Scan barcode
cornmaven's review against another edition
5.0
Beautifully written story of three women's lives which connect in interesting ways. Reminded me a lot of Michael Cunningham's The Hours, only with younger characters. You move through 3 different time periods, one being way in the future as Adri prepares to help colonize Mars. Lenore is a puzzle until the end, and Catherine's story is the bridge. Plus you get a Galapagos Island turtle named Galapagos, and you don't find out how he ended up in Kansas until the end as well.
I laughed, I cried, I grew to love all of the women, especially Lily. It ends perfectly, and I would offer this to older teens because of the complexity of the story. Adult women will embrace this, too.
I laughed, I cried, I grew to love all of the women, especially Lily. It ends perfectly, and I would offer this to older teens because of the complexity of the story. Adult women will embrace this, too.
faith_a_writes's review against another edition
5.0
4.75 stars
Beautifully written, very bittersweet. The writing was stunning. This is one that I’ll be thinking about for a long time.
Beautifully written, very bittersweet. The writing was stunning. This is one that I’ll be thinking about for a long time.
tangodiva's review against another edition
5.0
FIVE STARS. I have read so many duds this year so what a relief to read a great book. It is cinematic in scope but also succinct and not overblown or falsely "lyrical." It could be made into a movie but I worry that would suck the life out of it.
THIS BOOK IS INCREDIBLE.
THIS BOOK IS INCREDIBLE.
sydglove13's review against another edition
2.0
The idea of connecting multiple stories throughout generations is a great one, but this book did it in a lackluster way. I was expecting to be truly shocked by how all the stories wove together, but the end result was predictable and a bit boring.
I also hated the loose ends. Catherine's story is never truly finished, and the connection to the Ortiz family pops up and ends too quickly.
I felt like the author was trying to make these grand statements about humanity and the state of the world and conservation, but all those statements felt forced and had no depth to them.
Luckily, the book was short and I could power through it.
I also hated the loose ends. Catherine's story is never truly finished, and the connection to the Ortiz family pops up and ends too quickly.
I felt like the author was trying to make these grand statements about humanity and the state of the world and conservation, but all those statements felt forced and had no depth to them.
Luckily, the book was short and I could power through it.
cathyreadsbooks's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
ljesica's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I read the first sentence on the back of this book and it said Adri was going to Mars and that sounded fun. And it was. But I should’ve read the rest of the synopsis because that is really not what this book was about.
Adri is an orphan who has been accepted to be a colonist on Mars. She lives in a future Miami that is mostly flooded and uninhabitable. DC is underwater as is half of NYC. Most government facilities have been moved to Kansas which is where she will leave for her mission. A distant relative named Lily lives near the launch site and will be Adri’s host for the month of training. While settling in, Adri finds some old pictures and a postcard and starts looking in to the past residents of her home with the hopes that they too may be part of her own family history that she knows nothing about.
She finds Catherine’s diary and Lenore’s letters and starts putting pieces together. Catherine lived on the farm where Lily now lives and was there during the dust bowl. It tells of the hardships of the dust bowl and how difficult it was to survive it. I had no idea that people died of suffocation from the amount of dust in their lungs. It sounds absolutely horrific. Lenore is living in London after the first World War and chronicling the grief of losing her brother and her desire to make it to America and back to her best friend who is Catherine’s mom.
While this book wasn’t what I thought it would be about, it was actually really interesting and touching. I learned things I didn’t know before which is always a sign of a good book. I liked it!
ladygodivas's review against another edition
4.0
very slow start but halfway through the book i started really enjoying it.