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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
I'm 35% of the way through, and I just don't care. I have no idea where any of this is going, and I'm bummed that a book with such a great title cannot live up to it.
I don't know what to say about this book without giving too much away. For me, part of why I loved it so much was unraveling the narrator's story and how it wove in with the story of Frankie and her sister Toni. Vivid storytelling.
This is the first of Laura Ruby's I've read and you bet your bottom dollar I'm gonna find a way to read more. I've only read a few books that hit me like this one has and holy gosh, this book is definitely on the list.
Firstly: Frankie and Pearl. I love them to death and I adored how both of their perspectives came together in the last few pages. Pearl and her ghostly adventures were such an interesting commentary on the undead - how life treats you, haunts you, and little bits of you it leaves behind, and I loved how every little piece in her story clicked into place so seamlessly. The reveal of how she actually died feels so organic.
Toni and Marguerite!! Toni is such a rascal of a little sister and I'm here for it. Marguerite is so endearing, and how she treats the situation of her old beau and the woman that killed her! Letting herself move on not from what he did or what she could've done to him, but going back to what and who she loved most, and forgiving herself. I love her so much.
Vito is such a caring brother - going out of his way to always write to Frankie and Toni!! GOD I was so relieved when he'd made it out.
I love how just about single one of the orphanage had a little something behind them, Stella, Loretta, Sister George, even! I love how Stella's abandonment issues and inherent need for attention in the space her parents left behind plays into how she treats people, even if it was cruel. I love how Loretta was tokenly sensible - but would still eat anything you give her. I love that Frankie's trauma at what happened at the orphanage becomes something that builds up and up and up.
ada can choke though and so can her kids (AND Charles Kent!!)
And! I absolutely adore the idea Ruby has on ghosts and deaths, I love the ghosts and their conversations! The idea that he'll isn't inherently a place that exists, that it could be that you just. Don't die. It could be that you repeat your last moments over and over and over, it could be anything and everything.
I've said it a lot but I LOVED this book and I sincerely recommend it!!
Firstly: Frankie and Pearl. I love them to death and I adored how both of their perspectives came together in the last few pages. Pearl and her ghostly adventures were such an interesting commentary on the undead - how life treats you, haunts you, and little bits of you it leaves behind, and I loved how every little piece in her story clicked into place so seamlessly. The reveal of how she actually died feels so organic.
Toni and Marguerite!! Toni is such a rascal of a little sister and I'm here for it. Marguerite is so endearing, and how she treats the situation of her old beau and the woman that killed her! Letting herself move on not from what he did or what she could've done to him, but going back to what and who she loved most, and forgiving herself. I love her so much.
Vito is such a caring brother - going out of his way to always write to Frankie and Toni!! GOD I was so relieved when he'd made it out.
I love how just about single one of the orphanage had a little something behind them, Stella, Loretta, Sister George, even! I love how Stella's abandonment issues and inherent need for attention in the space her parents left behind plays into how she treats people, even if it was cruel. I love how Loretta was tokenly sensible - but would still eat anything you give her. I love that Frankie's trauma at what happened at the orphanage becomes something that builds up and up and up.
ada can choke though and so can her kids (AND Charles Kent!!)
And! I absolutely adore the idea Ruby has on ghosts and deaths, I love the ghosts and their conversations! The idea that he'll isn't inherently a place that exists, that it could be that you just. Don't die. It could be that you repeat your last moments over and over and over, it could be anything and everything.
I've said it a lot but I LOVED this book and I sincerely recommend it!!
This is a story about young women who dare to hope in the face of life's smothering difficulties. This is a story about injustice, betrayal, pain, and loss, but this is also a story about friendship, love, laughter, and loyalty. Most of all, this is a story about persevering even while knowing it would be easier to simply give up.
Loved Bone Gap, and this was a Printz silver, so I wanted to like it more than I did. The parallel stories were sometimes a little jarring on who was narrating, and though there are many deep and emotional incidents happening and revealed to have happened, I never felt fully moved by or connected to the characters. I think part of the lack of engagement was that Ruby, in a book of ghosts and magical realism, hammered away at the main point so obviously that it detracted from the experience..
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, War, Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Animal death, Racism, Rape
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A beautiful, absorbing read, narrated by a ghost who sees everything that happens to a pair of girls whose father and stepmother leave them in a Catholic orphanage in Chicago before and during World War II. The ghost also meets other ghosts, all of whom have their own complicated tales that they may or may not remember correctly. She talks to a statue of an angel who tells her what's going on in the larger world beyond Chicago.