marylaffey's review against another edition
I thought this book was going to be about the complex relationship between an overbearing mother and her neglected daughter during the 1940s.
But it was just about art.
Surrealist art.
I was not a fan, but if you like art you might be!
But it was just about art.
Surrealist art.
I was not a fan, but if you like art you might be!
tiffyb's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars ⭐️
If you are looking for a fiction book about art, artists, World War II, Mexico, or any character in this book, you will not enjoy this book. If you are hoping for an interesting plot or conclusion, then this is not the book for you. If, on the other hand, you are looking to read a feverishly poetic but confusing story about a teenaged girl who is widely ignored and incredibly downtrodden, this is the book for you! It will give you feelings, but you won’t know why you feel those feelings.
The diary of an awkward, introspective 14 year-old girl. Lara’s personality caused her to run from confrontation, not ask any questions, and not seek out truth or understanding of her circumstances. This left the reader, alongside of her, with no idea what was happening as the book progressed. Every time we got close to answering one of our questions, Lara walked away, didn’t say something, or ignored her surroundings. This is somewhat realistic for a girl her age who is easily embarrassed, confused, and insecure. But it doesn’t translate well into an interesting book.
I really hated the format of this book. Some “diary entree” style books can be interesting, but this one tried a bit too hard to seem like a diary. Half the time, she didn’t know the day of the week. She copied endlessly from a book about plants that had nothing to do with the storyline. She wrote lists, names, translated words... and most (if not all) of them had absolutely nothing to contribute to the story. Even when Lara wrote about the happenings around her, she would write them out of order or be too embarrassed to write details about happenings. Lara is not well educated, and of course writing in a private diary, but the punctuation was dismal. Run on sentences, skipped words, no commas or quotation marks.
It was so easy to lose track of characters. Most of the characters were flat and confusing. We never understood their intentions or reasoning. The only ones we even began to understand were Lara and Jack.
I was left confused by a poetic and fragmented diary of a downtrodden and ignored teen instead of historical fiction and fascinating characters.
If you are looking for a fiction book about art, artists, World War II, Mexico, or any character in this book, you will not enjoy this book. If you are hoping for an interesting plot or conclusion, then this is not the book for you. If, on the other hand, you are looking to read a feverishly poetic but confusing story about a teenaged girl who is widely ignored and incredibly downtrodden, this is the book for you! It will give you feelings, but you won’t know why you feel those feelings.
The diary of an awkward, introspective 14 year-old girl. Lara’s personality caused her to run from confrontation, not ask any questions, and not seek out truth or understanding of her circumstances. This left the reader, alongside of her, with no idea what was happening as the book progressed. Every time we got close to answering one of our questions, Lara walked away, didn’t say something, or ignored her surroundings. This is somewhat realistic for a girl her age who is easily embarrassed, confused, and insecure. But it doesn’t translate well into an interesting book.
I really hated the format of this book. Some “diary entree” style books can be interesting, but this one tried a bit too hard to seem like a diary. Half the time, she didn’t know the day of the week. She copied endlessly from a book about plants that had nothing to do with the storyline. She wrote lists, names, translated words... and most (if not all) of them had absolutely nothing to contribute to the story. Even when Lara wrote about the happenings around her, she would write them out of order or be too embarrassed to write details about happenings. Lara is not well educated, and of course writing in a private diary, but the punctuation was dismal. Run on sentences, skipped words, no commas or quotation marks.
It was so easy to lose track of characters. Most of the characters were flat and confusing. We never understood their intentions or reasoning. The only ones we even began to understand were Lara and Jack.
I was left confused by a poetic and fragmented diary of a downtrodden and ignored teen instead of historical fiction and fascinating characters.
conorsweetman's review against another edition
3.0
Reading this is like drinking a cool glass of coffee liqueur in the middle of a humid jungle.
oliviasethney's review against another edition
5.0
I loved how artistic a beautifully simple this book was and I just enjoyed the whole experience of reading this.
lindseyloo92's review against another edition
2.0
Make no mistake, Courtney Malm writes beautiful, evocative poetry that will stay with you for a long time after reading…but as a novel, I’m not sure that it really works. The characters feel flat, the plot is disjointed, and neither the setting nor the events of WWII or even the artistic movements referenced are fleshed out well. This may have benefited from being a longer book. As it is, I cared very little about any of these characters and that’s a downer because I think the premise and setting has a lot of potential.
scribblepost's review against another edition
5.0
I took this book on a stressful trip (alas NOT on a beach in Mexico), and it was such a comfort to slip into these pages every night. I devoured its quirky cast of characters and lush, suffocating humidity. The world of Surrealist artists told in Lara's voice is convincing and beguiling. The writing feels so deft and assured. Also, the book LOOKS so gorgeous (+ I love its small size, like a young girl's diary).
the_spines's review against another edition
2.0
FULL REVIEW HERE: meganprokott.com/costalegre-courtney-maum/review
Here’s the thing about this book. I was SO excited to pick it up because it has so many of my favorites themes: Art, dramatic family relationships, & secretive travel to name a few. However, from the very first page I could not get into the writing style, which I blame almost completely on the vehicle for the story. Narrating for the reader throughout is the diary of a young girl who was bored, listless, and struggling to find her place.
And let me just say, reading the perspective of a 15-year-old was such an irritating experience. I couldn’t get myself to care about her observations about the artists and her surroundings, and I really couldn’t have been less invested in her perspective. I think my main issue with Lara as the driving force for this actually really interesting story is that Lara didn’t know about anything that was happening in their eccentric community of artists and collectors and, by extension, neither did the reader. I always felt slightly removed from the story and I think the reason for that is because Lara, our narrator, was always removed herself from the goings-on and the actual interesting parts of the story.
Here’s the thing about this book. I was SO excited to pick it up because it has so many of my favorites themes: Art, dramatic family relationships, & secretive travel to name a few. However, from the very first page I could not get into the writing style, which I blame almost completely on the vehicle for the story. Narrating for the reader throughout is the diary of a young girl who was bored, listless, and struggling to find her place.
And let me just say, reading the perspective of a 15-year-old was such an irritating experience. I couldn’t get myself to care about her observations about the artists and her surroundings, and I really couldn’t have been less invested in her perspective. I think my main issue with Lara as the driving force for this actually really interesting story is that Lara didn’t know about anything that was happening in their eccentric community of artists and collectors and, by extension, neither did the reader. I always felt slightly removed from the story and I think the reason for that is because Lara, our narrator, was always removed herself from the goings-on and the actual interesting parts of the story.
doylemat's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0