soliteyah's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I mostly enjoyed this one, though at times it was a little slow, and the mistakes in parts three and four were bizarre and not 100% believable.
brooke_review's review against another edition
2.0
I had high hopes for Elizabeth Ames' debut novel, The Other's Gold. The premise, intriguing cover art, and tie in to the familiar Girl Scouts song all had me eager to read this book. Unfortunately, my excitement for this literary novel didn't extend much further than that. In all, I found The Other's Gold to be entirely too long-winded, meandering, muddled, and although I hate to say it ... boring.
Ames' writing style in The Other's Gold was instantly off-putting. Told as if from a distance, there is an immediate wedge put between the reader and the characters. In a novel that tries to be intimate, this is a big fail, as it was impossible to feel close or connected to any of the novel's four main characters. The many characters also added confusion, which is another downfall of this book. The narration skips from character to character without any notification other than the mention of their name in a sentence. If you aren't paying close attention, you can easily lose track of whose story you are reading. Lastly, the plot line of The Other's Gold is just not compelling. Sure, on the surface it appears to be an interesting, engaging read, but once you dig in, you find that this novel is just a bunch of drivel.
Sadly, this book was just not for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Ames' writing style in The Other's Gold was instantly off-putting. Told as if from a distance, there is an immediate wedge put between the reader and the characters. In a novel that tries to be intimate, this is a big fail, as it was impossible to feel close or connected to any of the novel's four main characters. The many characters also added confusion, which is another downfall of this book. The narration skips from character to character without any notification other than the mention of their name in a sentence. If you aren't paying close attention, you can easily lose track of whose story you are reading. Lastly, the plot line of The Other's Gold is just not compelling. Sure, on the surface it appears to be an interesting, engaging read, but once you dig in, you find that this novel is just a bunch of drivel.
Sadly, this book was just not for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
michellekmartin's review against another edition
4.0
The first section of this book was hard for me to get into but once they got out of the college years I was completely hooked! What a unique and interesting story. I was impressed with Ames' writing and found myself rereading sentences and nodding my head along with the insights she had about female friendship.
This very much feels like a book that came from the author's experience and I appreciated how real the characters felt to me. She didn't make caricatures out of any of them and I also appreciated the diverse representation in the story of the different characters. At the start of the story, she notes that each character makes a life-changing decision/mistake and that kept the story moving forward as we slowly unravel what each character's decision is.
This very much feels like a book that came from the author's experience and I appreciated how real the characters felt to me. She didn't make caricatures out of any of them and I also appreciated the diverse representation in the story of the different characters. At the start of the story, she notes that each character makes a life-changing decision/mistake and that kept the story moving forward as we slowly unravel what each character's decision is.
cocolbishop's review against another edition
4.0
These characters were real and easy to love, but also complex. This book chronicles the years from beginning college to graduating to navigating families and marriage so well.
heather425's review against another edition
DNF. I could not get into this book. It was all descriptive and no action. I gave up because it just didn't grab my attention.
ariel937's review against another edition
5.0
it's kind of funny how wildly different different readers' interpretation of this books is. sometimes this book is beautiful, at times it's extremely disturbing. but it's always beautiful - the writing is some of the best i've ever read. it's absolutely incredible how Ames can describe an emotion or thought so perfectly. if you read this book for nothing else but for the writing, you will *not* be disappointed, i promise you. also i will now and forever read anything Elizabeth Ames writes, forever.
it's hard to describe exactly what this book is about. its kind of a campus novel, kind of a drama, and it feels like you dropped right in the middle of the story. or maybe the end? time is very fluid, and there are so many things alluded to in the beginning that don't make any sense until much later. tbh not restarting this book after immediately finishing it was hard (i mean, i did reread the first few chapters but i WAS *this* close to rereading it, so do i have some restraint).
it took a couple chapters to get used to Ame's writing style, but before you even realize it, you're sucked completely in and along for the ride. and believe me, some of the things that happen in this book is so shocking and heart breaking, it feels like a rollercoaster. the lives of these four girls from late teens in college to adults with families was told so perfectly. it really truly felt like they were whole, real people, not just characters written on a page. at times they were annoying, or brilliant, or funny. it was so hard to finish this book because it feels like their stories are never-ending. i'm definitely going to think about margaret, ji sun, alice, and lainey for a long, long time.
if i could convince to read this, i guess i could say: if you like gorgeously written character-driven stories about four girls' trauma, the bonds of friendship, and how that bond can be both supportive and suffocating, then please PLEASE read this. this is one of those books that's so, so hard to describe but is one of the best books i've read all year (and it came at a complete surprise). these sound v randomly put together, BUT - if you like Celeste Ng's "Everything I Never Told You," "Bunny" by Mona Awad, or even the tv show "Big Little Lies" (sorry i've never read the book lol) - then you will LOVE this.
this book was such a delightful surprise, and will def be one of my top 10 of the year.
it's hard to describe exactly what this book is about. its kind of a campus novel, kind of a drama, and it feels like you dropped right in the middle of the story. or maybe the end? time is very fluid, and there are so many things alluded to in the beginning that don't make any sense until much later. tbh not restarting this book after immediately finishing it was hard (i mean, i did reread the first few chapters but i WAS *this* close to rereading it, so do i have some restraint).
it took a couple chapters to get used to Ame's writing style, but before you even realize it, you're sucked completely in and along for the ride. and believe me, some of the things that happen in this book is so shocking and heart breaking, it feels like a rollercoaster. the lives of these four girls from late teens in college to adults with families was told so perfectly. it really truly felt like they were whole, real people, not just characters written on a page. at times they were annoying, or brilliant, or funny. it was so hard to finish this book because it feels like their stories are never-ending. i'm definitely going to think about margaret, ji sun, alice, and lainey for a long, long time.
if i could convince to read this, i guess i could say: if you like gorgeously written character-driven stories about four girls' trauma, the bonds of friendship, and how that bond can be both supportive and suffocating, then please PLEASE read this. this is one of those books that's so, so hard to describe but is one of the best books i've read all year (and it came at a complete surprise). these sound v randomly put together, BUT - if you like Celeste Ng's "Everything I Never Told You," "Bunny" by Mona Awad, or even the tv show "Big Little Lies" (sorry i've never read the book lol) - then you will LOVE this.
this book was such a delightful surprise, and will def be one of my top 10 of the year.
lizzydennyreadsabook's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful prose with amazing character development! Content warning on sexual violence and child abuse.
jordan2282's review against another edition
3.0
This book was…. strange. I really enjoyed the first half, minus a few story lines that went on too long. But the second half took a bizarre turn that I didn’t and couldn’t understand. I never could relate to the characters, despite them being the same age as me and the story told over the course of my same life. Outside of the dark turn, I also thought the book was too wordy. Luckily I had the queen Julia reading it to me, so I didn’t have to stare at the words, but even listening to her perfect voice became old at times. I’m not sure if I recommend this book, massive content warnings of suicide, incest, postpartum depression, child abuse, and more. I don’t know how I feel. Kind of icky.
rebbemcc's review against another edition
3.0
For a book that I initially thought was “just fine,” I highlighted more passages than I thought I did. There was some really nice writing and even though I didn’t quite buy the lifelong friendship of these particular very different women, the author did a nice job convincing me that deep, abiding friendships like she portrayed are possible.
dduff's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
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? Yes
3.5