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moabgirlie's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
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
4.0
I only chose this because Tom Hanks narrates and everyone I know who’s read/heard it loved it. I immediately was interested in the story as he told it, but had to look up what it was even about. I’m unsure if I would have actually read it, certainly not in 3 days and not likely at the top of my TBR but I’m so glad I got the audio! It is such a touching story but not sure I would have made the same decision as Maeve at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Grief
prettiestwhistles's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, and Dementia
Minor: Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
carolyn1504's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Dementia, and Grief
smreads24's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Moderate: Dementia
skylarkblue1's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I'll be honest, this was a 1 star until May got a voice and she alone bumped it up to 2 stars lmao. This was a slog of a read with no point and just petty family drama with a shitty step-mother.
The characters are just a nightmare filled with hate, even at the end there's not *that* much character progression between them it's more just "I don't even care anymore" and I felt the same. I disliked essentially all the characters except May and the 2 sisters who took care of the kids at the start. May absolutely didn't read like she was a child for most of it and I honestly had no idea what age she was at any given point (though that goes for most of the characters honestly, more on that later). Characters were just stuck in a rut and didn't really change.
The way time was presented was very confusing. It starts with the 2 siblings as children, and ends with them old. But the timeline is not linear, it'll just randomly skip around without warning for not really any reason. One moment the main character is a teenager, the next sentence is "I got married with 2 kids" and then back to him being a teen again. It feels like it hops around it's timeline more than zelda hops around it's timelines. I barely knew what year it was or how old the characters were unless it was explicitly said - which it wasn't always.
Despite there really not being much that happens, it's incredibly predicable. It's very "oh man this shouldn't happen or this will happen!" and hammers that home until it happens because who'd have seen that coming! Overall it honestly just feels pretty flat. If you dislike even 1 character, you're not going to have a fun time as every character shows heavily throughout (and some of the worst ones even attempt to have a redemption arc).
The characters are just a nightmare filled with hate, even at the end there's not *that* much character progression between them it's more just "I don't even care anymore" and I felt the same. I disliked essentially all the characters except May and the 2 sisters who took care of the kids at the start. May absolutely didn't read like she was a child for most of it and I honestly had no idea what age she was at any given point (though that goes for most of the characters honestly, more on that later). Characters were just stuck in a rut and didn't really change.
The way time was presented was very confusing. It starts with the 2 siblings as children, and ends with them old. But the timeline is not linear, it'll just randomly skip around without warning for not really any reason. One moment the main character is a teenager, the next sentence is "I got married with 2 kids" and then back to him being a teen again. It feels like it hops around it's timeline more than zelda hops around it's timelines. I barely knew what year it was or how old the characters were unless it was explicitly said - which it wasn't always.
Despite there really not being much that happens, it's incredibly predicable. It's very "oh man this shouldn't happen or this will happen!" and hammers that home until it happens because who'd have seen that coming! Overall it honestly just feels pretty flat. If you dislike even 1 character, you're not going to have a fun time as every character shows heavily throughout (and some of the worst ones even attempt to have a redemption arc).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Medical content, and Death of parent
Moderate: Dementia and Chronic illness
shannonsnell's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Abandonment
sarah_amy's review against another edition
reflective
sad
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
2.0
Tom Hank's narration scores most of the points in this novel. I love his art of storytelling. However, I found the story itself uninteresting. The characters had plenty of substance; I liked the relationship between the brother and sister in particular, but the plot itself was quite unmoving. 2 siblings unable to move forward from the past until they eventually do.
Content Warnings
Minor: Dementia, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Death of parent, Death, Grief, Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
desana75's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Dementia
viertelvorvier's review against another edition
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Abandonment
Moderate: Chronic illness and Dementia
maggiemarbles's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It's good no matter what format you choose, but I definitely recommend the audiobook narrated by Tom Hanks.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Dementia, Abandonment, and Death of parent