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readlovegrow's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
makaylabrown's review against another edition
3.0
it’s just okay, i hadn’t really clicked with this and it felt like i was just reading to finish it rather than enjoy it
josefina_na's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Suicide, and Blood
Moderate: Child abuse and Violence
novelvisits's review against another edition
5.0
{My Thoughts}
I love well written stories of friendships formed at a young age that go on to survive the test of time, even as they change and grow. The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer and The Ensemble by Aja Gabel (my review) are two that immediately come to mind, but there have been many more. Now, The Other’s Gold by Elizabeth Ames joins that list.
Alice, Margaret, Ji Sun, and Lainey meet in 2002 when purely by chance all are assigned to the same suite at the start of their freshmen year at Quincy-Hawthorne College. The four very different girls have an immediate connection and intense loyalty that never really waivers.
“But that night, outside the confines of their common room, there were no others. They considered only their roommates, and each one fell asleep to find the other three already waiting in her dreams.”
Even after college as they scatter and chase different careers the four work at staying in touch, supporting each other, and finding ways to spend time together, but The Other’s Gold is much more than the simple tale of friendship I’ve described so far.
The four sections in Ames’ debut each center around “the” big mistake in each woman’s life. The first happened long before the four met at Quincy-Hawthorne and the last long after they left. Some mistakes were bigger than others, some harder to understand, some more challenging to forgive, but what shone for me was that these women supported each other even when disappointed and even hurt by the actions of their friends.
“That’s who they were to one another – the ones willing to reach without dwelling on the risk. The ones who would enter the room when it reeked of despair. The ones who would not turn away.”
I flew through The Other’s Gold, enjoying both the story and the writing. Ames went places with her characters that were both usual and completely unexpected, always keeping me wanting more. The last section got a little repetitive and might have been more tightly edited, but that was the book’s only minor flaw. My reading this summer has been stellar and The Other’s Gold continues the trend!
For more reviews and bookish news: https://novelvisits.com/
I love well written stories of friendships formed at a young age that go on to survive the test of time, even as they change and grow. The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer and The Ensemble by Aja Gabel (my review) are two that immediately come to mind, but there have been many more. Now, The Other’s Gold by Elizabeth Ames joins that list.
Alice, Margaret, Ji Sun, and Lainey meet in 2002 when purely by chance all are assigned to the same suite at the start of their freshmen year at Quincy-Hawthorne College. The four very different girls have an immediate connection and intense loyalty that never really waivers.
“But that night, outside the confines of their common room, there were no others. They considered only their roommates, and each one fell asleep to find the other three already waiting in her dreams.”
Even after college as they scatter and chase different careers the four work at staying in touch, supporting each other, and finding ways to spend time together, but The Other’s Gold is much more than the simple tale of friendship I’ve described so far.
The four sections in Ames’ debut each center around “the” big mistake in each woman’s life. The first happened long before the four met at Quincy-Hawthorne and the last long after they left. Some mistakes were bigger than others, some harder to understand, some more challenging to forgive, but what shone for me was that these women supported each other even when disappointed and even hurt by the actions of their friends.
“That’s who they were to one another – the ones willing to reach without dwelling on the risk. The ones who would enter the room when it reeked of despair. The ones who would not turn away.”
I flew through The Other’s Gold, enjoying both the story and the writing. Ames went places with her characters that were both usual and completely unexpected, always keeping me wanting more. The last section got a little repetitive and might have been more tightly edited, but that was the book’s only minor flaw. My reading this summer has been stellar and The Other’s Gold continues the trend!
For more reviews and bookish news: https://novelvisits.com/
jillthebaker's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.5
britnei's review against another edition
zero stars!!!!!!! literally zero!!!!!
i dnf’d this book like 100 pages in… bc i was bored and it felt so slow and like nothing was happening. and then i read some reviews to see if anyone felt similar. and the reviews were shocking?? i thought surely there’s no way… so i went back and skimmed those parts to see if they were actually as bad as the reviews say and they’re worse???? like !!!! excuse me??? these characters are fucking horrible.
margaret literally makes out with a 13 year old boy while she’s 27 (right after getting married no less???) and then claims she was transported back in time. like she was 13 too when it was happening… like babes what??
and ji sun pretending she was assaulted by a professor… he was trash and guilty of assaulting other students but she was going insane trying to get info on the girls he assaulted bc she didn’t want to believe he was a bad person. and then made one of the girls assume ji sun had been assaulted by him too and she just … didn’t correct her ???
alice struggles with infertility and was obsessed with getting pregnant. she was insufferable and couldn’t be happy for anyone else she knew who happened to get pregnant including her supposed best friends and was so ??? about it idk
and then lainey???? she bit her baby!!!! like actually bit her baby girl’s cheek and then was institutionalized except CPS was never called bc she “seemed stable” and they brushed it off and told everyone that the baby was bit by a dog at the park?? instead of by her actual mother?? and she was only institutionalized for like two or three days and then suddenly it was fine …. even though she’d bitten herself while in the hospital and then was released the same night?? that is not sane!!! take that child away from her!!!!!
and not to mention that ji sun and lainey’s husband are hooking up in the motel while lainey is literally in the institution for biting her kid!!! like excuse me what???
these are all horrible people that never grew up and absolutely cannot cope. they act so high and mighty and judge anyone and everyone for being problematic until they’re faced with real life problems themselves… like their adult friend kissing a 13 year old boy?? and they just brush it off… don’t tell anyone… like she should be in jail!!!!!! put all of them in jail!!!! all of this under the guise of “female friendship and connection despite troubles and mistakes throughout adulthood” like babe… these are not tiny mistakes or errors… i cannot. truly. this is the worst book i’ve ever tried to read
curlypip's review against another edition
2.0
This one has been on my want to read list for quite some time, but I was disappointed by it.
I didn’t really connect to any of the characters, and felt their stories were missing something - they never felt genuine, I couldn’t imagine myself in their positions, and honestly sometimes I thought I’d skipped a chapter because the narrative was all over the place.
A shame because I wanted to love it, but couldn’t
I didn’t really connect to any of the characters, and felt their stories were missing something - they never felt genuine, I couldn’t imagine myself in their positions, and honestly sometimes I thought I’d skipped a chapter because the narrative was all over the place.
A shame because I wanted to love it, but couldn’t
ebeth_m'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? Yes
4.5