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jenbsbooks's Reviews (2.41k)
I'd heard a lot of good things about this ... I felt like I needed to experience it during the cold months (Dec/Jan/Feb). I'm not really sure what "shelves" to put this on ... was there paranormal, was this a fairy tale reimagining? Magical realism? Historical? I'm not really remembering the story of [book:Where the Forest Meets the Stars|40545956] but recall a similar feeling ... a "what was actually happening here?" type of thing (also dealing with a mysterious child).
This captured my attention right away and kept it. I really didn't know where things would end up. The whole thing had a sense of "magical realism" ... realistic except for that touch of the mysterious. Is the child real? Is she a 'snow child' ... hints of "Frosty the Snowman" in some of the fairytale endings possibilities. Then things happen to make you (the reader) question that ...
The writing was lovely. The characters were complex, not perfect, but ones you learned to love.
I'd purchased the audio during an Audible sale, as it's exclusive there. I ended up buying the kindle copy too (just $2) as while the library had the ebook, kindle format wasn't offered ... and I'm a kindle snob. I feel like this might be one that I re-read, or just want to have in my library, and while I listened to the audio (very well done) I saw that the text copy had some "missing quotations" around the Faina's speech, and sometimes that's just something I need to see to get the feel (didn't really pick up on that in the audio. Same in [book:The Road|6288] and others. It was very interesting and added to the mystery. The kindle/text copy also had some additional information and bookclub questions, which I always appreciate).
Third person - we are in the heads of Mabel mostly, but also Jack, and then a little from Garrett. Past tense - divided into three "parts" and an epilogue. Just simple chronological chapters, no headers, some chapters divided further with a simple *
No profanity. Some slight sexual content. Some animal violence.
This captured my attention right away and kept it. I really didn't know where things would end up. The whole thing had a sense of "magical realism" ... realistic except for that touch of the mysterious. Is the child real? Is she a 'snow child' ... hints of "Frosty the Snowman" in some of the fairytale endings possibilities. Then things happen to make you (the reader) question that ...
The writing was lovely. The characters were complex, not perfect, but ones you learned to love.
I'd purchased the audio during an Audible sale, as it's exclusive there. I ended up buying the kindle copy too (just $2) as while the library had the ebook, kindle format wasn't offered ... and I'm a kindle snob. I feel like this might be one that I re-read, or just want to have in my library, and while I listened to the audio (very well done) I saw that the text copy had some "missing quotations" around the Faina's speech, and sometimes that's just something I need to see to get the feel (didn't really pick up on that in the audio. Same in [book:The Road|6288] and others. It was very interesting and added to the mystery. The kindle/text copy also had some additional information and bookclub questions, which I always appreciate).
Third person - we are in the heads of Mabel mostly, but also Jack, and then a little from Garrett. Past tense - divided into three "parts" and an epilogue. Just simple chronological chapters, no headers, some chapters divided further with a simple *
No profanity. Some slight sexual content. Some animal violence.
This was included in KindleUnlimited (read and listen), was probably an Amazon First Reads. I liked it ... although I'm not sure how much I'll really remember it. There were some bookclub questions included at the end, which I appreciated ... they did make me stop and ponder a few things.
Told in two timelines, the audio had two narrators. Male narrator (with a slight accent) for the 1913 chapters (almost all from Swan's perspective, although near the end, we also got in the head of Lou and Clara a few times). The "present" 2014 was a female narrator, all from Mari's POV. All 3rd person, past tense.
I shelved this under "realistic" as there wasn't anything paranormal ... although Swan did "talk" with the tower/lighthouse throughout. There was also the mystery of the "boy" in the water ...
There was a doggy named "Stay" ... supposed to be funny and I found it to be so :) It never was really fully explained (unless I missed it) how one could "move" a lighthouse. They don't seem moveable (unless falling into the encroaching sea, as was the fear here). Swan seemed a little naive when asking the bank for money.
The present storyline was interesting - a search for the SS California (there when the Titanic sunk, it's own sinking some years later). Some interesting info on diving, salvaging, scavenging. I'm not totally sure I really know ALL the characters (looking back, see a name, "um, WHO was that? Where did they fit in the story?" but overall I think I understood and liked how things came together. Not too many QUOTES saved, but as I looked at the Kindle copy after reading, some stood out to me (I'll be adding them).
The Table of Contents did NOT list numerical chapters (which can make it harder to switch formats, or find a spot in bookclub for discussions) - instead labeled with the POV and date. I prefer having a numerical chapter AND the POV/Date (or other chapter header).
No proFanity. Some sexual stuff addressed, but nothing explicit. This isn't one I'd gush about and recommend, but if someone thought it looked interesting, I'd give them the thumbs up to give it a go.
Told in two timelines, the audio had two narrators. Male narrator (with a slight accent) for the 1913 chapters (almost all from Swan's perspective, although near the end, we also got in the head of Lou and Clara a few times). The "present" 2014 was a female narrator, all from Mari's POV. All 3rd person, past tense.
I shelved this under "realistic" as there wasn't anything paranormal ... although Swan did "talk" with the tower/lighthouse throughout. There was also the mystery of the "boy" in the water ...
There was a doggy named "Stay" ... supposed to be funny and I found it to be so :) It never was really fully explained (unless I missed it) how one could "move" a lighthouse. They don't seem moveable (unless falling into the encroaching sea, as was the fear here). Swan seemed a little naive when asking the bank for money.
The present storyline was interesting - a search for the SS California (there when the Titanic sunk, it's own sinking some years later). Some interesting info on diving, salvaging, scavenging. I'm not totally sure I really know ALL the characters (looking back, see a name, "um, WHO was that? Where did they fit in the story?" but overall I think I understood and liked how things came together. Not too many QUOTES saved, but as I looked at the Kindle copy after reading, some stood out to me (I'll be adding them).
The Table of Contents did NOT list numerical chapters (which can make it harder to switch formats, or find a spot in bookclub for discussions) - instead labeled with the POV and date. I prefer having a numerical chapter AND the POV/Date (or other chapter header).
No proFanity. Some sexual stuff addressed, but nothing explicit. This isn't one I'd gush about and recommend, but if someone thought it looked interesting, I'd give them the thumbs up to give it a go.
I'd read this 11/2022 and it came up as the selection for bookclub. I did a re-listen of the audiobook, but also saw there was a graphic novel adaptation, so I figured I'd check it out too. I'm NOT a graphic novel gal, but I've had good experiences with To Kill a Mockingbird, The Giver and Long Way Down. But as mentioned ... I'm not really a graphic novel gal. The style of the art can really influence my enjoyment, and just like reading a book, different strokes for different folks. It's very subjective. Just as I didn't care for the artwork in the Anne Frank Graphic Novels (one a biography, one a "diary" adaptation), the style of drawing here just didn't click with me. Cartoonish, but not at all "cute" ... I feel bad saying it, but every person depicted was just so unattractive. The colors ... I know it was intentional, the "present" (1976) was shades of browns, and the past had brighter, and often one dominant, consistent across the pages (blues, oranges, greens, purples). The "graphic" in graphic novel was present too (as it is in the text). I had a little trouble when there were many speech bubbles in a single cell, I didn't know what order to read them in (graphic novel issues).
I think overall the adaptation was good and kept close. I appreciated the foreward, and the info on the author, adaptor and illustrator. If the graphic novel format is one that people like, I'm glad there is the option (although I much preferred the original and that's the format I'd recommend), because this is a unique story before it's time.
I think overall the adaptation was good and kept close. I appreciated the foreward, and the info on the author, adaptor and illustrator. If the graphic novel format is one that people like, I'm glad there is the option (although I much preferred the original and that's the format I'd recommend), because this is a unique story before it's time.
Another "oops, it's abridged" audio :( The audiobook copy I picked up from Hoopla, was abridged (a fact I didn't realize until it ended so quickly and it was mentioned). I noticed the Libby/Library versions are the shorter 3.05 hour version also. There is an unabridged 11+ hour on Audible, as well as the abridged version. Different narrators. I had grabbed the Kindle copy too (unabridged), but didn't look at it until I finished the audio. I didn't compare to see what all I missed (but 11 hours abridged to 3? Must have missed a LOT). Honestly, I didn't feel it when listening, but it also didn't really pull me in. I picked up on some facts and background on Ebola but didn't really feel it was a story, I'm not sure how big an impact it made, or how much I'll remember. A while back (over a year) I had watched the mini-series based on the book, so some things felt a little familiar. I'm not sure if the unabridged would have pulled me in more, or if I would have felt the same for the extra eight hours.
Per a Kindle search, there is some proFanity (x5) but I don't recall any in the abridged audiobook. There is some gory/sad animal testing issues. Third person, mostly past tense, although there was some present tense.
Per a Kindle search, there is some proFanity (x5) but I don't recall any in the abridged audiobook. There is some gory/sad animal testing issues. Third person, mostly past tense, although there was some present tense.
emotional
I liked this ... I'm just not sure I'll really remember much about it. Text included in KindleUnlimited, with audio on Hoopla (not on Libby, text or audio, just Amazon). Two timelines, two POVs ... Esme in 1958 and Jane in 1914. The chapters in the table of contents were numerical, and labeled with the POV (I appreciate the name being included in the TOC). Doesn't stick perfectly alternating, sometimes one POV would get a couple chapters in a row.
Esme is getting to "spinster" status, the reader meets Jane as a young woman, during WW1 and beyond ... her story is one Esme eventually uncovers, although the reader gets it along the way. I liked both storylines, and have this marked as "realistic" as there is nothing paranormal, it's just "historical" fiction, yet there is SO much going on, I have to wonder how realistic it would be for all this to happen to one woman. SPOILER with Jane's father abusing her mother/sister and village boys, the war- her husband going off and not coming back ... except that oops, he wasn't dead and DOES eventually come back, but this is after she's re-married and had a baby. Rather than coming clean to either, she manages a double life, has another baby with hubs#1 (who was maimed and disfigured during the war), gives baby up for adoption. Divorces hubs#2 - still w/o really coming clean. Her mom has a same-sex relationship. The unknown baby just happens to be the woman Esme has come to investigate ... her half-sister, who by the way, has been wrongly accused of murder. It was just a lot. That last thing did catch me by surprise.
No proFanity, but there were some sex scenes and talk of sexual and physical abuse. Third person, past tense for both POVs. Two different narrators in the audio, which I was glad for. Helped keep the POVs separated for me.
Esme is getting to "spinster" status, the reader meets Jane as a young woman, during WW1 and beyond ... her story is one Esme eventually uncovers, although the reader gets it along the way. I liked both storylines, and have this marked as "realistic" as there is nothing paranormal, it's just "historical" fiction, yet there is SO much going on, I have to wonder how realistic it would be for all this to happen to one woman. SPOILER
No proFanity, but there were some sex scenes and talk of sexual and physical abuse. Third person, past tense for both POVs. Two different narrators in the audio, which I was glad for. Helped keep the POVs separated for me.
Quite a bit of buzz about this one ... had a bit of a wait at my library, and moved it up my list to read when it came in so I could return it and get it back in circulation. Popular book.
I liked it - not quite a 5* read for me, but it was very good. Historical/realistic ... but also a little mystery and murder (and rape). More sex than I would think ... I'm not sure why I always seem to imagine that things were MORE strict in the days gone by. Here, is sounds like almost everyone is getting it on before marriage. And unfortunately, not always willingly. More than one rape is central here.
Martha Ballard (a true name from history with a written journal ... I'd never heard of her before though) is a midwife and does some doctoring. She's called in when a frozen corpse is discovered, and from there, there is a whole mystery regarding the murder (or was it suicide?) There are many characters and several side-stories going on, as well as "flashbacks" to reveal Martha's history. It presents an interesting view of the time (1789/1780 for the main storyline), medical/births, the law, the treatment of women (some discussion of Indians and Negros as well).
As for the story itself ... I felt like I totally figured things out WAY before the characters did (it seemed obvious) SPOILER when Martha visits the new couple, discovers the pregnancy and says to Sam "Do not be overly hard on yourself" and the two give a look Martha cannot decipher ... well duh, Sam was there at the water that night/apparently there is something off with this pregnancy//there probably wasn't only the one rape//May was raped by Joshua Burgess and Sam is the one who killed him ...
It was all interesting and kept me engaged. I got to know and care about the characters. One of the "memories" telling about when the children were younger and diphtheria came was a hard hitter emotionally.
First person/present tense for the main storyline (most of the book), past tense for the flashbacks and journal entries. No numerical chapters, Six parts, with several chapters (headers are the location) in each part ... but not having numerical chapters makes it a little harder to locate certain sections or move between formats (from audio to Kindle ... I had both). There were many "Ballard's Mill" chapters, Oxford/Massachusetts were "past" chapters, a prologue/end in third person/present tense.
In the author's notes, the author clarifies that this is "inspired by real events, as opposed to being based on them" ... great liberties taken with dates and details. The author's notes definitely deserve a read. They were included in the audio (much appreciated). The author's notes are voiced in audio by the author (much appreciated! So much more personal).
No profanity, but some violence/sex/rape ...
I would give it a thumbs up/recommendation.
I liked it - not quite a 5* read for me, but it was very good. Historical/realistic ... but also a little mystery and murder (and rape). More sex than I would think ... I'm not sure why I always seem to imagine that things were MORE strict in the days gone by. Here, is sounds like almost everyone is getting it on before marriage. And unfortunately, not always willingly. More than one rape is central here.
Martha Ballard (a true name from history with a written journal ... I'd never heard of her before though) is a midwife and does some doctoring. She's called in when a frozen corpse is discovered, and from there, there is a whole mystery regarding the murder (or was it suicide?) There are many characters and several side-stories going on, as well as "flashbacks" to reveal Martha's history. It presents an interesting view of the time (1789/1780 for the main storyline), medical/births, the law, the treatment of women (some discussion of Indians and Negros as well).
As for the story itself ... I felt like I totally figured things out WAY before the characters did (it seemed obvious) SPOILER
It was all interesting and kept me engaged. I got to know and care about the characters. One of the "memories" telling about when the children were younger and diphtheria came was a hard hitter emotionally.
First person/present tense for the main storyline (most of the book), past tense for the flashbacks and journal entries. No numerical chapters, Six parts, with several chapters (headers are the location) in each part ... but not having numerical chapters makes it a little harder to locate certain sections or move between formats (from audio to Kindle ... I had both). There were many "Ballard's Mill" chapters, Oxford/Massachusetts were "past" chapters, a prologue/end in third person/present tense.
In the author's notes, the author clarifies that this is "inspired by real events, as opposed to being based on them" ... great liberties taken with dates and details. The author's notes definitely deserve a read. They were included in the audio (much appreciated). The author's notes are voiced in audio by the author (much appreciated! So much more personal).
No profanity, but some violence/sex/rape ...
I would give it a thumbs up/recommendation.
inspiring
These twins did have a story to tell, and it was well done. I appreciated the sections (Albania/England) and the chapter headings (included in the table of contents). Told in 1st person/past tense, alternating between Deti and Gita's POV ... although they are very similar (being identical twins). Fairly simple and straightforward in the writing, although I could recognize the attempts to make it more "styled" (adding in dialog, descriptive similes ... one soccer metaphor went on way too long for my taste though).
I listened to the audio version ... and didn't love the narration. The narrator was fine, for any standard American setting. But as this was Albania/England based, I felt like it NEEDED an accented voice. I wonder what the girl's accents are like. I'll be the first to admit I don't know what an Albanian/English accent would be, and acknowledge the girls learned English while in Albania (so not necessarily a British accent) ... but I'm 95% positive their pronunciations wouldn't have been so absolutely American as told in this 1st person audio account.
One other thing that frustrated me, was not know how old the girls were when it started up. We are given dates (starting in 1997) but aren't told their ages. Are they six, twelve? The image on the front looks young, a couple of eight year olds? Now if I had fully read about the author(s) "Born in Albania, twin sisters Argita and Detina Zalli were eleven years old when the government collapsed and civil war broke out. Two years later, after several failed attempts to flee the violence and poverty, they escaped with their parents to England" ... THEN I would have known.
It was dropped, but not obviously, and not early. In Chapter10, as they bid farewell to their home in 1999 "We had lived that house for close to thirteen years" and in Chapter11 "we were only thirteen" ... I actually missed those and didn't catch it until Chapter13, (still in 1999) when they go on a train "This would be our second train ride. Our first was ten years before, in 1989, when we were only three years old" ... so I had to do MATH to determine at this point in the story they were 13 years old. Finally stated clearly in Chapter17 "We were thirteen years old" ... I needed a "we were 11 years old" in the first chapter so that I could better visualize things.
I do have to wonder how many might "ahhhh" over this story, while continuing to be so critical of illegal immigration in the US. Because this happened in Albania/England, because this was a success story, IS it so different than the plight of many of those in Mexico wanting to come to the US for a better life? In this/the former, they attempted legal means ... then resorted to illegal ones. Would the same people shaming "illegal immigration" in the US, the "build the wall" folks, give these girls and their family a pass? Or would they be as so many in the school and say "go back to where you came from" and think themselves justified? How many Dreamers in the US today may also achieve great accomplishments if they are given some opportunity? While this WAS a wonderful HAE here ... as it is mentioned in the epilogue that the DO go back to Albania to see their family that they left there ... that family had survived, even amidst the chaos - was it as horrible as it was made out to be (that this family HAD to leave?) We do only hear the super success stories ... one wonders how many other stories there are ... everyone has a story.
The text was included in Kindle Unlimited, and I found the audio on Hoopla at the library.
I listened to the audio version ... and didn't love the narration. The narrator was fine, for any standard American setting. But as this was Albania/England based, I felt like it NEEDED an accented voice. I wonder what the girl's accents are like. I'll be the first to admit I don't know what an Albanian/English accent would be, and acknowledge the girls learned English while in Albania (so not necessarily a British accent) ... but I'm 95% positive their pronunciations wouldn't have been so absolutely American as told in this 1st person audio account.
One other thing that frustrated me, was not know how old the girls were when it started up. We are given dates (starting in 1997) but aren't told their ages. Are they six, twelve? The image on the front looks young, a couple of eight year olds? Now if I had fully read about the author(s) "Born in Albania, twin sisters Argita and Detina Zalli were eleven years old when the government collapsed and civil war broke out. Two years later, after several failed attempts to flee the violence and poverty, they escaped with their parents to England" ... THEN I would have known.
It was dropped, but not obviously, and not early. In Chapter10, as they bid farewell to their home in 1999 "We had lived that house for close to thirteen years" and in Chapter11 "we were only thirteen" ... I actually missed those and didn't catch it until Chapter13, (still in 1999) when they go on a train "This would be our second train ride. Our first was ten years before, in 1989, when we were only three years old" ... so I had to do MATH to determine at this point in the story they were 13 years old. Finally stated clearly in Chapter17 "We were thirteen years old" ... I needed a "we were 11 years old" in the first chapter so that I could better visualize things.
I do have to wonder how many might "ahhhh" over this story, while continuing to be so critical of illegal immigration in the US. Because this happened in Albania/England, because this was a success story, IS it so different than the plight of many of those in Mexico wanting to come to the US for a better life? In this/the former, they attempted legal means ... then resorted to illegal ones. Would the same people shaming "illegal immigration" in the US, the "build the wall" folks, give these girls and their family a pass? Or would they be as so many in the school and say "go back to where you came from" and think themselves justified? How many Dreamers in the US today may also achieve great accomplishments if they are given some opportunity? While this WAS a wonderful HAE here ... as it is mentioned in the epilogue that the DO go back to Albania to see their family that they left there ... that family had survived, even amidst the chaos - was it as horrible as it was made out to be (that this family HAD to leave?) We do only hear the super success stories ... one wonders how many other stories there are ... everyone has a story.
The text was included in Kindle Unlimited, and I found the audio on Hoopla at the library.
Included in KindleUnlimited, with Kindle and audio included, I liked this, although I don't know if it will stick in my memory. Five very different people, each with tragic backstories, at the library when a winter storm requires them to shelter in place for a while. A little bit of "Breakfast Club" coming together despite differences.
Maybe I've had too simple a life, but I do have to wonder that five random people could all have SUCH tragedy in their lives. Instead of being inspiring ... I think this depresses me. Maybe my mood at the moment. Just a question of WHY we go on in the world when there is such sadness everywhere. Even though there is the hope and learning along the way, it's just a little hard for me to get past at times.
I'd commented in a recent read ([book:Whale Talk|49746]) that it was a little hard to swallow, SO much tragedy in such a small group. Definitely the case here too, although for some reason it felt a little more realistic here. Nora was just TOO good though. There were a few other things that were too predictable SPOILER the whole "she's diabetic" ... I saw that coming and was rolling my eyes that no one there figured it out sooner. It's not like I have a lot of personal experience with it or anything, but still ... obvious! although other things (the Mario situation) did keep me guessing.
Five people ... but really only three (Nora, Marlene, Lewis) get the stories told from their POVs. All third person/past tense. Audio had three different narrators (not required in 3rd person, but appreciated on my end) and I liked that the Table of Contents listed the POV (helpful if you are looking back, and remember whose head you were in).
One little "um what?" moment in the audio - "he put his head on her thigh" ... um what? "palm up" ... yeah okay, that was supposed to be "hand" not "head" ... slipped through the editing.
I don't know that the title totally fit for me ... I was thinking "After the Storm" but I see that there are already a ton of books with that title, and I know it's better to have something more unique.
Why couldn't this have been a couple pages longer ... I never really paid that much attention to book length until STORYGRAPH and their dang pie charts. I feel like I had too many "under 300 page" books this month (although I know it all averages out).
Maybe I've had too simple a life, but I do have to wonder that five random people could all have SUCH tragedy in their lives. Instead of being inspiring ... I think this depresses me. Maybe my mood at the moment. Just a question of WHY we go on in the world when there is such sadness everywhere. Even though there is the hope and learning along the way, it's just a little hard for me to get past at times.
I'd commented in a recent read ([book:Whale Talk|49746]) that it was a little hard to swallow, SO much tragedy in such a small group. Definitely the case here too, although for some reason it felt a little more realistic here. Nora was just TOO good though. There were a few other things that were too predictable SPOILER
Five people ... but really only three (Nora, Marlene, Lewis) get the stories told from their POVs. All third person/past tense. Audio had three different narrators (not required in 3rd person, but appreciated on my end) and I liked that the Table of Contents listed the POV (helpful if you are looking back, and remember whose head you were in).
One little "um what?" moment in the audio - "he put his head on her thigh" ... um what? "palm up" ... yeah okay, that was supposed to be "hand" not "head" ... slipped through the editing.
I don't know that the title totally fit for me ... I was thinking "After the Storm" but I see that there are already a ton of books with that title, and I know it's better to have something more unique.
Why couldn't this have been a couple pages longer ... I never really paid that much attention to book length until STORYGRAPH and their dang pie charts. I feel like I had too many "under 300 page" books this month (although I know it all averages out).
When I first saw this book released, I wasn't very interested. While I think Britney was beautiful and talented, and I wasn't really sure what was happening with the conservatorship ... I've tended to read fiction and stories. I've made a slight shift to non-fiction and memoirs, and figured I'd give this a go. It was interesting and made me think and search out additional info. Thumbs up for that. It was pretty quick and easy to get through.
There were so many times in this book where Britney is recalling the past, and framing it/explaining it, from her perspective NOW ... and it honestly feels too soon. Has she come far enough, distanced herself enough, to really be able to be fair? It would be interesting to have another 10+ years pass and see what a memoir/reflection would look like at that time. Even NOW, when this book has come out, just a year after the conservatorship ended, there are "I see now" "I think back now" statements. In a few more years, what will she think about 2023 and this book and will some feelings/perspectives and "I can see NOW" moments will there be?
She DOES state a few times "I'd become weird" and "I started to get weird" ... mentions "a breaking point for me internally" about post-partum depression and her mental health, that she was "out of my mind" ... she explains/retrospectively "shaving my head was a way of saying to the world: F you" ... IS that what she was thinking in the moment? Or after 10+ years and a publicist helping reframe things? She explains taking her son and locking them in the bathroom "the only thing I was guilty of was feeling desperate to keep my own children for a few more hours" (how many horror stories are there of parents taking and hurting their children and people saying "why didn't someone do something?"), she explains the umbrella incident "I snapped, I hit his car, it was a desperate move by a desperate person" ... there is SO MUCH "I see now" "I think back now" ... type of reflection ... 10+ years later after tons of counseling (as bad as the conservatorship was, she also admits to some help with other ladies in AA, therapy, etc) and just general life growth, YES, you see things differently NOW. But what was going on then? I still don't fully understand the conservatorship and what was entailed, and I don't think it was all on the up and up, but there was some basis for it. If it hadn't happened, and Britney had killed herself, perhaps taking her children with her during another break ... what would the world be saying then? I know, it's all "what ifs" ... I honestly don't understand the conservatorship at all, but I'm not sure how much more time I want to spend researching. It seems if the conservatorship is like a guardianship for a child, that a child has more protections and follow-up ... I can't imagine a talented child being forced to work, watch their weight, being limited on personal decisions without more outside oversight and scrutiny. It was a good point ... how many MEN get set up in a conservatorship under similar circumstances. Still, one has to wonder what would have happened if Britney had been left on her own also ...
I do think Britney is telling her story the way she sees it ... but it is very one sided. It's interesting that her mother and sister have both written their own memoirs too. JT hasn't commented much (other than "no disrespect" and an "apology" earlier) to tell his side, and nothing B tells is beyond belief concerning their relationship. It would be interesting to get a full accounting from her father, to hear his side, his attempted explanations.
Rather than just 49 chapters ... I would have appreciated some headers/TOC and/or a timeline ... (I found this online https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-10-26/britney-spears-timeline-career-memoir)
*1981 - Southern childhood
*1993-1995 MMC years
*1998- Jive Records Deal
*1999-Baby One More Time
*2000-Oops I Did It Again
*2001-PopPrincess/MTV Halftime Show
*1999-2022 - JT Years
*2002- Crossroads Movie
*2003- Vegas Wedding
*2003- Madonna Kiss
*2004- Toxic/Grammy, Kevin Federline marriage
*2005- Birth of 1st child
*2006- Birth of second child//Divorce
*2007-MTV Video Music Awards (bad performance), Shaving Head, Umbrella Incident
*2008-Conservatorship Begins. Womanizer #1
*2011-7th Album "Femme Fatale"
*2012-Judge on "The X Factor" then LV residency "Piece of Me"
*2016-9th Album "Glory"
*2017-on Instagram
*2018-followup residency cancelled, mental health facility, GLAAD Vanguard Award (not mentioned in memoir- I guess her speaking at the ceremony doesn't fit the memoir at that moment?)
*2019- the #freebritney movement
*2020- three new singles
*2021- documentaries, court hearing, Jamie Spears removed, conservatorship terminated
*2022- duet with Elton John, marriage to Sam Asghari
The book was released in 2023, and she and Hesam divorced shortly after. Her statement "As everyone knows, Hesam and I are no longer together ... 6 years is a long time to be with someone, so I'm a little shocked but ... I'm not here to explain why because it's honestly nobody's business !!! But I couldn't take the pain anymore, honestly!!! I've been playing it strong for way too long and my Instagram may seem perfect but it's far from reality and I think we all know that !!! I would love to show my emotions and tears on how I really feel but some reason I've always had to hide my weakness!!!"
After reading this ... it's obvious that even as juvenile sounding as this memoir is at times, it was ghost-written. The lack of !!!!!! throughout is a giveaway (I can't in good conscience remark on the ellipses ... as I'm known to overuse them myself!) The recent post "it's nobody's business" is interesting right after a tell-all memoir has been released. I get the "woman in me title" but her statements about "giving me back my womanhood" just felt cringy, especially as she sounds (when speaking and writing) like a child. All the "my little heart" and "I was the arguably the biggest star on earth" ...
Note on the audio - at first I was a little surprised Britney wasn't going to narrate her own memoir. It's somewhat standard for the author to narrate if they are still able to do so. However, as she does the intro and prologue, I could only think "um yes, good decision" as Britney's voice was absolutely grating! Michelle Williams did a wonderful job, and even had the slightest (younger) Britney "sound" (or was that just mental on my part?)
There were so many times in this book where Britney is recalling the past, and framing it/explaining it, from her perspective NOW ... and it honestly feels too soon. Has she come far enough, distanced herself enough, to really be able to be fair? It would be interesting to have another 10+ years pass and see what a memoir/reflection would look like at that time. Even NOW, when this book has come out, just a year after the conservatorship ended, there are "I see now" "I think back now" statements. In a few more years, what will she think about 2023 and this book and will some feelings/perspectives and "I can see NOW" moments will there be?
She DOES state a few times "I'd become weird" and "I started to get weird" ... mentions "a breaking point for me internally" about post-partum depression and her mental health, that she was "out of my mind" ... she explains/retrospectively "shaving my head was a way of saying to the world: F you" ... IS that what she was thinking in the moment? Or after 10+ years and a publicist helping reframe things? She explains taking her son and locking them in the bathroom "the only thing I was guilty of was feeling desperate to keep my own children for a few more hours" (how many horror stories are there of parents taking and hurting their children and people saying "why didn't someone do something?"), she explains the umbrella incident "I snapped, I hit his car, it was a desperate move by a desperate person" ... there is SO MUCH "I see now" "I think back now" ... type of reflection ... 10+ years later after tons of counseling (as bad as the conservatorship was, she also admits to some help with other ladies in AA, therapy, etc) and just general life growth, YES, you see things differently NOW. But what was going on then? I still don't fully understand the conservatorship and what was entailed, and I don't think it was all on the up and up, but there was some basis for it. If it hadn't happened, and Britney had killed herself, perhaps taking her children with her during another break ... what would the world be saying then? I know, it's all "what ifs" ... I honestly don't understand the conservatorship at all, but I'm not sure how much more time I want to spend researching. It seems if the conservatorship is like a guardianship for a child, that a child has more protections and follow-up ... I can't imagine a talented child being forced to work, watch their weight, being limited on personal decisions without more outside oversight and scrutiny. It was a good point ... how many MEN get set up in a conservatorship under similar circumstances. Still, one has to wonder what would have happened if Britney had been left on her own also ...
I do think Britney is telling her story the way she sees it ... but it is very one sided. It's interesting that her mother and sister have both written their own memoirs too. JT hasn't commented much (other than "no disrespect" and an "apology" earlier) to tell his side, and nothing B tells is beyond belief concerning their relationship. It would be interesting to get a full accounting from her father, to hear his side, his attempted explanations.
Rather than just 49 chapters ... I would have appreciated some headers/TOC and/or a timeline ... (I found this online https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/music/story/2023-10-26/britney-spears-timeline-career-memoir)
*1981 - Southern childhood
*1993-1995 MMC years
*1998- Jive Records Deal
*1999-Baby One More Time
*2000-Oops I Did It Again
*2001-PopPrincess/MTV Halftime Show
*1999-2022 - JT Years
*2002- Crossroads Movie
*2003- Vegas Wedding
*2003- Madonna Kiss
*2004- Toxic/Grammy, Kevin Federline marriage
*2005- Birth of 1st child
*2006- Birth of second child//Divorce
*2007-MTV Video Music Awards (bad performance), Shaving Head, Umbrella Incident
*2008-Conservatorship Begins. Womanizer #1
*2011-7th Album "Femme Fatale"
*2012-Judge on "The X Factor" then LV residency "Piece of Me"
*2016-9th Album "Glory"
*2017-on Instagram
*2018-followup residency cancelled, mental health facility, GLAAD Vanguard Award (not mentioned in memoir- I guess her speaking at the ceremony doesn't fit the memoir at that moment?)
*2019- the #freebritney movement
*2020- three new singles
*2021- documentaries, court hearing, Jamie Spears removed, conservatorship terminated
*2022- duet with Elton John, marriage to Sam Asghari
The book was released in 2023, and she and Hesam divorced shortly after. Her statement "As everyone knows, Hesam and I are no longer together ... 6 years is a long time to be with someone, so I'm a little shocked but ... I'm not here to explain why because it's honestly nobody's business !!! But I couldn't take the pain anymore, honestly!!! I've been playing it strong for way too long and my Instagram may seem perfect but it's far from reality and I think we all know that !!! I would love to show my emotions and tears on how I really feel but some reason I've always had to hide my weakness!!!"
After reading this ... it's obvious that even as juvenile sounding as this memoir is at times, it was ghost-written. The lack of !!!!!! throughout is a giveaway (I can't in good conscience remark on the ellipses ... as I'm known to overuse them myself!) The recent post "it's nobody's business" is interesting right after a tell-all memoir has been released. I get the "woman in me title" but her statements about "giving me back my womanhood" just felt cringy, especially as she sounds (when speaking and writing) like a child. All the "my little heart" and "I was the arguably the biggest star on earth" ...
Note on the audio - at first I was a little surprised Britney wasn't going to narrate her own memoir. It's somewhat standard for the author to narrate if they are still able to do so. However, as she does the intro and prologue, I could only think "um yes, good decision" as Britney's voice was absolutely grating! Michelle Williams did a wonderful job, and even had the slightest (younger) Britney "sound" (or was that just mental on my part?)
dark
Well WOW/YIKES ... there was a LOT in here. I think I was expecting a teen sports drama with a little bit of "ouch" (ala [book:Swagger|17165938]. So um ... TRIGGER warning check if you've got them (here race/n-word also, foster system, child abuse - emotional and physical, animal death, child death, drug abuse, bullying). Honestly, it was perhaps too much? Maybe I've just had a sheltered life, but it just seemed a little much that everyone had just a sad story to tell.
While this is more YA, and still might be too much for some bookclubs, there would be a TON for discussion here.
It felt a little like "The Outsiders" and "The Breakfast Club" ... in fact (regarding the latter) there was a little recap of their group that not the same, felt familiar "we have one swimmer of color, a representative from each extreme of the educational spectrum, a muscle man, a giant, a chameleon, and a one-legged psychopath). They are ...
TJ: black, born into neglect/abuse, adopted by white couple. Big guy, but refuses to get into sports despite pressure to play. Doesn't like being told what to do.
Chris Coughlin: mainstreamed special-ed, crack baby, further abuse/brain damage.
Tay-Roy: into music (school productions, band, choir) and body building
Dan Hole: Intellectual "never-use-a-single-syllable-when-polysllables-are-available"
Simon: 300 pound big fellow
Jackie Craig: Nondescript/team ghost "oh silent one" (may or may not have a voice box)
Andy Mott: junior, psychopath ... lost a leg when young
First person (POV of TJ), present tense ... although there were a couple small shifts to past tense for some memories. Sex is mentioned (it happens) but nothing explicit, proFanity (x13)
I liked the overall story a lot ... Chris is bullied for wearing his dead brother's letter jacket (one of the cover images shows a kid in a letter jacket running, I assume that's the Chris reference) because he didn't EARN it and thems the rules so say the jocks. TJ decides it would be great to get a group of "outsiders" who DO actually earn jackets ... wouldn't that be great? He pulls together a "swim team" and they work really hard for it, friendships formed, etc ... trials and tribulations ... oh so many!
SPOILERS Tj's early life is super sad, and he still struggles with racism in the almost all white town. His adoptive parents are both very involved in the child protective systems and have so many sad stories of their own - the father's is awful. Chris was born addicted, and then had his face wrapped in saran wrap to stop his crying ... stopped his breathing, resulting in brain damage. He had a popular/successful older brother ... who died in an accident. There is a bully who not only abuses Chris, but girls at the school as well. A horrible guy in town - poaches a baby deer after killing the mother (at least that was legal, they had a tag), beats up TJ for intervening, abuses his half-black adoptive daughter (n-word and more) ... and in the end ... wasn't really expecting that, comes at everyone with a gun, going to take out Heidi as that would hurt many, but TJ's dad gets in the way. Mott ... how he lost his leg is horrendous (as well as some of the other stories featuring the same perpetrator). On a much more minor scale, just the treatment of the team by the school authorities (not wanting them to get letter jackets, because it doesn't represent).
There was some humor to break things up some ... "You know how he don't say much? Well, he was sayin' less than that" ... and a whole scene where on of the boys was using another's picture to catfish (I know that, not cool and not funny, but the situation here was pretty hilarious).
There were some sweet life lessons and good relationships too. One quote "no matter what you know, it doesn't always alter how you feel" ... too true. I think I need to re-read the section tying in the "whale talk" title, and TJ's father's discussion with him about judging the actions of others. Pretty profound.
Older book, I had no trouble getting both the audiobook and kindle copy from the library.
While this is more YA, and still might be too much for some bookclubs, there would be a TON for discussion here.
It felt a little like "The Outsiders" and "The Breakfast Club" ... in fact (regarding the latter) there was a little recap of their group that not the same, felt familiar "we have one swimmer of color, a representative from each extreme of the educational spectrum, a muscle man, a giant, a chameleon, and a one-legged psychopath). They are ...
TJ: black, born into neglect/abuse, adopted by white couple. Big guy, but refuses to get into sports despite pressure to play. Doesn't like being told what to do.
Chris Coughlin: mainstreamed special-ed, crack baby, further abuse/brain damage.
Tay-Roy: into music (school productions, band, choir) and body building
Dan Hole: Intellectual "never-use-a-single-syllable-when-polysllables-are-available"
Simon: 300 pound big fellow
Jackie Craig: Nondescript/team ghost "oh silent one" (may or may not have a voice box)
Andy Mott: junior, psychopath ... lost a leg when young
First person (POV of TJ), present tense ... although there were a couple small shifts to past tense for some memories. Sex is mentioned (it happens) but nothing explicit, proFanity (x13)
I liked the overall story a lot ... Chris is bullied for wearing his dead brother's letter jacket (one of the cover images shows a kid in a letter jacket running, I assume that's the Chris reference) because he didn't EARN it and thems the rules so say the jocks. TJ decides it would be great to get a group of "outsiders" who DO actually earn jackets ... wouldn't that be great? He pulls together a "swim team" and they work really hard for it, friendships formed, etc ... trials and tribulations ... oh so many!
SPOILERS
There was some humor to break things up some ... "You know how he don't say much? Well, he was sayin' less than that" ... and a whole scene where on of the boys was using another's picture to catfish (I know that, not cool and not funny, but the situation here was pretty hilarious).
There were some sweet life lessons and good relationships too. One quote "no matter what you know, it doesn't always alter how you feel" ... too true. I think I need to re-read the section tying in the "whale talk" title, and TJ's father's discussion with him about judging the actions of others. Pretty profound.
Older book, I had no trouble getting both the audiobook and kindle copy from the library.