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sgorosh's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Graphic: Miscarriage and Pregnancy
small_giant_plans's review against another edition
2.0
Lockdown has landed me in a Prime First Reads book club with my mother and aunts, and they inevitably pick a new Women's Fiction release. I enjoy the calls with my family but wow are these books not for me. Secret/surprise babies are one of my least favorite tropes, and this book inexplicably has three of them. It's also a testament to the powers of contraception as several of these secret babies are created by people engaging in intercourse exactly one time. And the only one of those sex acts that is described on the page IN DETAIL, no fade to black, is a date rape. No thanks! I feel like this book wants to be saying something about female autonomy and "troublesome women" but it really relishes the horrible things that happen to the characters and glosses over all the joys (and despite taking place in the south, there is not a single black person seen or mentioned in either timeline, not even regarding the eugenics). Not to mention the time hopping was confusing, the pacing was extremely rushed, and the main protagonist ending up with her (admittedly somewhat distant) cousin? In the year of our lord 2020? Nope. My 50+ female family members all enjoyed it though, which is probably this book's target audience.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Forced institutionalization, and Pregnancy
Minor: Death of parent