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waytoomanybooks's reviews
140 reviews
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The novel takes place in the 1970s, but you need not worry about unfamiliar settings and references because Hannah makes the world around the Allbright family both richly detailed and extremely accessible.
The main character, Leni, is beautifully written. It’s so rare for an author to get a child/teen’s voice right, but Hannah nails it. Leni is thoughtful, intelligent, and sensitive; she’s a whole person. And we see her struggle and grow up in a turbulent family within a small community in a remote part of Alaska.
Though this story features many forms of abuse and domestic violence, Hannah uses a sensitive hand in the writing of it. It is believable and heart-breaking to watch Leni and her mother, Cora, both suffer at the hands of Ernt, their father and husband respectively. I love that the rest of the townsfolk stand up to Ernt and call out his behavior. I’m so used to media that features only hand-wringing bystanders. I love seeing people fighting back on behalf of Leni and Cora.
The (too many) twists of fate in the last third are terribly hard to read, partly because they’re so excruciating and partly because they require a lot of suspended disbelief. I would argue that the events in the last third take the plot outside the realm of what I see as plausible, especially considering the first two-thirds is written like a “slice of life” story.
I believe that making
My rating on the first 66.6% of the book is 4 out of 5, but it just goes off the rails in the final 33.3%. These out-there events that feel forced/crammed in is what ultimately made me decide to rate this novel a 3.5 out of 5.
It’s a weird book, but it’s packed with action and heartache in a captivating, soap opera kind of way. You can’t help but feel for the characters, even if some of the events are quite farfetched. I can’t help but want what is best Leni, and that is my litmus test for what makes for a good book.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Minor: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Classism
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I enjoyed the mystery until the stupid twist in the final 25% of the novel. It feels like the author decided a twist was needed, but it really wasn’t. It would’ve made more sense if the killer had been one of the three actual suspects, or perhaps a less fleshed-out secondary character. It made me go, “Well that was stupid.” And soured me on the preceeding 75% of the novel.
This novel is what I’d call “just okay.”
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
But it was quick and easy to read and prevented me from experiencing the book hangover that comes with finishing an amazing book, a book I just so happened to finish yesterday. Read this if you just need something light to keep you occupied. You can read the whole thing in just a couple of hours.
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Sexism, Grief, Alcohol, and Classism
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Marianne and Connell’s relationship is so fascinating though. It is so incredibly toxic, yet they clearly belong together at the same time. I think that their relationship is realistically portrayed, and I could sympathize with one or the other of them at different stages in their lives and their relationship. I think that is a testament to Rooney’s writing: feeling like I want/need to evaluate the characters, to pick a side, and to sympathize and empathize with them and why.
However, I hated the ending. Ambiguous endings infuriate me, especially when the ambiguity suggests what it suggests here. We’re really ending with
Before I read the last ⅓ of the book, I was expecting to give it a 4 out of 5, but seeing Marianne’s storyline and the ending get fumbled leads me to give it a 3 out of 5.
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The story is told from a young boy’s perspective, which makes the plot even more depressing. The lack of punctuation is a bit tough to follow at first, but then you get used to it. Because this is a sad and strange tale experienced by a child in novel form, I think the sadness will stick with you more than it would after reading adult Hamlet's story in play form. This is definitely not a book to read if you’re feeling down because it really has almost every sad trope you can think of.
It gets points for some truly beautiful moments of prose and for nailing the way a child thinks, feels, and talks, which is consistently strong throughout.
I took points off for the total lack of punctuation and lack of resolution at the end, which runs counter to the original story. Even a depressing resolution, as in the original, is still a resolution. I think Phillip and his mom deserved that much.
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
4.75
There are two quotes towards the end of the memoir that I feel capture the essence of the advice Sugar/Cheryl gives:
“It was a becoming that I would not have dreamed was mine” (323)
“Your life will be a great and continous unfolding” (351).
I highly recommend this book. And if you like this one, then you will also love How to be a Person in the World by Heather Havrilesky/Ask Polly.
Graphic: Mental illness and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism, Stalking, and Murder
Minor: Blood and Kidnapping
2.0
Minor: Body shaming, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The main characters also experience literal memory blackouts that influence the narrative, which makes it a bit tricky to follow at some points, but if you take the time to math it out, you can make a decent timeline of important dates and the characters’ ages. Sometimes it is tricky to tell what is a memory and what is a dream/hope/wish/fear/desire, which is an intentional stylistic choice, but one that I don’t personally like.
One aspect I don’t like about any book—not just this one—is when a book just ends without closure or a hint at closure. I can’t stand it when the narrative does a hard cut into acknowledgments.
Though just because this book isn’t stylistically my jam, I would still recommend reading it.
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, Abandonment, and Classism