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samondemand's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Mental illness and Suicide attempt
rberdan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I wanted to love this book as much as I was drawn to it. The love and dysfunction, the complexity of relationships, were captured well. And I couldn't quite place it as a favourite because the things that were so strong were undersupported by the somewhat imbalanced character development/depth. The story is a loose homage to Little Women while being its own, and given that it centres so strongly on the 4 sisters their development felt somewhat imbalanced and left me wanting a more cohesive fullness to the women.
The character development for Sylvie, William, and the twins were decent. Izzy's and Rose's stories were lightly explored, and that felt disjointed from the development of the others' stories. I suppose Julia also grew, but while I have compassion for what would have been hard for herin navigating the relationship between Sylvie and William I found her absolutely insufferable, self-centred, immature, and selfish, so I simply cannot honour her growth in any meaningful way. I'm the same age as Alice, and found so much of her experience—particularly the loneliness, the self-sufficiency, the protectiveness of a single parent that come along with being the only child of a single mom— uncomfortably relatable.
What the book does remarkably well is articulate both grief and the way mental health was treated during the time period when this was set. Having experienced the loss of the person who knew me as well as I know myself,and having lost that person to brain cancer, I felt the process of grief very deeply. Having experienced depression and suicidal ideation, I felt deeply connected to William's experience and appreciative of how Sylvie saw him as I have been seen in the same way and it has saved me. There is a beautiful construction around these scenes that I deeply appreciated.
The character development for Sylvie, William, and the twins were decent. Izzy's and Rose's stories were lightly explored, and that felt disjointed from the development of the others' stories. I suppose Julia also grew, but while I have compassion for what would have been hard for her
What the book does remarkably well is articulate both grief and the way mental health was treated during the time period when this was set. Having experienced the loss of the person who knew me as well as I know myself,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
amphitritedreams's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death and Lesbophobia
ashleysilver7's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a generational novel that follows the Padavano sisters from Chicago, and William Waters who marries into the family. We follow their lives and relationships, and learn a lot about mental health, family dynamics, basketball and injuries, betrayal, and ultimately forgiveness and love. Many of these characters were extremely stubborn and not exactly relatable to me, but I enjoyed their story nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide attempt
lena842's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Suicide attempt
frenchfrybri's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
s_salako's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.25
I, unfortunately or fortunately, haven’t been given the patience or desire to read classics. Imagine my surprise realizing over halfway through that this is a Little Women retelling lolollllll! I will take a well-crafted retelling over frufru, confusing language any day, and this didn’t disappoint. It was super deep and makes the reader ponder their own relationships, their family, and the choices we do or don’t make. It was also so refreshing to have the mental health piece be so front and center and passed around for multiple characters to work through. As I would say with any classic as well, this book was unnecessarily TOO LONG 🥱 - could’ve been cut by at least 100 pages. Over all, wonderful novel of family, friendship, and paving our own paths in life and finding ourselves in the process. Recommend!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
libellules's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
slow start and i very nearly dnf'd but pushed through. the books really picks up at about the half way mark and zooms to the finish line. it becomes very poignant and i admit i did actually shed a tear. it creates a layered portrait of a family through the generations and did a fantastic job of showing how our stories and personal mythoses are told and retold and woven into the tapestry of our lives. the style initially was quite off putting for me as we are told a lot of information rather than shown it but i did eventually get over it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, and Terminal illness
_sarahroeder's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Suicide attempt
Minor: Homophobia
jegan4'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Death, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism, Child death, Homophobia, and Racism