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A review by lediamond4
A Good Hard Look by Ann Napolitano
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
3.5
Ann Napolitano’s writing is so unique, her stories so beautiful, and her characters so full of life. I have my favorite characters in every book sure, but she has the ability to take others who I’m hating at one point in time and humanize them and make me feel more sympathetic for their situations.
It took me a little while to get into this one. There were a lot of moving pieces and ways that all of the characters were interacting and connecting with one another that was a little difficult for me to keep track of. But once it all started to come together I felt myself being drawn into the story. By about halfway through I found that I just couldn’t put it down.
The emotions I felt were many. Frustration, anger, even hatred. Sorrow, empathy, and just love. I felt a connection with each and every person and cared about all of them. I love all of Ann Napolitano’s stories and her characters are easily her best work. They’re consistently fleshed out and real and all out incredible.
I’m giving this a 3.5 because although I thought the addition of Flannery O’Connor was interesting and (mostly) well done, I’m always a little uncomfortable reading fictional accounts of real people. And she was a huge character in this story. I do think it was well done, as I would expect of Napolitano at this point to be honest. The character O’Connor was a central character to the plot and the other characters. Gorgeous and cohesive. But I also think it would have been just as gorgeous and cohesive (probably even more so, actually) if she had just been a fictionalized writer. I’ll have to read her writing to see if it sheds any light on Napolitano’s decision to choose her.
Regardless, Ann Napolitano has consistently left me feeling drained and fulfilled at the same time from her books and she has become one of my favorite authors this year.
It took me a little while to get into this one. There were a lot of moving pieces and ways that all of the characters were interacting and connecting with one another that was a little difficult for me to keep track of. But once it all started to come together I felt myself being drawn into the story. By about halfway through I found that I just couldn’t put it down.
The emotions I felt were many. Frustration, anger, even hatred. Sorrow, empathy, and just love. I felt a connection with each and every person and cared about all of them. I love all of Ann Napolitano’s stories and her characters are easily her best work. They’re consistently fleshed out and real and all out incredible.
I’m giving this a 3.5 because although I thought the addition of Flannery O’Connor was interesting and (mostly) well done, I’m always a little uncomfortable reading fictional accounts of real people. And she was a huge character in this story. I do think it was well done, as I would expect of Napolitano at this point to be honest. The character O’Connor was a central character to the plot and the other characters. Gorgeous and cohesive. But I also think it would have been just as gorgeous and cohesive (probably even more so, actually) if she had just been a fictionalized writer. I’ll have to read her writing to see if it sheds any light on Napolitano’s decision to choose her.
Regardless, Ann Napolitano has consistently left me feeling drained and fulfilled at the same time from her books and she has become one of my favorite authors this year.