francesmthompson's Reviews (976)

My son really enjoyed this from age two onwards and it definitely helped him come around to the idea of having a baby in the house when I was pregnant with my second son. Loved how inclusive the drawings are too - ahead of its time in that respect.

Another book that helped prepare my son for the arrival of baby bro!

Loved the film so much I didn't think this would come close. If anything it was even better as it had more detail, more personal anecdotes, and all the twists and turns as they happened as experienced by the journalists. That said, I'm a sucker for detailed true political scandal stories and obviously this is the pinnacle of them in our modern times.

I feel like this story was told by an experienced and qualified writer with much to offer a reader but the key event the story hinged on - a rape - was really not handled in a way that felt authentic, and even original or intriguing. In the light of the #MeToo movement it's also fair to say that many elements of the story are outdated, misogynistic and insenstive to victims of sexual assault. There was a strong sense of place in the description and there were some interesting interactions among characters but the most interesting characters (the MC's mother and brother, IMO) were minor players that really should have had more space in the novel, if only to potentially add much needed depth to the story.

So I read a lot of hype about this book and while my own experience reading it didn't exactly match up but I was pleasantly surprised with the issues it raised and the relationships it explored.