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nasalle2842's review against another edition
3.0
I had to DNF this at Ch. 11 aka 32% aka page 192 of an ebook. Typically I give books 100 pages before I DNF but I really wanted to push through with this one and I knew that this author is well-loved.
Our protagonist, 7 year old Elsa is feisty and bold, her relationship with her grandmother is charming and adventurous, her strained relationship with her mother is gripping. You get a great sense of who each character is through the eyes of a 7 year old - you see the innocence, the flaws, and the depth. That being said, the characters and relationships are great, the plot is great, but the writing itself was too expository for me and I honestly did not care what happened to the characters. I’m not blind to the fact that the English version is translated and maybe some magic was lost in translation, but I don’t wish to finish this book. Not saying it’s a bad book or the writing is BAD, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
Our protagonist, 7 year old Elsa is feisty and bold, her relationship with her grandmother is charming and adventurous, her strained relationship with her mother is gripping. You get a great sense of who each character is through the eyes of a 7 year old - you see the innocence, the flaws, and the depth. That being said, the characters and relationships are great, the plot is great, but the writing itself was too expository for me and I honestly did not care what happened to the characters. I’m not blind to the fact that the English version is translated and maybe some magic was lost in translation, but I don’t wish to finish this book. Not saying it’s a bad book or the writing is BAD, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
rowanwells's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
sarahetc's review against another edition
4.0
This book was so charming and heart-wrenching. At the same time, it annoyed the fire out of me.
Elsa is not just any almost 8 year old. She's precocious (to a degree that more than once made me want to pop her), but she's also completely oblivious. I can't tell if this is the mark of a very well done character or if Backman just needed her to be in order to advance a fairly complicated plot. Elsa lives with her mother and her mother's husband and occasionally sees her father and his new wife. Elsa's whole world, though, is Granny.
Elsa and Granny are thick as theives and more often than not, in trouble. Granny is wild and encourages wildness in Elsa, which makes her even less like the rest of the almost 8 year olds. They live together in The Land of Almost Awake, until one evening they fall asleep together, dreaming of adventure, and only Elsa wakes up.
From there, Elsa must complete their biggest adventure yet-- to tell all the people in Granny and Elsa's shared world that Granny is sorry. And by doing so, will learn what an incredible impact her grandmother had on the world around her.
I had no preconceived notions going in. But then a friend seemed to think I needed to love it, which made me wary. I realized about three-quarters of the way through that I was guarding myself against the book. I was my grandma's favorite. And we had adventures. And although I was grown with a family of my own by the time she passed, I was jealous of Elsa for getting to spend the time that she did. And I was on guard against all the pain in Leaseholder's Association, because the well-drawn characters and the real pain were overwhelming.
Recommended with sides of tissues and bandages.
Elsa is not just any almost 8 year old. She's precocious (to a degree that more than once made me want to pop her), but she's also completely oblivious. I can't tell if this is the mark of a very well done character or if Backman just needed her to be in order to advance a fairly complicated plot. Elsa lives with her mother and her mother's husband and occasionally sees her father and his new wife. Elsa's whole world, though, is Granny.
Elsa and Granny are thick as theives and more often than not, in trouble. Granny is wild and encourages wildness in Elsa, which makes her even less like the rest of the almost 8 year olds. They live together in The Land of Almost Awake, until one evening they fall asleep together, dreaming of adventure, and only Elsa wakes up.
From there, Elsa must complete their biggest adventure yet-- to tell all the people in Granny and Elsa's shared world that Granny is sorry. And by doing so, will learn what an incredible impact her grandmother had on the world around her.
I had no preconceived notions going in. But then a friend seemed to think I needed to love it, which made me wary. I realized about three-quarters of the way through that I was guarding myself against the book. I was my grandma's favorite. And we had adventures. And although I was grown with a family of my own by the time she passed, I was jealous of Elsa for getting to spend the time that she did. And I was on guard against all the pain in Leaseholder's Association, because the well-drawn characters and the real pain were overwhelming.
Recommended with sides of tissues and bandages.
mo_mckeown's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
farate's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
3.75
I hated this book until I was 80% done with it. Loved the writing as I always do with Frederik Backman but I couldn't get into the story. Glad I stuck with it.
hmwolf2017's review against another edition
5.0
I think everything by this author may be special. I cried and laughed and grew with the characters throughout this story. Everyone deserves someone in their life that makes things fun and fights for them.
_carpelibrum's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
tense
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
biniii's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
meagan_young's review against another edition
5.0
I am so glad I stuck out this book. I had put it down before, and just picked it back up again. As a fan of A Man Called Ove, and with all the great reviews this book had gotten, I was very interested in trying it. I have to say though, it took a while to get into. The fairy stories were almost too much for me at the beginning, I kind of wanted to skip those sections until I realized there were so many of them and they might be more important than just filler from an “almost-eight year old” mind.
It took about 100 pages before I got into the story. But after that, I LOVED it. The people, the relationships, the healing, it was all beautiful. The last 100 pages were just wonderful. You will close this book feeling so satisfied.
It took about 100 pages before I got into the story. But after that, I LOVED it. The people, the relationships, the healing, it was all beautiful. The last 100 pages were just wonderful. You will close this book feeling so satisfied.
epl's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.25