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sadiebroussard's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I don’t particularly like this book but at the same time, I think it is well written and beautiful at times. I don’t usually give .5 in my reviews - 3 for books I don’t like and 4 for books I do. This one gets a 3.5.
This novel just isn’t for me. I’m not a mother and will never be in this lifetime. The story, at its core, is about motherhood. I understand the many themes of motherhood in the book and can sympathize with Grace. However, I can’t relate to her or empathize with her pain.
This novel is dark. Grace is in a lot of pain for most of the novel. I feel like I was baited and then switched. This is not a funny, light-hearted read like it is advertised to be. The story deals with some very heavy and serious topics. I didn’t laugh reading this book, I cried. It was heart-wrenching and I found it to be very depressing.
That being said, the novel is very well written. The plot device of flipping back and forth from the past and present worked really well. It felt like a mystery for 75% of the story. It was fun, I tried to figure out why people acted in certain ways and did certain things. The descriptive language throughout the book was beautiful at times and always made me feel like I was right there with Grace the entire time. It was like watching a movie.
This novel just isn’t for me. I’m not a mother and will never be in this lifetime. The story, at its core, is about motherhood. I understand the many themes of motherhood in the book and can sympathize with Grace. However, I can’t relate to her or empathize with her pain.
This novel is dark. Grace is in a lot of pain for most of the novel. I feel like I was baited and then switched. This is not a funny, light-hearted read like it is advertised to be. The story deals with some very heavy and serious topics. I didn’t laugh reading this book, I cried. It was heart-wrenching and I found it to be very depressing.
That being said, the novel is very well written. The plot device of flipping back and forth from the past and present worked really well. It felt like a mystery for 75% of the story. It was fun, I tried to figure out why people acted in certain ways and did certain things. The descriptive language throughout the book was beautiful at times and always made me feel like I was right there with Grace the entire time. It was like watching a movie.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Sexual assault, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Infidelity and Death of parent
Minor: Body shaming, Mental illness, and Police brutality
kshertz's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This was a tough read but I believe that that is because it is so real and honest. It’s definitely very reflective of a tough life lived. There is a lot of admiration for Grace and what she’s been through but you’re very confused throughout the book because it’s only giving you half of the story. When you finally realize why Grace and Ben could not make the relationship work and why Grace is such a mess it all makes sense. But I feel like you spent way too much of the book not understanding Grace and hating her as a character so that when she’s finally redeemed and you understand her, you’re upset it took this long to understand her. I think a reveal earlier about her life would’ve been helpful for me to read this hire. I think people who are interested in really gritty hard life stories would enjoy this even though it’s fiction. For me it was a little bit too real!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Grief, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
prairieraven's review
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Wish this book came with reader warnings for trauma responses (which start to happen part way through the book) starts out a bit fun, but as time goes on the story becomes wildly unhinged, and switches from amusing to beyond heartbreaking.
Not sure of this story affected me more because I'm a parent of children/some now adults, or because I have my own traumas and mental health issues. The main characters are all flawed like real people and make the best and worst decisions like we all do.
I read this all in one sitting, started at 11pm and finished at 2 am. The storyline hooks start early with this one and pull all the way through. Heartbreaking all the way through to the end.
Not sure of this story affected me more because I'm a parent of children/some now adults, or because I have my own traumas and mental health issues. The main characters are all flawed like real people and make the best and worst decisions like we all do.
I read this all in one sitting, started at 11pm and finished at 2 am. The storyline hooks start early with this one and pull all the way through. Heartbreaking all the way through to the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
rachelsbookishlife's review
1.0
** spoiler alert ** This book took me 4 days to finish. I generally read a book in 1 to 2 days. I had no desire to continue picking this up, and usually i would DNF, but i made a promise to see it through. And that i did. So this 1 star comes scathing from my computer so i can rant to you all about how terrible Grace is. This book is everything but the kitchen sink, there is absolutely way too much going on. Grace is not redeemable, even with her tragedies. Grace is a miserable human being, as well as everyone around her. Her husband betrays her, her daughter is worst than an angsty teen. I don't think there was a good discussion on women's bodies as there was a constant focus on Grace's body and the discussion around the grooming from her daughter's teacher was also just poorly done. The author wanted to put so much stuff in that everything was only mildly touched on, instead of picking 1 or 2 big topics and really making sure they talked about the detriment of those topics. I did not like that she didn't want kids, but instead got pregnant and changed her mind. So you know just like everyone in society says. Not only that she then goes on to just not be a good mom. She slaps her daughter, she has weird thoughts about her body, she stops being a mom for 5 weeks and then just comes back and everything is supposed to be normal. Not to mention her current day timeline where she beats the crap out of a car because SHE HAS TO BRING HER DAUGHTER A CAKE! insert confused face meme here... But of course it's because she is Perimenopausal... because you know women and their hysteria and all.
The only thing i will give her is that she reported her daughter's teacher for being a POS.
The flow was clunky, the chapters confusing. It has 3 perspectives, 2 of them are past timelines - 1 is 4 months before and after and the other is 2002 and after, and it has a current day timeline. All 3 timelines are frantic and baffling, as they have flashbacks that come without warning. The current day timeline is all in the place of 1 day, which just adds to the chaos of this book. In the end, this book is nothing like Where'd You Go Bernadette, or Ove or Brit Marie or any other quirky character that isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Grace was insufferable and i will not change my mind.
The only thing i will give her is that she reported her daughter's teacher for being a POS.
The flow was clunky, the chapters confusing. It has 3 perspectives, 2 of them are past timelines - 1 is 4 months before and after and the other is 2002 and after, and it has a current day timeline. All 3 timelines are frantic and baffling, as they have flashbacks that come without warning. The current day timeline is all in the place of 1 day, which just adds to the chaos of this book. In the end, this book is nothing like Where'd You Go Bernadette, or Ove or Brit Marie or any other quirky character that isn't all sunshine and rainbows. Grace was insufferable and i will not change my mind.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Fatphobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
staylorreads's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Grief
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Minor: Body shaming
simplystef's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, and Pregnancy
fkshg8465's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Rounding up to a four. The books starts out in a way I’m thinking is going to be cute. It’s anything but. It’s arduous, and I was annoyed for a big part of it because it seemed like everything was being dragged out too slowly between the three timelines. But when everything was finally revealed, I realized it needed to take all this time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Car accident, Death of parent, and Abandonment
laheath's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.0
This book was not what I expected, but so much more! It rotates among three time periods, 20+ years ago when Grace met her husband, 4 months ago when her life really took a downward turn, and present time when Grace is simply trying to get a cake to her daughter's 16th birthday party. Surprisingly, it wasn't difficult at all to keep up with the different time periods. It began as a familiar story of a middle-aged, perimenopausal woman who decided she was fed up with the everyday nuisances of her life, i.e., the things women are expected to put up with, and instead was going to take action rather than tolerate them anymore. There are several funny anecdotes about her standing up for herself, but as the story continues, it becomes more serious, and heartbreaking in ways that any mother could imagine. She learns more about herself and her family, and how she could have handled things differently without taking the blame for everything. As other reviews have mentioned, it did seem like the author tried to put a lot of issues into one story, but at the same time, combined with the flashbacks to the other time periods, they actually worked to explain Grace's situation. Wonderful debut and great cover!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Grief
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
Minor: Body shaming and Sexual content
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