reverie_and_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Every chapter is introduced by a letter from A.J. to his daughter Maya: full of love, warmth and bookish references. There is also a love-story and tragedy; both of which are told rather (too) lightly. The setting is a small town on a small island with touristy and non-touristy seasons.
I feel obliged to give few minus points for the following comparison: »[…] he had opened and closed the store with the emotionless regularity of an SS officer […]«. Just no, never ever for a funny themed self-observation. Cross that out and you have a story that first seems easy, with a father-daughter-relationship full of warmth and a subtle grin on your face. In the first half I got mostly what I was expecting from this novel, which was a lighter read packed with bookish things and some small town romance sprinkles. However, the second half left me quite sour. I have a desire to spoil, but I’ll refrain and just drop this instead: It does remind me of YA-books that were popular ~10 years ago (it was released 2014 and recently got a new cover).
As with so many stories there are themes that might be upsetting for you. Take care and check for possible content warnings. I would have liked one.
Moderate: Suicide, Death, Cancer, Miscarriage, and Car accident
transfluff's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Alcohol, Suicide, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Car accident, Vomit, Death, and Alcoholism
ed_w's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Alcohol, Terminal illness, Death, Chronic illness, Car accident, Suicide, and Infidelity
Minor: Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Vomit, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, and Drug use
jessicat10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Cancer, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Miscarriage
lejanne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Minor: Death, Car accident, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Cancer
sglance9's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Cancer, and Grief
Moderate: Infidelity and Suicide
Minor: Miscarriage and Car accident
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Car accident, Alcohol, Cancer, Cursing, Grief, Medical content, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, and Suicide
Moderate: Sexual content
haleiyoung's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Some characters are irredeemable, which this book definitely has in my opinion, but there are characters who make huge mistakes and you can't help but feel for their situation, which this book also has (and just to make it clear, those who are irredeemable are not those I feel for because
Spoiler
screw cheating bastards).My one critique would be about the number of parentheses and information dumping the author chose to keep in during the first few chapters. As the book progressed the words came much smoother, but in the beginning I felt like I was being bogged with a bunch of need to know information but presented in an ineloquent fashion.
Now here's a part with a spoiler
But I love the adoption trope in this book. Although I HATE when books or movies portray someone dumping their child onto an unwilling party, the way AJ accepts Maya into his home and loves her like he would his own daughter, and then Amelia doing the same when they get married is beautiful. I was adopted, and seeing it portrayed in such a way that sees AJ being seen as the legitimate dad and Amelia as the legitimate mom and not just the "adoptive parents" makes me heart so happy.
Moderate: Infertility, Suicide, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death, Terminal illness, Abandonment, and Cancer
Minor: Racism and Car accident
Nothing is explained in explicit detail. There is some insinuation to sex, but nothing descriptive. Racism- there is a brief insensitive remark made to the main character and family Miscarriage and infertility- nothing explicit, but talk around it is fairly un-emotive and swept aside toxic relationship- not the main character's relationship, but his sister-in-laws Car accident- nothing graphic, but results in deathmrslsmith's review against another edition
4.5
Moderate: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Suicide, and Cancer
Minor: Car accident, Miscarriage, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
beyourbestshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Abandonment, Suicide, and Miscarriage