amaceachern's review
3.0
The author does a good job of tackling a heavy subject, suicide, and the ways that it impacts different people within the same family. The added complexities of the father's love life and aunt's religious focus seem to take away from the overall storyline of the novel. Overall, it was a good read!
wombat_88's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
ondbookshelf's review
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
anionce's review
4.0
Read the review here >> Do you love the 90s and small-town stories? If so, you should get your hands on this book. It’s a bit long and not a lot happens, but I felt like I was watching a beautiful film, one of those movies I used to love when I was kid. I really believe this could become a great film.
This is not one of those plot-driven novels I usually read, it’s actually more character-driven: everything revolves about Dean, the high-school football coach, her teenage “daughter” Stephanie and her brothers Robbie and Bry. The story takes place in 1996, about two months after their wife and mother’s unexpected suicide.
Mainly, this book is told by Dean and Steffy’s points of view. Both storylines:Dean dealing with the children and his feelings for other women and Steffy at college, trying to figure out who she is, were equally appealing. I didn’t lose interest at any point and both characters were interesting (although Dean was harder to like, especially when he seemed to care more about football than his children). However, the character I loved the most was Bry: he was so sweet and innocent that you couldn’t help but adore him.
This is not one of those plot-driven novels I usually read, it’s actually more character-driven: everything revolves about Dean, the high-school football coach, her teenage “daughter” Stephanie and her brothers Robbie and Bry. The story takes place in 1996, about two months after their wife and mother’s unexpected suicide.
Mainly, this book is told by Dean and Steffy’s points of view. Both storylines:Dean dealing with the children and his feelings for other women and Steffy at college, trying to figure out who she is, were equally appealing. I didn’t lose interest at any point and both characters were interesting (although Dean was harder to like, especially when he seemed to care more about football than his children). However, the character I loved the most was Bry: he was so sweet and innocent that you couldn’t help but adore him.
mcoppadge07's review
3.0
I received this book via a Goodreads giveaway courtesy of William Morrow.
This is the beginning of the blurb for this book. "The heart of Friday Night Lights meets the emotional resonance and nostalgia of My So-Called Life in this moving debut novel about tradition, family, love, and football."
Now this is totally misleading. Football plays a role in this novel but not a super big one. Maybe about 25%, maybe. Also I don't know where tradition plays a role in this novel as well.
I wasn't super impressed with this book but I liked it well enough to get through it. There were parts that I enjoyed but overall I was kind of disappointed after reading the description and then reading the book. Dean drove me nuts. Without dropping any spoilers... yes he's gone through a huge tragedy but the way he does some things after the death of his wife was just not right. He makes a change with his coaching life that I really liked and was very happy about that. However the way he handled certain things made me want to slap the guy and tell him to wake up. I really enjoyed reading his daughter Stephanie's parts. Her POV is part of the reason I kept going. She was real, honest and relatable and so were her younger brothers.
This is the beginning of the blurb for this book. "The heart of Friday Night Lights meets the emotional resonance and nostalgia of My So-Called Life in this moving debut novel about tradition, family, love, and football."
Now this is totally misleading. Football plays a role in this novel but not a super big one. Maybe about 25%, maybe. Also I don't know where tradition plays a role in this novel as well.
I wasn't super impressed with this book but I liked it well enough to get through it. There were parts that I enjoyed but overall I was kind of disappointed after reading the description and then reading the book. Dean drove me nuts. Without dropping any spoilers... yes he's gone through a huge tragedy but the way he does some things after the death of his wife was just not right. He makes a change with his coaching life that I really liked and was very happy about that. However the way he handled certain things made me want to slap the guy and tell him to wake up. I really enjoyed reading his daughter Stephanie's parts. Her POV is part of the reason I kept going. She was real, honest and relatable and so were her younger brothers.
shallihavemydwarf's review
4.0
This is a very low-key powerful book about a family reeling from tragedy. It's not about answers, just processes of grieving and blaming and moving on. I found this book very empathetic in constructing its mostly conservative characters while avoiding preachiness.
Friday Night Lights is the most obvious comparison, but its very apt. However, I was surprised and relieved that Dean gave up his football coaching job so early in the narrative; I had to power through the early episodes of FNL to get through the heavy football emphasis. In contrast, Dean's work with the cross-country team is both fascinating and heartwarming.
Friday Night Lights is the most obvious comparison, but its very apt. However, I was surprised and relieved that Dean gave up his football coaching job so early in the narrative; I had to power through the early episodes of FNL to get through the heavy football emphasis. In contrast, Dean's work with the cross-country team is both fascinating and heartwarming.
fennelandfiber's review
4.0
I feel as though the idea of what this book is about was sightly misleading. However the book was written very well, yet the character development felt lacking in some places and rushed in others.
fennelandfiber's review against another edition
4.0
I feel as though the idea of what this book is about was sightly misleading. However the book was written very well, yet the character development felt lacking in some places and rushed in others.