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ellieb_reads's Reviews (186)
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
This one didn’t quite hook me at first, but I am so glad I didn’t give up after 50 pages. The writing is beautiful, and the stories are at once both devastating and hopeful. I particularly loved Zeno and Konstance, and I did sometimes find myself wish an Omeir chapter (sorry) would hurry up so I could move on to a character I enjoyed a little more. For a few hundred pages, I couldn’t see how these stories would eventually knit together, but the payoff was worth it when they finally did. 4.5 stars just because my reading experience waffled a bit at times, but rounding up because it turned out to be a truly gorgeous set of stories.
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
I loved this book - the alternating timelines and POVs, the setting, the women. So much of their three generations of stories was heartbreaking, but it was written so beautifully. I’ve seen a few reviews mention that Memphis is its own character here, and I wholeheartedly agree. The city changes along with the women, and that adds a lot of depth to the story. I do wish we’d gotten more time with Hazel, and I’m curious why Mya’s POV was entirely left out. But I still thought this was really moving, and impressive writing for a debut novel.
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
A delightful read that was perfect for a day off away from emails. I expected this to be just a fun, lighthearted read, but there were lots of layers here beyond just office hijinks - anxiety and depression, Persian culture, friendships. I loved the characters, and each of them felt real and complex. I can see how the main character might be polarizing, but I’m Team Jolene over here! I did think the story got a little repetitive toward the end, and I didn’t like the conclusion of Jolene’s spying situation. But still a solid 4 stars for me.
I have to say that I think this book is being marketed incorrectly as a “comedy.” I Hope This Finds You Well has its funny moments, but smart and sweet and sad are more fitting descriptors. I went into this expecting “wildly laugh-out-loud funny” as promised, but I liked what I found instead.
I have to say that I think this book is being marketed incorrectly as a “comedy.” I Hope This Finds You Well has its funny moments, but smart and sweet and sad are more fitting descriptors. I went into this expecting “wildly laugh-out-loud funny” as promised, but I liked what I found instead.
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
What a hilarious, heartbreaking story. The family drama and big personalities kept me laughing, and Abue and Luciana’s relationship had me in tears. I loved that Luciana was written as a very believable teenager - she has big feelings, she’s a little melodramatic, and she’s discovering herself as she approaches adulthood. Overall a really gorgeous coming-of-age story. I would love to give this 5 stars, but the format just really did not work for me. The whole book is a series of one-sided phone calls from Luciana to her sister Mari. In the middle of these calls, she often recounts conversations with others, mostly her mother and Abue. This dialogue is in italics, but it was really tricky to follow who was speaking. More than a few times, I had to reread sections to understand what was going on. But the story itself was really beautiful and definitely worth the read.
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Potential readers: big trigger warning for disordered eating.
I can understand why this book wouldn’t work for some. Piglet is kind of a strange novel, but I found it really fascinating. A lot of the story is told through absolutely delicious descriptions of cooking and food, along with dialogue and a very small plot mixed in. Piglet’s history and conflict with her family was especially poignant, beautifully written and painful to read. Her gradual spiral in the middle of the book is done really well, and her internal debate about how to move forward felt incredibly realistic. I also really appreciated her struggle with her best friend as their lives grow in different directions. But her emotional unraveling toward the end of the book is a little too over the top, such a trainwreck that I was physically cringing and covering my eyes. And I hated that her fiancé’s big betrayal is never actually detailed - what did he do?! (I recognize that information is not necessary for the story, I’m just really nosey). Piglet was a welcome change of pace and an impressive debut from an author I’ll certainly seek out in the future!
I can understand why this book wouldn’t work for some. Piglet is kind of a strange novel, but I found it really fascinating. A lot of the story is told through absolutely delicious descriptions of cooking and food, along with dialogue and a very small plot mixed in. Piglet’s history and conflict with her family was especially poignant, beautifully written and painful to read. Her gradual spiral in the middle of the book is done really well, and her internal debate about how to move forward felt incredibly realistic. I also really appreciated her struggle with her best friend as their lives grow in different directions. But her emotional unraveling toward the end of the book is a little too over the top, such a trainwreck that I was physically cringing and covering my eyes. And I hated that her fiancé’s big betrayal is never actually detailed - what did he do?! (I recognize that information is not necessary for the story, I’m just really nosey). Piglet was a welcome change of pace and an impressive debut from an author I’ll certainly seek out in the future!
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
An excellent thriller, complete with a great hook, a strong cast of suspects, and one creepy AF child. I really enjoyed the POV of narrator Stella, and I found her backstory a compelling subplot. I could have done without the twist in her personal story at the end (not the dating one, the other one), but that’s a minor critique. The plot was fast-paced and gripping, and the ending was totally satisfying. Completely devoured this and can’t wait to read more from this author!
This was not an easy read, but it’s a beautifully written account of generational trauma and healing in a family of indigenous women. It was both heartbreaking and educational, and I thought the first three sections on Sissy, Lillian, and Cora were very engaging. At first I wasn’t sure about the magical realism element with the dolls, but it grew on me by the end. I found the last section dragged on a bit, while the sections on the girls’ childhoods ended a little abruptly, and I think I’d rather have seen those sections extended in place of the last one. But overall this was a really powerful book with a unique premise, and I’d love to read more from the author.
This was a pretty fun read! The main characters are in their early 20s, making lots of dumb choices and having lots of big feelings. I’m quite a few years out from that era of my own life, but I still enjoyed the nostalgia of being so deeply wrapped in a friendship and so brutally obsessed with an undeserving boy. I wanted a little more narrative about James, and I wonder if this would’ve worked with both James and Rachel as alternating narrators. I was glad that early 30s Rachel grew up a bit, though I’d have liked to see even a little more growth or development for her character near the end of the book. But the writing was solid and quite funny at times. The climax of the “incident” was a pretty good payoff, and the conclusion to the story was really well done.
This was a bit of a slow burn, but by the halfway point I couldn’t put it down. The setting is really interesting; I’ve read many books set in wartime, but I’m not sure I’ve read many that focus on immediately post-war. The painful layer of PTSD underpinning many of the characters’ choices feels particularly unique, and there’s a consistent theme of empathy - who extends it, and who is it extended to? The mystery itself is exciting and its twists and conclusion didn’t feel predictable as some often do. My primary critique is that I’d have loved to see more depth in the conversations about racism. We’re meant to believe that many of our main characters are good, decent people, but they very weakly respond to overt racism around them, if they respond at all. Perhaps that’s accurate for the time period, but it was frustrating to read their inaction and then find little reflection on how that inaction was wrong. That said, William Kent Krueger is a fantastic storyteller, and his characters are compelling and well-developed (and there are not that many of them, contrary to some of the other reviews I’ve seen here). Looking forward to reading more from him!