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rachelsbookishlife's review against another edition
1.0
** spoiler alert ** This book took me 4 days to finish. I generally read a book in 1 to 2 days. I had no desire to continue picking this up, and usually i would DNF, but i made a promise to see it through. And that i did. So this 1 star comes scathing from my computer so i can rant to you all about how terrible Grace is. This book is everything but the kitchen sink, there is absolutely way too much going on. Grace is not redeemable, even with her tragedies. Grace is a miserable human being, as well as everyone around her. Her husband betrays her, her daughter is worst than an angsty teen. I don't think there was a good discussion on women's bodies as there was a constant focus on Grace's body and the discussion around the grooming from her daughter's teacher was also just poorly done. The author wanted to put so much stuff in that everything was only mildly touched on, instead of picking 1 or 2 big topics and really making sure they talked about the detriment of those topics. I did not like that she didn't want kids, but instead got pregnant and changed her mind. So you know just like everyone in society says. Not only that she then goes on to just not be a good mom. She slaps her daughter, she has weird thoughts about her body, she stops being a mom for 5 weeks and then just comes back and everything is supposed to be normal. Not to mention her current day timeline where she beats the crap out of a car because SHE HAS TO BRING HER DAUGHTER A CAKE! insert confused face meme here... But of course it's because she is Perimenopausal... because you know women and their hysteria and all.
The only thing i will give her is that she reported her daughter's teacher for being a POS.
The flow was clunky, the chapters confusing. It has 3 perspectives, 2 of them are past timelines - 1 is 4 months before and after and the other is 2002 and after, and it has a current day timeline. All 3 timelines are frantic and baffling, as they have flashbacks that come without warning. The current day timeline is all in the place of 1 day, which just adds to the chaos of this book. In the end, this book is nothing like Where'd You Go Bernadette, or Ove or Brit Marie or any other quirky character that isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Grace was insufferable and i will not change my mind.
The only thing i will give her is that she reported her daughter's teacher for being a POS.
The flow was clunky, the chapters confusing. It has 3 perspectives, 2 of them are past timelines - 1 is 4 months before and after and the other is 2002 and after, and it has a current day timeline. All 3 timelines are frantic and baffling, as they have flashbacks that come without warning. The current day timeline is all in the place of 1 day, which just adds to the chaos of this book. In the end, this book is nothing like Where'd You Go Bernadette, or Ove or Brit Marie or any other quirky character that isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Grace was insufferable and i will not change my mind.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Cursing, Death, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Grief, and Pregnancy
kc_sears's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Grief, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Car accident
franklola's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
You will cry and cry and cry and cry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Police brutality
Moderate: Abandonment and Infidelity
Minor: Gaslighting, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, and Bullying
victoriarosalesvt's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The writing was good, and I liked how fast paste and short the chapters were, but it was just not what I was expecting
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Miscarriage, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
simplystef's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Pregnancy, and Adult/minor relationship
jillwedemeier's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-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
5.0
Grace Adams is having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Her husband has left her. Her beloved daughter, Lotte, has chosen to live with her father and won’t speak to her. She has lost both of her jobs. Today is Lotte’s 16th birthday, and Grace has one goal: to make it to Lotte’s birthday party and deliver the Love Island cake she specially ordered for her in the hopes of healing the rift between them. Stuck in traffic in London, Grace is late to pick up the cake. When she suddenly can’t take it any longer, she gets out of her car and walks to the bakery. As she makes her way across London, with some unusual and interesting encounters, Grace flashes back to the pivotal times in her life that have led her to this very moment. Her story is gradually revealed, beginning with the early days of her relationship with her husband, Ben, and leading up to the falling out with Lotte. How did the once amazing Grace Adams get to this point?
Compared to the likes of Eleanor, Rosie, Ove, and Bernadette, I was expecting a lighthearted comedy, but what I got was a gripping, emotional story about joy, love, grief, and hope. Yes, there were some very funny moments, but this novel was incredibly moving and, at times, heartbreaking. I found myself laughing out loud and also wiping away tears. This was an unforgettable read that had me captivated until the very end. Just a beautiful debut novel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Compared to the likes of Eleanor, Rosie, Ove, and Bernadette, I was expecting a lighthearted comedy, but what I got was a gripping, emotional story about joy, love, grief, and hope. Yes, there were some very funny moments, but this novel was incredibly moving and, at times, heartbreaking. I found myself laughing out loud and also wiping away tears. This was an unforgettable read that had me captivated until the very end. Just a beautiful debut novel.
Thank you to NetGalley and Henry Holt & Company for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Child death, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Misogyny
Minor: Miscarriage
raincityreads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Car accident
Minor: Blood, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, and Adult/minor relationship
laheath's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was not what I expected, but so much more! It rotates among three time periods, 20+ years ago when Grace met her husband, 4 months ago when her life really took a downward turn, and present time when Grace is simply trying to get a cake to her daughter's 16th birthday party. Surprisingly, it wasn't difficult at all to keep up with the different time periods. It began as a familiar story of a middle-aged, perimenopausal woman who decided she was fed up with the everyday nuisances of her life, i.e., the things women are expected to put up with, and instead was going to take action rather than tolerate them anymore. There are several funny anecdotes about her standing up for herself, but as the story continues, it becomes more serious, and heartbreaking in ways that any mother could imagine. She learns more about herself and her family, and how she could have handled things differently without taking the blame for everything. As other reviews have mentioned, it did seem like the author tried to put a lot of issues into one story, but at the same time, combined with the flashbacks to the other time periods, they actually worked to explain Grace's situation. Wonderful debut and great cover!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Child death
Moderate: Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, and Infidelity
Minor: Body shaming and Sexual content
camchorse's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
2.5
Fran Littlewood's debut book uses a triple timeline format to chronicle what has led Grace Adams to the place of desperation she now finds herself in. Her daughter's 16th birthday has given her a reason to prove that she is still amazing and worthy of love. Unfortunately, despite Grace's best intentions, her journey to help her daughter celebrate her birthday is riddled with a series of unfortunate events.
The timeline jumps back and forth between 2002, four months before now and now. The previous time periods explain how Grace has ended up in her current predicament. I found the frequent jumping back and forth to be a little confusing. I could not always keep the details straight and the some of the situations Grace found herself in seemed to be far fetched.
Readers who enjoyed Where'd You Go, Bernadette? and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine will likely enjoy this one too. I found myself feeling impatient with the chaos surrounding Grace whether it was warranted or not.
Be sure to check the trigger warnings before reading this one.
Thanks to the Macmillan Audio Influencer Program for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!
The timeline jumps back and forth between 2002, four months before now and now. The previous time periods explain how Grace has ended up in her current predicament. I found the frequent jumping back and forth to be a little confusing. I could not always keep the details straight and the some of the situations Grace found herself in seemed to be far fetched.
Readers who enjoyed Where'd You Go, Bernadette? and Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine will likely enjoy this one too. I found myself feeling impatient with the chaos surrounding Grace whether it was warranted or not.
Be sure to check the trigger warnings before reading this one.
Thanks to the Macmillan Audio Influencer Program for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Vomit, Blood, Infidelity, and Child death
lindsaylhunter's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The last hundred pages of this book really sealed the deal for me that this is a lovely, emotionally-charged novel. Some of the dialogue does not read well and you can absolutely tell that the teenage dialogue has been written by someone approaching middle age, but still a nice book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
Minor: Police brutality
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