joyfullybooked's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
readinglover22's review
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
sammy_witha_c's review against another edition
5.0
I'm absolutely in LOVE with that cover.
Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth is probably one of my favorite books I've read in a while. It's sweet, it's charming, and most of all it's political, which is not something I expected from it in the slightest. But I loved that! I loved the anti-war talk and the general style of it- letter books, as I like to call them, are simpler in terms of writing but they're hard to make truly compelling. I think this book did that perfectly.
I really did adore the relationship between Mr. Marsworth and Reen, though I wish there could have been less moments of him being upset with her / longer letters, or at least happier ones, from him in general. Some of the highlights here were when he was being especially compassionate or funny. I just really love friendships between older folks and younger ones. Especially when they aren't blood related.
I will say there is to be a discussion about books like this using different fonts. It helps immerse the reader, but I know it can be harder for people with reading disabilities to get through, such as dyslexics. I wouldn't say this is something that needs to be changed, though it would be cool if you could buy a version with regular fonts, because sometimes you just can't make something accessible to all. Something bright and saturated might help me, someone with poor vision, but be distressing to someone who struggles with migraines. So while I wouldn't call this a bad thing about the book... I would also advise anyone who struggles with reading certain fonts to do their research before buying this book. Maybe find pictures of one of the pages or something.
Overall this is a very nice read. I wasn't sure if I was a fan of So overall I do think I enjoyed the rest of the book more in comparison to the final act. But it was still really good!
And... again... I am a SUCKER for that cover. It makes me so happy to see it get so many high ratings on here.
Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth is probably one of my favorite books I've read in a while. It's sweet, it's charming, and most of all it's political, which is not something I expected from it in the slightest. But I loved that! I loved the anti-war talk and the general style of it- letter books, as I like to call them, are simpler in terms of writing but they're hard to make truly compelling. I think this book did that perfectly.
I really did adore the relationship between Mr. Marsworth and Reen, though I wish there could have been less moments of him being upset with her / longer letters, or at least happier ones, from him in general. Some of the highlights here were when he was being especially compassionate or funny. I just really love friendships between older folks and younger ones. Especially when they aren't blood related.
I will say there is to be a discussion about books like this using different fonts. It helps immerse the reader, but I know it can be harder for people with reading disabilities to get through, such as dyslexics. I wouldn't say this is something that needs to be changed, though it would be cool if you could buy a version with regular fonts, because sometimes you just can't make something accessible to all. Something bright and saturated might help me, someone with poor vision, but be distressing to someone who struggles with migraines. So while I wouldn't call this a bad thing about the book... I would also advise anyone who struggles with reading certain fonts to do their research before buying this book. Maybe find pictures of one of the pages or something.
Overall this is a very nice read. I wasn't sure if I was a fan of
Spoiler
the reveal that Billy wasn't biologically related to the rest of the Kelly's. I think at the end it was made up for, since I really do adore the whole Kelly's being back where they belong at the cottage thing, but I really did prefer it when it was just Reen and Mr. Marsworth being friends. I don't much like bio family reveals. And I felt like, here, it kind of took away from the core anti-war themes, because it lessened the blow of Skip's death and kind of made me feel less strongly about Billy's fight against the war. It felt as if his differing opinion, or his outsider-ness, were almost being explained.And... again... I am a SUCKER for that cover. It makes me so happy to see it get so many high ratings on here.
thesteinreads's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
imthektx's review
4.0
3.5 stars. I really enjoyed this! The entire book consists of letters, so it’s not a super traditional story in that sense. I love Reenie’s passion, but there were times she was way over-the-top and it got a bit on my nerves. Other than that, it was such a unique concept. Maybe a little too long for a middle grader to want to sit through, but it moved along a little quicker than normal because it was all in letter form.
nancyroger's review
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this read. Quite a tear jerker. Imagine The Wonder Years with a grouchy pen pal. I enjoyed the multiple perspectives, and would have liked to hear more variety, but understand that Reenie was really the only one with so much time to write.
sreddous's review against another edition
1.75
There's something about this that didn't really sit right with me personally. Reenie has no respect for boundaries and constantly declares that she won't take no for an answer when it comes to friendship/getting someone's attention/getting answers to personal questions, and... that squicks me out regardless of the ages and genders of the people involved.
Reenie's "I won't take no for an answer" (literally, she proclaims: "I hate hearing no") attitude is definitely good sometimes -- I would definitely say political/anti-war/bullying situations need to be met with a headstrong attitude and not taking "no" for an answer, so for those parts of the book I'm glad she was like this. But I felt uncomfortable when she demanded Mr. Marsworth's emotional energy. She felt really forceful and often manipulative (saying things like: "it's two days in a row you haven't written." and "Tears and worms and flowers, and you won't even write?" and "you didn't send me a letter in the morning. I like letters in the morning. Hint, hint." very often) in demanding that he befriend and write to her, even after he tried to diplomatically say that he needed space. There are many times that he said he needed space and a break, and she didn't respect it, and it's frankly exhausting to read.
I feel like if we wanted to go the angle of: lonely old curmudgeon learns how to see the world and have new hope through the eyes of a bright and peppy child, it really would have been more effective if Reenie simply wrote to him a lot (maybe she wrote to a lot of people in the community?) and slowly he started to respond to her, but that's really not how this is framed. As-is, it was pushy and uncomfortable. It got to halfway into the book before I was finally thinking, "ugh, he's just used to her, I guess," and so I begrudgingly just kept reading the rest of the book.
And once we get into the halfway point and we start digging into Mr. Marsworth's history and his anti-war stance, this is more engaging, and I sort of got used to the idea that Reenie was just going to demand Mr. Marsworth's attention. But, really, as-is, Reenie's precociousness doesn't feel like much more than demanding and weird, and I had a hard time buying how they learn to communicate on the same wavelength.
Also, the point of writing a book in letter-format is to tell a story in a way that conveys emotion and pacing differently than just narration and exposition. But so many of Reenie's letters are written with literal quotation marks and dialogue tags, that it just...becomes a novel. What's the point of the letter format if we have an apparent 11-year-old writing word-for-word, punctuation-for-punctuation in a letter:
"My brothers serve their country." Cutler scratched his bristled scalp then spit another loogie. "They ain't spineless draft dodgers too chicken for a war."
I...guess I'm willing to believe that an 11-year-old can be a smart-enough writer to use words like 'bristled' and to know how to separate a line of dialogue like that (although she herself says on page 58, 'I don't really write that well'), but at the end of the day, that just feels like a novel. What's the point of the letter format?
So overall... there are some haunting messages and good research about the Vietnam War here, but the framing and character connections really didn't work for me.
Reenie's "I won't take no for an answer" (literally, she proclaims: "I hate hearing no") attitude is definitely good sometimes -- I would definitely say political/anti-war/bullying situations need to be met with a headstrong attitude and not taking "no" for an answer, so for those parts of the book I'm glad she was like this. But I felt uncomfortable when she demanded Mr. Marsworth's emotional energy. She felt really forceful and often manipulative (saying things like: "it's two days in a row you haven't written." and "Tears and worms and flowers, and you won't even write?" and "you didn't send me a letter in the morning. I like letters in the morning. Hint, hint." very often) in demanding that he befriend and write to her, even after he tried to diplomatically say that he needed space. There are many times that he said he needed space and a break, and she didn't respect it, and it's frankly exhausting to read.
I feel like if we wanted to go the angle of: lonely old curmudgeon learns how to see the world and have new hope through the eyes of a bright and peppy child, it really would have been more effective if Reenie simply wrote to him a lot (maybe she wrote to a lot of people in the community?) and slowly he started to respond to her, but that's really not how this is framed. As-is, it was pushy and uncomfortable. It got to halfway into the book before I was finally thinking, "ugh, he's just used to her, I guess," and so I begrudgingly just kept reading the rest of the book.
And once we get into the halfway point and we start digging into Mr. Marsworth's history and his anti-war stance, this is more engaging, and I sort of got used to the idea that Reenie was just going to demand Mr. Marsworth's attention. But, really, as-is, Reenie's precociousness doesn't feel like much more than demanding and weird, and I had a hard time buying how they learn to communicate on the same wavelength.
Also, the point of writing a book in letter-format is to tell a story in a way that conveys emotion and pacing differently than just narration and exposition. But so many of Reenie's letters are written with literal quotation marks and dialogue tags, that it just...becomes a novel. What's the point of the letter format if we have an apparent 11-year-old writing word-for-word, punctuation-for-punctuation in a letter:
"My brothers serve their country." Cutler scratched his bristled scalp then spit another loogie. "They ain't spineless draft dodgers too chicken for a war."
I...guess I'm willing to believe that an 11-year-old can be a smart-enough writer to use words like 'bristled' and to know how to separate a line of dialogue like that (although she herself says on page 58, 'I don't really write that well'), but at the end of the day, that just feels like a novel. What's the point of the letter format?
So overall... there are some haunting messages and good research about the Vietnam War here, but the framing and character connections really didn't work for me.
wendyp's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
readerturnedwriter's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this one! I read it in two sittings and felt so invested in the characters.
I thought the letter format really enhanced the story. I loved Reenie's personality and that really came through in the way she wrote. I absolutely fell in love with her brother Billy, I think I have a new literary crush. I learned a lot on the history side of things and really loved the way the different aspects of the plot tied together.
I will say, Reenie very much felt like an 11 year old to me, very authentic. Because of some of the themes explored and the slower pace at times, I think this would be better for older middle grade readers.
I thought the letter format really enhanced the story. I loved Reenie's personality and that really came through in the way she wrote. I absolutely fell in love with her brother Billy, I think I have a new literary crush. I learned a lot on the history side of things and really loved the way the different aspects of the plot tied together.
I will say, Reenie very much felt like an 11 year old to me, very authentic. Because of some of the themes explored and the slower pace at times, I think this would be better for older middle grade readers.