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A review by gwalt118
Beyond the Point by Claire Gibson
3.0
Claire Gibson writes a wonderful story in decent packaging. This book lands solidly in the middle for me. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.
I enjoyed this story because it follows three women - Dani, Hannah, and Avery - through and beyond college. The story begins when they are seniors in high school and ends when they are about 24/25. These are six formative years for any person, but particularly for individuals who choose to go to West Point and encounter the events of 9/11 during their sophomore year. I appreciated that Dani, Hannah, and Avery came from very different backgrounds but became friends in college; throughout the novel, we see some ups and downs in their relationship with each other. Gibson did a good job of displaying each character's internal conflicts as well as the struggles they had with each other. It's a pretty honest look at female friendship in one's late teens and early 20's.
Gibson's characters tackle some big topics. Dani has to manage being a strong, smart, woman of color in a male-dominated university and profession. Avery goes on a tumultuous journey to figure out her self-confidence issues. Hannah -- well, I can't really give that one away, but I assure you that her struggles are present in the novel. Hannah's faith is constantly referred to in the novel. While I acknowledge that some may struggle with the presence of faith in this novel, I appreciate the way that Gibson approached it. It did not strike me as a "holier-than-thou" perspective. People had faith, but there wasn't a strong push to convert or press that faith upon others. Gibson did a great job of integrating faith into her novel without making it oppressive - that's a difficult feat.
I do not like it when the stories of young women revolve so heavily around the presence of men and the existence of boyfriends. During this novel, we see unrequited love, an almost picture-perfect romance, and a young woman who tries to find herself in her boyfriends. I think Gibson just tried to do too much here. It becomes repetitive and, in some cases, annoying.
Other than my pet peeve about the persistent presence of men, most of the things I didn't like about this novel are connected to the writing. First, the Prologue is unnecessary and sets a strange tone for the beginning of the novel. I wish she would have just started with the story. Second, the number of flashbacks within the chapters become very confusing. You're reading in the present and then all of a sudden you're whisked back to months or years prior with the only signal being, "At West Point..." or "Last year..." and then a few paragraphs or pages later, you're back in the present. That happened multiple times within a chapter. Combined with alternating perspectives in each chapter, the flashbacks were just too much for me.
I have a lot of respect for Claire Gibson, because I have no doubt that this was probably a very difficult novel to write. The author's note at the end - which you should always read, by the way! - described the amount of work she put into this novel over the years and how much research she did to make sure it was an accurate representation of women at West Point. I am certain that writing a military-focused story centered around 9/11 is not easy. She tackled some very difficult topics in her first novel. It was good, but not great. Nevertheless, I hope she keeps writing because I think it would be fun to see her talent grow and change over time.
I enjoyed this story because it follows three women - Dani, Hannah, and Avery - through and beyond college. The story begins when they are seniors in high school and ends when they are about 24/25. These are six formative years for any person, but particularly for individuals who choose to go to West Point and encounter the events of 9/11 during their sophomore year. I appreciated that Dani, Hannah, and Avery came from very different backgrounds but became friends in college; throughout the novel, we see some ups and downs in their relationship with each other. Gibson did a good job of displaying each character's internal conflicts as well as the struggles they had with each other. It's a pretty honest look at female friendship in one's late teens and early 20's.
Gibson's characters tackle some big topics. Dani has to manage being a strong, smart, woman of color in a male-dominated university and profession. Avery goes on a tumultuous journey to figure out her self-confidence issues. Hannah -- well, I can't really give that one away, but I assure you that her struggles are present in the novel. Hannah's faith is constantly referred to in the novel. While I acknowledge that some may struggle with the presence of faith in this novel, I appreciate the way that Gibson approached it. It did not strike me as a "holier-than-thou" perspective. People had faith, but there wasn't a strong push to convert or press that faith upon others. Gibson did a great job of integrating faith into her novel without making it oppressive - that's a difficult feat.
I do not like it when the stories of young women revolve so heavily around the presence of men and the existence of boyfriends. During this novel, we see unrequited love, an almost picture-perfect romance, and a young woman who tries to find herself in her boyfriends. I think Gibson just tried to do too much here. It becomes repetitive and, in some cases, annoying.
Other than my pet peeve about the persistent presence of men, most of the things I didn't like about this novel are connected to the writing. First, the Prologue is unnecessary and sets a strange tone for the beginning of the novel. I wish she would have just started with the story. Second, the number of flashbacks within the chapters become very confusing. You're reading in the present and then all of a sudden you're whisked back to months or years prior with the only signal being, "At West Point..." or "Last year..." and then a few paragraphs or pages later, you're back in the present. That happened multiple times within a chapter. Combined with alternating perspectives in each chapter, the flashbacks were just too much for me.
I have a lot of respect for Claire Gibson, because I have no doubt that this was probably a very difficult novel to write. The author's note at the end - which you should always read, by the way! - described the amount of work she put into this novel over the years and how much research she did to make sure it was an accurate representation of women at West Point. I am certain that writing a military-focused story centered around 9/11 is not easy. She tackled some very difficult topics in her first novel. It was good, but not great. Nevertheless, I hope she keeps writing because I think it would be fun to see her talent grow and change over time.