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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"Sitting on the steps with him, I felt untouchable, protected from both the judgement of others and time itself -- as long as Darden was next to me, we were still at Ault, our futures hadn't happened yet"
Despite its inherent depression, this gave me hope for a bigger, brighter future.
Despite its inherent depression, this gave me hope for a bigger, brighter future.
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Reading this book was an odd experience and I honestly can't decide how many stars to give it. I was completely engrossed the whole way through, staying up late getting sleep-deprived like I did when I was a little kid, but I don't think I actually *liked* the book. In some ways, I'm sure we can all relate to the protaganist. I shared many of the same experiences when I went to college because my school was not dissimilar to Lee Fiora's intense, isolated boarding school, in many ways. But she never really grows. Her inner world is so vivid, and Sittenfeld's writing is so engaging that you can't help but feel her pain and anxiety as acutely as she does, but she never really ventures beyond this inner world. Or maybe she does, but since the entire book is told from her perspective, you never really know. The reader gets a few fleeting glimpses of her character as perceived by her friends and teachers but it's just enough to tease you into wanting more, and your urge to know her in a more encompassing way is never satisfied. I raced through the book wanting to see her blossom into something more than she ever did and was instead left with a frustratingly melancholic aftertaste.
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I related to Lee, the main character and narrator for a lot of reasons and even when I didn't, I somehow felt empathetic toward her.
So many reviews of this book say they hate the main character (Lee) — I don’t know what this says about me, but I love Lee. I love her and hate her in almost exactly the same ways I love and hate myself. She is selfish and naive and self-loathing and cynical and vulnerable and above all honest — honest with the reader and herself in a way it is so difficult to be in real life, even as an adult looking back in retrospect on your high school self. It is almost spooky to read a book that mirrors parts of your own life so closely, and as I read the vignettes that make me want to cringe, I feel not second hand embarrassment, but first hand embarrassment — a breath-catching, uncomfortable nostalgia that makes me feel so viscerally like an 11th grader again I forget for a moment just how far I’ve come
I totally loved this book and identified with it. Guess my secret dream was to go to a high end private school on the East Coast!
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
funny
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes