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abbieday's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Infidelity, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
sarahflanders'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
3.5
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Dementia, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
hannahalane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Cancer, Dementia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Drug abuse, and Car accident
serendipitysbooks'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Dementia, and Car accident
Moderate: Cancer, Grief, and Death of parent
nickthebooktoker's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
Graphic: Dementia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Sexual violence, and Alcohol
mrsbennettreads's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying
onmalsshelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Pulled right from the synopsis, I would like to examine the following, a "riveting, deeply felt novel that examines the ties that bind families together."
I do not think Shapiro was successful in sharing the how exactly the secrets from one night shattered lives and bound a families together. The idea and the writing had a lot of potential, but it all fell flat for me.
Each story line and character felt unfinished and underdeveloped. There was no real examination of the ties that bound Ben, Theo, Mimi, and Sarah together, it was just jumbled timeline jumps.
We don't know what drove Theo to go off on his own or what drove Sarah in her actions in her marriage. We found out more about Waldo and his love for constellations and Waldo's dad than the all of the first characters we were introduced to.
Nothing was riveting (completely engrossing; compelling.), nothing. While this was a quick read, there was nothing that made me feel engrossed in the plot or with the characters. Shapiro spent more time developing the Shenkman family and not enough time developing the Wilfs, whom we were supposed to be examining.
Things that would've helped my reading experience:
- at least one chapter from Misty's POV
- less time with Waldo, more time with Theo and Sarah
-expansion on the why behind some actions from Theo, Sarah, and Ben
- more time spent with Mimi before her diagnosis
and who is Misty Zimmerman?
Well that's a secret Dani Shapiro will never tell.
xoxo, you know you love me
Mal
Graphic: Cancer, Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism
alaina'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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Grief, and Death of parent
julied's review
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, and Vomit
cc_shelflove's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism