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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
This is a story about a young girl, Molly, who grows up harboring many painful secrets. The book's framework involves the protagonist's reflection of her childhood. Gradually as characters are introduced and developed, the reader becomes involved with Molly's wonderful father who suffers from MS, her mother Nora, and other family members who live on Morrison Ridge, NC.
The novel centers around Molly and her husband Aiden wanting to adopt a child with an open adoption. The flashbacks tell the story of why Molly feels ambivalent about the adoption process and all that it entails.
The characters were believable, likable, and vulnerable. A great read!
The novel centers around Molly and her husband Aiden wanting to adopt a child with an open adoption. The flashbacks tell the story of why Molly feels ambivalent about the adoption process and all that it entails.
The characters were believable, likable, and vulnerable. A great read!
Well that was different! A couple of chapters in and I had to double check on Amazon that I hadn't picked up a YA novel by mistake. I thought the start was pretty cheesy & not Diane Chamberlain's usually style at all.
A couple of chapters to go & I was wondering if it was the cleverest book I'd ever read.....
I struggled to see young Molly and present day Molly as one and the same girl but if I sat in a room with my 14 year old self I doubt I'd recognise her either.
The 'climatic event' was totally predictable from very early on in the book which ruined things a bit for me & the language of young Molly was adolescent in the extreme (deliberately, I know, but still hard to get through). Despite this I really enjoyed the book and thought it was very cleverly put together.
From about half way through I did not want to put it down, it made me stay up until the early hours to finish it, it made me think and it made me cry so if that's not a good read I'm not sure what is!
A couple of chapters to go & I was wondering if it was the cleverest book I'd ever read.....
I struggled to see young Molly and present day Molly as one and the same girl but if I sat in a room with my 14 year old self I doubt I'd recognise her either.
The 'climatic event' was totally predictable from very early on in the book which ruined things a bit for me & the language of young Molly was adolescent in the extreme (deliberately, I know, but still hard to get through). Despite this I really enjoyed the book and thought it was very cleverly put together.
From about half way through I did not want to put it down, it made me stay up until the early hours to finish it, it made me think and it made me cry so if that's not a good read I'm not sure what is!
Readable and interesting setting. Storyline a touch predictable with happy ending. A nice book to pass the time. Would you do it if your love one asked you? Even if it means breaking the law? Would you ask your loved one to do it knowing that they will carry that act the rest of their lives? It did make me ponder.
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
Diane Chamberlain is brilliant, absolutely brilliant with her non linear style writing and I was completely engrossed in this story from the very beginning. I didn't read what it was about prior because I wanted to be surprised but *spoiler* it didn't take long before I realized it was going to be about the right to die . This book vividly describes the lack of quality of life in the main character's father when his disease progresses to the point of where he is totally helpless and I had great compassion and understanding for his decision. While I certainly was very empathetic to 14 year old Molly and her fury and feelings of betrayal when she discovers that her family helped her father fulfill his wish to die, I was irritated with adult Molly. She had completely cut her family out of her life because of this and her birth mother died while Molly spend decades estranged from them. I would have thought as an adult she would be able to have compassion for her father and his suffering and her family's helping him and would have outgrown her selfishness. Overall, I read this book in 2 nights and Diane Chamberlain did not disappoint; a deep philosophical plot, interesting sub plots with her parents and birth mother, a coming of age tale for Molly, and it also explores open adoption and what it means to be family.
Pretending to Dance is another good story by Diane Chamberlain.
While the literary snob in my brain (a small snob, but one that rears its ugly head from time to time nonetheless) tells me that this is not great literature, the part of me that reads for pleasure seems to find Chamberlain's tales easy to sink into, and effortless to stay involved in.
What I liked about Pretending to Dance:
1. The setting- Asheville, North Carolina and a mountain nearby, on which the main character, Molly, grows up. I'm a sucker for anything set in the American South, so the setting was a big plus for me.
2. The story...this is harder to describe, other than that I think, like Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain knows how to write a good story.
What I didn't love:
1. Basically, everything felt a little "lite." Half of the story takes place in San Diego, California, which basically felt like it could have been anywhere, suburbia, USA. Now, this may be describing how San Diego is (I don't know), but to me, Chamberlain's descriptions of North Carolina also felt a bit too generic to really resonate.
2. The characters. Same issue. I feel like all of Chamberlain's characters are pretty much cookie-cutter idealized people.
To give an example, at one point, you've got Molly and her husband (both lawyers) worrying that their 1920's bungalow in San Diego won't look good enough for guests. Or, Molly debates on whether she should be a counselor rather than a lawyer. I hate the phrase, but there were a lot of "first-world problems" here. And, obviously, one could make the very good point that this is a story set in the "first world," however, I get that creepy Stepford Wives/Barbie and Ken feeling when reading Chamberlain's books, which I don't like.
Furthermore, given the big issues that Chamberlain writes about, she actually goes into territory that could get, well, if not, gritty, then at least not so darn idealized.
3. The big issues. Yes, it's part of what makes the story compelling, but it also bugs me, just a twinge, cuz I wonder if I'm being used by an author who is intentionally choosing to write about hot-button topics.
Ultimately, I think anyone who reads more than one novel by Diane Chamberlain, knows what they are getting in to. I'm glad there are all kinds of authors in the world, and occasionally, I really enjoy escaping the fictional worlds that Diane Chamberlain creates.
While the literary snob in my brain (a small snob, but one that rears its ugly head from time to time nonetheless) tells me that this is not great literature, the part of me that reads for pleasure seems to find Chamberlain's tales easy to sink into, and effortless to stay involved in.
What I liked about Pretending to Dance:
1. The setting- Asheville, North Carolina and a mountain nearby, on which the main character, Molly, grows up. I'm a sucker for anything set in the American South, so the setting was a big plus for me.
2. The story...this is harder to describe, other than that I think, like Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain knows how to write a good story.
What I didn't love:
1. Basically, everything felt a little "lite." Half of the story takes place in San Diego, California, which basically felt like it could have been anywhere, suburbia, USA. Now, this may be describing how San Diego is (I don't know), but to me, Chamberlain's descriptions of North Carolina also felt a bit too generic to really resonate.
2. The characters. Same issue. I feel like all of Chamberlain's characters are pretty much cookie-cutter idealized people.
To give an example, at one point, you've got Molly and her husband (both lawyers) worrying that their 1920's bungalow in San Diego won't look good enough for guests. Or, Molly debates on whether she should be a counselor rather than a lawyer. I hate the phrase, but there were a lot of "first-world problems" here. And, obviously, one could make the very good point that this is a story set in the "first world," however, I get that creepy Stepford Wives/Barbie and Ken feeling when reading Chamberlain's books, which I don't like.
Furthermore, given the big issues that Chamberlain writes about, she actually goes into territory that could get, well, if not, gritty, then at least not so darn idealized.
3. The big issues. Yes, it's part of what makes the story compelling, but it also bugs me, just a twinge, cuz I wonder if I'm being used by an author who is intentionally choosing to write about hot-button topics.
Ultimately, I think anyone who reads more than one novel by Diane Chamberlain, knows what they are getting in to. I'm glad there are all kinds of authors in the world, and occasionally, I really enjoy escaping the fictional worlds that Diane Chamberlain creates.
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Not very deep. Light and slow read. But I liked the descriptions of the land and how the family lived in North Carolina.
Really enjoyed the way this story unfolded. Molly and her husband are anxiously proceeding through the adoption process. This, however, is triggering painful recollections from the summer Molly was 14, memories she has refused to share fro many years. As the two stories unfold, you will feel the teen-age angst and rebellion. You will laugh, you will cry. You will wonder how it all will end. When it does, you will be ready to read it again.
Wow, what an amazing book! It has been quite a while since I have enjoyed a book so much. This story is so complex, heart-wrenching, yet heart-warming at the same time, filled with love, anger, jealousy and forgiveness. I did not want to put it down and was mad at myself for waiting so long to read it. I should have known it would be a wonderful story as are all the other Diane Chamberlain books I have read. I would recommened this book to absolutely everyone and I'm even more excited now to devour the other books by this author that I have yet to read. I'm looking forward to many more! Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy of this book.