cawaza's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, and Drug use
aus10england's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Absolutely infuriating read. Idk if I have liked characters less. Especially the daughter, oh my goddddd. A lot of things didn’t work for me; the religious themes, the pacing, the open ended ending, it just wasn’t it. Picked this up being a Seattle resident, excited to pick up on the local references, and the author spent most of the book dunking on the city which like ??? okay, don’t set your book here if you hate it. Also I really just didn’t care about these rich people’s problems. I did laugh out loud in a few random parts, a few gasps for some mystery reveals, but overall, I regret picking this up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Infidelity
Minor: Stalking
kweis's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Suicidal thoughts
amberjackonski's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Miscarriage
coraliek's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I started Where'd You Go, Bernadette thinking it was going to be an Oscar Wilde-type comedy of errors, and it started that way, but it quickly became so much more.
It kept me guessing until the end, and on the way there, I laughed, I cried, I rooted for and against characters, I loved every revelation, and I could not put the book down.
It kept me guessing until the end, and on the way there, I laughed, I cried, I rooted for and against characters, I loved every revelation, and I could not put the book down.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
meganpbennett's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Where'd You Go, Bernadette? is a book that's incredibly hard to rate. It's... a mediocre book about a family you hate from the get go. Bee, the daughter, is not a nice person, and it shows throughout the entire story. Bernadette herself suffers from a horrific experience while trying to build the Twenty Mile House, one which people told her to dust herself off and get back on the horse, all the while ignoring what happened. Then she moved to Seattle, and wasted away in a house that was literally falling apart around her ears. The sort of falling apart where it's a miracle social services hasn't been called.
The novel isn't exactly as described, since a third of the story takes part before the family trip to Antarctica, and it's a little hard to follow, at first, since it's only later revealed that it's Bee creating the story from a dossier she received about the few weeks before Bernadette disappears, causing the perspective to drastically change and the reliability of the narrator to shift from 'unreliable' to 'complete fiction'.
However, that's what makes this book work, and the fact that we lose that shifting, epistolary story exactly when Bernadette disappears, thoroughly weakening the last 50-100 pages, and causing it to lose a star.
The novel isn't exactly as described, since a third of the story takes part before the family trip to Antarctica, and it's a little hard to follow, at first, since it's only later revealed that it's Bee creating the story from a dossier she received about the few weeks before Bernadette disappears, causing the perspective to drastically change and the reliability of the narrator to shift from 'unreliable' to 'complete fiction'.
However, that's what makes this book work, and the fact that we lose that shifting, epistolary story exactly when Bernadette disappears, thoroughly weakening the last 50-100 pages, and causing it to lose a star.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Cursing, Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Pregnancy, Grief, Religious bigotry, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Bullying, and Gaslighting
sinceslicedbread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed all of the moving parts of this book.
Spoiler
My only complaint is the ending. I think Sue Lynn getting pregnant was unnecessary and left a lot to be desired at the end. How would this affect the characters’ relationships?Spoiler
Content Warnings
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Classism, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Drug use, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness
rorythebean's review
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
just good vacation vibes with a pretty decent exploration of mental illness
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Infidelity and Alcohol
jessicabrin's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Miscarriage, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Addiction
mateoj's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I think the main selling point for this story is the way it's told partially via emails, notes, articles, etc ; I'm a sucker for that trope. Unfortunately, Where'd You Go, Bernadette falls victim to the classic pratfall of that trope, which is that the characters write unrealistically long and prosaic emails and letters in order to get the narrative across. This grated on my nerves throughout the novel, but I have to admit that it was fun to read nonetheless. The story itself... equal parts entertaining and infuriating. The only character I found remotely tolerable and redeemable was Bee; everyone else sucked, especially Bernadette herself. All I really saw in her was a very mentally ill woman who was unhealthily attached to her child and had an incredible amount of sheer dumb luck. The answer to the title question should really have been "therapy"—but rhen, of course, there would be no story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol
Minor: Misogyny and Rape