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_rebeccareads_'s review
1.0
This book was just plain and simple bad. It focuses on five different characters, which I will discuss individually:
Tess, who has gotten pregnant via sperm donor, or so she says. She has never had any desire to have children, and has no maternal instinct whatsoever. She then asks the other four characters to be godparents.
Lucy is a mother of two, living with her younger partner, Jamie. He seems not to be interested in her at all, which leads to Lucy feeling unattractive and contemplating botox to make him want her. Lucy annoyed me in that she was quite controlling with her fellow godparents, constantly trying to organize them all and keep them in line, telling them what to do. She was just the typical mum, doing the day to day things: the school run, meeting up with fellow parents... she didn't really seem to have any character about her, nothing in the book showed that she had her own personality.
Michael is Tess' second cousin, a teacher. He didn't really have anything interesting to contribute to the book... It becomes clear later that he likes Tess, and later in the book he took the fathering role of Tess' baby, going to mother and partner classes with her and taking over, introducing himself as the father, without Tess' permission, which I found very rude and annoying. However, I also found Tess terribly ungrateful for the support she was receiving when she was clearly struggling, and not really bothered about her baby.
Owen is a rich ladies man, who has slept around a lot and been engaged with no intention to marry a number of times. He blames all of this behaviour on his being adopted, and his father being ill. Maybe it's just me but I think that to blame any of those things on being adopted is a terribly childish excuse. We do see him grow up a bit when Tess has the baby and his father dies, but it wasn't enough for me.
Now, lastly, we have Sierra. Sierra has lived a life where, although she has parents, they have not always been around. Her mother jetted off to Spain two years ago, constantly getting in trouble, getting involved in drug deals etc. Sierra has a horrible 'boyfriend', who appears to have no real feelings. I think that, although she could have been the most likeable of the characters, her story just wasn't good.
I also really didn't like some of the language used in the book, particularly in reference to some of the more explicit scenes. I understand that a major theme in the book is that they are not all 'grown up', but I just found it unbelievably immature. We see the characters grow up and learn about the people around them and their responsibilities.
I don't know, maybe I've been too harsh, maybe others will love this book. I just really didn't.
Tess, who has gotten pregnant via sperm donor, or so she says. She has never had any desire to have children, and has no maternal instinct whatsoever. She then asks the other four characters to be godparents.
Lucy is a mother of two, living with her younger partner, Jamie. He seems not to be interested in her at all, which leads to Lucy feeling unattractive and contemplating botox to make him want her. Lucy annoyed me in that she was quite controlling with her fellow godparents, constantly trying to organize them all and keep them in line, telling them what to do. She was just the typical mum, doing the day to day things: the school run, meeting up with fellow parents... she didn't really seem to have any character about her, nothing in the book showed that she had her own personality.
Michael is Tess' second cousin, a teacher. He didn't really have anything interesting to contribute to the book... It becomes clear later that he likes Tess, and later in the book he took the fathering role of Tess' baby, going to mother and partner classes with her and taking over, introducing himself as the father, without Tess' permission, which I found very rude and annoying. However, I also found Tess terribly ungrateful for the support she was receiving when she was clearly struggling, and not really bothered about her baby.
Owen is a rich ladies man, who has slept around a lot and been engaged with no intention to marry a number of times. He blames all of this behaviour on his being adopted, and his father being ill. Maybe it's just me but I think that to blame any of those things on being adopted is a terribly childish excuse. We do see him grow up a bit when Tess has the baby and his father dies, but it wasn't enough for me.
Now, lastly, we have Sierra. Sierra has lived a life where, although she has parents, they have not always been around. Her mother jetted off to Spain two years ago, constantly getting in trouble, getting involved in drug deals etc. Sierra has a horrible 'boyfriend', who appears to have no real feelings. I think that, although she could have been the most likeable of the characters, her story just wasn't good.
I also really didn't like some of the language used in the book, particularly in reference to some of the more explicit scenes. I understand that a major theme in the book is that they are not all 'grown up', but I just found it unbelievably immature. We see the characters grow up and learn about the people around them and their responsibilities.
I don't know, maybe I've been too harsh, maybe others will love this book. I just really didn't.
simsarah79's review
4.0
I really liked The Pile At the Bottom of the Stairs and this one, although it started off sketchy with all the characters at once and not knowing what was what, flowed into a light read about people in their 20's and 30's and what it means to grow up with the center of the story rounding the upcoming birth of Gus.
We see how friends of Tess come together and get to know each other over the course of a year how they mingle and connect. It's a british read (my fav) and although light it still is infused with astute observations about life and good writing.
I can't wait for Ms. Hopkinson to come out with another.
We see how friends of Tess come together and get to know each other over the course of a year how they mingle and connect. It's a british read (my fav) and although light it still is infused with astute observations about life and good writing.
I can't wait for Ms. Hopkinson to come out with another.
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