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3.67 AVERAGE
3.67 AVERAGE
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Racism
I've chosen books because of recommendations from friends, reviews from strangers, and even due to beautiful cover design, but I decided to read Groundskeeping because of the title. My youngest son is a groundskeeper so I wanted to see what this book was about.
It's a coming-of-age story about 28-year-old Owen Callahan, who returns to his home state of Kentucky after working dead-end jobs and sleeping in his car in Colorado. He gets a job as a groundskeeper at Ashby College, and this allows him to take one course per semester. Owen's parents are religious fundamentalists and politically conservative. He lives rent-free with his grandfather who offers some bits of wisdom now and then, and his unemployed Uncle Cort, an avid Trump supporter. Because Owen is is an aspiring writer, he signs up for creative writing and meets Alma who is at Ashby on a fellowship. She was born in Bosnia but was raised in a Washington, D.C. suburb by affluent, liberal parents. Owen and Alma begin to develop a relationship that is going fairly well until they visit each others' families.
I enjoyed all the details about the trees that Owen was charged with trimming, pruning, and cutting down, along with realistic particulars about the rest of the men he works with. (Is there a reason that every groundskeeping crew seems to have at least one outspoken conspiracy theorist?) I enjoy books where the characters show growth despite some of their own bad choices, difficult lessons, and hardships, and that was the case with Owen. This 3.5 star story about home, differences between people and their upbringings, and how we can begin to overcome those differences was easy to round up.
It's a coming-of-age story about 28-year-old Owen Callahan, who returns to his home state of Kentucky after working dead-end jobs and sleeping in his car in Colorado. He gets a job as a groundskeeper at Ashby College, and this allows him to take one course per semester. Owen's parents are religious fundamentalists and politically conservative. He lives rent-free with his grandfather who offers some bits of wisdom now and then, and his unemployed Uncle Cort, an avid Trump supporter. Because Owen is is an aspiring writer, he signs up for creative writing and meets Alma who is at Ashby on a fellowship. She was born in Bosnia but was raised in a Washington, D.C. suburb by affluent, liberal parents. Owen and Alma begin to develop a relationship that is going fairly well until they visit each others' families.
I enjoyed all the details about the trees that Owen was charged with trimming, pruning, and cutting down, along with realistic particulars about the rest of the men he works with. (Is there a reason that every groundskeeping crew seems to have at least one outspoken conspiracy theorist?) I enjoy books where the characters show growth despite some of their own bad choices, difficult lessons, and hardships, and that was the case with Owen. This 3.5 star story about home, differences between people and their upbringings, and how we can begin to overcome those differences was easy to round up.
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Boring ending. Left a cliff hanger with the main character.
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes