A review by sarahbuckley
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

adventurous emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

i forgot how much i love stories that span decades until I read this. Marian is SUCH a good main character, and her life story is so so so good. On the other hand, I know the Hadley story existed because we needed someone in the present-day to "discover" Marian's story, but I had literally no interest in her life. I was glad as the book went on that there were fewer present-day chapters, but at the same time it made me feel like...what was the point in spending so much time talking about Hadley's romantic life and the chaos she was involved in? It kind of felt like the author also got more into the Marian story as she kept writing and then forgot about Hadley. I can't complain too much because of how much better the Marian story was anyways, but at the end I was like wait...why did we get all that exposition about Hadley's love life? 
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