You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
emotional
mysterious
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
A really, beautifully bittersweet book. As someone who has both issues around eating and a mother who had an affair, it's possible this hit me much harder than it might hit another reader. Even then, I'd recommend trying it, with the caveat that this is much less about Rose's powers, and much more of a classic Bildungsroman.
The "powers" that arise in the book are intriguing and odd. Often in contemporary literature it feels like the characters are just an assembly of quirks—here we have, for instance, a fear of hospitals so bad it keeps Rose's father from attending either of their births—with nothing truly human or relatable layered underneath. Aimee Bender avoids that neatly, carefully capturing realistic emotions, responses and relationship subtleties which flesh all the characters out well beyond those token quirky traits.
I found the writing engaging and easy to read, with a simple beauty to it without turning to purple prose, and the stylistic choice not to use quotation marks (which I've seen before occasionally in other works) fits well here. I also felt that the ending worked well, and I'm surprised to read in other reviews that people found it came out of nowhere or ruined things. Rose's journey from being a child overwhelmed by the information her ability reveals to her to an adult who's found her own way to survive is the main emotional arc of the book, and it closes well.
The "powers" that arise in the book are intriguing and odd. Often in contemporary literature it feels like the characters are just an assembly of quirks—here we have, for instance, a fear of hospitals so bad it keeps Rose's father from attending either of their births—with nothing truly human or relatable layered underneath. Aimee Bender avoids that neatly, carefully capturing realistic emotions, responses and relationship subtleties which flesh all the characters out well beyond those token quirky traits.
I found the writing engaging and easy to read, with a simple beauty to it without turning to purple prose, and the stylistic choice not to use quotation marks (which I've seen before occasionally in other works) fits well here. I also felt that the ending worked well, and I'm surprised to read in other reviews that people found it came out of nowhere or ruined things. Rose's journey from being a child overwhelmed by the information her ability reveals to her to an adult who's found her own way to survive is the main emotional arc of the book, and it closes well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Eating disorder, Infidelity, Toxic friendship
Minor: Death, Drug use, Suicide, Dementia, Abandonment, Alcohol
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
This is a really odd story, but one I practically fell into, as I read it in the course of one evening, only pausing to eat dinner. After finishing it, I'm left with a kind of melancholy emptiness. The most striking theme in this story to me is one of grief, both for youthful ignorance lost, and for realizing you never found the words to unlock your family members, the same people who sat alongside you and spoke to you daily for years upon years, and never really got to know the most important pieces to them, until suddenly you had run out of time. As confused as this book made me feel during some chapters, I think those are pains most of us can relate to, although we wish we didn't.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Infidelity, Medical content, Dementia, Death of parent, Toxic friendship
Minor: Eating disorder, Sexual content, Alcohol