A review by audreycaroline03
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was a brilliant read. I read it in about 4 days and read the last 200 pages in one sitting. For those few days all I could think about was how all I wanted to do was read this book. It felt like a snapshot in time where we met these characters for such a short time and fell so deeply in love with them. I loved the changing perspectives and how it switched from the past to the present via Lara's storytelling. 

This book was cozy and sweet and while the past was falling apart you know that everything turns out well for Lara. Somehow this makes the book even more captivating becase youre constantly wondering how does Lara end up where she does? What happens to the other characters. I loved the ending and how everything tied together so beautifully. I loved how the book had roots in the past but felt so modern and relavent to our times. I loved the commentary on family, personal history, and how some decisions can shape the outcome of your life. 

Another thing I thought was so special about this book was the righting of the characters. They felt so real to me and it feels like we get an amazing sense of their character. I loved how the girls names were after important women in Lara and Joes life in chronological order to how we meet them in the past-tense story. I loved how Lara was written to showcase how she was imperfect but still lovely and it makes her and everyone else feel so human how they're written.


This book is a story within a story that captured my attention so brilliantly. The descriptions of the setting, the characterization. the themes of family even in the hardest times and despite disagreements were all so endearing to me and I could not put this book down when I was reading it. I devoured this book as voraciously as Pallace, Lara, Duke, and Sebastian ate the fried chicken and greens at Maisey and Ken's house the day that they visited Traverse City.