Reviews with content warning for Emotional abuse - Meredith, yksin

Really enjoyed this book - great characters with interesting back stories and well written alternating between past and present. Having been housebound for months due to illness I identified some of the feelings of the main character (!), fortunately without having a trauma history and depression. Easy read that is both sad and funny at times

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sunnybutchbabe's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Still thinking about this book a month after finishing. I liked the way meredith’s struggles were formatted- showing the effect of trauma, then talking about the trauma, and a very slowwww healing process. the book was well paced but the author does a good job at showing meredith’s healing as a process and not a quick fix.

this book does a great job at showing the power of friends and being truthful with the people in our lives. great family development

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_maeike's review against another edition

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

4.5

I hope everyone has a Celest, Sadie and Tom in their lifes!

I really really liked this book. Could have been a tiny bit shorter but the pacing and everything was still great.

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kell_xavi's review against another edition

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dark hopeful sad medium-paced

3.5

This is a book full of acceptance and empathy for people dealing with trauma, neglect, abuse, and mental disorders. It follows Meredith, a kind-hearted, reserved woman who suffers from panic attacks and severe depressive episodes when she attempts to leave her house. She has been home for over three years, with a careful routine, an online job, an orange cat, and many indoor hobbies to keep her company. In this novel, Meredith tries to grow human connections, to cope with her personal history—told through flashback memories every few chapters—and to go outside.

The writing reminded me Nina LaCour, with its gentle movement through memory and its aftermath. Though Watch Over Me and We Are Okay, the most similar novels to this one, are both centred around characters 20+ years younger than Alexander’s protagonist, the voices had commonalities: a sense of small wonders, isolation, low self-esteem and a lot of self-blame, kindness and brokenness and pride in small achievements. Part of this is how the titular character here is treated, but the youthful is also a little odd, and I sometimes forgot she had 40 years of life within her.

A couple parts come together too easily, and others are belaboured, which lessens my overall rating. Fiona is a tangled character with a complex relationship to her sister, so it’s inevitably messy , but I think the depiction could’ve been stronger. And I don’t think either trendy pop version of the cover fits the book well! I did enjoy Meredith and her support network though. I liked the jigsaw puzzles and baking, the lack of judgment on age or any sort of expected landmark; I feel that depression and its most difficult effects are represented well in these pages.

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savvyrosereads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thanks to Libro.fm and the publisher for providing me with a free audio copy!

Rating: 4/5 stars

Meredith has not left her house for over three years, but slowly begins to make progress on the journey to healing with the help of her friends.

This is extremely character-driven literary fiction, and I’m glad I read it on audio because that is usually my preferred format for that genre! I expected a meditation on mental health, and instead got one on friendship, sisterhood, and trauma…which is fine, but not exactly what the synopsis seems to suggest. That said, I found the characters really enjoyable, and Meredith’s journey was super poignant and beautiful. I was a bit frustrated because I kept wanting *more* from the book (though exactly what I can’t articulate)…but would still recommend to lit fic lovers in the mood for some very deep topics!

CW: Self harm; sexual assault; physical and emotional abuse; mental health/trauma generally

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my_a's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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alicelalicon's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring slow-paced

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

3.75

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catrinlj's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

I’m a bit conflicted about this book. I listened to the audiobook and I must admit that it was beautifully read by the narrator. However, I found the themes quite heavy and the amount of misery experienced by the main character felt a bit unrelenting after a certain point - it was not a book I necessarily looked forward to continuing during my commute! There were some moments of lighter humour, and Meredith and her friends were kind-hearted and thoughtful characters, but overall it felt a bit too slow and too heavy-going for me to be able to say I properly enjoyed it.

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