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rensparks's review against another edition
3.0
why was this SO long. I do appreciate the author and all of their hard work in the historical aspect, but this dragged on!!!!! I genuinely feel like you could take entire chapters out of this book and it wouldn’t change a thing in the plot.
jennybun's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the idea of it. It felt like parts of the story were summarised into a few sentences and other, less interesting, parts were given more detail. Not sure if that was the author’s doing or the editor, but it didn’t quite work.
jessicanpruett's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
bookmaddie's review against another edition
felt really overwritten and i couldn’t find it in me to begin to be invested in the story. i was starting to skim—a bad sign when you’re only just started!! eek!
jcharlton's review against another edition
I couldn’t get into any of the stories.
sienna3's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.0
katiecat22's review against another edition
Loved the idea, but not in the mood for a slow historical fiction. Maybe would try again with audio.
aliceclems's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this book, especially as a french woman doing a road trip across Louisiana at the same time.
You can see the author did a looooot of reserching for this book, as it is full of historical details.
I grew attached to the femal characters, they are very diversed, nuanced and well-written. The sisterhood they build over time is really moving and empowering.
The one negative thing for me was that the story was moving very very fast (sometimes several years between chapters), and as each (long) chapter focuses on one specific character you become very invested in one and then you don’t hear from them for a very long time.
You can see the author did a looooot of reserching for this book, as it is full of historical details.
I grew attached to the femal characters, they are very diversed, nuanced and well-written. The sisterhood they build over time is really moving and empowering.
The one negative thing for me was that the story was moving very very fast (sometimes several years between chapters), and as each (long) chapter focuses on one specific character you become very invested in one and then you don’t hear from them for a very long time.
ecyob's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
misslisa11's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Book 55 of 2024: Pelican Girls by Julia Malye
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In 1720 Paris, La Salpêtrière hospital has too many occupants and not enough beds. Halfway across the world, France’s colony in the wilds of North America has space to spare and needs families to fill it. So the director of the hospital rounds up nearly a hundred female “volunteers” of childbearing age—orphans, prisoners, and mental patients—to be shipped to New Orleans. Among this group are three unlikely friends: a sharp-tongued twelve-year old orphan, a mute ‘madwoman,’ and an accused abortionist. Charlotte, Pétronille, and Geneviève, along with the dozens of other women aboard La Baleine, have no knowledge of what lies ahead and no control over their futures. Strangers brought together by fate, these brave and fierce young women will face extraordinary adversity, but also the private trauma of heartbreak and unrequited love, children born and lost, cruelty and unexpected pleasure, and a friendship forged in fire that will sustain through the years.
Phyllis’s Former Students Book Club read for April! I really wanted to love this book as it sounded so interesting from the premise but I had a hard time getting into it. The book was extremely character-driven and parts of the narratives were compelling but I had a hard time following a lot of the stories and lost interest in the characters at many points. The book was incredibly well researched and I appreciated the author’s intentions to give voice to the lost women of history. However, the novel didn’t really have much of a plot structure and was kind of all over the place at times, which made me disengage or feel confused. The writing itself was beautiful. I think I just had higher expectations for this book and it lacked the execution necessary to meet them.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
In 1720 Paris, La Salpêtrière hospital has too many occupants and not enough beds. Halfway across the world, France’s colony in the wilds of North America has space to spare and needs families to fill it. So the director of the hospital rounds up nearly a hundred female “volunteers” of childbearing age—orphans, prisoners, and mental patients—to be shipped to New Orleans. Among this group are three unlikely friends: a sharp-tongued twelve-year old orphan, a mute ‘madwoman,’ and an accused abortionist. Charlotte, Pétronille, and Geneviève, along with the dozens of other women aboard La Baleine, have no knowledge of what lies ahead and no control over their futures. Strangers brought together by fate, these brave and fierce young women will face extraordinary adversity, but also the private trauma of heartbreak and unrequited love, children born and lost, cruelty and unexpected pleasure, and a friendship forged in fire that will sustain through the years.
Phyllis’s Former Students Book Club read for April! I really wanted to love this book as it sounded so interesting from the premise but I had a hard time getting into it. The book was extremely character-driven and parts of the narratives were compelling but I had a hard time following a lot of the stories and lost interest in the characters at many points. The book was incredibly well researched and I appreciated the author’s intentions to give voice to the lost women of history. However, the novel didn’t really have much of a plot structure and was kind of all over the place at times, which made me disengage or feel confused. The writing itself was beautiful. I think I just had higher expectations for this book and it lacked the execution necessary to meet them.