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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
sinceslicedbread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-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
4.5
I really enjoyed all of the moving parts of this book. My only complaint is the ending. I think Sue Lynn getting pregnant was unnecessary and left a lot to be desired at the end. How would this affect the characters’ relationships?
Content Warnings
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Classism, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness
storykath's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
3.75
A fun easy read! I liked the combination of emails, letters, narration, etc - we got to experience a variety of distinct voices in the telling of the story. The tone came across to me as whimsical and a bit absurd, but it was done well and was still engaging. I found the pace a bit odd at times, since the whole premise of the book is Bernadette's disappearance (it's in all the synopses and the title!) but it took longer than I'd expected to get to that point. Still, it was fresh and fun to read throughout. There were some sincere moments amidst the silliness, but neither tone felt out of place.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Pregnancy, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Infidelity, Medical content, Grief, and Infertility
Minor: Addiction, Car accident, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Drug use, and Alcoholism
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 usenytephoenyx's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
fast-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? It's complicated
4.0
When I started re-reading this book, all my alarms were going off. "Wait," I thought to myself. "Why did I get a physical copy of this? This is so painful." ... Then I found myself reading 50-100 pages per sitting, and I remembered. Yes, Where'd You Go, Bernadette is overhyped. And yes, the beginning is a bit painful. But Semple does such a good job of drawing her reader in, of slowly fleshing out the characters. And I really do like the end - the book gets better as you go. Even when it's a train wreck (no fault of the writing, just the story itself) it's engrossing. Three years later, my original rating of four stars still stands.
____________________
Original Review: Nov. 28, 2018 - 4 stars
This books gets an awful lot of hype. I’ve had it on hold for the audiobook at the library for almost a year, so I think it’s fair to say that a lot of people are still reading it. I was excited when this finally became available because I was dying to see what all the hype was about.
I gotta be honest, I didn’t love it?
There were moments that is was alright. I actually didn’t mind Bernadette as a character, and I thought some of her correspondences were interesting. I particularly liked the email from Bernadette to her old professor. But a lot of the rest of the stuff got me really frustrated. I’m one of those readers who doesn’t love too much drama in her books? There were scenes where characters were just angrily going off on on another which I actually found a little stressful.
So all that said – the stuff I didn’t like isn’t the type of thing that will bother most people. The characters are varied and interesting, with secrets and layers and twists in their personalities. Audrey Griffin was a bit of an unexpected character in the mix, and I ended up liking her a little bit more at the end, even though she infuriated me at the beginning. The family dynamic here – in all the families presented – was very messy and uncomfortable, and all the relationships a bit rocky. The characters kept me listening more than anything else, because you needed to know what fresh hell they were going to create next.
This book is written as a narrative by Bea, Bernadette’s daughter, and is intertwined with a bunch of letters, emails, invoices, and other paperwork that she uses as a trail to try and find her mother. The result of her doing this is a bit academically catastrophic for Bea, but it tells a good story and isn’t too interrupting. You get the impression early on that a lot of the voices coming and going will be one-offs, so it’s not too difficult to remember the real who’s who. Additionally, if you’re an audiobook person, I felt that Kathleen Wilhoite did an excellent job in her reading.
And then, after all that, I have to confess: it was a masterful ending. Most of the book felt like a complete mess, but I adored the final chapter.
The setting is immersive and the plot was a page-turner. While I didn’t fall in love with this book the way so many other people did, I can see why it’s so popular, and it’s definitely worth a read. And for those who don’t already know, there’s a film slated for early 2019 starring Cate Blanchette (who I love) so read it now before the movie comes out!
____________________
Original Review: Nov. 28, 2018 - 4 stars
This books gets an awful lot of hype. I’ve had it on hold for the audiobook at the library for almost a year, so I think it’s fair to say that a lot of people are still reading it. I was excited when this finally became available because I was dying to see what all the hype was about.
I gotta be honest, I didn’t love it?
There were moments that is was alright. I actually didn’t mind Bernadette as a character, and I thought some of her correspondences were interesting. I particularly liked the email from Bernadette to her old professor. But a lot of the rest of the stuff got me really frustrated. I’m one of those readers who doesn’t love too much drama in her books? There were scenes where characters were just angrily going off on on another which I actually found a little stressful.
So all that said – the stuff I didn’t like isn’t the type of thing that will bother most people. The characters are varied and interesting, with secrets and layers and twists in their personalities. Audrey Griffin was a bit of an unexpected character in the mix, and I ended up liking her a little bit more at the end, even though she infuriated me at the beginning. The family dynamic here – in all the families presented – was very messy and uncomfortable, and all the relationships a bit rocky. The characters kept me listening more than anything else, because you needed to know what fresh hell they were going to create next.
This book is written as a narrative by Bea, Bernadette’s daughter, and is intertwined with a bunch of letters, emails, invoices, and other paperwork that she uses as a trail to try and find her mother. The result of her doing this is a bit academically catastrophic for Bea, but it tells a good story and isn’t too interrupting. You get the impression early on that a lot of the voices coming and going will be one-offs, so it’s not too difficult to remember the real who’s who. Additionally, if you’re an audiobook person, I felt that Kathleen Wilhoite did an excellent job in her reading.
And then, after all that, I have to confess: it was a masterful ending. Most of the book felt like a complete mess, but I adored the final chapter.
The setting is immersive and the plot was a page-turner. While I didn’t fall in love with this book the way so many other people did, I can see why it’s so popular, and it’s definitely worth a read. And for those who don’t already know, there’s a film slated for early 2019 starring Cate Blanchette (who I love) so read it now before the movie comes out!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
Minor: Forced institutionalization
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