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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
Loved it. Magical realism is hit or miss for me, and meditations on motherhood are not usually my jam, but something about this one was very gripping. I also really enjoyed the author’s writing style. Kind of reminded me of Mona Awad in its descent into more and more surreal moments.
Content note: There is one violent animal death that is pretty specifically described, but it was relatively brief (I can be pretty soft-hearted about that kind of thing, but this was pretty short…was definitely cringing while reading but by the time I was like “maybe I’ll skim?” it was over). It also didn’t feel gratuitous, and was sort of an integral moment for part of the plot, which helped.
Content note: There is one violent animal death that is pretty specifically described, but it was relatively brief (I can be pretty soft-hearted about that kind of thing, but this was pretty short…was definitely cringing while reading but by the time I was like “maybe I’ll skim?” it was over). It also didn’t feel gratuitous, and was sort of an integral moment for part of the plot, which helped.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
dark
inspiring
mysterious
slow-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:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror
Postpartum Depression
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
would more realistically give this a 2.5 rating… but we will round up eek! this one just didn’t hit for me?? i really struggled to stay engaged with it, and halfway through started listening to the audiobook because it was dragging hahahah… maybe i missed the big ‘aha!’ moment?? i understand the metaphors for a woman’s role in the house and society, plus all the self acceptance, imposter syndrome, family norms, all of that good stuff — i just don’t think it meshed well enough for me? i saw this was supposed to have a comedic flair and the humor didn’t stand out to me at all AH!! it all felt like one long run-on sentence that made me feel confused and i just struggled to fully grasp it enough to enjoy it i think… i feel like i never truly knew what was happening ahahah
some plot moments i pointed out were:
- the writing to the WW author felt kinda out of pocket sometimes, just because i feel like we didn’t touch on WW enough as a character? i understand she wrote the book, and towards the end we get some more info on her, but still not really??? once again just didn’t blend well
- i actually preferred when nobody was named towards the first third of the book, because it dehumanized everyone, which felt like the point.
- the cat moment… was crazy?? in a weird way?…
- the pyramid scheme of herbs was also wild ahhaha ahhh
some plot moments i pointed out were:
- the writing to the WW author felt kinda out of pocket sometimes, just because i feel like we didn’t touch on WW enough as a character? i understand she wrote the book, and towards the end we get some more info on her, but still not really??? once again just didn’t blend well
- i actually preferred when nobody was named towards the first third of the book, because it dehumanized everyone, which felt like the point.
- the cat moment… was crazy?? in a weird way?…
- the pyramid scheme of herbs was also wild ahhaha ahhh
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Blood
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
1.5 stars
Oof this one was hard for me to get through.
I’ll start with the positives:
* The book has great themes regarding motherhood and just how hard it is. From the erasure of women, silent workload, and the loneliness of it all, it really nailed the feelings of being a stay at home mom.
* I actual enjoyed the weird parts of the book. Those were entertaining.
* There were funny moments, such as when she meets with a mommy MLM group whose names are all Jen.
* The last few paragraphs of the book are actually beautiful. That is why I gave it the extra .5 star
Okay now with the negatives
* This easily could have been a short story. I know it’s not a long book as it is, but it was very repetitive.
* While the themes are great, Yoder constantly beats you over the head with them. There was no subtly and by the first quarter of the book I wanted to shout, “I get it!!!”
* Nobody is likable in the book, especially the main character. She’s very self involved and the book feels like a list of her complaints at times. She doesn’t believe any mother has it harder than her and doesn’t think any of the other mothers in the book have it as bad as her. There were also some digs at the working mothers in the book.
* It’s just plain boring. There was at least 5-10 minutes of the book where she simply listed the items in her room. Once again, could have been a short story.
* The worst part was the animal cruelty. So many animals being killed. To be fair, I’m very sensitive to animals being killed and can easily make me not like a book. If this hadn’t been a book club read I would have stopped reading at a graphic part involving a family pet.
This may be others cup of tea and maybe the movie is better since they can remove so much of the boring inner dialogue. But this book was definitely not for me 😂
Oof this one was hard for me to get through.
I’ll start with the positives:
* The book has great themes regarding motherhood and just how hard it is. From the erasure of women, silent workload, and the loneliness of it all, it really nailed the feelings of being a stay at home mom.
* I actual enjoyed the weird parts of the book. Those were entertaining.
* There were funny moments, such as when she meets with a mommy MLM group whose names are all Jen.
* The last few paragraphs of the book are actually beautiful. That is why I gave it the extra .5 star
Okay now with the negatives
* This easily could have been a short story. I know it’s not a long book as it is, but it was very repetitive.
* While the themes are great, Yoder constantly beats you over the head with them. There was no subtly and by the first quarter of the book I wanted to shout, “I get it!!!”
* Nobody is likable in the book, especially the main character. She’s very self involved and the book feels like a list of her complaints at times. She doesn’t believe any mother has it harder than her and doesn’t think any of the other mothers in the book have it as bad as her. There were also some digs at the working mothers in the book.
* It’s just plain boring. There was at least 5-10 minutes of the book where she simply listed the items in her room. Once again, could have been a short story.
* The worst part was the animal cruelty. So many animals being killed. To be fair, I’m very sensitive to animals being killed and can easily make me not like a book. If this hadn’t been a book club read I would have stopped reading at a graphic part involving a family pet.
This may be others cup of tea and maybe the movie is better since they can remove so much of the boring inner dialogue. But this book was definitely not for me 😂
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
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