Reviews tagging 'Deportation'

Everyone Knows You Go Home by Natalia Sylvester

4 reviews

waterbear0821's review

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book isn’t perfect, but I did stay up  until 1am binge reading it in one sitting, and that’s worth something. It’s a compelling story about family, immigration, trauma, and a sprinkling of magical realism. The climax and denouement were a bit of a chaotic tumble and that felt like a bit of a let down after weaving these intricate family stories, but there’s a dose of realism there, too. It doesn’t tie up too neatly because life isn’t neat. Still, though, I was all set to be invested in a gut-wrenching finale and it felt just a little meh. Overall, though, I did really enjoy it. The characters are a bit complicated but still endearing. The story is steeped in political morality but it’s generally well executed and not too cliche. A lucky find at the library, I’m glad I picked it up! 
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znvisser's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was a beautiful story, even though the blurb somehow didn’t really prepare me for what came. I mostly enjoyed the middle part of the book. It took me a while to get into the story because I didn’t pick up on the timelines and characters right away and I mostly didn’t care for Isabel and her attitude towards Claudia in the present day timeline. The middle part really develops though,  there are many side issues but they create parallels with the story so it is all connected in a really smart way. It’s also the part of the story where you really get to understand the characters better and what that means for the way they form a family. The last few chapters the author felt the need to tightly wrap up all loose issues and though I understand how they contributed to the message, I could’ve done with less explicitly and at least *some* unanswered questions left out there. Nevertheless, happy to have read and reflected on this.
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imstephtacular's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

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starsnotshadows's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Initially gave 5 stars, knocked down to 4.5 after a little reflection. I really enjoyed this book, but I think I was hoping for a little more definition/development of some characters. I know there's only so much room for this, but the main character, Isabel, I feel like could have been stronger at least. Again, great book and a great main character, but sometimes it felt like she was just a vessel for the story. 

Apart from that, this book hooked me in from the first line and kept me going until I was too tired to read. It broke my heart, but still gave me hope somehow! Will be looking for other books from Natalia Sylvester! 
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