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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
A riveting book about the tenuous, fragile nature of teenage relationships. Vida does an excellent job capturing the breathless importance of friendships, crushes, and the self when the self is still very much being formed.
2.5 stars. I am surprised by some of the very positive reviews on this one. I personally was very underwhelmed. Connecting with the main character is crucial for a coming of age story, and Eulabee was not written in a way that the reader could connect to her (not to mention that she is often quite unlikeable). There were some far-fetched elements that made me roll my eyes, and there were some problematic issues in the way that early sexual experiences were portrayed. I almost DNFed this one a few times, and in hindsight I wish I had because the book never got better.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Strong sense of place, great depth of characters, and it really captures the sense of belonging (and its opposite) for young teens. Some of the events disturbed me and I thought it a bit odd (but not impossible) how disconnected Eulabee’s parents were for her age.
I read and listened (back and forth) and preferred the text to the audio.
I read and listened (back and forth) and preferred the text to the audio.
Overall the book was boring. The characters were not dynamic or even likable. I cannot relate to this as ‘coming-of-age.’
Another review draft lost to goodreads, let's see if I can recapture it.
This book is a good idea but is lacking in execution.
It follows a group of wealthy tweens in 80's San Francisco. At the centre of the story is the disappearance of an Italian-American heiress. At least, this was billed as the central conflict of the book but only happens about 35% of the way through. I thought we were going to be looking at a coming-of-age mystery but there is very little by the way of sleuthing.
Instead we follow a side-character in the group, an nth generation American with some Swedish roots. She's a pretty unlikeable character from the beginning, being as image-obsessed and navel-gazing as her friend but with an unerring moral righteousness that feels unearned for her age. After refusing to back-up her friends in an ominous ploy for attention (a concept handled with much more grace and nuance in [b:Atonement|6867|Atonement|Ian McEwan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320449708l/6867._SY75_.jpg|2307233]), our protagonist is ostracized. This should be a defining, and crippling, situation for one of her age but it feels oddly unimportant. It's mentioned, but if anything it feels as if she is liberated, happy to bike around her beautiful neighborhood and study.
And I think that is the central problem of this book, it doesn't understand its characters. These girls at not 12. They are at least 15, and an old 15 at that. They are far too independent (even for the 80's), far too sexual and sexualized, far too immune to the social pressures of their peers. Because of that, and the weak ending, I was pretty disappointed by this book. It gets two stars instead of one because I thought Vida captured soem aspects of the San Francisco beaches very well.
An odd one. Wouldn't recommend it.
This book is a good idea but is lacking in execution.
It follows a group of wealthy tweens in 80's San Francisco. At the centre of the story is the disappearance of an Italian-American heiress. At least, this was billed as the central conflict of the book but only happens about 35% of the way through. I thought we were going to be looking at a coming-of-age mystery but there is very little by the way of sleuthing.
Instead we follow a side-character in the group, an nth generation American with some Swedish roots. She's a pretty unlikeable character from the beginning, being as image-obsessed and navel-gazing as her friend but with an unerring moral righteousness that feels unearned for her age. After refusing to back-up her friends in an ominous ploy for attention (a concept handled with much more grace and nuance in [b:Atonement|6867|Atonement|Ian McEwan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1320449708l/6867._SY75_.jpg|2307233]), our protagonist is ostracized. This should be a defining, and crippling, situation for one of her age but it feels oddly unimportant. It's mentioned, but if anything it feels as if she is liberated, happy to bike around her beautiful neighborhood and study.
And I think that is the central problem of this book, it doesn't understand its characters. These girls at not 12. They are at least 15, and an old 15 at that. They are far too independent (even for the 80's), far too sexual and sexualized, far too immune to the social pressures of their peers. Because of that, and the weak ending, I was pretty disappointed by this book. It gets two stars instead of one because I thought Vida captured soem aspects of the San Francisco beaches very well.
An odd one. Wouldn't recommend it.
Set in San Francisco in the 80’s, teenage Eulabee and her best friend, Maria Fabiola, rule their street in Sea Cliff, an upscale, oceanside, neighbourhood. They know the who’s who in their own neighborhood like the back of their hand. One morning while walking to school, a private all girls school, they encounter something they couldn’t agree on. Then with Maria Fabiola sudden disappearance, their community is abuzz with what really happened and finding the reason behind will expose an ugly truth.
This book is about female friendship during early teens and all those teenage drama, the challenges of finding one’s identity and seeking peer acceptance, and the community we try to belong. It is an interesting start for me then it drag a little bit in the middle part but glad it pick up and throughly enjoy it. The author is able to weave the through the intricacies of teenage world and comes out with a heartwarming story.
Thank you Eccobooks and NetGalley for giving out this advanced e-copy. We Run the Tides out today Feb 9.
This book is about female friendship during early teens and all those teenage drama, the challenges of finding one’s identity and seeking peer acceptance, and the community we try to belong. It is an interesting start for me then it drag a little bit in the middle part but glad it pick up and throughly enjoy it. The author is able to weave the through the intricacies of teenage world and comes out with a heartwarming story.
Thank you Eccobooks and NetGalley for giving out this advanced e-copy. We Run the Tides out today Feb 9.
Did not expect to enjoy this as much as I did. A wonderful read for anyone from the bay area. The ending flash forward really made the story for me, I loved the choice to add that.
We Run the Tides took me back to the very specific feeling of being in junior high and trying to navigate growing up and growing out of friendships. The last stretch of the book left me a little puzzled.
Found this in a little free library in San Francisco then read on the train away from that fine city. Loved the characters doing both a terrible and good job at being 13 year olds in a girls school