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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
What a beautiful story about love and living life, finding yourself and your passions.
emotional
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sweetly written, good history on the grandmother Minnie’s storyline which was much more engaging , Lia’s storyline dragged for me a bit much. 3 1/2
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
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:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoyed The Turtle House by Amanda Churchill and was surprised to see it was her debut novel!
Dual timeline books are my favorite, and this one was so unique - the timeline alternated between WWII-era Japan and Texas in 1999. The stories of a grandmother, Mineko, and her granddaughter, Lia, were linked - both in Texas and through Mineko's sharing of her life experience, her loves, her loss, her trauma, and finally, her redemption. I was inspired by Mineko's story and her bravery. Many WWII-era novels are set in Europe and this presents a completely different perspective. Parts of this book were hard to read because they center around abusive marriage, rape, war, and the subjection of women. However, the subject matter was handled delicately and at a high level. The issues were there, but details were not.
One thing I that bothered me a bit about this book was that I couldn't find a reason why Lia's story (and the budding intimacy between her and her grandmother) took place in 1999. Nothing seemed to link the story to the time period, except maybe Mineko's age/health situation. Overall though, I was captivated by this book and am inspired to learn more about Japanese culture and architecture - the descriptions in this book are fantastic.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.
Dual timeline books are my favorite, and this one was so unique - the timeline alternated between WWII-era Japan and Texas in 1999. The stories of a grandmother, Mineko, and her granddaughter, Lia, were linked - both in Texas and through Mineko's sharing of her life experience, her loves, her loss, her trauma, and finally, her redemption. I was inspired by Mineko's story and her bravery. Many WWII-era novels are set in Europe and this presents a completely different perspective. Parts of this book were hard to read because they center around abusive marriage, rape, war, and the subjection of women. However, the subject matter was handled delicately and at a high level. The issues were there, but details were not.
One thing I that bothered me a bit about this book was that I couldn't find a reason why Lia's story (and the budding intimacy between her and her grandmother) took place in 1999. Nothing seemed to link the story to the time period, except maybe Mineko's age/health situation. Overall though, I was captivated by this book and am inspired to learn more about Japanese culture and architecture - the descriptions in this book are fantastic.
Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.