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karen1214's review
5.0
This book is going to be toward the top of my favorite books. I loved it. I put off reading it when I saw it was YA as I'm not really a fan normally. I'm so glad I read/listened to this book. This is a beautiful story. I was laughing and crying throughout. Definitely tissues are required. If you haven't already read this book, read it. You won't be sorry.
fsmeurinne's review
5.0
This is one of those great amazing books that might become a classic in the future. Amy Harmon, is just an amazing writer. This book will make you cry, smile and just have your heart tumbling all over the place. You can’t give more than five stars to this book, but in should have it’s own category. It will become a must read for everyone. Few books had me naked emotionally and gave me a boost at the same time. I would quote the entire book, because it got me, it dived into my heart and I am not sure I will ever forget about it.
bookly68's review
5.0
This is said to be a modern day beauty and the beast. It was very emotional! It took me a while to read it, because I had to take breaks before I lost it all together. But the characters were just the most beautiful characters ever!!!!
“Have you ever stared at a painting so long that the colors blur and you can’t tell what you’re looking at anymore? There’s no form, face, or shape–just color, just swirls of paint? I think people are like that. When you really look at them, you stop seeing a perfect nose or straight teeth. You stop seeing the acne scar or the dimple in the chin. Those things start to blur, and suddenly you see them, the colors, the life inside the shell, and beauty takes on a whole new meaning.”
This was how fern came to see the beauty in others. It's not just what's on the outside, but the person as a whole. The way these characters came to think, what they learned and how they lived....I feel teaches us so much! This is such a wonderful book!! I can't recommend it highly enough!!!
“Have you ever stared at a painting so long that the colors blur and you can’t tell what you’re looking at anymore? There’s no form, face, or shape–just color, just swirls of paint? I think people are like that. When you really look at them, you stop seeing a perfect nose or straight teeth. You stop seeing the acne scar or the dimple in the chin. Those things start to blur, and suddenly you see them, the colors, the life inside the shell, and beauty takes on a whole new meaning.”
This was how fern came to see the beauty in others. It's not just what's on the outside, but the person as a whole. The way these characters came to think, what they learned and how they lived....I feel teaches us so much! This is such a wonderful book!! I can't recommend it highly enough!!!
brendaguilarb's review against another edition
4.0
3.8
Me ha gustado mucho, es una historia triste pero que se disfruta o al menos yo la disfrute y me hizo sacar unas lagrimas en algunos momentos.
El único 'pero' que le pondría sería la manera en la que esta narrado, creo que si la escritora lo hubiera hecho en primera persona explotando los puntos de vista de ambos protagonistas la historia me hubiera gustado mucho más.
Me ha gustado mucho, es una historia triste pero que se disfruta o al menos yo la disfrute y me hizo sacar unas lagrimas en algunos momentos.
El único 'pero' que le pondría sería la manera en la que esta narrado, creo que si la escritora lo hubiera hecho en primera persona explotando los puntos de vista de ambos protagonistas la historia me hubiera gustado mucho más.
“If God made all our faces, did he laugh when he made me?
Does he make the legs that cannot walk and eyes that cannot see?
Does he curl the hair upon my head 'til it rebels in wild defiance?
Does he close the ears of a deaf man to make him more reliant?
Is the way I look a coincidence or just a twist of fate?
If he made me this way, is it okay, to blame him for the things I hate?
For the flaws that seem to worsen every time I see a mirror,For the ugliness I see in me, for the loathing and the fear.
Does he sculpt us for his pleasure, for a reason I can't see?
If God makes all our faces, did he laugh when he made me?”
annica_reads_books's review against another edition
5.0
Amy Harmon never fails to tell an emotional, memorable story. Wow.
vivisms_82's review against another edition
2.5
Unpopular review ahead (!!)...
An alleged modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Allegedly. Set 1990s-2000s, preacher's daughter Fern has always loved Ambrose the town heart-throb.
I don't know what to say other than I do not get the rave reviews and high ratings this book has received. Truly one of the worst books for character development I have ever read. Little explanation as to the motives and convictions of characters and why they do what they do. Such as, who the flip knows why Ambrose kissed Fern end of school?? Or for that matter why they are even attracted to each other?! And Fern's nonsense of loving him since they were kids does not fly. And gosh the romance and character dialogue is so out of place at times and awkward, earnest and naive. But even then I think it is not written well enough for a YA to enjoy. Her proclamations were so juvenile and straight out of an 8 year's fairytale fantasy land. Ambrose seems to be just reactive but not actively interested in Fern. I found their alleged romance so underwhelming on the heart strings and so overwhelmingly banal. This is supposed to be a love story! But all the reader gets is absurd and over the top declarations of love with no substance behind the words! ; so much so that they felt like cardboard cut-outs that I never really knew. It also has major tonal issues. This is YA but one that disrespects how much more mature young people are than this rubbish. Other issues for me are the definitions of what is ugly and what is beautiful. Apparently red hair, freckles, glasses and braces in high school mean you are ugly. But removing braces and glasses makes you into a swan. Umm what? Hasn't this been covered a thousand times in the last century and we agreed it was ridiculous? Another problem is Ambrose convincing his mates to go to Iraq - that was so weird and weak; the decision making seemed so flippant. And life in Iraq seemed strangely uneventful. Fern's devotion / casual stalking of Ambrose is also baffling and I'm sorry but quoting Shakespeare does not make you "deep" or romantic.
The highlight of this book is Bailey. Muscular dystrophy and disability were well depicted and non-ableist. He was the one character I felt like I knew. If the whole book was about him and Rita, I would have liked it much more. He is the only reason I rated this book this high.
And lastly, what truly bugged me (and I have no idea why it is not getting more attention) are pages 101-2 i.e. The dialogue between the boys: Beans, Grant, Jesse, Paulie and Ambrose in Iraq about women wearing Burkas. I recommend folks to read those pages in full, however I have included the first half below. It is so disrespectful and feeds into this nonsense of "America the Free" and that the differences of other cultures means they are inferior to the great U.S. of A. I won't get political but this scene is blatantly ignorant and Islamophobic. Also very shallow in its depiction of female aesthetics. Rita is considered beautiful and Fern is not - yes we get told this repeatedly in this book but also that Fern is not aware of how she blossomed. Eye roll. The worst thing about this passage however, is that it is revealed Beans only started this conversation as "just a setup to rib Ambrose about Fern." And plain Fern not being pretty like Rita. So the author thought it would be a good idea to throw in some casual prejudice for such poor reasons?? Disgusting. All it does is portray male American soldiers as ignorant, disrespectful and intolerant. Not cool. Also, apparently wearing a burka is a great way for ugly women to trick men into marrying them. Well done Ms Harmon. Truly appalling. A heads up - the below reveals a minor plot spoiler from the first quarter of the book so do not read if that is an issue for you!
Beans:
“I would be happy to never see a woman that wasn’t wearing a tent over her head. Just once! And I would appreciate it if she was blonde or, even better, redheaded!” Beans moaned one afternoon after guarding a lonely checkpoint for several hours with only a handful of women clad in burkas… Maybe it was ironic that Beans longed for a blonde when he was Hispanic. But he was American, and America had the most diverse population in the world. A little diversity right now would be welcome.
Grant:
"I'd be happy to never see another burka again."
Jesse:
"I heard some guys, especially in places like Afghanistan, don't see their wives at all until after they are married. Can you imagine? Surprise sweetie!" Jesse batted his eyelids and made a hideous face...
Paulie:
"So how do they know who they are marrying?"...
Beans:
"Handwriting,"...
Paulie:
"Really?"...
Beans:
"Yeah. They write letters back and forth for a year or more. Then at the ceremony, she signs her name along with a promise she'll always wear her burka in front of other men. He recognises her handwriting and that is how he knows it's her beneath her veil."...
Jesse:
"Yeah. Just think, if Ambrose and Fern lived in Iraq, he never would have figured out it was Fern writing him those letters instead of Rita. Fern could have roped him into marriage. Ambrose would have seen her handwriting at the wedding and said, 'Yep, it's Rita, all right!'"
An alleged modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Allegedly. Set 1990s-2000s, preacher's daughter Fern has always loved Ambrose the town heart-throb.
I don't know what to say other than I do not get the rave reviews and high ratings this book has received. Truly one of the worst books for character development I have ever read. Little explanation as to the motives and convictions of characters and why they do what they do. Such as,
The highlight of this book is Bailey. Muscular dystrophy and disability were well depicted and non-ableist. He was the one character I felt like I knew. If the whole book was about him and Rita, I would have liked it much more. He is the only reason I rated this book this high.
And lastly, what truly bugged me (and I have no idea why it is not getting more attention) are pages 101-2 i.e. The dialogue between the boys: Beans, Grant, Jesse, Paulie and Ambrose in Iraq about women wearing Burkas. I recommend folks to read those pages in full, however I have included the first half below. It is so disrespectful and feeds into this nonsense of "America the Free" and that the differences of other cultures means they are inferior to the great U.S. of A. I won't get political but this scene is blatantly ignorant and Islamophobic. Also very shallow in its depiction of female aesthetics. Rita is considered beautiful and Fern is not - yes we get told this repeatedly in this book but also that Fern is not aware of how she blossomed. Eye roll. The worst thing about this passage however, is that it is revealed Beans only started this conversation as "just a setup to rib Ambrose about Fern." And plain Fern not being pretty like Rita. So the author thought it would be a good idea to throw in some casual prejudice for such poor reasons?? Disgusting. All it does is portray male American soldiers as ignorant, disrespectful and intolerant. Not cool. Also, apparently wearing a burka is a great way for ugly women to trick men into marrying them. Well done Ms Harmon. Truly appalling. A heads up - the below reveals a minor plot spoiler from the first quarter of the book so do not read if that is an issue for you!
Beans:
“I would be happy to never see a woman that wasn’t wearing a tent over her head. Just once! And I would appreciate it if she was blonde or, even better, redheaded!” Beans moaned one afternoon after guarding a lonely checkpoint for several hours with only a handful of women clad in burkas… Maybe it was ironic that Beans longed for a blonde when he was Hispanic. But he was American, and America had the most diverse population in the world. A little diversity right now would be welcome.
Grant:
"I'd be happy to never see another burka again."
Jesse:
"I heard some guys, especially in places like Afghanistan, don't see their wives at all until after they are married. Can you imagine? Surprise sweetie!" Jesse batted his eyelids and made a hideous face...
Paulie:
"So how do they know who they are marrying?"...
Beans:
"Handwriting,"...
Paulie:
"Really?"...
Beans:
"Yeah. They write letters back and forth for a year or more. Then at the ceremony, she signs her name along with a promise she'll always wear her burka in front of other men. He recognises her handwriting and that is how he knows it's her beneath her veil."...
Jesse:
"Yeah. Just think, if Ambrose and Fern lived in Iraq, he never would have figured out it was Fern writing him those letters instead of Rita. Fern could have roped him into marriage. Ambrose would have seen her handwriting at the wedding and said, 'Yep, it's Rita, all right!'"
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
kippins's review against another edition
4.0
I have to say a struggled at the start to get into this book.
I guess I was expecting the POV to stick with Fern and maybe alternate into Ambrose but it bounced around everywhere and I was left having to go back & re-read bits cause I hadn't realized that focused had been shifted onto a different character.
Also I'm not a fan of flashbacks and there.were.A.LOT!!!
Once I got over all this & persevered (due to all the amazing reviews) I started to really got lost in the story.
So I struggled through the first 20% due to the above and then struggled through the last 20% cause I couldn't see through the tears & bubble snot LOL
I guess I was expecting the POV to stick with Fern and maybe alternate into Ambrose but it bounced around everywhere and I was left having to go back & re-read bits cause I hadn't realized that focused had been shifted onto a different character.
Also I'm not a fan of flashbacks and there.were.A.LOT!!!
Once I got over all this & persevered (due to all the amazing reviews) I started to really got lost in the story.
So I struggled through the first 20% due to the above and then struggled through the last 20% cause I couldn't see through the tears & bubble snot LOL
krystlethegreat's review against another edition
dark
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
Warning: book contains descriptions of 9/11. As someone who watched the attack unfold on live TV, I'm always caught off-guard and heavily impacted by media that takes me back to that day.
Beautifully broken story. The characters are real, have real hurts, and have to deal with real hardships.
Other than the MMC stealing the spotlight at a serious event, this book was a great representation of PTSD. As a the wife of a former soldier, I appreciated the representation of PTSD and survivors guilt our MMC was tasked with and how the author handled it. Not all PTSD is anger or outbursts, as shown here.
Beautifully broken story. The characters are real, have real hurts, and have to deal with real hardships.
Other than the MMC stealing the spotlight at a serious event, this book was a great representation of PTSD. As a the wife of a former soldier, I appreciated the representation of PTSD and survivors guilt our MMC was tasked with and how the author handled it. Not all PTSD is anger or outbursts, as shown here.