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christineisme 's review for:
How to Breathe Underwater
by Julie Orringer
Short story collections are tricky. It's hard to find a knock-out, this was not a knock-out. But it was fine. I found a lot of these stories disturbing and did not really feel a connection to the protagonists. The collection focuses on stories of young girls and young women. I struggled to find a common theme that tied the stories together. Maybe jealousy amongst women? Secrets? Religiosity? Absent parents?Some stories were stronger than others.
Most of the stories contained strong language, there were some drug references and sex scenes. I would call it at least PG-13. I wouldn't recommend the whole collection unless you had a lot of free time and no other books on your to-read-list. Although I would highly recommend "Station of the Cross" So it's hard for me to give this collection a rating. I loved that story but the rest were meh.
[stories listed in order of enjoyment]
"Stations of the Cross" had the most relatable character to me. I also enjoyed that the story was told in a flashback way. The characters were well flushed out and it was very well-written. It would be a good one to discuss. 5/5
I enjoyed "Pilgrims" because I enjoy stories told from the point of view of children. The voice felt authentic and there was a dark eerie vibe to the disturbing story, but this one was well written. 4.5/5
"The Isabel Fish" had a compelling plot and I enjoyed the protagonist. It dealt with grief and guilt and I found it compelling. 4.5/5
"Note to Sixth-Grade Self" was a little trite. While the 2nd person voice was a creative twist, it got to be a little too much. 3/5
By the time I came to "The Smoothest Way is Full of Stones" I was tired of stories of girls being mean to each other and being catty. The religious elements were interesting but I found this story to be lackluster. 2.5/5
I found the protagonist in "When She is Old and I am Famous" to be unrelatable and I strongly disliked her. The jealousy for the cousin was too much and way too over the top. I thought it was poorly written and too expository. 2/5
"What We Save" did not stand out to me at all. It was pretty disturbing and the protagonist did not seem realistic at all. There were too many characters for a short-story and so they all became caricatures. 2/5
"Care" felt poorly written and rushed as well and I didn't feel for the main character in it at all. Probably the least developed story in the collection. 1/5
"Stars of Motown Shining Bright" was just weird and a little too sexually explicit for me. Least favorite. 0/5
"There's no question about my mother's faith in me. She has always believed I will succeed"
"As we walked home I was thinking how strange it was that some people were Catholics and others were Jews, that some were prejudiced and others not. I wondered how it could be that people could love God and hate one another."
Most of the stories contained strong language, there were some drug references and sex scenes. I would call it at least PG-13. I wouldn't recommend the whole collection unless you had a lot of free time and no other books on your to-read-list. Although I would highly recommend "Station of the Cross" So it's hard for me to give this collection a rating. I loved that story but the rest were meh.
[stories listed in order of enjoyment]
"Stations of the Cross" had the most relatable character to me. I also enjoyed that the story was told in a flashback way. The characters were well flushed out and it was very well-written. It would be a good one to discuss. 5/5
I enjoyed "Pilgrims" because I enjoy stories told from the point of view of children. The voice felt authentic and there was a dark eerie vibe to the disturbing story, but this one was well written. 4.5/5
"The Isabel Fish" had a compelling plot and I enjoyed the protagonist. It dealt with grief and guilt and I found it compelling. 4.5/5
"Note to Sixth-Grade Self" was a little trite. While the 2nd person voice was a creative twist, it got to be a little too much. 3/5
By the time I came to "The Smoothest Way is Full of Stones" I was tired of stories of girls being mean to each other and being catty. The religious elements were interesting but I found this story to be lackluster. 2.5/5
I found the protagonist in "When She is Old and I am Famous" to be unrelatable and I strongly disliked her. The jealousy for the cousin was too much and way too over the top. I thought it was poorly written and too expository. 2/5
"What We Save" did not stand out to me at all. It was pretty disturbing and the protagonist did not seem realistic at all. There were too many characters for a short-story and so they all became caricatures. 2/5
"Care" felt poorly written and rushed as well and I didn't feel for the main character in it at all. Probably the least developed story in the collection. 1/5
"Stars of Motown Shining Bright" was just weird and a little too sexually explicit for me. Least favorite. 0/5
"There's no question about my mother's faith in me. She has always believed I will succeed"
"As we walked home I was thinking how strange it was that some people were Catholics and others were Jews, that some were prejudiced and others not. I wondered how it could be that people could love God and hate one another."