kimmeyer's review against another edition
4.0
I love Heiny's writing. The way she draws her characters makes me laugh out loud, and VERY few books make me laugh. I'm not sure how I feel about this as a story. I want Jane to not be so accomodating and so enneagram 2. I want her to have more identity and desires that aren't in service to other people. I don't really understand the Duncan appeal and think he may be the weakest character in the book. I really enjoyed the reading experience though! My thoughts about the book are really just thoughts and not criticisms.
wendy_aebi's review against another edition
3.0
(Rounded up from 2.5) I honestly don’t know if I liked this book or not. I think I’m leaning toward not. I liked all the characters less and less as the story unfolded. It was about the family we build for ourselves, which I normally like, but overall I think Jane and Duncan weren’t all that interesting and the quirkiness of their friends was just too over the top for my taste.
elysahenegar's review against another edition
5.0
I have so much good to say about this book that I don't know where to begin! The writing is excellent--authentic, beautiful, funny, and heartbreaking in the way that life just *is*. The characters are flawed and also so lovely, in just the way that loved ones truly are--one moment amazing and the next stumbling, but always essential. This book made me laugh and cry and underneath it all, I thought about what makes life wonderful and grand but also so hard. In Jimmy, I discovered a character so reminiscent of my favorite exceptional people; I could relate to so many of Jane's feelings about him. This is another beautiful and endearing found family book! Some of these characters will irritate you with their habits, their ideas, their choices, and then you will discover that you have great affection for them anyway.
michellekmartin's review against another edition
5.0
What a wonderful, warm, charming story. The premise of this book - woman moves to a small town and gets to know a cast of quirky characters - could easily come off as a caricature of small-town life or ridiculous with it's humor. But Heiny manages to avoid all that and writes a wonderfully light story full of depth.
This book is quietly funny and full of so many lovable (and unlovable) characters. What I loved most was Heiny's ability to write about the mundaneness of everyday life in such a fascinating and tender way. It's the same reason I absolutely loved Monogamy by Sue Miller. Nothing 'big' happens in this book but we get to follow along over the course of a few decades as the characters get to know each other and form a family of their own.
I loved the music references, the quirky characters (there were, at moments, shades of Gilmore Girls evident in this one!), the small-town charm, the humor and the beautiful way that Heiny shared this story.
This book is quietly funny and full of so many lovable (and unlovable) characters. What I loved most was Heiny's ability to write about the mundaneness of everyday life in such a fascinating and tender way. It's the same reason I absolutely loved Monogamy by Sue Miller. Nothing 'big' happens in this book but we get to follow along over the course of a few decades as the characters get to know each other and form a family of their own.
I loved the music references, the quirky characters (there were, at moments, shades of Gilmore Girls evident in this one!), the small-town charm, the humor and the beautiful way that Heiny shared this story.
melissacushman's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
mindfullibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Quirky and dryly hilarious, this book is just a giant damn HUG. Loved it so much. Also loved “Standard Deviation” by the author so I’m eagerly awaiting more of her work!
aurigae's review against another edition
4.0
When Jane moves to Boyne City, she quickly takes up with Duncan - and almost as quickly, discovers that he comes with baggage, in particular his meddling ex-wife, Aggie, and his needy employee, Jimmy. But Jane has baggage of her own: a difficult mother and her own need for connection. Over the better part of two decades, Jane's and Duncan's lives become enmeshed, and this deliberately-paced novel chronicles Jane's slow absorption into, and slower acceptance of, her own life.
Not snarkily humorous like Standard Deviation but, still, the portrait of a marriage - and, more, the unconventional relationships adults can form over the duration of a life and the ways those relationships can frustrate and fulfill us. A satisfying and engrossing read.
Not snarkily humorous like Standard Deviation but, still, the portrait of a marriage - and, more, the unconventional relationships adults can form over the duration of a life and the ways those relationships can frustrate and fulfill us. A satisfying and engrossing read.
heather425's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars rounded to 3 because this takes place in Michigan. I do not understand the love for this book. It was all telling the reader and not showing us anything. Another reviewer mentions it glosses over bad things and then tells the reader about them. There was no action to the book. And the stories of the classroom would never have happened in this century. Maybe in the days before standardized testing, but not now. Too many rules and guidelines now that would not allow a teacher to do the things Jane does with her class. All the characters were boring. I was in it for the Michigan references.