sbdabbit's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
abeth_parker's review against another edition
3.0
I have to say I liked this book more than I thought I would. I'm a confirmed Anglophile when it comes to fiction books, so I have a tendency to avoid American fiction. (I have decided my life took a serious wrong turn somewhere, and I'm supposed to be living in England). Anyway, this was a very intriguing book. The two main characters (the story is told from both of their POVs) are a true literary odd couple. A teenager dealing with her parent's separation and the changing social landscape at school, and a widowed librarian who's best friend is her dog. The only weak part of the story, I think, was the story from the teenager's family history that brought them together. It almost played too big and too small a part in the novel at the same time. I don't know how else to describe it. The teenager's research project included the story, and although it led to the main characters meeting, it didn't really impact the story from there on out. However, it was a good book, and I enjoyed reading it. I may check out the author's other novel as well.
lola425's review against another edition
3.0
This book was a little like an afterschool special, which I might have forgiven if she had somehow tied the story more cohesively to the Bridget letters. That connection was tenuous at best and I couldn't quite figure out why she put them in at all.
christiek's review against another edition
Sorry to say I did not get very far into this. I was too distracted by amateurish writing. It needs a stronger editor or a more lively writing group (also, I am not a big fan of parenthetical asides that don't seem in character).
shelfimprovement's review against another edition
2.0
So Far Away tells the story of Natalie, a thirteen year old bullying victim also struggling with her parents’ divorce, and Kathleen, the middle aged archivist meant to help Natalie with a genealogy project for school. The two are connected through Bridgette, an Irish maid in 1920s Boston whose diary Natalie has found and wants to investigate. As a fan of Kate Morton and other such stories that connect modern and historical characters together, I had high hopes for this one. In the end, it was quite a let-down.
A lot of this novel – or at least the hundred pages I was able to slog my way through – feels very forced and clunky, as though Mitchell Moore isn’t quite sure how to subtly weave all her themes together. The writing is lacking in its exposition; there’s a whole lotta telling instead of showing. Mitchell Moore is disposed to using parenthetical asides in her narration, an unnecessary tool that destroys any sense of subtlety in her character development and foreshadowing.
I found the character of Kathleen to be particularly annoying. She’s just so overwrought and, I don’t know, kind of histrionic? She feels drawn to help Natalie because the girl reminds her of her own daughter, Susannah, whom she lost to heroin addiction. Kathleen sees Natalie as a cracking porcelain doll and takes it upon herself to hold the girl together. But it’s all so over dramatic. When Natalie first meets Kathleen she lies and says that her mother has died, and then walks off into a rainstorm to catch the bus. Kathleen’s first thought:
Oi vey. I lost my mother when I was roughly Natalie’s age and I don’t think anyone would’ve described me as “fragile and bewildered” even in the months immediately following her death. I know that it’s unfair to assume that a character’s grieving process would necessarily mimic my own, but it strikes me as stereotypical and condescending to assume that a teenage girl who has lost her mother is going to wander around lost in the big city in the rain crying, that any emotional issues are directly and solely tied to the loss of her mother, and that no one else could be responsible for properly parenting the girl aside from the lost mother. Yes, yes – this whole thing is meant to illustrate Kathleen’s guilt at having “failed” her daughter. She feels like an inadequate mother, so she has to save this girl!
Oi vey. This novel is largely unoriginal and pretty poorly written.
A lot of this novel – or at least the hundred pages I was able to slog my way through – feels very forced and clunky, as though Mitchell Moore isn’t quite sure how to subtly weave all her themes together. The writing is lacking in its exposition; there’s a whole lotta telling instead of showing. Mitchell Moore is disposed to using parenthetical asides in her narration, an unnecessary tool that destroys any sense of subtlety in her character development and foreshadowing.
I found the character of Kathleen to be particularly annoying. She’s just so overwrought and, I don’t know, kind of histrionic? She feels drawn to help Natalie because the girl reminds her of her own daughter, Susannah, whom she lost to heroin addiction. Kathleen sees Natalie as a cracking porcelain doll and takes it upon herself to hold the girl together. But it’s all so over dramatic. When Natalie first meets Kathleen she lies and says that her mother has died, and then walks off into a rainstorm to catch the bus. Kathleen’s first thought:
“The poor girl. No wonder she looked so fragile and bewildered. So underfed! Poor thing, no mother. That explained why she was out in a rainstorm on a school day, why she was navigating Boston’s public transportation system on her own. She had nobody to tell her not to.”
Oi vey. I lost my mother when I was roughly Natalie’s age and I don’t think anyone would’ve described me as “fragile and bewildered” even in the months immediately following her death. I know that it’s unfair to assume that a character’s grieving process would necessarily mimic my own, but it strikes me as stereotypical and condescending to assume that a teenage girl who has lost her mother is going to wander around lost in the big city in the rain crying, that any emotional issues are directly and solely tied to the loss of her mother, and that no one else could be responsible for properly parenting the girl aside from the lost mother. Yes, yes – this whole thing is meant to illustrate Kathleen’s guilt at having “failed” her daughter. She feels like an inadequate mother, so she has to save this girl!
Oi vey. This novel is largely unoriginal and pretty poorly written.
laleha's review against another edition
4.0
I loved the local details: Newburyport, Route 1, North Shore Mall, Boston., etc. I also enjoyed three stories in one, learning an immigrant girl’s story from the 1920s, a contemporary girl’s struggles through high school and familial upsets, and an older woman’s navigation through her own loneliness and doing the right thing.
prof_shoff's review against another edition
4.0
This is a nicely layered story, with compelling characters in a quietly moving plot. Moore creates very believable people in sadly believable circumstances but she doesn't stray to the melodramatic in her narrative. A nice read on a Sunday afternoon.
rach__jane's review
4.0
This was a good book but very heartbreaking to read about cyberbullying. It was a little unbelievable at parts.
hannonshub's review against another edition
4.0
Loved it! I read it in a day...I couldn't put it down.