Reviews - Christa Comes Out of Her Shell

303 reviews for:

Christa Comes Out of Her Shell

Abbi Waxman

3.65 AVERAGE

kariannoc's review against another edition

3.75

emotional hopeful informative lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

abookwormwithwine's review against another edition

3.75

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The Bookish Life of Nina Hill is what first introduced me to Abbi Waxman, and I have loved her ever since. Even though I didn't love Christa Comes Out of Her Shell quite as much, it has a lot of great qualities. For one, I will always enjoy Waxman’s writing. It is consistent, sharp, and clever, and I love the way she tackles things like rocky family relationships, the importance of therapy, and exploitation which are all discussed in this story. The plot for this book is definitely out there as many readers have mentioned, and Christa’s age doesn’t quite match up to her current situation, but these are things that I didn’t even think about, and I found myself lost in the story and characters.

I listened to the audiobook which was very enjoyable, and I loved Jesse Vilinsky & Jonathan Todd Ross as the narrators. Vilinsky sounded a little young to be the voice of Christa, but I kept forgetting that she is only mid to late 20s, so ultimately, she had the perfect voice for her. There is some spice and a lot more romance than I was expecting, but the banter between Christa and Nathan was adorbs and I wanted them to be a couple. There are annotations in the book which was a nice little touch that I’ve been seeing a lot recently, as well as all chapters having a unique title (mostly animal-related) with their scientific names below. Despite all of the book's great qualities, there was still something missing for me, and I can’t quite pinpoint what it was. I do however wish it had been about 50 pages shorter. This is still an entertaining and interesting read though, and I definitely recommend it!

I received a complimentary copy of this book via NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

rachelangle13's review

3.75

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I’m a huge fan of Waxmans, but something about the Nate and Christa storyline just didn’t work for me. Which was disappointing because I loved the story of the sisters and silliness and everything wrapped up in it. The romance just didn’t fit. (And this is coming from a romance fanatic)

sungmemoonstruck's review

emotional funny lighthearted 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

Where this book really shone for me was in Christa's relationship with her mother and sisters and her fresh and funny narrative voice. I laughed out loud multiple times and really enjoyed Christa's passion for science. The romance is sweet but leans a little hard on the "I saw you and I just knew" trope for my taste and I ultimately wanted to spend more time with Christa and her family than with Christa and Nate.