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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
I could not put this book down. I did find her 14 year old self a bit self absorbed but that is teenagers. I thought it was interesting that she could hang onto the belief that her mother killed her father even once she was mature enough to consider euthanasia. Her husband mentioned that he was surprised when she had discussed with him a persons right to die. I was also surprised that she hung onto not getting along with her mother when we start to understand as we mature that it's often part of growing up. That we see our parents in a different light once we mature. Overall though I couldn't stop reading as I wanted to know the outcome of the adoption and what happened to the family during her 14th year. I guess no-one thinks about what it does to loved ones when you make that request. As Russell pointed out to Molly he needed that help rather than starving to death.
You can find this review and others on my blog SleepySamReads!
I’m always a sucker for books where the main character has a hidden past. I’m also a sucker for Diane Chamberlain books. So it was a no-brainer for me to order Pretending to Dance when I saw it available on bookoutlet.com.
I loved Molly! Both young Molly and older Molly. I really liked the alternating time line and seeing things play out the way we did.
Young Molly is perhaps one of the best and most honest portrayals of a teenager I’ve ever seen. Knowing what happened in the end (which I won’t go into detail about for fear of spoiling) and how young Molly reacted makes total sense.
Overall I really enjoyed this book! Diane Chamberlain continues to grow as one of my favorite authors!
I’m always a sucker for books where the main character has a hidden past. I’m also a sucker for Diane Chamberlain books. So it was a no-brainer for me to order Pretending to Dance when I saw it available on bookoutlet.com.
I loved Molly! Both young Molly and older Molly. I really liked the alternating time line and seeing things play out the way we did.
Young Molly is perhaps one of the best and most honest portrayals of a teenager I’ve ever seen. Knowing what happened in the end (which I won’t go into detail about for fear of spoiling) and how young Molly reacted makes total sense.
Overall I really enjoyed this book! Diane Chamberlain continues to grow as one of my favorite authors!
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Two and a half stars. The book was good but not Chamerlain's best. At times I had a hard time switching between present time and the past and the characters did not really come to life for me. Compared to her other novels, this one lacks both mystery and suspense.
Great read. I loved the back story of Morrison Ridge. I found the present day story a little lacking. There was so much detail put into the back story that I felt the current day felt a little forced. Even so, I couldn't put the book down. Loved her dad's outlook and relationship he had with his daughter.
I actually stayed up to race to the finish that I could see coming but I needed to hear it from the character herself. The past story was much more richly written for me then her current storyline. I did cry through the last 30 pages or so a mark of a great book.
I both really enjoyed this book and hated it. The writing, the storyline, the character description of young Molly are all very good and I love the adoption plot. It's beautiful. But that we are supposed to think the best thing was euthanasia? That even our narrator, who didn't talk to her mother for 20 years over her suspicions, believes in the "right to die"? Ugh. That man would have caused serious and rightly placed guilt in everyone involved and it negated all the generosity of his character. Perhaps that's realistic, but the murderers living with this secret for so long and feeling fine (mostly) - that's not. I don't buy it, and I don't like that the novel is set up to pull the reader into agreeing with that decision. Also, he didn't need several meetings to convince his whole family to join in - 1/10 killing someone is still killing them and this creates drama in the story but isn't sensible as his wife or aide could have helped him easily. (Chamberlain read Murder on the Orient Express and had to use it?) I also didn't buy into adult Molly's life - we don't see anything about her career, and she only tells us how great her marriage is, never shows - and her ignoring her entire family for 2 decades over unconfirmed suspicions and misunderstandings is so immature.
I took my time reading this because the story was very moving. It moved back and forth through the eyes of Molly as a married woman hoping to become an adoptive mother and as a 14 year old coming of age. The setting was San Diego (adult life) and the ancestral family plot of land in rural North Carolina where several family members lived (teen life).
Sometimes pre-teen Molly's story was a little YA-ish but overall it was well written. Molly's father had MS, a major part of the story that was seamlessly written. I gained a new perspective to the illness. Molly was a daddy's girl; the love between them was undeniable. The family secrets from Molly's past weighted heavily on adult Molly's life. There were several "Wait . . . what??!!!" revelations.
It's been quite awhile since I read a Diane Chamberlain book and now I'm more than ready to read another.
Sometimes pre-teen Molly's story was a little YA-ish but overall it was well written. Molly's father had MS, a major part of the story that was seamlessly written. I gained a new perspective to the illness. Molly was a daddy's girl; the love between them was undeniable. The family secrets from Molly's past weighted heavily on adult Molly's life. There were several "Wait . . . what??!!!" revelations.
It's been quite awhile since I read a Diane Chamberlain book and now I'm more than ready to read another.
there was nothing "wrong" with the book but I found it so predictable that I was bored. I couldn't tell if the author meant there to be a secret reveal at the end but I figured it out 20 pages in an was impatient to get it over with already