Take a photo of a barcode or cover
msmichaela's Reviews (545)
I loved this sprawling yet intimate look at three generations of a Chicago family.
Relatively repetitive but still pretty enjoyable family saga. I cannot for the life of me remember how I heard about this book, but apparently I put it on hold at the library? I’m not mad about it but also don’t think I’ll remember it in a week.
I read Lyz Lenz’s Substack and have listened to some of her podcast, so the book felt like it didn’t cover much new ground. It also could have benefited from a tighter edit; it feels a little scattershot.
Another Jasmine Guillory delight. The secret romance went on a bit too long for my taste, but I loved these characters and the world of this novel.
Really enjoyable, despite some lagging in the first third amid the protagonist’s lengthy period of marital / maternal self-loathing and misery. (It’s real! But maybe didn’t need to go on so long.) I appreciated plot developments that felt less like twists than inevitabilities by the time they occurred, due to skillful character development.
Overly long, relatively predictable and so pretty damn entertaining.
Magical realism is not generally my thing, and I struggled a bit with this novel as a result. The conceit is fantastic, though the book bogged down in the middle for me.
Micaela is a friend so I am not unbiased — but this is such a well told audio memoir! It’s funny and relatable and so self aware. Really really great.
Fun! It bogged down in detail a bit, and some of the reality tv plot seemed highly implausible… but otherwise a delight.
I struggled with this novel in the beginning — it felt a bit too saccharine, which is not a vibe o usually get from Monica Wood. But as the plot developed, that sickly sweetness eased up, making room for more complexity. Still, something about the tone seemed off… until a reveal at the very end. I’m still not sure how I feel about that decision, but I’m happy to have pushed through my initial disdain.