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melhara's review
sad
slow-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
4.0
I had no idea that this book was a sequel before searching it up on GR to post this review. I don't think it matters though, because it can certainly be read as a standalone novel.
I quite enjoyed this depressing book, although there were a few things that bothered me.
Let's start with the good:
This book did a fantastic job of capturing the various stages of grief of a 13-year-old girl, Sarabeth Silver, whose mom suddenly died of a heart attack. For as long as Sarabeth could remember, it's always been just her and her mom, against the world. Now, she's orphaned and all alone. Although Cynthia (Sarabeth's mom's best friend) has offered to take care of Sarabeth, Sarabeth can't help but feel like an unwanted burden and starts acting up because of it.
The writing was so good - simple, straightforward (no fluff and flowery prose), and full of emotion. My heart ached for Sarabeth and I could feel the grief pouring from the pages.
What I didn't like:
The fact that this book was first published in 2001 does mean that there were certain outdated word choices that were used, such as the word 'retard' to describe someone with an intellectual disability. In one of the earlier chapters, Sarabeth's friends completely reject the notion of cultural appropriation... This did not sit well with me.
Finally, my other criticism of this book is that Sarabeth's friends should have had a larger role in the novel. Their relationships were a bit strained as Sarabeth continued to work through her grief and we never really see the relationships improve or develop any further which is quite a shame.
----------------------------------------------
Part of a personal challenge to read all of my boyfriend's and his sister's childhood books before we donate and give them away.
I quite enjoyed this depressing book, although there were a few things that bothered me.
Let's start with the good:
This book did a fantastic job of capturing the various stages of grief of a 13-year-old girl, Sarabeth Silver, whose mom suddenly died of a heart attack. For as long as Sarabeth could remember, it's always been just her and her mom, against the world. Now, she's orphaned and all alone. Although Cynthia (Sarabeth's mom's best friend) has offered to take care of Sarabeth, Sarabeth can't help but feel like an unwanted burden and starts acting up because of it.
The writing was so good - simple, straightforward (no fluff and flowery prose), and full of emotion. My heart ached for Sarabeth and I could feel the grief pouring from the pages.
What I didn't like:
The fact that this book was first published in 2001 does mean that there were certain outdated word choices that were used, such as the word 'retard' to describe someone with an intellectual disability. In one of the earlier chapters, Sarabeth's friends completely reject the notion of cultural appropriation... This did not sit well with me.
Finally, my other criticism of this book is that Sarabeth's friends should have had a larger role in the novel. Their relationships were a bit strained as Sarabeth continued to work through her grief and we never really see the relationships improve or develop any further which is quite a shame.
----------------------------------------------
Part of a personal challenge to read all of my boyfriend's and his sister's childhood books before we donate and give them away.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
finesilkflower's review
2.0
Although this book was written in 2001, it has that extremely 90s YA sensibility of just completely emotionally destroying its protagonist, sort of A Series of Unfortunate Events without a sense of humor. This book is sort of like Gilmore Girls if Lorelai died in the first episode. Sarabeth Silver is very close to her quirky, fun mom, a former teen mom estranged from her family of origin, so she is devastated when her mother dies suddenly and Sarabeth must cope with immeasurable grief while feeling like an unwelcome houseguest staying with family friends. The grief is well rendered, if difficult to get through, and the relationships are nuanced, but I found this book such a huge bummer, without a sufficiently uplifting ending or powerful lesson to justify it.
Stray Observations
* Gilmore Girls also came out in 2001. I guess the early 00's was a time that teen moms were a huge cultural preoccupation.
* Sarabeth's inevitable reconnection with her mom's family feels weirdly hastily tacked on in a couple of chapters toward the end. Shouldn't it have been the whole book? I feel like it should either have been the whole book or the book (a sort of [b:Emily of New Moon|3562|Emily of New Moon (Emily, #1)|L.M. Montgomery|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563899327l/3562._SY75_.jpg|1223124] story about a grieving child learning to love her initially stern-seeming aunt), or it should have ended before she got there, with a sort of a question mark feel but a sense of her moving toward her destiny, keeping the emphasis on the journey (more like Cynthia Voight's [b:Homecoming|12125|Homecoming (Tillerman Cycle, #1)|Cynthia Voigt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390250078l/12125._SY75_.jpg|213788]). I'm really confused why Sarabeth went back to her original town after meeting her aunts and things because it seemed like they were materially and emotionally prepared to take her in, she could no longer go back to Cynthia's and she didn't even have the money for a return ticket. It's not as though Cynthia or Leo have more legal claim to be her guardians, they have less!
* I also just generally feel pretty negative about the happy ending, where Sarabeth is taken in by Leo, her mom's ex-boyfriend, and his new wife, Pepper. Most of the scenes in which Leo appears, he is kind and helpful, but then there is this one scene which totally changes my opinion on him, where Sarabeth yells at him and he slaps her. As Sarabeth tries to leave, Pepper runs after her and begs her to forgive Leo because he is so remorseful that he is crying. In this scene, they turned from a couple of kind and supportive adults to a dysfunctional tag-team of liabilities: one hitting her and the other emotionally manipulating Sarabeth into feeling it's her fault that he's upset by the abuse *he perpetrated*. Yes, they've done other nice things, but given that you'd expect them to be on their best behavior when they're trying to adopt her, it bodes very poorly for what may happen after she moves in with them. I say she should take her chances with the stern aunties.
* I had no idea reading this that it was part of a series. Now that I think of it, the narration does refer to interesting-sounding events in the past, like Sarabeth's friend coming to live with her for awhile, but this book is so centered around the unexpected death of Sarabeth's mom that it really has very little to do with anything that came before it. I suppose if I had read Silver, I might have a different opinion of Leo, who is presumably a character in that book.
* ETA: How could I forget? There is an early IM conversation in this book! This is the only nod to Current Technology, and even though it is contemporary with when the book was written, it feels anachronistic because the rest of the book would be so at home in the 90s and because it's so cringingly poorly done. (Also, [b:Silver|259967|Silver (Sarabeth, #1)|Norma Fox Mazer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173219058l/259967._SY75_.jpg|550505], the book to which this is a sequel, was written in 1988, and the events of that book were, like, earlier this year. I get a headache trying to figure out the timelines for series that are written over many decades yet take place over a handful of months/years and are always written "in the present day." Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Alice books have the same problem on a larger scale.) Anyway, the point is that it's super weird to see what a Silent Generation grandma thinks IM abbreviations are like.
Stray Observations
* Gilmore Girls also came out in 2001. I guess the early 00's was a time that teen moms were a huge cultural preoccupation.
* Sarabeth's inevitable reconnection with her mom's family feels weirdly hastily tacked on in a couple of chapters toward the end. Shouldn't it have been the whole book? I feel like it should either have been the whole book or the book (a sort of [b:Emily of New Moon|3562|Emily of New Moon (Emily, #1)|L.M. Montgomery|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563899327l/3562._SY75_.jpg|1223124] story about a grieving child learning to love her initially stern-seeming aunt), or it should have ended before she got there, with a sort of a question mark feel but a sense of her moving toward her destiny, keeping the emphasis on the journey (more like Cynthia Voight's [b:Homecoming|12125|Homecoming (Tillerman Cycle, #1)|Cynthia Voigt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390250078l/12125._SY75_.jpg|213788]). I'm really confused why Sarabeth went back to her original town after meeting her aunts and things because it seemed like they were materially and emotionally prepared to take her in, she could no longer go back to Cynthia's and she didn't even have the money for a return ticket. It's not as though Cynthia or Leo have more legal claim to be her guardians, they have less!
* I also just generally feel pretty negative about the happy ending, where Sarabeth is taken in by Leo, her mom's ex-boyfriend, and his new wife, Pepper. Most of the scenes in which Leo appears, he is kind and helpful, but then there is this one scene which totally changes my opinion on him, where Sarabeth yells at him and he slaps her. As Sarabeth tries to leave, Pepper runs after her and begs her to forgive Leo because he is so remorseful that he is crying. In this scene, they turned from a couple of kind and supportive adults to a dysfunctional tag-team of liabilities: one hitting her and the other emotionally manipulating Sarabeth into feeling it's her fault that he's upset by the abuse *he perpetrated*. Yes, they've done other nice things, but given that you'd expect them to be on their best behavior when they're trying to adopt her, it bodes very poorly for what may happen after she moves in with them. I say she should take her chances with the stern aunties.
* I had no idea reading this that it was part of a series. Now that I think of it, the narration does refer to interesting-sounding events in the past, like Sarabeth's friend coming to live with her for awhile, but this book is so centered around the unexpected death of Sarabeth's mom that it really has very little to do with anything that came before it. I suppose if I had read Silver, I might have a different opinion of Leo, who is presumably a character in that book.
* ETA: How could I forget? There is an early IM conversation in this book! This is the only nod to Current Technology, and even though it is contemporary with when the book was written, it feels anachronistic because the rest of the book would be so at home in the 90s and because it's so cringingly poorly done. (Also, [b:Silver|259967|Silver (Sarabeth, #1)|Norma Fox Mazer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1173219058l/259967._SY75_.jpg|550505], the book to which this is a sequel, was written in 1988, and the events of that book were, like, earlier this year. I get a headache trying to figure out the timelines for series that are written over many decades yet take place over a handful of months/years and are always written "in the present day." Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Alice books have the same problem on a larger scale.) Anyway, the point is that it's super weird to see what a Silent Generation grandma thinks IM abbreviations are like.
williamsdebbied's review
3.0
Sequel to Silver.
Sarabeth Silver lives in a trailer with her slightly off-the-wall mom and her cat. Sarabeth's dad died in an accident when she was very young. When her mother dies suddenly of a heart attack at only 30 years old, Sarabeth's life is thrown into turmoil. She has to move into a tiny apartment with her mother's best friend and her cat is taken in by another family. Sarabeth struggles to be grateful to the people who step in to help her (even though none of them will really listen to her), but she becomes depressed and angry as she deals with her mother's death.
Her friends, old and new, support her and try to help her heal. They inspire her to make contact with her long-lost relatives and to find out more about her parents' families (who disowned them when Sarabeth's mother became pregnant at 16 years old).
Sarabeth Silver lives in a trailer with her slightly off-the-wall mom and her cat. Sarabeth's dad died in an accident when she was very young. When her mother dies suddenly of a heart attack at only 30 years old, Sarabeth's life is thrown into turmoil. She has to move into a tiny apartment with her mother's best friend and her cat is taken in by another family. Sarabeth struggles to be grateful to the people who step in to help her (even though none of them will really listen to her), but she becomes depressed and angry as she deals with her mother's death.
Her friends, old and new, support her and try to help her heal. They inspire her to make contact with her long-lost relatives and to find out more about her parents' families (who disowned them when Sarabeth's mother became pregnant at 16 years old).
More...