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A review by lovesbooksandtea
The Bounce Back by Addie Woolridge
3.0
Although this is being marketed as a rom-com, it is definitely not. It’s just straight-up Fiction, possibly Women’s Fiction. Once you get over that misinformation, you can enjoy the book for what it is. The story is told from Neale’s point of view and focuses on her growth from someone who is kind of failing in a career as an artist and living with her parents, to someone who has a job and is willing to be more brave and open with her art and with her life.
I found this book tough to get through because Neale reads like a teenager. I get the sense that that’s what the author intended, but it didn’t work for me. I also never got the sense that she was all that into the idea of being an artist and for half the book I was expecting her to realize that she was only on that path because of her parents and sister. I found the second half of the book more satisfying because she began to “grow up” but even then it felt like a lot of telling and very little showing.
Probably the most frustrating thing was that she starts her first “real” job, at the age of 28, and she somehow manages to completely revolutionize the company after having worked there for one month and not having any prior experience in the sector or in any business environment. It was weird to have the book start off by saying she’s not very competent only to turn around and have her be more competent than those around her (who have been successfully doing these jobs for years) without any actual on-page growth occurring. It made it hard for me to connect with her.
The very big pro for this story is that it is incredibly inclusive in terms of race, gender identity, and sexuality, which is so refreshing and lovely to read. The second half also picked up in terms of pacing which made it a breeze to finish.
I found this book tough to get through because Neale reads like a teenager. I get the sense that that’s what the author intended, but it didn’t work for me. I also never got the sense that she was all that into the idea of being an artist and for half the book I was expecting her to realize that she was only on that path because of her parents and sister. I found the second half of the book more satisfying because she began to “grow up” but even then it felt like a lot of telling and very little showing.
Probably the most frustrating thing was that she starts her first “real” job, at the age of 28, and she somehow manages to completely revolutionize the company after having worked there for one month and not having any prior experience in the sector or in any business environment. It was weird to have the book start off by saying she’s not very competent only to turn around and have her be more competent than those around her (who have been successfully doing these jobs for years) without any actual on-page growth occurring. It made it hard for me to connect with her.
The very big pro for this story is that it is incredibly inclusive in terms of race, gender identity, and sexuality, which is so refreshing and lovely to read. The second half also picked up in terms of pacing which made it a breeze to finish.