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A review by saarahnina
Gracie by Ellie Keaton
3.0
Expect spoilers...
I enjoyed the love story conveyed through this book, it was beautifully respectable and hopeful.
In that, the two young lovers were willing to declare their love and believe in it despite the inevitability of the second world war. It was inspirational in presenting this young couple, almost to represent that not everyone had been defeated or willing to admit defeat, just because of the war. The simplicity of this message only developed its beauty and value.
The only real problem I had with this novel was the lack of depth, both in regard to the characters as well as, the storyline: we never did find out much about Stan and his recovery, nor about the mysterious Alice. Or even, what Stan thought of Charlie's relationship with his twin sister.
In terms of the storyline, I disliked the ending it was very fast. Throughout the novel, Charlie and Gracie lack their parents' blessings, this formulates as the main obstacle (alongside the war, obviously). However, at the end, this is no longer a problem: they make love despite the immorality. It is probably apparent that I disliked this, I'd have preferred that they'd have waited. Surely, that is what Gracie's father wanted: he wanted to ensure that their love could endure obstacles (the war), and be patient. They, apparently, failed.
The speed, I suppose, is understandable in that the war heightened the desperation and urgency of Gracie's relationship.
Not only this, but at the end they get married anyway (still without the parents' blessings). If anything, this made the plotline rather pointless. This was only enhanced when the reader recalls that Gracie's parents were actually not against the marriage- they just wanted to wait for Gracie's 21st birthday. Therefore, they were going to get married anyway.
Others readers may perceive this as a message: to go against one's parents in the name of love. But, again, this is hardly respectable. Or they may claim that the way in which the Gracie and Charlie attempt to overcome the obstacle, is their show of love- or even their journey in discovering what love is and how it is so valuable that it shouldn't be given up.
Another thing I didn't understand was the fascination with the character Penny; she seemed to have quite a large role, despite not having actually met Charlie. Perhaps, she was only there to draw out the contrast between the lives of the two women. But then, there was limiting information in regard to Penny's backstory.
In the author's defence, this is covered in the novel which follows on from this one. I think it would have suited better had they both been combined in one novel. But, each to their own.
Also, I felt the novel was overly repetitive when mentioning the war, it became rather tedious: if I was granted a penny for the number of times I read (something along the lines of) ' it was supposed to be the war to end all wars'...I'm sure I'd have more than two coins.
Of course, I needn't mention that this really is just my personal opinion. I have not read any other reviews on this book so it's all just me. I'd probably have given up on this book, but I felt like I've been doing that a whole awful lot... It is possible that these feelings could have played a part in creating my mostly poor judgment of this novel, so bear that in mind when reading my review, as well.
I enjoyed the love story conveyed through this book, it was beautifully respectable and hopeful.
In that, the two young lovers were willing to declare their love and believe in it despite the inevitability of the second world war. It was inspirational in presenting this young couple, almost to represent that not everyone had been defeated or willing to admit defeat, just because of the war. The simplicity of this message only developed its beauty and value.
The only real problem I had with this novel was the lack of depth, both in regard to the characters as well as, the storyline: we never did find out much about Stan and his recovery, nor about the mysterious Alice. Or even, what Stan thought of Charlie's relationship with his twin sister.
In terms of the storyline, I disliked the ending it was very fast. Throughout the novel, Charlie and Gracie lack their parents' blessings, this formulates as the main obstacle (alongside the war, obviously). However, at the end, this is no longer a problem: they make love despite the immorality. It is probably apparent that I disliked this, I'd have preferred that they'd have waited. Surely, that is what Gracie's father wanted: he wanted to ensure that their love could endure obstacles (the war), and be patient. They, apparently, failed.
The speed, I suppose, is understandable in that the war heightened the desperation and urgency of Gracie's relationship.
Not only this, but at the end they get married anyway (still without the parents' blessings). If anything, this made the plotline rather pointless. This was only enhanced when the reader recalls that Gracie's parents were actually not against the marriage- they just wanted to wait for Gracie's 21st birthday. Therefore, they were going to get married anyway.
Others readers may perceive this as a message: to go against one's parents in the name of love. But, again, this is hardly respectable. Or they may claim that the way in which the Gracie and Charlie attempt to overcome the obstacle, is their show of love- or even their journey in discovering what love is and how it is so valuable that it shouldn't be given up.
Another thing I didn't understand was the fascination with the character Penny; she seemed to have quite a large role, despite not having actually met Charlie. Perhaps, she was only there to draw out the contrast between the lives of the two women. But then, there was limiting information in regard to Penny's backstory.
In the author's defence, this is covered in the novel which follows on from this one. I think it would have suited better had they both been combined in one novel. But, each to their own.
Also, I felt the novel was overly repetitive when mentioning the war, it became rather tedious: if I was granted a penny for the number of times I read (something along the lines of) ' it was supposed to be the war to end all wars'...I'm sure I'd have more than two coins.
Of course, I needn't mention that this really is just my personal opinion. I have not read any other reviews on this book so it's all just me. I'd probably have given up on this book, but I felt like I've been doing that a whole awful lot... It is possible that these feelings could have played a part in creating my mostly poor judgment of this novel, so bear that in mind when reading my review, as well.