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readers_block's review against another edition
4.0
A big fan of The Emperor's Children, I couldn't wait to read this one. And while it's much shorter, it's beautifully written and evocative in the same way.
The story centers around the friendship of two young girls. Messud perfectly captures the nuances of young female friendships- to me, this book couldn't have been more relevant. Her observations are at once astute and emotional, while she weaves a story with a plot that is at the same time compelling.
The story centers around the friendship of two young girls. Messud perfectly captures the nuances of young female friendships- to me, this book couldn't have been more relevant. Her observations are at once astute and emotional, while she weaves a story with a plot that is at the same time compelling.
arlafreeman's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to like this book more than I did. It took me forever to finish it. Longer than most books. I kept losing interest consistently. The plot felt thin to me. I did enjoy Julia’s voice and thoughts as a character.
3/5 stars for me.
3/5 stars for me.
rglossner's review against another edition
4.0
Julia and Cassie have been friends since nursery school in their small Massachusetts town. Their family lives are very different, and as they enter adolescence, they grow apart. Cassie’s journey to find her biological father and answers about her background put her life in danger, and test the bonds of friendship. A powerful coming of age story.
heatherer's review against another edition
2.0
I was hoping waiting a few days would make me feel better about this book, but I’m actually increasingly coming to dislike it. I’d give it 2.5 stars if I could because it pulls one in well enough. But it is somewhere between nihilism (there is no meaning) and existentialism (meaning is what we make of it) in its conclusions and I find there’s very little in it that I want to continue reflecting on. Further, I find the characters besides Julia (the protagonist) a bit hard to believe - they’re one-dimensional and just plain odd at that. And what gives with the author’s tendency to describe people’s appearance by their breasts?! It was a quick read, but I would not recommend on the whole.
ellemir's review against another edition
2.0
Das war so gar nicht mein Buch. Auch wenn es relativ kurz ist, zog es sich doch ziemlich hin. Die Figuren blieben flach und entwickelten sich kaum weiter, viele Details schienen einfach unwichtig und die Handlung war nicht wirklich spannend.
Zwei Sterne, weil der Schreibstil und die Sprache der Autorin mir gefallen hat und ich ihr auf jeden Fall irgendwann eine zweite Chance geben will.
Zwei Sterne, weil der Schreibstil und die Sprache der Autorin mir gefallen hat und ich ihr auf jeden Fall irgendwann eine zweite Chance geben will.
morganrae25's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 | a little too young, but good coming of age story. ending realistic but unsatisfying
alisse's review against another edition
5.0
This story of two best friends, forever locked together but also pulled apart by classmates, growing up, and life, felt like many other coming-of-age books, but so much more deeply powerful at the same time. Grappling with themes like the parent-child relationship, popularity, peer pressure, love, trust--I was able to dig into this book quickly and easily. I particularly related to the narrator, Julia, and how it feels to lose someone you love so quickly, and yet feel like they will always be a part of you.
marie_kreuter's review against another edition
2.0
I really expected and wanted to like this book. According to the description, it’s exactly the kind of story I love: one about the intimacy of adolescence and the inevitable dissolution of the intense friendships one makes during this time. And while the author is obviously skilled—it is beautifully written—the story is told almost primarily in exposition, and by the least interesting character in the book. There’s a line I love on page 145: “But our friendship was, at the same time, like a city you hadn’t visited in a long time, where you know the streets by heart but the shops and restaurants have changed, so you can find your way from the church to the town square, no problem, but you don’t know where to get ice cream or a decent sandwich.” Lovely, right? Sadly, i feel it also characterizes the book as a whole: We’re given the skeleton, maybe some muscles, tendons, an internal organ or two, of these two girls’ lives, including some present-action scenes (the first half of the book is much more scene-heavy than the second), but as the story continues, it drops almost exclusively into exposition, with the less interesting character explaining (often second-hand!) and musing over the dramatic unraveling of her first best friend’s life. And because of this lack of present action and closeness to the story, we’re left without a beating heart, without a visage, so that I understand that this story exists, but it’s hard to care, especially about the narrator, who I felt I knew so little about by the end of the story. And if I know so little about her, why would her heartbreak matter to me?
I vacillated between two and three stars on this one, because I want to acknowledge the beauty of Messud’s writing, but I landed on two. Because, man, was I disappointed by this story.
I vacillated between two and three stars on this one, because I want to acknowledge the beauty of Messud’s writing, but I landed on two. Because, man, was I disappointed by this story.