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arielamandah's review against another edition
3.0
This was an easy read. A story about summer and friendship and growing out of people. There is certainly truth about how it feels to be a teenager here: the way friends come and go and how circles widen and contract. It didn’t knock my socks off, but I wouldn’t say it was a waste of time, either.
irishlibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
Really well-written, true-to-life description of female friends whose paths diverge when adolescence strikes.
lizaroo71's review against another edition
3.0
I was mixed on Messud's last book, [b:The Woman Upstairs|40676261|The Woman Upstairs|Claire Messud|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1530377333s/40676261.jpg|18450578], but I have heard good things about this one, so I picked it up.
I think this is an interesting exploration of a friendship of young girls. The type of friendship my own daughter, in eighth grade, is experiencing right now. You grow up with someone and you are the best of friends. You share secrets and sorrows. You trust them with everything. And then one day that person is just different somehow and you understand that you will never be friends with them in the same way you once were. You must mourn the loss, but you move on.
It seems the two friends here, Julia and Cassie, have different views of the friendship. We can never know as Julia is our narrator. I feel like she is telling us the events from her eighteen year old self, but I can't be sure. If that is the case, then she hasn't removed herself enough from the events that take place.
This is a short book with compelling writing and some keen observations about being a girl and the type of friendships that develop between females, but there isn't much insight. The tension builds up to not much and there seems to be too many threads left loose.
I think this is an interesting exploration of a friendship of young girls. The type of friendship my own daughter, in eighth grade, is experiencing right now. You grow up with someone and you are the best of friends. You share secrets and sorrows. You trust them with everything. And then one day that person is just different somehow and you understand that you will never be friends with them in the same way you once were. You must mourn the loss, but you move on.
It seems the two friends here, Julia and Cassie, have different views of the friendship. We can never know as Julia is our narrator. I feel like she is telling us the events from her eighteen year old self, but I can't be sure. If that is the case, then she hasn't removed herself enough from the events that take place.
This is a short book with compelling writing and some keen observations about being a girl and the type of friendships that develop between females, but there isn't much insight. The tension builds up to not much and there seems to be too many threads left loose.
davidjordan's review against another edition
4.0
An unusually compelling and well-written coming-of-age story for two contemporary teenage girls in New England. It takes a good bit of talent for an author to create a riveting story from a believable real-life type situation. Messud has the ability to lead the reader to expect the absolute worst, then surprises with something different and unanticipated.
emclaughlin's review against another edition
3.0
Personally I really resonated with this story, a coming of age tale about two girls who grow apart but ultimately they are linked by years of friendship.
suburbanlawns's review against another edition
1.0
sorry, but this was a legitimate waste of my time.
UGH, seriously. this book said absolutely nothing about grief. there was no point. the characters lacked depth and cassie was an object. i have no idea what point this novel was trying to make, except maybe "preteens are self absorbed."
UGH, seriously. this book said absolutely nothing about grief. there was no point. the characters lacked depth and cassie was an object. i have no idea what point this novel was trying to make, except maybe "preteens are self absorbed."
tschonfeld's review against another edition
4.0
I’ve always liked Messud’s writing style. This was a quick read but did not disappoint.
linzer712's review against another edition
3.0
I like the idea of this book much more than I like the book itself. It’s the type that when I describe it to someone, plot and character-wise, it will sound great, but while reading I kept waiting for it to become more, to resonate more, to feel more, well, real.
I could relate to the mystery of an identity-forming friendship that is suddenly, inexplicably lost. Whether it breaks or fades, if you’re not the one doing the breaking or fading it feels as if you’ve lost a limb and are horribly off-kilter while grasping for answers that will probably never come. This kind of loss (which like in this book usually happens in middle or high school for the first time) changes you, the way you see yourself and the world. And while this book explored and even focused on those feelings, while reading somehow I only felt the edges of them, maybe because the narrator’s voice just didn’t resonate, which was ultimately unfulfilling.
I could relate to the mystery of an identity-forming friendship that is suddenly, inexplicably lost. Whether it breaks or fades, if you’re not the one doing the breaking or fading it feels as if you’ve lost a limb and are horribly off-kilter while grasping for answers that will probably never come. This kind of loss (which like in this book usually happens in middle or high school for the first time) changes you, the way you see yourself and the world. And while this book explored and even focused on those feelings, while reading somehow I only felt the edges of them, maybe because the narrator’s voice just didn’t resonate, which was ultimately unfulfilling.