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hayleyressler's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-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
4.5
Loved.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and War
james1star's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Read this for my Bookish World Cup (video link: https://youtu.be/hV87o_hJqKI?si=lsQjjW_YXGSWreM-) but if not I’d definitely of DNFd this book.
I don’t think the story or character are anything particularly bad but the writing’s extremely dense and overwritten. We follow soon-to-be-eight year old Elsa via a third person perspective and her relationship with her wacky granny. Their bond is so strong and clearly important for Elsa given an up-and-down family life and bullying in school, he grandmother tells her stories which were nice to start. Not long into the book, we find out granny has cancer and sadly dies but not before instrumenting an adventure for Elsa embark on. Via letters to other characters in the real world, she gets to understand the past lives of her granny and I would say the piecing together of the story was certainly the best part of this book. It was a rewarding reading experience to some extent but…
…It is just so dense that on the whole I was left very unfulfilled and slightly irritated after finishing this. So much of the book is filled with repetition after repetition of the same messages, names, and in many ways mini plot twists/turns that after a while you do see coming. Backman goes on far too many tangents including mountains of unnecessary detail and storytelling that was okay to start but became extremely monotonous as the book went on. I had a similar issue in reading ‘A Man Called Ove’ but at least in that we were following characters that I cared for (take a moment of appreciation for Sonja) and it wasn’t that bad. But here… ugh I dunno I didn’t find a lot of what occurred all that realistic and I feel the formatting took me out of the story. This could’ve been helped had Backman chose first person POV from Elsa but then again I don’t think he truly grappled with a child’s understanding all that well.
Overall, this was fine. I liked how things fitted into place but was certainly overwritten. Not the best from Backman.
Note: no chocolate for dogs! Or much else they give them tbh.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and War
fkshg8465's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
The only reason I finished this book was because I was foolishly convinced it would get better, and only because it was written by Frederik Backman. I don’t love the protagonist, which is terrible cuz she’s a child and I believe all children should be loved. I was constantly distracted by Britt-Marie because I kept wondering if she is the same character from Britt-Marie was Here (like did she get a new job in between books???). And there were other issues. I’ll stick to his books with characters who are at least in high school.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
bookishoptimist's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-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? It's complicated
4.75
I really enjoyed this book more than expected. A journey through the loss of a loved one with a unique twist.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse
corriejn's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
A sweet and charming story of loss, friendship, imagination, trauma, and family.
The last book I'd read by this author was "Beartown" and this one is wildly different, which speaks to his versatility.
The last book I'd read by this author was "Beartown" and this one is wildly different, which speaks to his versatility.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Violence, and War
Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, and Sexism
cassie7e's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.0
I didn't love this book and I'm not totally sure what I didn't like about it. It seemed to try to make up for the dark parts with sweetness that came across as saccharine instead. I did appreciate how the fairytales and real world stories interwove.
Since I've soured on JKR the constant references to Harry Potter don't feel quite so whimsical and heartwarming.
Since I've soured on JKR the constant references to Harry Potter don't feel quite so whimsical and heartwarming.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, Excrement, and Stalking
missknown's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-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
5.0
The sweetest book I've ever read. Told from the perspective of a almost 8 year old girl, Elsa, who just lost her grandmother and best friend, and now as to learn how to deal with all her emotions. The narrator takes the simple view of the world from a child perspective to tell a Christmas tale of loss, love, friendship, and above all else the power of imagination.
Most of the characters, if not all, can be frightening, challenging or straight obnoxious. Although the author manages to transform those same characters into likable people. Explores their past and stories, making them more human, making the reader see they are in fact good people that occasionally do shitty things.
Despite the harshness of some stories and the topics it explores, like grief, the book is very humorous. The light-hearted view of the world from Elsa's perspective and the chaotic energy of Elsa's grandmother, there is plenty of funny moments to break an otherwise very melancholic narrative.
Most of the characters, if not all, can be frightening, challenging or straight obnoxious. Although the author manages to transform those same characters into likable people. Explores their past and stories, making them more human, making the reader see they are in fact good people that occasionally do shitty things.
Despite the harshness of some stories and the topics it explores, like grief, the book is very humorous. The light-hearted view of the world from Elsa's perspective and the chaotic energy of Elsa's grandmother, there is plenty of funny moments to break an otherwise very melancholic narrative.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Grief, and War
qiqiwooo'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoyed this book overall, the characters are extremely loveable and it’s wonderful to see how they change as the book progresses. I feel like this book talked about many more serious topics than I first expected? I finished it in 2 sittings ~3 and a half hours altogether
I think the further I read the more I grew to love the other characters and the more I grew to dislike the main character ?? She gets frustrating and also doesn’t seem to fit her age of 7 (nearly 8) years old (elsa stop feeding chocolate to the “dog” and referring to your neighbour as “the monster”)
Also the aimless referencing to “miasma” got really confusing after a while and I felt like I couldn’t really tell what was really happening?? It made it harder to read and made me go “oh huh ??” a bunch of times
Anyways, it was a good experience and whilst I dont regret reading it the ending felt well, not very ended?? Which I dont tend to enjoy greatly, especially since a lot of the characters are kind of left with issues that I wish were explored more
a good example being w/ wolfheart someone please help the poor boy what ?? is he just going to be left with his definetely unhealthy obsessive compulsions whatt
also as relationships are explored in the stories I wish there were more experiences actually between the characters ?? I love alf
I think the further I read the more I grew to love the other characters and the more I grew to dislike the main character ?? She gets frustrating and also doesn’t seem to fit her age of 7 (nearly 8) years old (elsa stop feeding chocolate to the “dog” and referring to your neighbour as “the monster”)
Also the aimless referencing to “miasma” got really confusing after a while and I felt like I couldn’t really tell what was really happening?? It made it harder to read and made me go “oh huh ??” a bunch of times
Anyways, it was a good experience and whilst I dont regret reading it the ending felt well, not very ended?? Which I dont tend to enjoy greatly, especially since a lot of the characters are kind of left with issues that I wish were explored more
also as relationships are explored in the stories I wish there were more experiences actually between the characters ?? I love alf
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Cancer and Violence
Minor: Drug abuse
madisonfrank's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
marija2510's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse