jovienna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I picked this book up after a reading a novel I very much HATED. pretty much anything that I would read afterwards was golden in comparison because my standards had gone LOOOOOWWW.
I really liked the main character, Julia Powers, a 30 year old nurse living with her brother, Tim.
Spoiler
Tim is a WW1 veteran who was rendered mute after his time in the trenches —- and like .. damn … he’s not the same anymore 😭😭 he’ll never be the same anymore … he deserves the world omgJulia’s an incredibly resilient character, and that must come from her 8 years of nursing experience. The way she powers through and commits to her patients, putting them before herself —damn !! good for u girl
However, as many pandemic-themed works, The Pull Of The Stars lacks conflict. There is barely any tension apart from dangers of the Great Flu—including the romantic attraction between Julia and Bridie! Their dialogue feels natural, mind you, and I found myself completely immersed within scenes of action and high emotion, I found it hard to connect with the characters and their interactions because I didn’t feel like I was supposed to CARE about them.
The Pull Of The Stars was a great book, and I breezed through it within a matter of hours. But overall I felt like it had a lot of potential to go further in depth about certain characters and their relationships in the novel — particularly Tim! I simply feel like there’s so much about him that (for lack of a better word) goes unsaid. His role in the novel as a reminder of the toll that war has on those who fought was SO interesting to me especially because of how it demonstrated the impact that war had on soldiers when they returned home to their families to resume civilian life. And I would’ve loved if the book went further into that. Tim feels like a prop in some ways, just so that Julia can point and go ‘yes we are in a war and that is what happens in war he is an example that is it’ — perhaps it’d make for a more impactful read if there were flashback scenes to before the war, to contrast the past v present and portray a heartbreaking theme of trauma and loss experienced by the characters— both in the context of the pandemic and the first world war. Perhaps I’d feel more engaged with this book if it delved deeper into Julia and Tim’s respective backgrounds—Who were they, before the War? How did Julia react when her brother returned, unable to utter a single word? What can they do to move forward, in a time of drastic change and industrialisation, when their very lives were so shaken by a horrifying World War, followed by an even more brutal pandemic?
Overall, The Pull Of The Stars was an interesting read and I’ll definitely keep it on my list of rereads. I loved the scenes where Julia and Bridie were alone together to banter on their own, and I adored anything to do with Tim because I think he deserves the world. But the lack of conflict and feelings of urgency in this novel is definitely what made me drop this down from a 5 star rating.
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Religious bigotry
emmstuke's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Sexism, Child abuse, and Terminal illness
Minor: War
kodkod's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Medical content, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Drug use, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Vomit
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, and War
ladysanctuary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Death, Pregnancy, and Medical content
Moderate: Abandonment, Sexism, Classism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, and Medical trauma
Minor: War
archaicrobin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Historical fiction is always interesting to read and The Pull of The Stars grabbed me right away. The book describes the current state of Ireland and immerses you in Nurse Power’s life. There is a lot of medical content and it’s graphic at points, so if births or medical content makes you uncomfortable this one might be rough.
If you’re interested in historical fiction or want to read a strong feminist tale of how three women work together to save lives then read this one! I would highly recommend the audiobook as well. It was so hard to even put it down, I listened to it for 3 hours straight one day!
The only reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5, is the ending for this novel. I felt like it escalated very quickly and it was abrupt for me as a reader, since the novel seems to hold a study pace until that point. Despite the ending I still greatly enjoyed this book!
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, and Death
atrkula's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, Miscarriage, Sexism, and Terminal illness
lena04's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
Minor: Homophobia and Sexism
kmaron's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Sexism
kayleyhyde's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Medical content, Medical trauma, Blood, and Gore
Moderate: Sexism and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Vomit, Pedophilia, and Mental illness
sarah984's review
- 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? No
3.0
The last third was just too much for me though, way too soap opera-ish for me with all the romance and drama crammed into two days. After the weight of the rest of the book it felt kind of silly.
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Grief, Medical content, and Vomit
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Pedophilia, Sexism, Suicide, and Trafficking