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crayolabird 's review for:
Finding Grace
by Loretta Rothschild
emotional
sad
medium-paced
When I first saw this on a book list somewhere, the reviewer said "it's better to go in blind" so that's what I did. I didn't know ONE THING about it and within the first two chapters I was hooked by the narrative device.
I am going to give a few very basic clues so you can know if it's for you or not:
1. It is a contemporary story with trauma and grief at it's heart. If you are a parent or are trying so hard to BE a parent, be aware of your own triggers and if you are in a good place to read a book about grief relating to a child. The prose is so careful and compassionate with the ways grief can impact us, but parts of this story are heavy.
2. It's also a second-chance love story that is so complex and complicated and full of unfortunate decisions that it is sometimes actually uncomfortable - like, we as a reader know too much and even when we want it to stop, for poeple to make a different choices, people are too complex, especially when they have been broken. So while I would in my mind be saying "no no no!" I just never wanted to give up. I liked it that much.
3. It' s a chosen family story, about how even when the worst happens to us, there can still be good. There are people and things worth living for. I loved that it reminds me that no love is perfect, even if it looks like it is from the inside - but that doesn't mean that it's not worth trying to find and to keep.
What made this story such a interesting one for me was that it was told by an omniscient narrator who is actually a character who has passed on. So we learn about her own history and her insider information and her take on the action that is happening. I just REALLY liked this. I liked her perspective
And the ending, well, even though I had guessed a tiny part of it, the last ten minutes were so perfect and lovingly tied things up in a way that felt SO good. I can see that other people hated this book - and maybe I would if I was in a different headspace. But I always wanted to listen. Five stars.
Content: some open doorish scenes - there are adults doing adult things and we hear about it in real time but this is not a steamy book. Swears.
I am going to give a few very basic clues so you can know if it's for you or not:
1. It is a contemporary story with trauma and grief at it's heart. If you are a parent or are trying so hard to BE a parent, be aware of your own triggers and if you are in a good place to read a book about grief relating to a child. The prose is so careful and compassionate with the ways grief can impact us, but parts of this story are heavy.
2. It's also a second-chance love story that is so complex and complicated and full of unfortunate decisions that it is sometimes actually uncomfortable - like, we as a reader know too much and even when we want it to stop, for poeple to make a different choices, people are too complex, especially when they have been broken. So while I would in my mind be saying "no no no!" I just never wanted to give up. I liked it that much.
3. It' s a chosen family story, about how even when the worst happens to us, there can still be good. There are people and things worth living for. I loved that it reminds me that no love is perfect, even if it looks like it is from the inside - but that doesn't mean that it's not worth trying to find and to keep.
And the ending, well, even though I had guessed a tiny part of it, the last ten minutes were so perfect and lovingly tied things up in a way that felt SO good. I can see that other people hated this book - and maybe I would if I was in a different headspace. But I always wanted to listen. Five stars.
Content: some open doorish scenes - there are adults doing adult things and we hear about it in real time but this is not a steamy book. Swears.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Infertility