Reviews tagging 'Pregnancy'

Everything After by Jill Santopolo

4 reviews

gummifrog's review

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

I'm typically a fan of Jill Santopolo's work, but this one wasn't as resonant for me.  I don't mind the pregnancy aspect of it - as a woman who deals with similar issues, I felt Emily's pain.  And honestly, the internal monologues were very emotionally impactful and deep.  As a former musician myself, I enjoyed the use of music and songwriting as an emotional outlet and reflection of the characters' states of mind.  Emily linking music with her trauma, and then finding it again as a trauma outlet, was very smart.

But on the other hand, every decision each character made just felt a bit unnatural or contrived for the point of the story.  Everyone in the story was so ok with the idea of the protagonist cheating or leaving her husband, even the friend on the outside!  And meanwhile, her husband is acting SO cartoonishly antagonistic, it was hard to believe that a man introduced to be so lovely would have acted the way he did.  There can be shades of grey in how people act, not everything needs to be a big dramatic outburst.

I try very hard to remain positive and not nitpick in book review but... this one just didn't sit so well with me.
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haleyreads1789's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

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insanelyfruity's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • 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

3.0

up until a little over halfway through the book, I couldn't get over how similar it was to the author's last book- The Light We Lost. if I wanted to read that book, I would've just reread it. that certainly disappointed me in the beginning because I'd come to expect a lot from the writer. but the second half of the book diverged from the path of that other book and felt different. had I not read The Light We Lost, I would have appreciated this book more, as the story was definitely very interesting and a very important one too. but it bored me in the beginning because of its similarities. however, the second half definitely redeemed the book for me. I loved the growth the characters showed and the risks they took and the choices they made. but I would have to say even though the pacing of the book was pretty slow, the story still felt a little rushed towards the end. I felt like that's when it started to get interesting. it could use a lot of the first half of the book being cut from the story. I didn't find myself very attached to any of the characters. but I wish the author the best with her new family. as a future doctor, certain parts were very inspiring and that is highly appreciated. 
maybe I'm not mature enough to appreciate this book to its full extent and a reread in a couple years may change my perspective. 


"Everything is always okay in the end, and if it's not okay, it just means it isn't the end."
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e_bick527's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

3.0

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