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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’m a bit conflicted with this rating - I’d give it somewhere between a 3.5 and a 4. I really enjoyed the writing and it was a quick, entertaining read. But some plot lines seemed unnecessary and unfinished (faiths dad commuting suicide, gentle’s death, even maria fabiola’s fabricated kidnapping never had a true explanation). But overall i really did love this book set in my favorite place!
I really enjoyed this. The 8th grade narrator--Eulabee--attends an elite all-girls school in San Francisco, and Vida captures that moment in life when every experience is new and feels freighted with import. It's packed with discoveries and betrayals and disappearances and lies and the quiet terror of social ostracism, and I was invested every step of the way.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved this book so much. So artfully captures the awkward beautiful coming of age experience of the protagonist who is wise and funny and strong. I also loved the description of life as a kid in SF before ultra gentrification set in.
Things I loved
The location
Beautiful writing
Great set up in the beginning of the story
Mysterious somewhat dark coming of age that still had lightness to it
I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was great
Time hop in the end worked for me and left me feeling pretty satisfied
I can’t put my finger on it but there were some parts that dragged a bit and the pacing was inconsistent maybe just felt like it was missing something. I loved the beginning and setting up the world and these characters but then there were a lot of twists and turns and unanswered questions. At the end they did tie everything together pretty nicely overall. I loved the world of San Francisco in the 80s but there were some parts that felt sort of random and unnecessary, didn’t add much to the plot or characterization of the main character. Overall I liked this book but didn’t love it. Probably a 3.5 for me rounded to 4. I am glad I read it.
The location
Beautiful writing
Great set up in the beginning of the story
Mysterious somewhat dark coming of age that still had lightness to it
I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was great
Time hop in the end worked for me and left me feeling pretty satisfied
I can’t put my finger on it but there were some parts that dragged a bit and the pacing was inconsistent maybe just felt like it was missing something. I loved the beginning and setting up the world and these characters but then there were a lot of twists and turns and unanswered questions. At the end they did tie everything together pretty nicely overall. I loved the world of San Francisco in the 80s but there were some parts that felt sort of random and unnecessary, didn’t add much to the plot or characterization of the main character. Overall I liked this book but didn’t love it. Probably a 3.5 for me rounded to 4. I am glad I read it.
medium-paced
This is a really high 4 for me. It was a super entertaining coming of age story of girls without the hormonal drag. I had trouble putting it down and stayed up way to late! The names of the main characters were pretty distracting, but I got over it.
this book is like that “hell is a teenage girl” tiktok sound
often relatable in a very ouch way (except i have never gone missing if you can believe it), like no offense but i just don’t think men would get this…
kidding kidding go read it (it’s technically not a five star read but at the same time yes it is)
ALSO the end of the book goes really well with the minari score in case you were wondering
love that it takes place in sf too :)
often relatable in a very ouch way (except i have never gone missing if you can believe it), like no offense but i just don’t think men would get this…
kidding kidding go read it (it’s technically not a five star read but at the same time yes it is)
ALSO the end of the book goes really well with the minari score in case you were wondering
love that it takes place in sf too :)