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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
3.5 stars; the last chapters and ending brought this book down from a 3.75. I am also not sure I would have finished it if I didn’t like the narrator/audio.
SUMMARY: New mom moves from Brooklyn to a sleepy college town upstate. She’s technically on maternity leave, but needs to write a new book (former journalist; has published two books, one has some success) so she hired a college student part-time. New mom has her secrets too; she’s being dipping into her savings to bail out her sister, she doesn’t want another baby, and she dislikes her family. Her husband also left his job to start working on an invention that is dumb.
Sam, the student, is a senior with a long distance boyfriend in London that’s in his 30s (shes 21/22) that her family and friends don’t approve of—they insist he’s hiding something or he’s a loser (he has no job for example). Sam also struggles with finding her tribe. She’s not rich like her roommate or financially comfortable like other college kids; she’s in debt, her parents are strapped, and she works in the dining hall to make ends meet. She’s embarrassed by her job and situation, but she also really likes her coworkers. Still, she also sees she’s not like the women in the dining hall either (latinaX, single moms, do not have the same opportunities and support). Her coworkers are nice to her but make it clear she’s still an outsider. Sam also doesn’t know what to do after college. Her boyfriend wants her to move to London but she would have to do cash work like being a nanny... she wants to be an artist or work in a gallery...
New mom and Sam become friendly—blurring the line between employer and employee.
Eventually new mom steps waaaaay over the line and the women get in a fight and that’s that. The bulk of the story is sitting down watching the lives of these women individually and where they overlap and how different issues resolve (eg does sam get married or not, does new mom IVF again or not).
Bottom line: it’s a long winded example that friends are also strangers, strangers become friends and friends can becomes strangers with time, hence the title
SUMMARY: New mom moves from Brooklyn to a sleepy college town upstate. She’s technically on maternity leave, but needs to write a new book (former journalist; has published two books, one has some success) so she hired a college student part-time. New mom has her secrets too; she’s being dipping into her savings to bail out her sister, she doesn’t want another baby, and she dislikes her family. Her husband also left his job to start working on an invention that is dumb.
Sam, the student, is a senior with a long distance boyfriend in London that’s in his 30s (shes 21/22) that her family and friends don’t approve of—they insist he’s hiding something or he’s a loser (he has no job for example). Sam also struggles with finding her tribe. She’s not rich like her roommate or financially comfortable like other college kids; she’s in debt, her parents are strapped, and she works in the dining hall to make ends meet. She’s embarrassed by her job and situation, but she also really likes her coworkers. Still, she also sees she’s not like the women in the dining hall either (latinaX, single moms, do not have the same opportunities and support). Her coworkers are nice to her but make it clear she’s still an outsider. Sam also doesn’t know what to do after college. Her boyfriend wants her to move to London but she would have to do cash work like being a nanny... she wants to be an artist or work in a gallery...
New mom and Sam become friendly—blurring the line between employer and employee.
Eventually new mom steps waaaaay over the line and the women get in a fight and that’s that. The bulk of the story is sitting down watching the lives of these women individually and where they overlap and how different issues resolve (eg does sam get married or not, does new mom IVF again or not).
Bottom line: it’s a long winded example that friends are also strangers, strangers become friends and friends can becomes strangers with time, hence the title
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
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
This was a great read. One of those contemporary novels that at first you think is light and doesn’t have much depth until you get into it and realize it’s about class, friendship, relationships and just so much more. Highly recommended.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked it; I didn't love it. I think the author could have accomplished the same thing with less chapters - it just got long without saying much more. If I had been wanting to read a book with a lot of personal introspection, this might have done it for me, but I felt like it wasn't really going anywhere. 2 women get to know each other and make mistakes with each other and with their significant others. That about says it all.