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redheadtreefrog's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book made “me want to laugh and cry at the same time.”
As with most literary fiction, there is a period there in the beginning where I have a hard time getting into the story. The absence of an “active plot”is a prickly hedge that I have to fight my way through. But then, if I’m lucky (as I was here), the characters start to solidify and I’m all in.
I LOVED the concept behind “a true” and “a sure”--
I loved the child narrator--
I loved the end (even though I didn’t really want it to end..)--
jackie_shimkus's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-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
carolann331's review against another edition
3.0
This was a quick read and surprisingly light despite the characters experiencing loss of loved ones, troubled pasts, and trying to find one's place in the world. I came into it expecting an eerie ghost story but instead found it to be more mysterious than eerie. Still, I enjoyed the story about a lovable boy and his struggle to fit in and find purpose. I loved the beautiful beach setting and the thrill of the turtles hatching. I especially loved that in the end, the imperfect characters offered up abounding forgiveness and love.
caseysilk's review against another edition
5.0
I love Gail Godwin's writing and I have since the beginning. Grief Cottage is a beautiful coming of age story about an eleven year old boy who is orphaned when his single mother is killed in a car crash. He is sent to live with a great aunt who he has never met. The aunt is an artist who lives in a beach cottage on an island in South Carolina and is used to her solitude. The evolution of their relationship and the other people that come into Marcus's life are heart warming and heart breaking. I loved this book.
mariesreads's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this! I liked the tone and the setting, and I liked Marcus--it certainly feels like an older person remembering a certain time in his life, rather than being in the moment with a twelve-year-old boy, but I think that works for the story.
moirastone's review against another edition
3.0
Spare and fable-like, with jumps across time and perspective that put me in mind of Jane Gardam's books for young readers. Not for me, but I can imagine the reader for whom this book will be everything.