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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
I was pleasantly surprised by this one. I LOVED IT. Absolutely nothing spectacular happened--it's a novel about family (the family you're born with and the family you create.) There were so many passages I would have marked and shared but couldn't because I read an ARC (please, Celadon Press, don't change anything!)
I adored this book. When it's published you better believe I'm gonna post the crap out of this one because it is beautiful. THANK YOU Celdadon for the ARC!
I adored this book. When it's published you better believe I'm gonna post the crap out of this one because it is beautiful. THANK YOU Celdadon for the ARC!
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
My notes for this one are long, ranting and incoherent, and I hope my review is not. I loved The Connellys of County Down and We Are the Brennan’s even though I’m not really a domestic family drama reader, so I probably should have steered clear of this one, but I didn’t. So, if that’s your jam, ignore my review. Those families appealed to me, filled with flawed characters that I came to love. I think that’s the difference here. I came to appreciate Marley and a couple of the members of the Joseph family but for most of the book, I couldn’t for the life of me understand why anyone not obligated would put up with these assholes.
Ultimately, I think the format was probably the biggest problem for me. The story is told in third person in several parts moving back and forth between characters and jumping back and forth through time, parsing out little tidbits about the characters across the entire book. Unfortunately for a few of the problem characters, those tidbits came too little, too late for me because by 80% when I’m finally learning why two of the characters acted the way they did, I didn’t care anymore.
I switched back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook. The audiobook was narrated by Maria Liatis and she did an absolutely fabulous job otherwise I wouldn’t have such strong feelings about these characters and their actions, or non-actions.
I found Marley’s journey to finding a family of her own and the mystery to be good, but if I had been introduced to this family, I would have run for the hills in the first scene. Even though this was not my jam, I think a lot of readers will enjoy this book.
Thanks @netgalley and @celadonbooks @macmillan.audio for a review copy
Ultimately, I think the format was probably the biggest problem for me. The story is told in third person in several parts moving back and forth between characters and jumping back and forth through time, parsing out little tidbits about the characters across the entire book. Unfortunately for a few of the problem characters, those tidbits came too little, too late for me because by 80% when I’m finally learning why two of the characters acted the way they did, I didn’t care anymore.
I switched back and forth between the ebook and the audiobook. The audiobook was narrated by Maria Liatis and she did an absolutely fabulous job otherwise I wouldn’t have such strong feelings about these characters and their actions, or non-actions.
I found Marley’s journey to finding a family of her own and the mystery to be good, but if I had been introduced to this family, I would have run for the hills in the first scene. Even though this was not my jam, I think a lot of readers will enjoy this book.
Thanks @netgalley and @celadonbooks @macmillan.audio for a review copy
This is really a non-linear character piece with real quality evocative writing. The atmosphere of this world and the small Pennsylvanian town is brought to life as the discovery of a body shakes up everyone's secrets and threatens to break one family into pieces.
I enjoyed this book, but I'm not sure that I liked all of the characters much of the time. But the fact that we jump around in time and from different characters perspectives really fleshes out a full picture and while we may not always like a character or their choices, with each new chapter from their perspective we understand a little more. Marley may be our main narrator, and I definitely felt for her as she tries to find her place in this world, to step into adulthood and make a family for herself, but I appreciated the chapters from the other characters POV's. I felt like I got to understand their choices much better and their inner motivations. Each of these characters was nuanced and had a lot of growing up to do. The Joseph brothers are all flawed and their differing relationships with Marley were fascinating.
I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. I was anxious for the characters throughout the story as I was hoping for a happy ending. I wanted them to be able to work things out. To come out of everything stronger. At the end of the day I walked away satisfied. Nothing is perfect, but there is hope and growth. Four teenagers find their way into adulthood that was in many ways thrust on them way to young, some through their own actions and some through circumstances beyond their control. The "adults" in this book are actually the people I cared about the least. Their self-centered actions did a lot to hurt their children, meant to or not.
I enjoyed this book, but I'm not sure that I liked all of the characters much of the time. But the fact that we jump around in time and from different characters perspectives really fleshes out a full picture and while we may not always like a character or their choices, with each new chapter from their perspective we understand a little more. Marley may be our main narrator, and I definitely felt for her as she tries to find her place in this world, to step into adulthood and make a family for herself, but I appreciated the chapters from the other characters POV's. I felt like I got to understand their choices much better and their inner motivations. Each of these characters was nuanced and had a lot of growing up to do. The Joseph brothers are all flawed and their differing relationships with Marley were fascinating.
I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. I was anxious for the characters throughout the story as I was hoping for a happy ending. I wanted them to be able to work things out. To come out of everything stronger. At the end of the day I walked away satisfied. Nothing is perfect, but there is hope and growth. Four teenagers find their way into adulthood that was in many ways thrust on them way to young, some through their own actions and some through circumstances beyond their control. The "adults" in this book are actually the people I cared about the least. Their self-centered actions did a lot to hurt their children, meant to or not.
