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rmperezpadilla's review
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt
squirmosauruslex's review
I found the plot hard to follow and couldn’t devote enough attention to trying to figure out what was happening/who talk the characters were.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt
bookishmillennial's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
I'm being brutally honest with you and this simply did not hit for me. I LOVE a family legacy, I LOVE mystery, I LOVE stories inspired by fairy tales, mythology, or children's folk tales, but not this one.
I was confused and constantly thought, 'Am I just not smart enough for this book?'
I finished it but I should have DNF-ed.
I'm being brutally honest with you and this simply did not hit for me. I LOVE a family legacy, I LOVE mystery, I LOVE stories inspired by fairy tales, mythology, or children's folk tales, but not this one.
I was confused and constantly thought, 'Am I just not smart enough for this book?'
I finished it but I should have DNF-ed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Abortion, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
hphipps's review
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Felt like a fever dream the whole way through.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Abortion, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Violence
serenspace's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
bridgeca2's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
What just happened??? Listening was hard keeping all characters and plots in order. This magical tale was a bit too magical realism for my taste but the writing was fantastic- so many lines are stuck in my head and have me still chuckling thinking of them (Margot’s ‘employment’ of dissuading people from entering Starbucks - is this a classy way of describing people asking for money?!). You will definitely crave eating gingerbread cookies after this tale
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Suicide and Suicide attempt
curiouslizz's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
3.25
It's either 3 or 3.5 stars, I'm torn, and here's why:
Gingerbread is a unique and interesting concept. As a short story, I would have loved it. But the reading felt like a steady stream of plot points. As a reader who isn't driven by plot, I felt uninterested (even though the story itself was interesting). It's hard to explain, I wanted to DNF the entire time I was reading (well, after the early suicide attempt), but at the same time the story was just magical enough to keep me reading.
The Good: The plot was fully unique in my opinion. I really enjoyed the idea of the story. It is what kept me reading.
The Bad: The whole part about her daughter nearly un-aliving herself feels unnecessary. I actually feel like the modern-day part of the story didn't provide an additional setting to the story and I think I would have felt more connected to the story as a whole if it had started with Harriet as a child. Also, the description of this book was poorly worded - Peridita did not set out on a journey to find her mother's friend. Maybe she did, but there needed to be more of a WARNING. Shame on the publisher.
The Ugly: The story has elements I love (magical realism, an unreliable narrator, some misdirection) but it is wrapped up in a story about a mother who doesn't fit in and a very unhappy teenager who nearly dies. If that wasn't the wrapping I might have enjoyed this story, but the whole time I wanted to get back to that original tale, I wanted to know they were going to be okay. But ultimately that wasn't what the story was about. Which made me not really like the story.
In summary, I both loved the book and really hated the book. I'm settling on three stars because I can see why some people would think it was incredible and others would think it was horrific.
Gingerbread is a unique and interesting concept. As a short story, I would have loved it. But the reading felt like a steady stream of plot points. As a reader who isn't driven by plot, I felt uninterested (even though the story itself was interesting). It's hard to explain, I wanted to DNF the entire time I was reading (well, after the early suicide attempt), but at the same time the story was just magical enough to keep me reading.
The Good: The plot was fully unique in my opinion. I really enjoyed the idea of the story. It is what kept me reading.
The Bad: The whole part about her daughter nearly un-aliving herself feels unnecessary. I actually feel like the modern-day part of the story didn't provide an additional setting to the story and I think I would have felt more connected to the story as a whole if it had started with Harriet as a child. Also, the description of this book was poorly worded - Peridita did not set out on a journey to find her mother's friend. Maybe she did, but there needed to be more of a WARNING. Shame on the publisher.
The Ugly: The story has elements I love (magical realism, an unreliable narrator, some misdirection) but it is wrapped up in a story about a mother who doesn't fit in and a very unhappy teenager who nearly dies. If that wasn't the wrapping I might have enjoyed this story, but the whole time I wanted to get back to that original tale, I wanted to know they were going to be okay. But ultimately that wasn't what the story was about. Which made me not really like the story.
In summary, I both loved the book and really hated the book. I'm settling on three stars because I can see why some people would think it was incredible and others would think it was horrific.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content
Moderate: Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Classism, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Sexual assault, Homophobia, Murder, Child death, Bullying, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Sexual content, Vomit, Excrement, Abortion, and Death
keato's review
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I was so excited for this book because my friend loves this author!! But I was just soooo bored the entire time. If it wasn’t for a book club I wouldn’t have finished it. It was also kind of confusing. It kept changing timelines and settings without telling us when and where we are but it’s the same characters so I was like wait when did they reconnect. To be fair, I could have paid better attention but I also just kept getting distracted because it was so boring. I think it might be better as a reread. I think it had good qualities too. It was great prose. I think I would have liked it better if I knew what I was getting into and I was prepared for a really slow book. Idk. It wasn’t bad. I just wasn’t in the right headspace and kept missing parts so lots of it went over my head.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt
readinggem's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-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? It's complicated
4.25
Read for Nov 2022 book club
I’m not sure I truly understood the book, but I enjoyed reading it. Once I accepted I would just be confused from time to time, and that this world didn’t always line up with my world, it became a more relaxed reading experience.
I’m not sure I truly understood the book, but I enjoyed reading it. Once I accepted I would just be confused from time to time, and that this world didn’t always line up with my world, it became a more relaxed reading experience.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Suicide attempt