artstitute's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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ktmanos's review against another edition

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medium-paced

3.5

While parts of this book are really good, undeniably… it’s really hard to recommend. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ve seen most of the best parts in my opinion. While it may have been considered progressive in the late 80s, there are many parts that simply don’t hold up. 

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readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

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medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75


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chloenfp's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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rchristine11's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This was a great book. I knew very little about it going into it, and was pleasantly surprised at the sapphic relationship. This book is an adult novel and no character is without fault or flaw. The book is reflective and nuanced. It is told nonlinearly and touches on themes of sexism, aging, racism, abelism, colorism, domestic violence, euthanasia, non traditional family units, coming of age, and poverty. The book uses slurs continuously throughout. It’s not for everyone, and could easily offend. I usually stay in the fantasy/sci-fi/horror genres, but I ventured out for this one and I’m glad I did. I absolutely love a nonlinear story with multiple narrators. Sometimes it was an omniscient narrator, other times we are listening to ninny reminisce, or reading the weekly bulletin and the book jumps between decades, cities, and characters quickly. I really enjoy that narration style in a book.  It takes a great writer to pull all that together to create a coherent story. 
I’ve read a lot of critiques of the novel since finishing it and I think many of them miss the point of reading an adult novel (as opposed to children or YA lit). They mention the problematic nature of Idgie and Stumps relationship or the character Grady being likable while also being a KKK member. People point to colorism and racism and abelism displayed by the main characters. I feel like each criticism is saying “the narrative portrayed something bad and, because it wasn’t called out as such in the narrative, the book itself is promoting harmful ideas.” To which my response would be that this is a book for adults. As adults, we don’t need to be told when something is bad. This type of narrative style allows readers to engage critically with the issues presented and form their own nuanced opinions. 
This is not an easy read. It’s challenging, slow, and reflective. But it is a good book regardless and is full of hope. 

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sachikoriddle's review

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4.0


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bunnyreads2's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Enjoyed the audiobook a lot. Felt pretty emotional at the end. The only thing is that the whole time I thought the author was black, and when I realized she wasn’t, I kinda questioned the way racism was discussed in the story. But it’s mostly 2020 hindsight and doesn’t deter from the story’s quality and intentions. 

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