Reviews

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

bookhoarder76's review against another edition

3.0

Pretty good story. Very descriptive which was awesome at times but seemed wordy at others. Loved the characters and seeing how their relationships played out. Very good story about how family is not always blood.

sawahsand's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

beearleyna's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

4.0

Barbara’s books always wrap up too fast. She does such a great job creating these characters with complex ideas and clear world views and pins them up so quickly at the end. Other than that I did like this book! A lot of great quotes that made me stop and smile or cry. My favorite line was “I looked through the bones into the garden.” Good imagery in that moment. 

plangin's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-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? No

3.75

fbryant's review

emotional inspiring sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

julietcamus's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-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

4.75

jenifferswhim's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

ljcornelisse's review against another edition

4.0

Good, quick read, I like the characters Kingsolver creates, but I wish she would have spent more time developing some of them.

miss_blackbird's review against another edition

hopeful fast-paced

3.0

Vegetable soup.

hannahhamburger's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring lighthearted sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

Beautiful story of being lost and found and lost again. Amazing characters and so many important topics touched on as usual, love you Barbs ❤️

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse and Sexual violence