lynssss's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
This story is an engrossing one that reads more like magical realism than contemporary fiction. I would best describe it as a modernized American fairy tale or folk legend. "What if your cleaning lady was the Virgin Mary?" If you will. While the cast of characters are diverse and the topics and themes the book touches on are interesting to dive into, at the end of the day it seems to answer these questions with moral platitudes and wrap it up with a pretty bow. I also thought it was odd that the book didn't really discuss how taboo mental illness was at that time despite alluding to it several times. Maybe in that sense it stayed very on theme by not mentioning it. At the end i did rush to finish it because I wanted to see how things would all turn out for everyone that we don't really get to know all that deeply but at the end you are left with an anticlimactic and somewhat vague ending. I don't feel that any of the characters did grow at the end of the book, or if they did, it's because they are magically converted to Mia-ism through their past contact with her and her quiet sermons she passes on to them. On the other hand I'm interested to look into the show and see if there is any differences in the adaptation. 3.25/5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Abortion, and Infertility
Moderate: Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Mental illness
Minor: Violence
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