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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
I don’t get it! My choice in books this year is TERRIBLE! I’m so confused what this book is supposed to be about. I got to pg 150 and gave up. So rambly, no story line, and…I just want to read a good booooooookkkkkk!!!!!!!!! Grrrr
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
I've never felt so torn about a book before.
On the one hand, 9 year old Swiv is brilliantly written - her voice is strong, unique, and energetic. There were nights I couldn't sleep because her voice was in my head. To be able to write an entire novel from such a singular, quirky voice is no small feat. But she was also entirely too much. And I get that that might be the point, especially as an adult reader experiencing this world through the eyes of a child interpreting the world of the adults around her, but at times it just didn't ring true anymore.
This was also the case for the way the story was framed as a letter to her MIA father. At times it worked, but overall it just didn't hold up for me. You could easily do away with that conceit and not have to change anything, so why bother at all? I found myself rolling my eyes entirely too much.
But there were also some incredible moments. When Swiv falls instantly and confusingly in love with T in Fresno, it made all the eyerolling worth it.
On the one hand, 9 year old Swiv is brilliantly written - her voice is strong, unique, and energetic. There were nights I couldn't sleep because her voice was in my head. To be able to write an entire novel from such a singular, quirky voice is no small feat. But she was also entirely too much. And I get that that might be the point, especially as an adult reader experiencing this world through the eyes of a child interpreting the world of the adults around her, but at times it just didn't ring true anymore.
This was also the case for the way the story was framed as a letter to her MIA father. At times it worked, but overall it just didn't hold up for me. You could easily do away with that conceit and not have to change anything, so why bother at all? I found myself rolling my eyes entirely too much.
But there were also some incredible moments. When Swiv falls instantly and confusingly in love with T in Fresno, it made all the eyerolling worth it.
"I liked the way his chest smelled. I felt like I was dying from something."
3.5 - second half of the book was much more enjoyable to read second half was excellent
Loved loved loved the narrative voice. Excellent job in personifying the naïveté and recklessness of a 9-year-old.
The book summary gave the impression we would be switching narrators (between Swiv and grandma), which it doesn’t.
The book summary gave the impression we would be switching narrators (between Swiv and grandma), which it doesn’t.
dark
emotional
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
If you liked Women Talking or All My Puny Sorrows, you’ll like this too. If you haven’t read those but like stories about women in unusual domestic circumstances, read Miriam Toews. Her characters are quiet and quirky and trying to figure things out. And she’s just so very good.
I picked this up because I had really liked Toews' Women Talking, and the premise of "anxious 9 year old deals with eccentric pregnant mom and dying crazy grandma" intrigued me. Toew's nails the narrative voice perfectly, and the blending of the small reveals about the family life through the assignments Swiv does and dealing with her own anxiety in that way that precocious nine year olds can sometimes figure out that they have to be the one to step up and take care of everyone, along with the sheer yolo-ness of her mother and grandma, and you have a hell of a ride. Death does loom large through the book, but the way it comes and is treated by Towes, along with that last knife ache of a last chapter. Definitely worth a read through.