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jsokohl's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful and painfully poignant memoir of growing up in rural Indiana and then confronting the past through the truths we rarely want to confront. Palm writes lyrically about how painful growing up can be.
jdemarest's review against another edition
5.0
I love the way Angela explores her relationships, with people, her past, and her home. Sometimes the writing dipped into territory that felt a little pretentious, but overall I thoroughly enjoyed her memoir.
balletbookworm's review against another edition
5.0
Beautiful and evocative memoir. Palm focuses on how her childhood environment shaped herself as opposed to her friend Corey. The strength of the writing fades a bit in the last 50 pages but overall it is a very vivid and compelling work.
alex_renee_is_reading_away's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed the writing style. For being a memoir, it felt like fiction because of the descriptions, tone and pace.
erincharp's review against another edition
3.0
I have complex feelings about this. I grew up 20 minutes from the author’s childhood home. I live 10 minutes away currently. I lived around the corner from the boy whose grandparents were murdered by Corey. Her descriptions of the town, crime, the river, were all spot on. I’ve eaten a hundred times at the restaurant where she waitressed, and I felt like her memories took me back in time.
Yet, at the same time, some elements of her childhood don’t ring true. Many of us grew up on the middle of cornfields and didn’t long for more or feel neglected by not belonging in a town, but each childhood is unique. Some parts just seem exaggerated and I suppose, ultimately, while her critiques of the Indiana and for profit system are spot on, she also still seemed to give uncomfortable forgiveness to someone who murdered two innocents.
Yet, at the same time, some elements of her childhood don’t ring true. Many of us grew up on the middle of cornfields and didn’t long for more or feel neglected by not belonging in a town, but each childhood is unique. Some parts just seem exaggerated and I suppose, ultimately, while her critiques of the Indiana and for profit system are spot on, she also still seemed to give uncomfortable forgiveness to someone who murdered two innocents.
bethnellvaccaro's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this, but I can't say I'd recommend it. The parts about her relationship with Corey and the ultimate resolution of that is the strongest part. I wish the book hadn't meandered so much.
sarahcastic's review against another edition
4.0
This book gets it about rural America and all the feelings growing up there can inspire. A memoir of love and loss and things that were and are and could have been. Really enjoyed it.
gillian_barbieri's review against another edition
5.0
Loved this memoir! easily one of my favorite reads of 2017. The Palm's fraught relationship with her hometown and the deep, non-sensical and indescribable connection she feels to her hometown resonated with me and my complex family relationship and view of home. The feelings I have towards home have never been easy to put into to words, but Palm was able to capture the emotions in a relatable way. Where we come from is deeply ingrained in each of us and it conditions us for the rest of our lives, no matter how much we try to change or ingnore our history. Her commentary on nature vs. nuture and the weight of preconcieved notions was seen throughout the story of her life and was reflective of each concious or unconcious choice she had made.
agarbarino's review against another edition
4.0
I don't quite know how to feel about this book. The story is incredibly moving, but I did not enjoy the writing style. That's not to say the author is not talented, she clearly is. But the best part of the book was the actual conversation with Corey, and I would have enjoyed more of that style from the beginning. I also appreciate her honesty about Corey and her husband but kind of hate her for it. Agan, I don't know how to feel about it.
Should you read this, yes. But maybe be ready to skim if you're initially turned off by the writing style. This is not a story you want to miss.
Should you read this, yes. But maybe be ready to skim if you're initially turned off by the writing style. This is not a story you want to miss.