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emilyctrigg 's review for:
The Bright Side Running Club
by Josie Lloyd
4.5/5 stars
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
This book was so absolutely brilliant. Josie doesn't shy away from showing all the ugly pieces of aging and being sick, and especially of trying to overcome cancer. Cancer treatment is no joke and a lot of times, stories try to gloss over the ugly bits to show a victorious survivor or a tragic victim. Keira was neither. Keira was such a strong character while also being wonderfully flawed. She discovers she has breast cancer and immediately starts trying to figure out how to cope, keep her marriage strong, not freak out her children, keep her beloved business a success, and deal with the feelings/opinions/grief of her friends, coworkers, and family. It's a lot to deal with!!
Keira unintentionally befriends another woman who has breast cancer and goes jogging to try to keep fit. Keira decides to join one day, and thus the bright side running club is born. It's a small group of women who currently have or have overcome breast cancer. They encourage one another, show up on treatment days with flowers, and help give advice. It's the sweetest example of building community and truly being there for one another.
I enjoyed the subplot with Keira's work and her manager who is slowly overstepping her bounds and trying to push Keira out of her own business. Something shady is definitely going on, but Keira is struggling to figure out if she's just being sensitive, if she has chemo brain, or if there really is something sinister. This subplot was probably my favorite part of the book.
All of our main characters were well-written and distinctive. I could easily tell apart the women in the running club and I found Keira, her husband, her kids, and the running club to all be incredibly believable. They had reactions that made sense and their motivations were within character. This is such a tricky line to walk with so many main characters, and especially when dealing with a heavy topic like this.
The audio was delightful to listen to-- the narrator has a lovely British accent, which I always find enjoyable in an audio title.
The only reason I didn't give this a full 5 stars is because I felt it was a little bit repetitive. I think we could have cut about 30-45 minutes of the audiobook and still had the same impact.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending me an advanced copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.
This book was so absolutely brilliant. Josie doesn't shy away from showing all the ugly pieces of aging and being sick, and especially of trying to overcome cancer. Cancer treatment is no joke and a lot of times, stories try to gloss over the ugly bits to show a victorious survivor or a tragic victim. Keira was neither. Keira was such a strong character while also being wonderfully flawed. She discovers she has breast cancer and immediately starts trying to figure out how to cope, keep her marriage strong, not freak out her children, keep her beloved business a success, and deal with the feelings/opinions/grief of her friends, coworkers, and family. It's a lot to deal with!!
Keira unintentionally befriends another woman who has breast cancer and goes jogging to try to keep fit. Keira decides to join one day, and thus the bright side running club is born. It's a small group of women who currently have or have overcome breast cancer. They encourage one another, show up on treatment days with flowers, and help give advice. It's the sweetest example of building community and truly being there for one another.
I enjoyed the subplot with Keira's work and her manager who is slowly overstepping her bounds and trying to push Keira out of her own business. Something shady is definitely going on, but Keira is struggling to figure out if she's just being sensitive, if she has chemo brain, or if there really is something sinister. This subplot was probably my favorite part of the book.
All of our main characters were well-written and distinctive. I could easily tell apart the women in the running club and I found Keira, her husband, her kids, and the running club to all be incredibly believable. They had reactions that made sense and their motivations were within character. This is such a tricky line to walk with so many main characters, and especially when dealing with a heavy topic like this.
The audio was delightful to listen to-- the narrator has a lovely British accent, which I always find enjoyable in an audio title.
The only reason I didn't give this a full 5 stars is because I felt it was a little bit repetitive. I think we could have cut about 30-45 minutes of the audiobook and still had the same impact.