lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
Jen's life is falling apart: she'd given up her city-based life when her husband became an elected judge and gained "friends", the chairmanship of a cancer benefit and a McMansion and all that goes along with suburban wealth. One day she learns her husband is being indicted for bribery and her new life unravels. To deal with the stress, her herbalist gives her a new herb that now gives her very deep, very intense dreams in which she becomes people in her life (her husband, her BFF, her sister and her next-door-neighbor), learning the truth about their lives.
Her reaction to her husband's indictment and loss of the life she's created are met with an interesting detachment - it's not quite realistic that someone would be that accepting of things. Jen never confronts Will, never really questions what's going on (Will accepts a plea and is disbarred), never quite reacts to what's happening. There's a twist at the end that explains it all, but it felt almost like a cop-out by the author.
ARC provided by publisher.
Her reaction to her husband's indictment and loss of the life she's created are met with an interesting detachment - it's not quite realistic that someone would be that accepting of things. Jen never confronts Will, never really questions what's going on (Will accepts a plea and is disbarred), never quite reacts to what's happening. There's a twist at the end that explains it all, but it felt almost like a cop-out by the author.
ARC provided by publisher.
bkmorales's review against another edition
4.0
At first, it seemed like typical chick lit. The characters were solid, and the story was believable. THe ending was a surprise, and elevated it above the norm.
mountie9's review against another edition
4.0
The Good Stuff
* One of the most unusual stories I have read this year -- in a good way that is
* Beautifully written story that has a nice flow to it
* Some light humour
* Great ending and nicely hopeful -- we know I like that in a book
* Lovely commentary on the stress of being a mother and some of the feelings that we have, that society frowns upon us talking about. Motherhood isn't for sissies people!!!!
* Interesting thoughts on the misconceptions we have of other people and the judgments we make about them without "really knowing" what their lives are like
* Made me cry a little and know I also must go home and hug my beautiful little heathens
* Nice character development
* Great first chapter, grabs your attention and makes you want to keep reading
The Not so Good Stuff
* I found Jennifer to be completely oblivious and stunted at times, although this is explained away with the ending, I still found myself just really irritated with her choices and her lack of motivation. Also many times I just wanted to smack her upside the head
* A little slow at times
* Her marriage and life seemed so empty and pathetic, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep reading. Luckily the author is extremely talented and kept me interested even though I wasn't really sure I liked the main character
Favorite Quotes/Passages
"I agreed, willing to do whatever Ethel told me, not because I necessarily believed it would work, but because I believed that she believed it would."
"..and vowed to love, honor, and cherish each other through sickness and in health. And indictment. Who would've thought to add that to the vows."
"Did we all have it, that something that made us broken beneath the surface?"
What I Learned
* The grass isn't always greener
* The everything isn't as it seems
* Damn, other moms feel like I do sometimes
* I seem to have a lack of sympathy for poor rich people
Who should/shouldn't read
* Those who like something a little different will enjoy
* Wouldn't recommend for those looking for a light beach read or who need tons of excitement in a story
* One of the most unusual stories I have read this year -- in a good way that is
* Beautifully written story that has a nice flow to it
* Some light humour
* Great ending and nicely hopeful -- we know I like that in a book
* Lovely commentary on the stress of being a mother and some of the feelings that we have, that society frowns upon us talking about. Motherhood isn't for sissies people!!!!
* Interesting thoughts on the misconceptions we have of other people and the judgments we make about them without "really knowing" what their lives are like
* Made me cry a little and know I also must go home and hug my beautiful little heathens
* Nice character development
* Great first chapter, grabs your attention and makes you want to keep reading
The Not so Good Stuff
* I found Jennifer to be completely oblivious and stunted at times, although this is explained away with the ending, I still found myself just really irritated with her choices and her lack of motivation. Also many times I just wanted to smack her upside the head
* A little slow at times
* Her marriage and life seemed so empty and pathetic, I wasn't sure I wanted to keep reading. Luckily the author is extremely talented and kept me interested even though I wasn't really sure I liked the main character
Favorite Quotes/Passages
"I agreed, willing to do whatever Ethel told me, not because I necessarily believed it would work, but because I believed that she believed it would."
"..and vowed to love, honor, and cherish each other through sickness and in health. And indictment. Who would've thought to add that to the vows."
"Did we all have it, that something that made us broken beneath the surface?"
What I Learned
* The grass isn't always greener
* The everything isn't as it seems
* Damn, other moms feel like I do sometimes
* I seem to have a lack of sympathy for poor rich people
Who should/shouldn't read
* Those who like something a little different will enjoy
* Wouldn't recommend for those looking for a light beach read or who need tons of excitement in a story
tculp's review against another edition
3.0
To me, this is well-done chick-lit. Not great literature, but interesting enough to be fun to read.
familywithbooks's review against another edition
1.0
I could not get into this story at all, and had to really force myself to finish it. Everything that could be considered a conflict happened right off the bat when starting the book, leaving me less than halfway through wondering what the point of the plot was. The main character was having dreams of her friends lives, but wasn't doing anything with them. And then there was this "twist" at the end that just made things confusing and I felt like it was a cop-out. Almost like the author realized she had no story line outside of "here's what happened to me today" and needed a way to end the story. Not my cup of tea.
endlessreader's review against another edition
2.0
The Transformation of Things was weird. Like, really, really weird. My thoughts on it are all over the place. I loved the premise, it was unusual and I loved that the author took a chance in doing something strange. It totally went in a way I would've never suspected and caught me completely by surprise. All good. However, as much as I love strange, I just couldn't connect with anything going on in the book.
I just felt very detached while reading this. I don't know if this was the author's intent as the main character was fairly detached at times, but I would've loved to have more of a strong protagonist. She was just all over the place and regardless of the fact that this interesting was happening to her, she wasn't all that interesting. I just all the characters very flat.
So, again, I loved the bizzarre premise, but I didn't feel the book was all that interesting. It was a page-turner, I'll give it that, but when I closed the book, I felt all-around "meh" and just not at all moved or overly impacted.
I just felt very detached while reading this. I don't know if this was the author's intent as the main character was fairly detached at times, but I would've loved to have more of a strong protagonist. She was just all over the place and regardless of the fact that this interesting was happening to her, she wasn't all that interesting. I just all the characters very flat.
So, again, I loved the bizzarre premise, but I didn't feel the book was all that interesting. It was a page-turner, I'll give it that, but when I closed the book, I felt all-around "meh" and just not at all moved or overly impacted.
familywithbooks's review
1.0
I could not get into this story at all, and had to really force myself to finish it. Everything that could be considered a conflict happened right off the bat when starting the book, leaving me less than halfway through wondering what the point of the plot was. The main character was having dreams of her friends lives, but wasn't doing anything with them. And then there was this "twist" at the end that just made things confusing and I felt like it was a cop-out. Almost like the author realized she had no story line outside of "here's what happened to me today" and needed a way to end the story. Not my cup of tea.
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