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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
Beautiful depiction of fathers and daughters, aging, and all the little decisions that make up our lives. Loved it!
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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:
Yes
This was one of the most shallow and self-involved Goldilocks story I have read in a while. It's like the protagonist never grew up, she was still 16 mentally and would stay 16 for the rest of her life.
I liked the author’s writing style and the first half pulled me in but the magical realism of the second half fell flat and I lost interest. The very end drew me in again but I don’t think it redeemed itself.
medium-paced
hopeful
reflective
sad
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:
Yes
This was a sweet story about the connection between parent and child, but while it was beautifully written I wish it had more substance to it. I wish there was a more definitive resolution to Alice's story, or that we at least got an epilogue because even though the last 25% of the novel felt like it was building up to an ending, the ending itself felt very abrupt. There were also some instances in the novel where Alice annoyed me, but Leonard helped make up for that and he was a wonderful character. I also wish we could have focused more on Alice and Sam's friendship and their connection in addition to the parent-child connection, since I also really enjoyed Sam as well. Overall it was still a good novel and a decent read, but I left the story wishing I had read Time Brothers or Dawn of Time instead!
Sweet and loving without being sentimental and cloying. That is hard to do and Straub does it well. This is a love letter to the parent-child connection, to friendship, and to NYC. The central character, Alice, is turning 40, a time when many of us begin to look back at our life choices and to wonder "what if." At the same time Alice's beloved father is coming to the end of his life and Alice cannot let go. On her actual birthday Alice discovers a time travel portal. Can she/should she change the future? What happens if she does one thing differently? Can she prevent her father's death? Can she find (and does she want to find) a life partner? Is papaya really the best drink flavor at Papaya King? (spoiler -- the answer to that is yes.) Like Straub's other books this is a light beach read, but it is smart and not formulaic like other books that get that designation (see Jennifer Weiner, Abby Jimenez, Elin Hildebrand, etc.) If you are looking for a light but also really meaningful read this is great choice.
The more time I spent with this book the more I loved it (pun intended a bit). I almost always love a time-travel book, and this one was no exception. I enjoyed the twist, and appreciated the seriousness of the narrative. I found the audio book reader to be very sad sounding, which makes some sense with the topic.
My favorite book of 2022. This was refreshingly different from anything else I have read this year, and I loved the science fiction element (I would call this sci-fi realism, with the only sci-fi element being a little time travelling).
I am excited to read more by this author and have already checked out All Adults Here.
I am excited to read more by this author and have already checked out All Adults Here.