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3.88 AVERAGE
3.88 AVERAGE
emotional
sad
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:
Yes
I picked this book up because I thought the title sounded cool and I was not disappointed! This was such an emotional read! The fact that the book was narrated by a ghost who was watching over the main character was so unique! Though, this narrative style was a bit confusing at first and did take some getting used to. I loved the characters and their stories. I really felt their pain and anger.
I highly recommend this if you're a fan of historical fiction and want a book that'll make you cry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Grief, Abandonment, War
Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual assault, Death of parent
“Hell didn't burn. And the only devils to be found were the ones you find on earth, and there were too many of those, and they looked like everybody else.”
Kinda weird, but also quite lovely.
Kinda weird, but also quite lovely.
Heartbreaking. The fact that it’s based on the author’s mother-in-law’s childhood makes it all the more affecting.
not my book right now, which is why it took me so long to get through.
So, so good. Orphanages, nuns, ghosts, a scathing commentary on the state of the world.
Fascinating, multi-layered story - narrated by a ghost (!)
I really enjoyed this, especially the commentary on the many limitations placed on women - then & now.
I really enjoyed this, especially the commentary on the many limitations placed on women - then & now.
I won an ARC of this book in a Goodreads giveaway. Historical fiction isn't a genre I gravitate toward, but something about this story had me interested enough to enter to win a copy.
It was fantastic. This is a story about girls, about loss, about love, about trauma, and about life. The balance between the two protagonists, whose stories are carefully interwoven and mirror each other in a lot of ways, is exceptional. The relationships feel real and complicated without being lost in the message Laura Ruby is trying to convey. She shows so many kinds of relationships and emotions. I find that authors often attempt to showcase one kind of relationship, such as terrible parents or wonderful parents, siblings who are best friends or siblings who hate each other, etc. But the relationships in this book hit all those notes, with some evolving throughout the story and others staying consistent. It feels very genuine and true to life, at least from my experiences.
Laura Ruby is a refreshingly subtle writer. That's not to say the issues the characters face are subtle (or even the "villains"), but the stance Ruby takes is clear without smacking the reader over the head with it. There's an obvious right and wrong, with clearly heinous acts and awful people, but we experience those through the emotions of the characters. She makes her characters very human, and they struggle in a realistic way. Their struggle is what the audience is supposed to learn from instead of Ruby spoonfeeding us what to think.
I think Ruby's subtlety as a writer is also demonstrated by her portrayal of female roles. Women could/were expected to fill a variety of fairly rigid societal, professional, and familial roles during the 1940s. It's easy to overlook how thoroughly these roles are represented, explored, and often challenged in this book, and that's because Ruby doesn't wave a flag and call attention to every detail she includes. She doesn't straight up say, "Look at how this person faced this consequence, isn't it awful?!" Instead, she shows the experiences of the characters and lets the audience draw conclusions from them. I very much appreciate that because it feels like she trusts the reader to recognize these things on their own.
I can't recommend this book enough and really hope to see more people pick it up. I'm definitely going to grab a finished copy for myself.
It was fantastic. This is a story about girls, about loss, about love, about trauma, and about life. The balance between the two protagonists, whose stories are carefully interwoven and mirror each other in a lot of ways, is exceptional. The relationships feel real and complicated without being lost in the message Laura Ruby is trying to convey. She shows so many kinds of relationships and emotions. I find that authors often attempt to showcase one kind of relationship, such as terrible parents or wonderful parents, siblings who are best friends or siblings who hate each other, etc. But the relationships in this book hit all those notes, with some evolving throughout the story and others staying consistent. It feels very genuine and true to life, at least from my experiences.
Laura Ruby is a refreshingly subtle writer. That's not to say the issues the characters face are subtle (or even the "villains"), but the stance Ruby takes is clear without smacking the reader over the head with it. There's an obvious right and wrong, with clearly heinous acts and awful people, but we experience those through the emotions of the characters. She makes her characters very human, and they struggle in a realistic way. Their struggle is what the audience is supposed to learn from instead of Ruby spoonfeeding us what to think.
I think Ruby's subtlety as a writer is also demonstrated by her portrayal of female roles. Women could/were expected to fill a variety of fairly rigid societal, professional, and familial roles during the 1940s. It's easy to overlook how thoroughly these roles are represented, explored, and often challenged in this book, and that's because Ruby doesn't wave a flag and call attention to every detail she includes. She doesn't straight up say, "Look at how this person faced this consequence, isn't it awful?!" Instead, she shows the experiences of the characters and lets the audience draw conclusions from them. I very much appreciate that because it feels like she trusts the reader to recognize these things on their own.
I can't recommend this book enough and really hope to see more people pick it up. I'm definitely going to grab a finished copy for myself.
despite ending with a few underdeveloped plot points/characters (loretta especially), this is a really beautifully weaved web of stories. upset it sat on my shelf unread for so long!
“One more thing: be happy, Frankie, as happy as you can. And if you can't be happy, just live as much as you can. Be like Francie in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, be something every minute of every day, be sad, be cold, be warm, be hungry, be full, be ragged or well dressed, be truthful, be a liar and a sinner, only be something every blessed minute. Make art, make the most beautiful art you can, drawn everything you see, everything you feel. And when you sleep, dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is lost"
“One more thing: be happy, Frankie, as happy as you can. And if you can't be happy, just live as much as you can. Be like Francie in A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, be something every minute of every day, be sad, be cold, be warm, be hungry, be full, be ragged or well dressed, be truthful, be a liar and a sinner, only be something every blessed minute. Make art, make the most beautiful art you can, drawn everything you see, everything you feel. And when you sleep, dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is lost"
i don't have much actual critique for this book, it just wasn't my taste, or at least not what i was in the mood for. i had added it to my library a while back on somebody's recommendation but by the time i picked it up i couldn't remember what they had said about it so i went in blind, and wasn't prepared for the heavy onslaught of interwoven narrative threads that were each an example of the ways patriarchy oppresses women and girls. towards the end there is a quote "girls were punished so hard for their love. so hard. hard enough to break them." which pretty much sums it all up, and i can't disagree that does seem too often to be the case in the real world too (though this story features a ghost narrator it doesn't really feel like a fantasy setting and is otherwise all too realistic), but i think i'm going to have to go look for something to read next where women overcome or build a better world or just exist in a fantasy world with different rules that aren't seeking to crush their ambitions from birth. :-/
The fact that this book was written in the POV of a ghost during WW2 is what got me to pick it up.
The writing is Amazing!
And I loved the first few chapters..
But as the story continues I felt there where just too many characters/ storylines all at once
and the last 100 pages of the story felt like a completely different book.
3 stars!
The writing is Amazing!
And I loved the first few chapters..
But as the story continues I felt there where just too many characters/ storylines all at once
and the last 100 pages of the story felt like a completely different book.
3 stars!