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vanessatombolini's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Death of parent, Child death, Cancer, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Pregnancy, Grief, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Chronic illness, Cursing, Abandonment, Child abuse, Homophobia, Classism, Mental illness, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual content, Medical content, Sexual harassment, War, and Infidelity
tiredfangirl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
I was so torn about how to star rate this book. The themes were incredibly well developed looking back from the end, but I think as I was reading it felt like a lot of stuff was going nowhere.
In terms of the characterization, I didn’t like any of the characters for about the first half of the book. I get that it was building towards the larger themes, but it meant that I wasn’t really enjoying reading it. I also really felt like for a book with such complex characters otherwise, Julia and Rose got very one-note characterizations.I’m more forgiving of Charlie’s 2-note characterization because I think it makes a point about how we idealize people after death, but I wish she had DONE something with that.
Despite all that, I couldn’t seem to put it down. So… 4/5 I guess? But definitely 5/5 at times and 2/5 at times.
In terms of the characterization, I didn’t like any of the characters for about the first half of the book. I get that it was building towards the larger themes, but it meant that I wasn’t really enjoying reading it. I also really felt like for a book with such complex characters otherwise, Julia and Rose got very one-note characterizations.
Despite all that, I couldn’t seem to put it down. So… 4/5 I guess? But definitely 5/5 at times and 2/5 at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Mental illness
Minor: Alcoholism and Addiction
abicaro17's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
Oh lord. How do I describe this book? When I read it was like a Little Women retelling I was a tad scared because I didn't know what to expect. Let me tell you to expect to laugh, cry, and smile at this beautiful book. I was skeptical about the first few chapters but then Napolitano throws you a curve ball and ramps the pace right up! The characters are complex and beautifully developed, the story manages to be funny, sad, and reflective of family and love all at the same time. The end is beautiful and unexpected (I cried for like 80 pages no joke!) but perfectly closes out the book and all loose ends. I wish I could read this again for the first time because i'd appreciate it more!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Terminal illness, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Mental illness, Body horror, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Cancer, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Death, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
seventhswan's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
3.5
With the possible exception of The Color Purple, this book has the best opening line I've ever read. The crafting of this story is excellent throughout. I loved William's character and story arc, even when the choices he made were infuriating, and found each of the Padavano sisters to be compelling, three-dimensional characters. There were characters I wanted more of at the beginning and the end of the story, particularly Charlie and Alice, although I recognise this would have made for a very long book. I don't think this is a story with main characters, and trying to shoehorn Julia/Sylvie/William into this role at various times meant the world as a whole lost something for me.
For some reason, despite being technically excellent and enjoying reading it while it was in front of me, the story took me a long time to wade through. I appreciated that the plot moved quite quickly, as otherwise I feel it could have fallen into bleak and melancholic territory. I was also irritated by the death at the end of the story, but I can't work out if it was actually just thrown in as a plot device or if I just liked the character who dies a lot. There were also some subplots that were introduced and then never seemed to go anywhere or get mentioned again.
Overall I would recommend this book as a compelling and moving set of character studies, but I wouldn't say it bears much resemblance to what the blurb and marketing suggests. This is not really a story about romantic love, but about the choices we make when there are no good choices in all kinds of relationships.
I'm excited to read Little Women next and see how many parallels there are between the two books, as other people have said!
For some reason, despite being technically excellent and enjoying reading it while it was in front of me, the story took me a long time to wade through. I appreciated that the plot moved quite quickly, as otherwise I feel it could have fallen into bleak and melancholic territory. I was also irritated by the death at the end of the story, but I can't work out if it was actually just thrown in as a plot device or if I just liked the character who dies a lot. There were also some subplots that were introduced and then never seemed to go anywhere or get mentioned again.
Overall I would recommend this book as a compelling and moving set of character studies, but I wouldn't say it bears much resemblance to what the blurb and marketing suggests. This is not really a story about romantic love, but about the choices we make when there are no good choices in all kinds of relationships.
I'm excited to read Little Women next and see how many parallels there are between the two books, as other people have said!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Abandonment
Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Child death, and Religious bigotry
meghan_thee_scallion's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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
A beautifully expansive novel about family, grief, and mistakes. It took a little bit for me to get into this one, but once it grabbed me, I was fully in it.
I saw myself in the characters of Sylvie and William and the way the author writes about their family. Highly recommend!
I saw myself in the characters of Sylvie and William and the way the author writes about their family. Highly recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Religious bigotry
kiwichill's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? Yes
5.0
I can relate so much to the sisters in this book for deeply personal reasons. My mum passed away from a brain tumour in 1991. This book reverberates in my heart for so many reasons, and will stay with me for the rest of my life
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Child death
Moderate: Biphobia, Alcohol, Homophobia, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Body shaming, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Pregnancy, Cancer, and Cursing
mcarabooboo's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Child death, Abandonment, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, and Cancer
jdamae11's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.75
Can’t lie, I don’t usually grab books with celeb or “book club” stickers because I feel so much pressure to enjoy them, but I’m grateful for the reading experience this book gave me. This book definitely made me feel ALL the emotions, especially in the final third. The writing was beautiful & although the pacing was slower than what I usually prefer, it was paced consistently well throughout. Each of the characters felt so solid to me, like I could grab them out of the pages, they were so devastatingly human. I’m a sucker for stories about sisters & their bonds, & at times it felt like I was peaking in on moments too intimate for me to be a part of. I appreciated how much personal reflection this book inspired, & a stand out element for me was the well-crafted portrayal of messy, complicated dynamics of mother-daughter relationships. I found the author’s depiction of depression to be so intensely real / visceral & relatable as someone who lives with it- if you’ve ever had depression &/or anxiety, I feel like you can recognize it in teen/young adult William immediately, & I personally felt dread when reading from his early 20s POV bc wow the thoughts were so close to home. Well done to the author on that for sure.
Here’s some of what didn’t work for me, light spoiler territory ahead so proceed with caution!! I haven’t star rated books in a MINUTE but if I had to frame it that way, this book had lost a star and a half from me b/c of some of this:
Using William as one of the main protagonist POVs didn’t work too well for me as a framing device, I found myself always wanting to be back in the sisters’ heads. At a certain point, I admittedly found him to be quite draining (not as a result of his mental health breakdown, rather as a result of him seemingly using that to absolve himself of responsibility for how his actions affected others). Re: William’s mental health overall - I don’t know if I like how I felt it was used as a device later in the book, almost like it could be leveraged to brush off some of his really harmful, continuous decisions without an acknowledgment of the results of those or any self-accountability for the character. Basically William at one point is like ‘I know I destroyed this family & keep leaving my daughter with awful abandonment issues’..& then just keeps being coddled & refuses to do anything about it. This I guess is what makes him feel so dang real as a character, but sometimes it leaned in a way that made me think I was supposed to be ‘poor William’ boo-hooing as well. There were also a few moments in the book when things seemed to just conveniently fall into place for the characters’ benefit that didn’t feel natural or earned - eg William & Kent both getting lucrative pro sports jobs AND at the same team, like cmon. My big ick with this was that a man—William—could absolutely destroy what is painted as an impenetrable bond between 2 of the sisters, & ultimately all of the women of this family. My not nice version of this is that William ain’t sh*t. Julia is for sure a Capricorn & came with the coldness, but she did not deserve to be played so bad the way she was. She was a lil too relatable for me, as was Sylvie, which if you’ve read the book, is hilarious & makes me basically a walking contradiction (true)
Here’s some of what didn’t work for me, light spoiler territory ahead so proceed with caution!! I haven’t star rated books in a MINUTE but if I had to frame it that way, this book had lost a star and a half from me b/c of some of this:
Using William as one of the main protagonist POVs didn’t work too well for me as a framing device, I found myself always wanting to be back in the sisters’ heads. At a certain point, I admittedly found him to be quite draining (not as a result of his mental health breakdown, rather as a result of him seemingly using that to absolve himself of responsibility for how his actions affected others). Re: William’s mental health overall - I don’t know if I like how I felt it was used as a device later in the book, almost like it could be leveraged to brush off some of his really harmful, continuous decisions without an acknowledgment of the results of those or any self-accountability for the character. Basically William at one point is like ‘I know I destroyed this family & keep leaving my daughter with awful abandonment issues’..& then just keeps being coddled & refuses to do anything about it. This I guess is what makes him feel so dang real as a character, but sometimes it leaned in a way that made me think I was supposed to be ‘poor William’ boo-hooing as well. There were also a few moments in the book when things seemed to just conveniently fall into place for the characters’ benefit that didn’t feel natural or earned - eg William & Kent both getting lucrative pro sports jobs AND at the same team, like cmon. My big ick with this was that a man—William—could absolutely destroy what is painted as an impenetrable bond between 2 of the sisters, & ultimately all of the women of this family. My not nice version of this is that William ain’t sh*t. Julia is for sure a Capricorn & came with the coldness, but she did not deserve to be played so bad the way she was. She was a lil too relatable for me, as was Sylvie, which if you’ve read the book, is hilarious & makes me basically a walking contradiction (true)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Child death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry
bookrecsondeck's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Chronic illness
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