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jvedjs's Reviews (172)
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
i am still digesting this book. i have some complicated feelings about this one, but i think above all, it was a decent book. my favorite part was mainly the friendship and connection between sneha, tig and thom. i expected more exploration on the MCs backstory, her immigrant experience, relationship to parents etc., and i was wanting more growth from the MC to make the book more well-rounded or gratifying in the end. there were many sensitive topics tossed here and there throughout the book that left a mild sour taste in my mouth, sometimes thinking that it was unnesscary at times. overall, i think this is a semi decent depiction of the fucked up growing pains of being in your 20s. real, human.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
this short book packs a huge punch! a very visceral, tough read on bullying. the writing was lovely and the content itself was very philosophically heavy. deeply introspective. a lot of nihilist and existentialist ideas were weaved into this story. this definitely is one to make you ponder on life, finding meaning, the good, bad, ugly and even challenges your own moral compass at some points in the story. above all, it was also a tender portrayal of friendship and finding that one person who understands you in a world that doesnt, and the impact that can have on one’s life.
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
what a read! interesting, unique & engrossing at times. definitely explores and comments alot on surrogacy, motherhood, family, race but ultimately on the disparities on class, society norm+expectations and money. i come from a filipino background like some of the characters in this story and understood the gravity and ultimate desperation in their actions to get money in order to give their kids a better life. life in the philippines is hard, and the trek to america is even harder. i saw my family in the heart of this story.
i found the characters intriguing as well as complex. i had a love/hate relationship with mae, mostly. there is just alot to dissect with this book, and i found it to be written pretty well. i would only say my let down is the ending, as others have mentioned, i found it underwhelming and sadly contradictory for our main character jane. i would still recommend this book and enjoyed it nonetheless!
i found the characters intriguing as well as complex. i had a love/hate relationship with mae, mostly. there is just alot to dissect with this book, and i found it to be written pretty well. i would only say my let down is the ending, as others have mentioned, i found it underwhelming and sadly contradictory for our main character jane. i would still recommend this book and enjoyed it nonetheless!
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
what an incredibly sweet, tender, meditative yet tense and sad read. my heart strings were absolutely tugged at the end of this story, and most especially after reading the author’s note.
“i hope this novel has moved people to reach out to those wounded, especially the young minds who still have great potential in them. children long to be loved but at the same time they give the most love. we were once all like that.”
“love is what makes a person human, as well as what makes a monster.”
this is a story of the power of not only love, but friendship and acceptance. a beautiful and uniquely written story. well done.
“i hope this novel has moved people to reach out to those wounded, especially the young minds who still have great potential in them. children long to be loved but at the same time they give the most love. we were once all like that.”
“love is what makes a person human, as well as what makes a monster.”
this is a story of the power of not only love, but friendship and acceptance. a beautiful and uniquely written story. well done.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
henry brought her a-game with her well known and well loved banter & dialogue (sometimes feeling a little too cliched imo). this story touched me in a more personal level, relating to harriet’s desire to make her parents proud bc they sacrificed so much. doing things for others rather than for yourself. this did not blow me away emotionally but it still struck a gentle chord with me. i definitely think its a comfort read. the message of it all is beautiful.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
i can’t say i absolutely loved this book, i think the disjointed writing put me off a bit, but perhaps that was the point to put us in the mind and thought process of gilda, who we come to know as an anxious individual. but i can say i appreciate its content and its depiction of anxiety and depression. reading the last third of the book was what made me rate this higher and almost maybe to a 4. one reason i love character driven stories are for the climactic realization of their being and humanness. and i loved when gilda came to hers. sometimes we are so deeply sad and we know that pain so well, we just want to save everyone else from experiencing that same devastating pain, and even dread. we have so much compassion and empathy for others because of that, and though gilda acts on that in strange ways, all she wants is to be in a world that is less sad. desperately making up for the void she feels in her own life by pleasing others even if its an injustice to her own self. i loved the small conversation between her and rosemary where this sentiment was revealed, and rosemary responds by asking her to have that same compassion for herself. i know those feelings all too well. a unique and revelatory story.
i wish i DNF’d this but i just had to finish it to figure out why lucy was still clinging onto gabe. there were many things wrong with this book. the storyline and the characters. lucy was very frustrating throughout the whole book. i understand going after that fierce, passionate love vs the stable love but i felt the way this book was written poorly executed that idea. i felt gabe & lucy’s relationship wasn’t fleshed out enough to my liking to justify lucy’s constant yearning for him even after 10 years and a whole marriage & family. i think that had to do with its one pov, perhaps it would of worked well with a dual pov because gabe seemed like such a mystery still even with lucy’s accounts of him. i could go on but i’d say the only positive was that it was a quick read and i initially liked the style of writing in past tense/nostalgic/reflective but the content itself was just a hard pass.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
i am speechless.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
a subtly eerie telling of an expedition gone wrong and the aftereffects on a marriage. the writing was tender but carried such a glum undertone with anticipation of something horrific unfolding. it never got to one specific point, it was there the whole time. i had some questions unanswered, i was expecting a whole explanation or pivotal scene but realized maybe that wasnt the point…..? the last few pages… wow. unsettling but beautiful. what a unique story on love, marriage, loneliness, passion for something.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
teetering on a 3.75 rating but i think overall after some digestion, a 4 star rating. this book is like deep diving into one’s stream of consciousness. it is a heavy, meloncholic read. many of the stories were paced in an slow yet steady cresencdo method, where you will not finally get the story until the last 1-2 pages and then thats when it hits you, shatters you, makes your heart sink from the utter grief, sadness, loneliness, confusion, & mental illness the humans in these stories faced. the writing was so absolutely beautiful and written in a way that was sadly nostalgic and somewhat regretful. many of the themes mentioned above seemed to have been nicely encapsulated in the author’s way of writing, it pulled you in as if you’re inside of their brain or right next to them experiencing it too. my favorite stories were- “clementine, carmelita, dog”, “vows”, “the red dot” and “stopping distance” (which was an incredible story, wow). overall, a very good book.