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livlosiewicz's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Pros:
•The writing is beautiful! This book has a strong sense of place
•I liked the structure and the different timelines, and how they weaved back and forth, a lot. It added a really well-crafted air of mystery to the novel and kept me captivated
•I also really liked how we could understand the characters’ (mostly Elle’s) decisions, even if we didn’t agree with them. Elle is a VERY flawed character, but we come to understand how she got there, which makes her more fascinating than frustrating to me
•Overall, this book is a creative and well-written exploration of the lasting impact of trauma, and how it can impact its victims not always in one big way, but a million small ways. I disagree with GR users saying the trauma was gratuitous. I think it was hard to read (and totally okay to not want to read it or not like it) but essential for the story Heller was trying to tell
Cons:
•okay, I didn’t like Jonas. I kept thinking I was going to grow to like him, but we didn’t get much characterization from him besides lovesick/horny. I know why she liked him as a kid, but why now?
•Normally, I’m a sucker for an ambiguous ending, but this was one that needed a more decisive ending for me to stick its point. Apparently, Heller didn’t think it was ambiguous, but after reading a bit more background, I think my original interpretation of the end was the opposite of what she’d intended. Basically, there’s an interpretation of the ending that works really well for me when considering the book and its themes, and if that’s not the ending that you interpret, I think it kind of weakens the book and leaves me less satisfied
Recommendation: I recommend for readers who like books with a strong sense of place, books that travel through dual timelines, and books with complicated characters making complicated decisions. This book is really well-written and deliberate, and I was really drawn into it, despite some nitpicky reservations. Please beware before picking this up, there are SIGNIFICANT content warnings. If you’re not in a place to read about trauma/don’t want to, skip this!!
•The writing is beautiful! This book has a strong sense of place
•I liked the structure and the different timelines, and how they weaved back and forth, a lot. It added a really well-crafted air of mystery to the novel and kept me captivated
•I also really liked how we could understand the characters’ (mostly Elle’s) decisions, even if we didn’t agree with them. Elle is a VERY flawed character, but we come to understand how she got there, which makes her more fascinating than frustrating to me
•Overall, this book is a creative and well-written exploration of the lasting impact of trauma, and how it can impact its victims not always in one big way, but a million small ways. I disagree with GR users saying the trauma was gratuitous. I think it was hard to read (and totally okay to not want to read it or not like it) but essential for the story Heller was trying to tell
Cons:
•okay, I didn’t like Jonas. I kept thinking I was going to grow to like him, but we didn’t get much characterization from him besides lovesick/horny. I know why she liked him as a kid, but why now?
•Normally, I’m a sucker for an ambiguous ending, but this was one that needed a more decisive ending for me to stick its point. Apparently, Heller didn’t think it was ambiguous, but after reading a bit more background, I think my original interpretation of the end was the opposite of what she’d intended. Basically, there’s an interpretation of the ending that works really well for me when considering the book and its themes, and if that’s not the ending that you interpret, I think it kind of weakens the book and leaves me less satisfied
Recommendation: I recommend for readers who like books with a strong sense of place, books that travel through dual timelines, and books with complicated characters making complicated decisions. This book is really well-written and deliberate, and I was really drawn into it, despite some nitpicky reservations. Please beware before picking this up, there are SIGNIFICANT content warnings. If you’re not in a place to read about trauma/don’t want to, skip this!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Terminal illness
alice_poppy's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
wsimcik's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, and Abandonment
chloeslife98's review against another edition
The book goes from present day to history of her life when she was a small child, but also history of when her mother was a child. Its hard to keep up, to remember who is who and which timeline we are currently in. I found it frustrating jumping from different timelines. I didn't see why this was relevant, didn't find any of it adding to the story of the "present day". I didn't like the way the author writes and i had to re-read majority of the pages as the story wasn't holding my attention.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Pedophilia
phou's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death and Pedophilia
Minor: Misogyny
brett311's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Cancer and Death
sarahemhavens's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
this one was not for me, I struggled my way through. The writing was alright, some quotes did stand out to me - but overall, this book was very meh, and really off putting at some points.
“I wonder if he would love me if he could see inside my head”
(The other quote is an absolute spoiler so I will be refraining bc I like to keep these spoiler free)
I was hoping to be enveloped in this book the way I was with Malibu Rising, because it’s the same idea when it comes to writing timeframe and storytelling, but I don’t think it was done very well in this one. Though the focus of the book is supposed to be how one night changes everything, the primary focus, I felt, was more on the fifty year spread. This book gave me, personally, a whole lot of nothing. I wanted more out of it and at the same time, less of so many other things.
There was also a lot of trauma and triggering things (sa, csa/cse/csea) which left me feeling skeeved out and just unsettled.
“I wonder if he would love me if he could see inside my head”
(The other quote is an absolute spoiler so I will be refraining bc I like to keep these spoiler free)
I was hoping to be enveloped in this book the way I was with Malibu Rising, because it’s the same idea when it comes to writing timeframe and storytelling, but I don’t think it was done very well in this one. Though the focus of the book is supposed to be how one night changes everything, the primary focus, I felt, was more on the fifty year spread. This book gave me, personally, a whole lot of nothing. I wanted more out of it and at the same time, less of so many other things.
There was also a lot of trauma and triggering things (sa, csa/cse/csea) which left me feeling skeeved out and just unsettled.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death
Minor: Pedophilia and Abandonment
triggeringtimbookshelf's review against another edition
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
jasminelk7's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Cancer
ar0deth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse and Pedophilia