown in my county are DELICIOUS. Can't get enough of them.
Occasionally, sheep were mentioned. The farm sells apples, pears, cider, honey, and "knitting worsted" - so that's the yarn bit. Oddly, no one ever knits or weaves or does anything with fiber in the book.
As for library references, I was intrigued that the main character's mother was on the board of the American Library Association and "had won Outstanding Librarian Award (for Populations Under Five Thousand)" (53). AND... the local public library has what the protagonist calls "Library Cart Drill Team," or "Cart Drill" for short. The author's description of this specialized sport is spot on:
The art of Cart Drill at the basic level is to push the shelving carts to musical accompaniment. Sometimes you kick a leg out, or do a hip swivel, and as a team you make patterns as a marching band does, or you get a running start and glide with your feet hooked around the base, although that's advanced work. Across the nation at that time there were eighty-four teams and counting, Cart Drill not something my mother herself invented. She was hoping we would one day enter the American Library Association Annual Cart Drill Competition in Chicago..." (156).Now as someone who has actually participated in the Book Cart Drill Team World Championships (and, ahem, medalled), that's a pretty decent passage. For fiction. Of course, there's sooooo much more to it. I direct interested readers to a short documentary film that some film studies students made about Gettysburg College's team, Gett Down With Your Funky Shelf.
I'm not lying- it's for real. We just won first place in our category at the 2016 Gettysburg Halloween Parade - third year in a row!
judy_mama's review against another edition
3.0
Disappointment
Such a difference from her previous writings. This story seemed to go nowhere and ended just so! What a shame!
Such a difference from her previous writings. This story seemed to go nowhere and ended just so! What a shame!
randab's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting story with complex characters but the plot never had a defined climax. And the ending left me with a lot of questions so I felt the story was also missing a conclusion. Maybe she's going to write a sequel. Good coming of age story about a girl who is trying to figure out life and where she will fit in.