The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! š
celery's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Classism, Cursing, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, War, Vomit, Abandonment, Alcohol, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Suicide, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Grief, Fatphobia, Racism, Antisemitism, Car accident, Gore, Hate crime, Murder, and Stalking
fazazzle's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
I have been slowly making my way through Fannie Flaggās books, since I did my dissertation on her most famous (and most likely, best) novel: Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle-Stop CafĆ©.Ā As I have read her books, there have been multiple times where some of the language used was highly insensitive, but it always seemed like Fannie is trying to critique people who genuinely use that type of language. However, after reading Welcome to the World, Baby Girl, I feel she may be simply a conservative, rich, white woman from the south.
There were many times while reading this book that I wondered if sensitivity readers existed in the 1990s??? Because I simply do not understand how this book was published. Flagg does her best (not saying much) to draw attention to social/political issues in the 1940s and bring awareness to them (i.e., Hitler persecuted all minority groups during that time), but she truly does so without any nuance and has her characters speak very insensitively about the subject.
Even beyond how ineffectively she discusses race and race politics, her main character is so frustrating! Honestly, I was not really able to connect to Dena Nordstrom until I realized that she was a side-character from The All-Girls Filling Station.Ā And that is definitely not a quality you want a main character to have.Ā
Also, there were at least a hundred times where Dena explicitly mentions that she never wants to be in a relationship or get married or have children. In the context of the first 85% of the book, Dena truly reads as an aromantic asexual character who is averse to relationships and sex. Come to find out in the last 150 pages, this was just a trauma response because her mom abandoned her ???? Is that really how it works????Ā It then felt very disingenuous when, in the last TEN PAGES, Dena decided that she DID want a relationship and to get married. TO HER OLD PSYCHIATRIST??? And when they first have sex, itās because she thinks he looks cute and āchild-likeā in his BUNNY FEETSIE PAJAMAS??? So not only is Dena not aroace, sheās also kind of predatory because sheās not attracted to him until he is āchild-likeā??? Gross! (Sidebar: I understand that the intent is for him to not be a sexual threat, therefore Dena feels safe enough to be with him intimatelyā¦.nevertheless, why describe him as a CHILD before they have SEX?!). So that was another component going against me caring about Dena Nordstrom.
While I usually do enjoy the way that Fannie Flagg tells stories by interweaving the narratives of multiple groups of people from different places and time periods together,Ā Welcome to the World, Baby GirlĀ ultimately falls flat even with this intriguing story structure. I think I actually will take a break from Fannie Flagg now.Ā
There were many times while reading this book that I wondered if sensitivity readers existed in the 1990s??? Because I simply do not understand how this book was published. Flagg does her best (not saying much) to draw attention to social/political issues in the 1940s and bring awareness to them (i.e., Hitler persecuted all minority groups during that time), but she truly does so without any nuance and has her characters speak very insensitively about the subject.
Even beyond how ineffectively she discusses race and race politics, her main character is so frustrating! Honestly, I was not really able to connect to Dena Nordstrom until I realized that she was a side-character from The All-Girls Filling Station.Ā And that is definitely not a quality you want a main character to have.Ā
While I usually do enjoy the way that Fannie Flagg tells stories by interweaving the narratives of multiple groups of people from different places and time periods together,Ā Welcome to the World, Baby GirlĀ ultimately falls flat even with this intriguing story structure. I think I actually will take a break from Fannie Flagg now.Ā
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Suicide, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Medical content, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia
missgray's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Murder, Sexual content, Death of parent, and Violence
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