Scan barcode
youreadtoomuch's review
3.0
There was something so beautiful getting to know Sophie Stark through the lives she touched. Does that mean she was a nice person? No. Neither did she deserve the unconditional love some people gave her. It speaks to how silly humans are. Our capacity to love is tricky and illogical. How fun.
This book felt so real in a way I can't understand and surprisingly very sad. Though I expected it to be. But I needed to love Sophie, and unlike everyone in the book, I didn't but she was a fascinating character to learn. And that's was the captivation that keeps readers hooked.
This book felt so real in a way I can't understand and surprisingly very sad. Though I expected it to be. But I needed to love Sophie, and unlike everyone in the book, I didn't but she was a fascinating character to learn. And that's was the captivation that keeps readers hooked.
katdid's review
4.0
Really enjoyed this! A great character study. (Sidenote: I was kind of baffled how Allison always managed to be in relationships.)
punkydory's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 -- Filmmaker, Sophie Stark's story is told by the people who were profoundly impacted by the part she played in their lives. The chapters were each from a different POV, and actually read more like short stories. From the start, I was sure that I had Sophie figured out; but, as each person delved deeper, sharing her story and their own, I became less and less sure. Nothing was black and white, and the complexity of each character was revealed slowly and masterfully. I think that the one thing that I took away from the book, was that it's never possible to truly and completely know another person. I know how sad that may sound, and that Sophie was even more of a mystery than most; however, North wrote perfectly about people's imperfect connections and search for understanding.
donnereads's review
My favourite book of all time is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid and this book had similar vibes for me. I love the concept of following a mysterious, intriguing, complex female character all through out her life. Sophie Stark is exactly that. You’re constantly trying to make sense of who she is as a character and why she acts the way she does and makes the choices that she makes. The idea of it being told not through her but through the people closest to her was really smart and cool. This was a super unique book that I would definitely pick up if the concept sounds good to you.
its_me_mar_p's review
5.0
Okay, well I loved this book but also it's terrible and sad. It's about a queer young filmmaker, it's an outcast story I guess, and it doesn't have a happy ending.
chills_multiply's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
thingsreadinbed's review against another edition
5.0
I think about something my stepdad once said when my mom yelled at him for quitting AA. He just told her in this sad, quiet voice, “Sometimes the sick part of me just seems like the truest part.”
Well-written. Walks the tight rope of genius/mental illness/sociopathy.
Well-written. Walks the tight rope of genius/mental illness/sociopathy.
boricuabookworm's review
5.0
"Do you ever feel guilty about using the people in your life as material?"
Sophie Stark is a complex person who seems unreachable in every relationship she has. She can't be predicted, her intentions are unknown, but her pull on others' energy is PRESENT. She isn't clear cut good or bad or talented. She attempts to explain stories of people she's met in brutally honest movies that tend to ruin her closest relationships. It doesn't bring her joy.
"Sophie understood a lot more about people and how to play them then she let on."
We learn about her through the eyes of her girlfriend who she disrespected while filming a scene about sex assault by having the other actor sexually assault her, her younger brother who has to answer to peers questioning why his sister is so weird, her ex husband who's mothers death was exploited by Sophie in her best film, the jerk football player who she stalked as a teenager to film a documentary and looks to her for guidance on his own motivations for living, and a mid director who views Sophie in a paternal way and wants to use Sophie's fame to sell a period movie in his specific way.
"She saw people for what they really are, and I think if you're that perceptive you just can't live in the world for very long."
Sophie Stark is a complex person who seems unreachable in every relationship she has. She can't be predicted, her intentions are unknown, but her pull on others' energy is PRESENT. She isn't clear cut good or bad or talented. She attempts to explain stories of people she's met in brutally honest movies that tend to ruin her closest relationships. It doesn't bring her joy.
"Sophie understood a lot more about people and how to play them then she let on."
We learn about her through the eyes of her girlfriend who she disrespected while filming a scene about sex assault by having the other actor sexually assault her, her younger brother who has to answer to peers questioning why his sister is so weird, her ex husband who's mothers death was exploited by Sophie in her best film, the jerk football player who she stalked as a teenager to film a documentary and looks to her for guidance on his own motivations for living, and a mid director who views Sophie in a paternal way and wants to use Sophie's fame to sell a period movie in his specific way.
"She saw people for what they really are, and I think if you're that perceptive you just can't live in the world for very long."
jamiebooks15's review
4.0
A little weird, definitely an interesting way to tell a story, very well-written. I enjoyed it, it'll have me thinking well beyond when I finished.
thishannah's review
5.0
I had little to no expectations going into this book (I think I found it abandoned on a shelf at work), and I was thrilled to find myself captivated throughout. Great characters, beautiful writing.