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torturedreadersdept's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug abuse, Infertility, and Sexual content
lindsayvsmith's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Cancer
capriqueen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Cancer, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death of parent and Abandonment
readerandrogue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Cancer and Infidelity
marissanbullis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Cancer, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment
leonidskies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The core of this book being sisterhood and the complex relationships of family worked really well. I felt like I understood and had a good picture of most of the cast, which was pretty impressive for the number of characters.
I'm a little more lukewarm on a couple of the characters - I found the main 'child'/third generation daughter difficult to understand, as I didn't really see the point that the novel was very clearly trying to hammer home. Something just felt a little off about it. I also had a distinctly bitter taste in my mouth over the sole black character, whose race was only ever alluded to vaguely (and one of the characters was almost blatantly racist towards but this was never mentioned in any capacity) and whose character was unmistakeably less well-rounded compared to all the other characters in the otherwise all-white cast.
I had really complicated feelings about Julia. I'm unsure how I was meant to interpret her - I quite liked how clear and legible most of what the book was trying to say was, but she continually evaded the same kind of incisive commentary over what I felt were her most glaring flaws. Her 'girlboss' moments were abjectly lacking in empathy, but I was left with the impression I wasn't MEANT to be horrified by what she did. I'm still not sure what the intention was at all.
That said, I did really enjoy reading this book. I liked the different perspectives and the scope, the spectrum of feeling was good, and again the family relationships and mostly well written complicated and interconnected characters and contexts were really good.
Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Suicide attempt
nanirump's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
jamespwaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Cancer, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexism and Grief
beate251's review against another edition
- 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
What a joy it was to read this. This is a book about relationships - romantic ones but mostly between sisters, and parents and children, and also friends. We see what happens when parents turn away from their children and siblings away from each other. We also see the dangers of people living the wrong life. This is a story about sad dysfunctional people, but also about strong women, and William and Julia who married for the wrong reasons - she because she was after a traditional ideal, and he because he had a lonely childhood and fell in love with the entire Padavano family and their love for each other. His wife didn't stand by him after his mental breakdown (nor did his parents who still grieved his dead sister) but he was allowed a second chance through the love of a second Padavano sister - a decision that tore Julia and her daughter away from the rest of the family for the longest time. It is sad that a reunion and forgiveness was only possible at the end due to a tragedy but the whole book operated on the premise of "when one door closes, another one opens."
As an aside, I couldn't figure out what Julia's high-powered job was for the entire book - she works for her uni professor on a time-limited project but that suddenly morphs into a permanent job with clients and a fancy office in the New York division? What kind of professor has these kinds of jobs to offer?
Apart from that, great literature, and the portrait on the cover is gorgeous, as if it was painted by Cecelia herself.
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
mrsmcfun's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, and Infidelity