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badd_panda's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
5.0
jcrawford728's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
tojtwl's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
erindoublee's review against another edition
4.0
This story was so sweet, so real, and enjoyable. All throughout the book (I listened in audio) I wanted to believe Ursa was an alien, from a foreign land, here to have her hand in miracles in people’s lives.
Words from the book: friends as family, mother-daughter love, mental health
Words from the book: friends as family, mother-daughter love, mental health
readdrinkandbehappy's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
novabird's review against another edition
2.0
An oddly satisfying read, so why only a 2? Maybe it was all the introductory forest and stars stuff that held my attention. But there was no forest and stars at the end. So, where did these two horizons meet? This could have been an incredibly strong motif carried throughout the book, but it was not developed nearly well enough.
Instead, this was a more female empowered version of ET The Extraterrestial. Its realism vs fantasy tension was almost tangible at first but in the end, it gave way to realism heavily dosed with sentimentality and just the barest bit of magical realism. In the end, it seemed too trite and neat and picture-perfect. Not enough magical realism to tip the scales tho,' in this book's favour and move it back into the willing suspension of disbelief, back to where magic rules the threshold of forest line and star horizon.
Solid settings, nice everyday details, dialogue was a bit "canned," shall we say. Strong believable characters with sound psychological motivations but not enough portrayal of emotional range. Who actually was ever enraged with healthy anger? The gendered dynamic of a heterosexual relationship only explored relatively safe character flaws/perceived weaknesses.
The nontraditional ending was a nice surprise.
Might have been better balanced by a counterweight of something like
alluded to, "Well, if those types of troubles _______ and _______ ever showed their faces again they knew that their miracles would simply be found in their abilities to face those challenges head-on with the ability to bend around some curves, with _____ (emotional resonance) and ______(emotional resonance.)"
Unfortunately, this book lost itself to the brightness of too much light pollution, and the themes of both forest and stars were lost from view. It seemed like the editor strip-mined this forest to look for and focus on Disney-like scenes (tsk, tsk for shame) I would have liked to have seen this material in a much more unrefined state. It probably was a treasure, like a virgin forest.
Instead, this was a more female empowered version of ET The Extraterrestial. Its realism vs fantasy tension was almost tangible at first but in the end, it gave way to realism heavily dosed with sentimentality and just the barest bit of magical realism. In the end, it seemed too trite and neat and picture-perfect. Not enough magical realism to tip the scales tho,' in this book's favour and move it back into the willing suspension of disbelief, back to where magic rules the threshold of forest line and star horizon.
Solid settings, nice everyday details, dialogue was a bit "canned," shall we say. Strong believable characters with sound psychological motivations but not enough portrayal of emotional range. Who actually was ever enraged with healthy anger? The gendered dynamic of a heterosexual relationship only explored relatively safe character flaws/perceived weaknesses.
The nontraditional ending was a nice surprise.
Might have been better balanced by a counterweight of something like
alluded to, "Well, if those types of troubles _______ and _______ ever showed their faces again they knew that their miracles would simply be found in their abilities to face those challenges head-on with the ability to bend around some curves, with _____ (emotional resonance) and ______(emotional resonance.)"
Unfortunately, this book lost itself to the brightness of too much light pollution, and the themes of both forest and stars were lost from view. It seemed like the editor strip-mined this forest to look for and focus on Disney-like scenes (tsk, tsk for shame) I would have liked to have seen this material in a much more unrefined state. It probably was a treasure, like a virgin forest.
michellechien930's review against another edition
3.0
Bought this one off a Kindle sale, but was surprised at how much I really liked it! I thought it was full-on magical realism, but it turned out to be surprisingly grounded at the end. It was quite sweet how the three main characters created their own little family, and very heartwarming to see each of them grow.
stacyc16's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
tense
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