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kpearlman's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.5
835mphelps's review against another edition
5.0
Great book - so glad I picked it up! The intertwining story of 3 women was so well written and even though I was crying at the end - I'll remember this book for a long, long time. Thank you Claire - hope to see a sequel!
sjward92's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: War
Minor: Death, Islamophobia, Sexual harassment, and War
thereadingrunnner's review against another edition
3.0
I thought this book was ok, but not great. The story was enjoyable, but the whole time I felt like something was missing. For me, I felt it lacked emotion and depth. It was very surface level writing in my opinion, while the dialogue was minimal and what was there was not engaging. Quite honestly, I am fairly certain my first grader could have read this book (not for content but for word difficulty) - the writing was that simplistic. It just didn't dig deep on any issues and that bothered me. This novel would possibly be better suited to a teen reader but was just so-so for me.
ssilberman's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
4.5
maggiestraveledbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.5
๐ Beyond the Point
โ๐ป Claire Gibson
โ๏ธ Literary Fiction
Rating: โญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธโญ๏ธ๐ซ | 4.5
โ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฎ๐๐๐ง๐จ, ๐จ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐ง๐๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐ข๐ค๐ข๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ง ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐, ๐ฌ๐๐จ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐๐๐ง ๐ก๐๐๐. ๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ ๐๐ค๐ค๐ง๐ฌ๐๐ฎ. ๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐จ ๐จ๐ค๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐จ ๐จ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ค๐ช๐๐ ๐๐ฉ, ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ค๐ค๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐จ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐จ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐๐ง, ๐๐ก๐ค๐จ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐ค๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ข ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ค๐ง๐.โ
Wow, what an impactful and captivating book! This story is all about the power of women and friendship.
Overview:
โขHistorical Fiction (2000-2007)
โขWomen in the Military
โขImpact of Friendships
โขMultiple POVs
โขGrief and Loss
๐๐บ๐ถ๐ฑ๐๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ผ๐บ๐ถ๐ป๐ฎ๐ป๐๐น๐ ๐บ๐ฎ๐น๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด, ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐ป ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐ป๐ด ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ณ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐บ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ช๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐, ๐ฒ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐ป๐ถ๐พ๐๐ฒ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ๐. ๐ข๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ต/๐ญ๐ญ ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐๐ฟ๐, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ ๐น๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฎ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ฑ.
This story hit a personal note for me, as Iโm married to my West Point graduate.
(And for those who donโt know, West Point is the United States Military Academy. Itโs a rigorous college that combines coursework with army training.)
โ> โ๐ฝ๐ช๐ฉ ๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ, ๐ค๐ฃ๐ก๐ฎ 10 ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ฉ๐๐. ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ค๐จ๐, ๐ก๐๐จ๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฃ 15 ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ข๐๐ก๐.โ
Hannah, Dani, and Avery felt so real to me, like I was getting an up-close view of actual cadetsโ lives at West Point. It is an incredibly unique place, and the good, the bad, & the ugly were all portrayed perfectly here.
โ๐๐๐๐จ, ๐จ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ก๐๐๐ง๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐, ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐๐ค๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐จ ๐๐๐ก๐ก๐๐ โ๐ฉ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฉ๐ฌ๐คโ ๐๐ช๐ฃ. ๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐จ๐ฃโ๐ฉ ๐๐ช๐ฃ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ฉ; ๐๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐จ ๐๐ช๐ฃ ๐ก๐๐ฉ๐๐ง, ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฃ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช ๐๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐ก๐ค๐ค๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐๐ฉ.โ
The story alternates between the three POVs. They are all on the WP basketball team, but each woman has such an individual voice and story. Dani, the innate leader with hidden pain. Heather, the army legacy with unflappable loyalty. Avery, the supposed wild child who canโt stop running.
The author brought these women to life in such visceral, human ways. I related to all three, and I loved the reflective tone in which the narrative was told.
โ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉโ๐จ ๐ฌ๐๐๐ฉ ๐ข๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ข๐๐ข๐ค๐ง๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐ค๐ฌ๐๐ง๐๐ช๐ก. ๐๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฃ๐๐, ๐๐ช๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ฉ ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ฃ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐จ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐ฎ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐.โ
The theme of friendship is the heart of this book. We watched the women navigate West Point hardships as they dealt with their internal struggles, but the shining point was how their bond evolved and withstood tremendous weight.
โ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐๐๐ก๐ฅ๐จ. ๐๐ค ๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ฃ๐ฉ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ค ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐๐ก๐ฅ.โ
I donโt want to spoil anything, but I will say thereโs a great deal of grief in this book. Because of the authorโs commitment to portraying such a heartbreaking situation with integrity, the raw emotion and grief journey in this story was perfect.
โ๐๐ค๐ข๐๐ฉ๐๐ข๐๐จ ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐จ ๐ฌ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ช๐ง ๐ค๐ฌ๐ฃ ๐ข๐๐ฃ๐๐จ. ๐ผ๐ฃ๐ ๐๐ค๐ง ๐ฉ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ญ๐ฉ ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ฎ๐จ, [๐จ๐๐] ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐. ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ง๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐ค ๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ข๐๐๐ง ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ ๐ฉ๐๐๐ฎ ๐จ๐๐๐ ๐ฉ๐๐๐จ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ช๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐ก ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐ค๐ง๐ฉ๐ ๐๐ฉ.โ
(Some other reviewers believe that this should be classified as Christian Fiction, but I respectfully disagree. While one of the characters refers to her faith frequently, I donโt believe thatโs the predominant message here. Itโs just one piece of a complex story.)
Also, I loved the section at the very end of the book that showcases the authorโs interviews with a few actual West Point women.
This book made me want to call my friends and just be a better friend in general.
It also made me want to hug my Army husband and gather our military friends in one place so that I can just spend some precious time with some of my favorite humans.
Overall, I recommend this book to anyone who loves reading about strong women and enduring friendships.
โจ Read via Libby โจ
booksrachelreads's review against another edition
5.0
โBut our joy does not depend on that dream coming true. No matter what happens, we of all people can afford to live fully unafraid because we know these breakable bodies house unbreakable souls.โ This book wrecked me. Havenโt cried that hard reading a book in a long time. Beautiful, beautiful portrayal of true friendship and loyalty paired with a raw and honest portrayal of true grief and loss