Reviews tagging 'Genocide'

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows, Mary Ann Shaffer

32 reviews

queenhufflegruff's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative 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? No

4.5

I thought this was lovely, and a beautiful story of resistance and resilience of a small occupied island during WW2 that we don't hear much about. I loved the epistolary format, and thought that the characters were all beautifully unique and well drawn
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kemakitty's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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lpinney12's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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livelyghost's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

It took me a while to get into this book because it’s written as a series of letters, but once I got more familiar with the pace it turned into a comforting piece. As a lady who loves eavesdropping, reading a series of personal letters was a fun treat. I frankly didn’t know the Channel Islands existed, much less that they were occupied by the Germans during World War Two. Hearing about what happening in fictional letters made it more personal and real. Juliet is very sunny and feels like your oldest, coolest friend. I would love to visit Guernsey to think about the history and these characters. 
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jja_b's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

A charming read. I thought this was a very melancholic but sweet tale, and the characters’ experiences during the occupation were moving.

I did struggle with the writing style a bit at first (an epistolary novel I believe it’s called??) but I ended up really liking it. I think the film adaption is great, but I think I might prefer the book a lil more.
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ghostieberry's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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naomi_k's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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ramireads's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Honestly, this book is such a fast read, and a lighthearted and sweet one too. I found it easy to fall in love with the characters and they felt very real, which I found expected from this book format. I loved the pacing, the plot and how attached I grew to the characters. I did shed a tear or two and that only made it better. 
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leithbookstagram's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

“what we call cheek and Americans call can-do spirit”

I wanted to read this book after watching the movie, so snatched this book up when I saw it in a charity shop! 

I almost stopped reading when I figured out, after 20 pages, that this book was completely written in just letters (minus one entry near the end - I won’t say what it is to save from spoilers). I didn’t know how I felt about reading this format and thought it would lead, quite frankly, to a crap narrative.

But I’m glad I read on.

This is a really lovely, heartwarming, short read. Yes, at times it was very emotional reading about the things these characters endured during Guernsey’s Occupation in WWII, but this story was actually really funny (in an old-fashioned comedy way) and lighthearted! 

I really loved reading all the history (although I don’t know how accurate this is so don’t quote me on anything) and found myself continuing to read to find out more about Guernsey’s Occupation.

Even though I was reading this because I loved the movie so much, there were some big differences between the two. To be honest, it was quite hard in some parts of this book to realise that the story was the same. I loved the movie so much and wanted this to replicate it, but this book is completely different.

The movie, in my opinion, was very focused on the romance element. This book was not and, to be honest, I didn’t expect the relationship to happen (I won’t spoil it for you!). The romance happened right at the end and was rushed into a few pages, it felt like it was just chucked in at the end. I would have actually rather the romance didn’t happen and I got an epilogue about Kit! 

I’m giving this book 5 stars because it has left me feeling absolutely lovely and this will definitely be a re-read at some point. I wasn’t that fond of the letter format at the beginning, but got used to it and it wasn’t hard to follow and understand what was happening. 

Forgetting about the letter format and the rushed romance, I loved this book and story. It is absolutely beautiful and I want to read more! 
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lunahale's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

this was positively adorable, and it was the little things in this that made me love it. and then there's the romance, which is, like, the third most important thing in this book.
juliet begins the story writing the line, "i don't want to be married just to be married. i can't think of anything lonelier than spending the rest of my life with someone i can't talk to, or worse, someone i can't be silent with." which is something she voices before she meets mark reynolds, but it was like she brought it and him into existence. then she meets dawsey adams, who is the softest male mc i have ever met in my life. he's quiet, and watchful, and described as the type of person who everyone is always relieved to see/be around. juliet finds her quiet life on the island, and finds a person she can be quiet with. she writes, "the sea for once was quiet, with only silvery ripples, barely moving. no wind. i have never heard the world be so silent before, and it dawned on me that dawsey himself was exactly that silent too, walking beside me." when she asks him to marry her at the end of the book... one of the best things i've read in a while.


this is the first epistolary novel i've read, and i admit, when i started this, i was a little sad about this fact. after watching the movie and loving it, i wanted to be fully immersed in this story. i was worried i wouldn't get that now bc of the format, but i was wrong, and i loved this.
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