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meganpbennett's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Where'd You Go, Bernadette? is a book that's incredibly hard to rate. It's... a mediocre book about a family you hate from the get go. Bee, the daughter, is not a nice person, and it shows throughout the entire story. Bernadette herself suffers from a horrific experience while trying to build the Twenty Mile House, one which people told her to dust herself off and get back on the horse, all the while ignoring what happened. Then she moved to Seattle, and wasted away in a house that was literally falling apart around her ears. The sort of falling apart where it's a miracle social services hasn't been called.
The novel isn't exactly as described, since a third of the story takes part before the family trip to Antarctica, and it's a little hard to follow, at first, since it's only later revealed that it's Bee creating the story from a dossier she received about the few weeks before Bernadette disappears, causing the perspective to drastically change and the reliability of the narrator to shift from 'unreliable' to 'complete fiction'.
However, that's what makes this book work, and the fact that we lose that shifting, epistolary story exactly when Bernadette disappears, thoroughly weakening the last 50-100 pages, and causing it to lose a star.
The novel isn't exactly as described, since a third of the story takes part before the family trip to Antarctica, and it's a little hard to follow, at first, since it's only later revealed that it's Bee creating the story from a dossier she received about the few weeks before Bernadette disappears, causing the perspective to drastically change and the reliability of the narrator to shift from 'unreliable' to 'complete fiction'.
However, that's what makes this book work, and the fact that we lose that shifting, epistolary story exactly when Bernadette disappears, thoroughly weakening the last 50-100 pages, and causing it to lose a star.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Cursing, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Pregnancy, Grief, Religious bigotry, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Bullying, and Gaslighting
boba_n_books's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
To say I loved this book is an understatement. I didn’t know what to expect going into this, and I’m glad I went in blind. It is such a fun story with quirky characters and heartwarming relationships. It has mystery and intrigue, humor, and family. Multiple POVs across different media made this book a delight to listen to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infertility
Moderate: Infidelity and Cursing
snazzysie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-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
3.0
I was expecting to enjoy this book more than I did, as it was recommended for people who like Gilmore Girls. I guess the mother-daughter relationship in this story is nice, but it is in no way like Gilmore Girls, so don't be fooled. The storyline itself intrigued me, and afterwards, putting all the main plot points together, I can see how the narrative had a lot of potential, but I personally did not love the writing style. The information being pieced together through emails, letters and text messages is a clever idea, but, in my opinion, could've been executed a bit better. I usually never think the movie is better than the book (and I haven't yet seen the movie) but I think the general concept in this book would work better in a film, and I'm looking forward to watching it. It also felt a bit slow and hard to get through because of the long parts, instead of shorter chapters. Still an interesting read, 3 stars :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Mental illness and Pregnancy
ameliareads1's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I love this book lots and Bernadette is secretly the bad guy… but she’s just so iconic, you know?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Miscarriage, and Infertility
Moderate: Addiction, Gaslighting, and Infidelity
Minor: Pregnancy
Nothing is really all that bad but you won’t like it if you are bothered by cussing, cheating, and talks of the main character’s struggling mental health and possible drug use
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