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aliciaclarereads's Reviews (1.25k)
“I am not easy to love but I am well loved. I try to love well in return.”
Wow. It's hard for me to properly articulate how I felt reading this book. By the time I finished the first half I was an emotional mess. I was crying and stressed and got super worked up. (It doesn't help that it was the same day as the Florida shooting and I was overwhelmed by the news) I almost didn't know if I'd be able to finish the book, but I'm glad that I did. This book isn't just the horrors a woman goes through, but it's her struggle to recover to. It's about her husband and how they try to come back together after a horrific incident. Roxane Gay is a fantastic writer, and I'm certainly glad to have finally read some of her fiction.
This probably a 4.5 or 5 star read, but I just got so upset while reading. I'm just feeling a little conflicted about the rating. I did really enjoy the writing and especially the character work in the second half (hello I adore Lorraine), but I don't know, something is holding me back.
Wow. It's hard for me to properly articulate how I felt reading this book. By the time I finished the first half I was an emotional mess. I was crying and stressed and got super worked up. (It doesn't help that it was the same day as the Florida shooting and I was overwhelmed by the news) I almost didn't know if I'd be able to finish the book, but I'm glad that I did. This book isn't just the horrors a woman goes through, but it's her struggle to recover to. It's about her husband and how they try to come back together after a horrific incident. Roxane Gay is a fantastic writer, and I'm certainly glad to have finally read some of her fiction.
This probably a 4.5 or 5 star read, but I just got so upset while reading. I'm just feeling a little conflicted about the rating. I did really enjoy the writing and especially the character work in the second half (hello I adore Lorraine), but I don't know, something is holding me back.
read for PopSugar 2018 Advanced Challenge: a book recommended by someone else taking the PopSugar challenge
I LOVED this. This is really a collection of vignettes more than one particular story which I feel like the description doesn't make it explicitly clear, but I really liked the style. The book follows two half-sisters and their descendants across America and Ghana over 200 years. There's so much story we don't get, but what we do is incredible. Gyasi gives us little snippets of each descendants, and she did an excellent job of make each story unique in its characters and setting. I loved the variety of relationships portrayed in the story: mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, falling in and out of love. I was so engrossed in this story and just found myself speeding through each part. The ending was also incredibly excellent, and helped to tie the story together so beautifully.
I cannot wait to see what Yaa Gyasi writes next.
I LOVED this. This is really a collection of vignettes more than one particular story which I feel like the description doesn't make it explicitly clear, but I really liked the style. The book follows two half-sisters and their descendants across America and Ghana over 200 years. There's so much story we don't get, but what we do is incredible. Gyasi gives us little snippets of each descendants, and she did an excellent job of make each story unique in its characters and setting. I loved the variety of relationships portrayed in the story: mothers and daughters, fathers and sons, falling in and out of love. I was so engrossed in this story and just found myself speeding through each part. The ending was also incredibly excellent, and helped to tie the story together so beautifully.
I cannot wait to see what Yaa Gyasi writes next.
read for Popsugar 2018 Challenge: a book with song lyrics in the title
What a fun YA contemporary novel! I gobbled this book up in one sitting; it was absolutely delightful! Desi was such a great protagonist, even if some of her schemes were a little too crazy and dangerous causing a car crash was just so stupid, but I couldn't also laugh because wow 17 year olds can be dumb . She was so capable and determined, and her relationship with her dad was absolutely wonderful. Luca was a good love interest. I didn't feel he was particularly swoon worthy, but I really liked the dynamic between him and Desi. Also, wow did I feel some serious flashbacks to being a teenager when we got to see Luca and his dad (although his relationship was more similar to me and my mom).
However, I wish we'd gotten a little bit more from her friends. Fiona and Wes were such great characters, but they never felt quite developed enough. I think part of it was that Desi falls into a trap that many YA protagonists face were they are so singularly self centered on their goal, which is frankly a very 17 year old way to act.
I can't wait to read more of Maurene Goo's work, because she's excelling at writing some fun YA contemporary. Also, if this book taught me anything, it's that I need to start binge-watching some K-dramas.
What a fun YA contemporary novel! I gobbled this book up in one sitting; it was absolutely delightful! Desi was such a great protagonist, even if some of her schemes were a little too crazy and dangerous
However, I wish we'd gotten a little bit more from her friends. Fiona and Wes were such great characters, but they never felt quite developed enough. I think part of it was that Desi falls into a trap that many YA protagonists face were they are so singularly self centered on their goal, which is frankly a very 17 year old way to act.
I can't wait to read more of Maurene Goo's work, because she's excelling at writing some fun YA contemporary. Also, if this book taught me anything, it's that I need to start binge-watching some K-dramas.
read for Popsugar 2018 challenge: a childhood classic you've never read
I'm pretty disappointed I never read this book when I was 12, because I think I would've loved this. This book was fun and engaging, and now I'm super pumped to see this movie. I loved the eccentricities of Mrs. Whatisit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which especially imaging how Reese, Mindy, and Oprah will play them! I also really liked Meg. I saw one review calling Meg a whiny bitch, which was really intense for a 13 yo main character. I really liked that Meg was angry and emotional, mostly because it reminds me of my own adolescence. Honestly, this story was probably closer to a 3.5 for me, because it was really rushed and the ending was SUPER cheesy. The audio performance definitely put it over the top for me, so I'm not sure how much I would have enjoyed it had I just read the print book.
It's weird to talk about childhood classics because so much about publishing kids lit has changed. The audiobook had an afterward by L'Engle's granddaughter which was so fascinating, and it helped to put a lot of the book in perspective. It was interesting hearing about her struggles with publishing and all the initial criticisms of the novel, which were really all over the spectrum ideologically. After skimming Goodreads, I think it would be beneficial to some readers to have read the afterward. Not that it would change your opinion on the story, but it just added a good historical perspective. After all, this book is older than my mother!
I'm pretty disappointed I never read this book when I was 12, because I think I would've loved this. This book was fun and engaging, and now I'm super pumped to see this movie. I loved the eccentricities of Mrs. Whatisit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which especially imaging how Reese, Mindy, and Oprah will play them! I also really liked Meg. I saw one review calling Meg a whiny bitch, which was really intense for a 13 yo main character. I really liked that Meg was angry and emotional, mostly because it reminds me of my own adolescence. Honestly, this story was probably closer to a 3.5 for me, because it was really rushed and the ending was SUPER cheesy. The audio performance definitely put it over the top for me, so I'm not sure how much I would have enjoyed it had I just read the print book.
It's weird to talk about childhood classics because so much about publishing kids lit has changed. The audiobook had an afterward by L'Engle's granddaughter which was so fascinating, and it helped to put a lot of the book in perspective. It was interesting hearing about her struggles with publishing and all the initial criticisms of the novel, which were really all over the spectrum ideologically. After skimming Goodreads, I think it would be beneficial to some readers to have read the afterward. Not that it would change your opinion on the story, but it just added a good historical perspective. After all, this book is older than my mother!
read for Popsugar 2017 challenge: the first book in a series you haven't read before
Everything in this book was so rushed! The plot happens over the course of a week, and there’s honestly no barriers to the couple coming together. Even Mariah’s abusive relationship with her mother wasn’t a factor (or seemed to have much of a remaining impact on her by the time she made it California). It was so easy to just breeze my way through this because nothing substantial really happened.
The book was probably more of a 2.5, but I rounded up because I just found myself giggling a lot. There were so many cutesy wholesome interactions and a hell of a lot of cheese that I just found myself laughing and rolling my eyes the whole time. So I still enjoyed myself.
This was my first western historical romance so I don’t know if the genre is for me. I’m definitely willing to give Beverly Jenkins another go.
The book was probably more of a 2.5, but I rounded up because I just found myself giggling a lot. There were so many cutesy wholesome interactions and a hell of a lot of cheese that I just found myself laughing and rolling my eyes the whole time. So I still enjoyed myself.
This was my first western historical romance so I don’t know if the genre is for me. I’m definitely willing to give Beverly Jenkins another go.
read for Popsugar 2018 challenge: a book you borrowed or was given to you as a gift