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A review by quietweather
A Ticket to Ride by Paula McLain
4.0
Mclain's [b:A Ticket to Ride|1508168|A Ticket to Ride|Paula McLain|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388267656l/1508168._SY75_.jpg|1499727] remains a difficult book for me to recommend. Not because it isn't well written, cohesive, thoughtful, and even somewhat provocative, but because it is a realistic portrayal of an unfortunately suffocating period of life we've all lived through: adolescence.
The main protagonist, Jamie, is a meek leftover of a 15 year old. Her mother is a faint whisper in the dark that no one, not even her uncle, will ever speak to her about. It has been her and him in Moline, Ohio, for a long time, but now it is the summer before high school and Jamie finds herself spending it with someone unexpected. Fawn, her older cousin. Jamie is instantly drawn to her magnetic and disruptive personality. Everyone wants to be with Fawn or actually be her. The more Jamie falls into step with Fawn's demanding expectations and personality, the more she begins to lose herself. It isn't until a tragedy strikes one late Chicago summer night that Jamie has to come to terms with who Fawn really is, and who that's made Jamie become.
I'll be honest, I was hoping for a different ending to this book, but I can see exactly where McLain wanted to take it. This is a story about the pain that comes with unflinching love. It is about the importance of learning self respect and the struggle it sometimes is to acquire. It's an entirely human experience to be young and scared and doubtful of yourself and, in that, Jamie is a character that I think we can all relate to. Her fatal flaw is that she refuses to be with herself and instead uses Fawn as the solution to her crippling inability to love herself. She centers Fawn in her universe and pays the consequences most heavily.
A topic I also heavily enjoyed in the book was the trials and tribulations that come with loving someone flawed. Fawn, for instance, is stagnant in her behavior throughout the book. All she cares about is her appearance and being wanted by others. She comes and leaves as she pleases, sneaking out from Jamie's without any hesitation. She surrounds herself with men who only want her for her body. Even when someone gets hurt in one of the meet ups she has with these men, there is no remorse. "Shit happens" she says. Throughout the book, Fawn refuses to take responsibility for her actions. And to be clear, I think that she's portrayed exactly as she should be and Jamie's love for her is all the more painful and real for it. What are we to do when we feel complete by someone who loves us so coldly? Even when we are rejected by the one person we have stood by steadfastly, what can we do when nothing will change?
TLDR; If you're looking for a book that is brutally honest, poetic in its approach, and contemplative in its nature, I definitely recommend A Ticket to Ride. However, if you're looking for a heroine that isn't weak and is courageous when she needs to be, this is not the book or the theme for you.
The main protagonist, Jamie, is a meek leftover of a 15 year old. Her mother is a faint whisper in the dark that no one, not even her uncle, will ever speak to her about. It has been her and him in Moline, Ohio, for a long time, but now it is the summer before high school and Jamie finds herself spending it with someone unexpected. Fawn, her older cousin. Jamie is instantly drawn to her magnetic and disruptive personality. Everyone wants to be with Fawn or actually be her. The more Jamie falls into step with Fawn's demanding expectations and personality, the more she begins to lose herself. It isn't until a tragedy strikes one late Chicago summer night that Jamie has to come to terms with who Fawn really is, and who that's made Jamie become.
I'll be honest, I was hoping for a different ending to this book, but I can see exactly where McLain wanted to take it. This is a story about the pain that comes with unflinching love. It is about the importance of learning self respect and the struggle it sometimes is to acquire. It's an entirely human experience to be young and scared and doubtful of yourself and, in that, Jamie is a character that I think we can all relate to. Her fatal flaw is that she refuses to be with herself and instead uses Fawn as the solution to her crippling inability to love herself. She centers Fawn in her universe and pays the consequences most heavily.
A topic I also heavily enjoyed in the book was the trials and tribulations that come with loving someone flawed. Fawn, for instance, is stagnant in her behavior throughout the book. All she cares about is her appearance and being wanted by others. She comes and leaves as she pleases, sneaking out from Jamie's without any hesitation. She surrounds herself with men who only want her for her body. Even when someone gets hurt in one of the meet ups she has with these men, there is no remorse. "Shit happens" she says. Throughout the book, Fawn refuses to take responsibility for her actions. And to be clear, I think that she's portrayed exactly as she should be and Jamie's love for her is all the more painful and real for it. What are we to do when we feel complete by someone who loves us so coldly? Even when we are rejected by the one person we have stood by steadfastly, what can we do when nothing will change?
TLDR; If you're looking for a book that is brutally honest, poetic in its approach, and contemplative in its nature, I definitely recommend A Ticket to Ride. However, if you're looking for a heroine that isn't weak and is courageous when she needs to be, this is not the book or the theme for you.