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crhbrault's review against another edition
1.0
Slow...confusing...pointless...boring.
Life is too short to read bad books!
Life is too short to read bad books!
emilycathn's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful language and ever-changing relationships make this novel an addicting and emotional read.
Having already studied McCorkle’s short story collection Creatures of Habit, I was thrilled to try out one of her novels. Ferris Beach, one of her earliest novels, proved to be an insightful and moving read. Following Katie Tennyson Burns from her pre-teen years to high school in a format closely resembling diary entries brings out emotions regarding aging and friendships. The reader deeply feels her losses and gains and her desire for a happy ending.
The novel uses an interesting format, combining an element of storytelling with a personal diary. Some events are repeated throughout the chapters, creating a sense you are reading and living with Katie’s internal thoughts. I found some passages and repetitions to detract from McCorkle’s picturesque writing style, but I think those are due to her lack of writing experience and maturation when publishing this novel in 1990.
I felt like I grew up with Katie through the course of this novel, and I believe it resembles the genre of Bildungsroman. I would recommend to any teenage reader, or someone experiencing a loss or challenge with their parents.
Having already studied McCorkle’s short story collection Creatures of Habit, I was thrilled to try out one of her novels. Ferris Beach, one of her earliest novels, proved to be an insightful and moving read. Following Katie Tennyson Burns from her pre-teen years to high school in a format closely resembling diary entries brings out emotions regarding aging and friendships. The reader deeply feels her losses and gains and her desire for a happy ending.
The novel uses an interesting format, combining an element of storytelling with a personal diary. Some events are repeated throughout the chapters, creating a sense you are reading and living with Katie’s internal thoughts. I found some passages and repetitions to detract from McCorkle’s picturesque writing style, but I think those are due to her lack of writing experience and maturation when publishing this novel in 1990.
I felt like I grew up with Katie through the course of this novel, and I believe it resembles the genre of Bildungsroman. I would recommend to any teenage reader, or someone experiencing a loss or challenge with their parents.
jgoalder's review against another edition
4.0
Terrifically engrossing story about growing up in the South. While I am a few years younger than Kitty, I am close enough in age for the story and characters to have resonated.
stephhammer's review against another edition
5.0
For some reason this coming-of-age story draws me in almost 20 years after I first read it. There is a certain sense of isolation in Kate's story, and maybe it's those feelings of disconnect that many of us felt as teens that I see mirrored in her story.
amyl88's review against another edition
2.0
While I did enjoy the writing style, this book felt a bit anticlimactic. There were hints of something coming, and I thought there would be some big unveiling of a family secret or something. There were a couple of dramatic events, but they didn't feel like any kind of turning point or anything that changed the direction of the main character's life. This is probably my issue for reading too much into the text.
I didn't really get her fixation on her older cousin, either. Maybe I just didn't feel connected to Kate.
Also, this version was riddled with typos. It seemed more like formatting errors than actual editing issues, but just wanted to note that.
I didn't really get her fixation on her older cousin, either. Maybe I just didn't feel connected to Kate.
Also, this version was riddled with typos. It seemed more like formatting errors than actual editing issues, but just wanted to note that.
micklesreads's review against another edition
5.0
I can't really put my finger on why I loved this book so much. I didn't ever feel in awe of the writing, but maybe that's part of it; the writing was seamless and powerful, so I didn't really notice it. I stayed up late several nights to read more, and that says a lot. McCorkle is a wonderful story-teller, and she creates a great balance between character and plot. This book was beautiful, sad, and very rooted in its setting. Just a great book, really. I'm going to pick up more of her work from the library.
nicoleleemiller's review against another edition
4.0
This is one of those books where nothing seems to happen, meaning no one big event, no climax etc. But sometimes these are the best stories, where we follow the characters through a part of their life. This was about Katie and her best friend during the early 70s. Katie learns that people are more than what they seem. A good read about friends, neighbors, and appreciating people for who they are.