sonjaelisee's review
slow-paced
2.0
Put me in a 3 month reading slump. I enjoyed reading about the buses and the transit system (because I work in transit) and any of the sections about the relationship between the bus drivers and her sister or about their childhood. Other than that, this book did not do it for me. It felt like the author constantly wanted to be rewarded for realizing her sister is a human being with a life and/or being kind and understanding towards her. I get that it was probably progressive in 2003 but 20 years later... not so much.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Racism and Domestic abuse
kjbrown92's review
5.0
Poignant book about self awareness and family relationships. Very eye opening.
halfcentreader's review
4.0
This book gave me insight into Mental Retardation that I did not previously possess. The author helped me realize that Beth was a combination of her experiences and MR. I was also relieved to find that it is normal to be frustrated sometimes with MR so long as you acknowledge it and not hold it against someone. I kind of want to see the movie now and wonder if Rosie O'Donnell does a good job of portraying Beth. I also am wondering what city in PA this is taking place in? Somewhere near AMish but somehow I don't think Lancaster. Maybe Scranton?
mc_s53's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
stephonashelf's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
rachel_abby_reads's review
4.0
Rachel Simon agrees to spend time for a year, riding with her sister with developmental disabilities on the buses in her unnamed Pennsylvania town.
This book is part biography, part confession/soul baring, part advocacy for civil rights awareness for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
I liked it; I appreciated her honesty about the frustrations and fears of having a family member with a condition that impairs their abilities to function as a "normal" person in society.
I won't go into it all here; I'm deeply glad I read it!
This book is part biography, part confession/soul baring, part advocacy for civil rights awareness for people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities.
I liked it; I appreciated her honesty about the frustrations and fears of having a family member with a condition that impairs their abilities to function as a "normal" person in society.
I won't go into it all here; I'm deeply glad I read it!
shamuwilson2's review
1.0
1.5/5 - there was a goodreads review for this book I saw that read, “I WANT TO GET OFF THE BUS” and I think that so accurately sums up my thoughts. This book was so incredibly BORING and self-righteous.
This book is a “memoir” written by the author after she spends a year riding the bus with her differently abled younger sister. Why was this book a complete waste of time? Let me tell you.
First off, every single chapter is the exact same. The author and her sister will get on a new bus. The bus driver will spew some sweeping philosophical advice about his or her life. Her sister will do something that annoys her. The author will think “am I a bad sister for resenting her? I should adopt the mindset of [insert bus driver of that chapter].” and then we rinse and repeat like, 12 more times. I honestly found it hard to believe that these were real conversations that even happened.
Second, there is no point to any of this. What was the character growth arc? That the author finally learns to treat her sister like her own person and not as a burden or object? Do you want a trophy for this? I don’t understand how this attitude is laudable. The other main takeaway the author has from this experience was to learn how to “open her heart” to men again and focus less on work. Like, ok? I don’t think that warrants a whole book.
I think if this 300 page book were consolidated into, say, a long-form essay, it could have been good. There was absolutely no need for it to drag on this long. The only reasons I didn’t just abandon this book partway through are (1) I wanted to be able to give it a scathing review on goodreads for the hours of my life it stole from me and (2) because this was the surprise book that my dear friend Stacey sent me in a book exchange (sorry Stace when you see this! I still adore you!)
The extra 0.5 stars comes from the fact that the sections where the author writes about her childhood and relationship with her parents are actually pretty interesting. Her childhood would have been a MUCH more interesting memoir, honestly. There were a LOT of super traumatic and major life events that were just…mentioned? and glossed over? Like, lady, that should have been your whole book.
Anyways, I really didn’t like this book. It basically CREATED my current reading slump. Don’t recommend it.
This book is a “memoir” written by the author after she spends a year riding the bus with her differently abled younger sister. Why was this book a complete waste of time? Let me tell you.
First off, every single chapter is the exact same. The author and her sister will get on a new bus. The bus driver will spew some sweeping philosophical advice about his or her life. Her sister will do something that annoys her. The author will think “am I a bad sister for resenting her? I should adopt the mindset of [insert bus driver of that chapter].” and then we rinse and repeat like, 12 more times. I honestly found it hard to believe that these were real conversations that even happened.
Second, there is no point to any of this. What was the character growth arc? That the author finally learns to treat her sister like her own person and not as a burden or object? Do you want a trophy for this? I don’t understand how this attitude is laudable. The other main takeaway the author has from this experience was to learn how to “open her heart” to men again and focus less on work. Like, ok? I don’t think that warrants a whole book.
I think if this 300 page book were consolidated into, say, a long-form essay, it could have been good. There was absolutely no need for it to drag on this long. The only reasons I didn’t just abandon this book partway through are (1) I wanted to be able to give it a scathing review on goodreads for the hours of my life it stole from me and (2) because this was the surprise book that my dear friend Stacey sent me in a book exchange (sorry Stace when you see this! I still adore you!)
The extra 0.5 stars comes from the fact that the sections where the author writes about her childhood and relationship with her parents are actually pretty interesting. Her childhood would have been a MUCH more interesting memoir, honestly. There were a LOT of super traumatic and major life events that were just…mentioned? and glossed over? Like, lady, that should have been your whole book.
Anyways, I really didn’t like this book. It basically CREATED my current reading slump. Don’t recommend it.
settingshadow's review
4.0
I work with people with intellectual disability pretty much all day every day. By doing so, I've learned that there's a the range of people and personalities among those with ID is no smaller than that in the typical population. However, in the public conscious and most media, people with ID are children, or the object of Important Lessons, or benevolent figureheads. So I found Rachel Simon's memoir about the time she spent with her sister Beth, an adult with ID, a beautiful and nuanced story. Beth is passionate about buses, bull-headed, hates racism, is man-crazy and matter-of-fact. And Rachel pulls no punches, being completely transparent with the reader about Beth's peaks and valleys and about Rachel's own flaws in her ability to deal with Beth patiently. I really appreciated Rachel's honesty about her worries, frustrations and impatience with Rachel -- I think it's important to share our dark times.
The book is organized into 12 months, each of which has a chapter about Beth and the bus, a chapter about Rachel's introspections and a chapter about their past. The middle of these was by far the weakest, and felt kind of shoehorned in. Examples include one and a half pages about person-first language. A personal revelation that she should make more friends and becomes the Giver of Wisdom to the bus drivers, over two pages. Beth is really the life of the book. But I think this was overall a touchingly sincere book about a rarely discussed topic.
The book is organized into 12 months, each of which has a chapter about Beth and the bus, a chapter about Rachel's introspections and a chapter about their past. The middle of these was by far the weakest, and felt kind of shoehorned in. Examples include one and a half pages about person-first language. A personal revelation that she should make more friends and becomes the Giver of Wisdom to the bus drivers, over two pages. Beth is really the life of the book. But I think this was overall a touchingly sincere book about a rarely discussed topic.