Reviews with content warning for Stalking - The People on Platform 5

I bought this book in Heathrow coming home, and after floundering about on public transport it seemed very apt to pick this up. Mostly I quite enjoyed it! Some writing I didn't love, as well as needless body shaming but it's very palatable, optimistic, and predictable, in a nice way. You have to go in with a suspension of disbelief about how entrenched in each other lives these people get, in the end it's a little silly but very sweet. Pooley obviously believes that literally everyone you see has a rich inner life and sees the beauty in the mundane. and I LOVE books written in multiple point of views. I liked that Iona was kind of a mess !! I would love to have a cup of train tea with her.

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shutupiamreading's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

I think I liked the concept of this book more than I liked the actual book... This has such a promising premise, but I think the execution lacked a bit. It dragged a lot in the middle and I can't help but wonder if the plot would've been better if one of the characters was left out - especially since there was 1 in particular who barely got any attention and seemed more like a vehicle to progress the plot.

There were a lot of good themes here - mental health in health professionals, ageing, re-inventing yourself during middle age, controlling relationships - but overall I feel like the exploration of these themes lacked depth. Leaving out at least 1-2 of the characters and making it 50 pages shorter would've focused the plot more.

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dogsyarnandbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

I loved this book! Such a fun, quirky cast of diverse characters, all brought together by unlikely circumstances. However, a lot of the reviews are calling this a “lighthearted read,” and while it’s certainly heartwarming and joyful most if the time, I think calling it “lighthearted” is misleading. It deals with some very heavy topics that could be off putting to someone who picks it up expecting all warm fuzzies. If you’re a sensitive reader, you may find it difficult in some parts, but it’s truly a wonderful book.

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imstephtacular's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

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jaja_1212's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I picked up this book hoping for a heartwarming contemporary read for comfort and it was exactly that and more. I was quite pleasantly surprised how the author managed to balance just the right amount of emotional topics and moments, just the right dose of "kitsch" without overdoing it. The multiple POVs were well done, as was the pacing (sometimes reading more than 2 or 3 characters' POVs can feel like it's slowing down and dragging the story, which was not the case here).
While I really enjoyed the characters and following their bonds forming, I would have preferred Bea's character to be more fleshed out than having a supporting character role. It seemed/felt like she was used as a bit of a device to make the Ionas character look good and to have more struggles for her character to work with.

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