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tara3117's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Nothing that happens in this book is good. The people aren't good. Any of them. Maybe Theo, but he's so minor. He's probably a good guy. The narrator is absolute garbage when faced with any type of possibility. We have no idea where she gets money from. Book royalties maybe? I don't know. None of this woman's lifestyle makes any sense to me. The tag is that it's about "one woman's reckoning with marriage, work, sex, and motherhood." But she doesn't reckon with anything. She literally walks away from all of it except sex. There is no reckoning. She doesn't even make decisions with any kind of forethought whatsoever. She's a trainwreck and I feel misled.
There is so much borrowing from her parents' stories. She spends way too long retelling her dad's story, which isn't relevant at all except that it's salatious and mostly true. She spends too long retelling her mom's letter chronologically backwards, so when people pop up later, you vaguely remember that they end up being garbage later on, but when she's 11, they're cute. The only thing the letters serve is to set the scene of how messed up Claire is because her mom is. If anything, this book is about generational trauma, drugs and sex and not about marriage, work or motherhood at all. All of the back story basically tells you that this girl's trauma (of having a dead dad and a poor, drug-addicted mom) is what makes her interesting.
However, the writing is really good. The dialogue is pretty and realistic. The descriptions are beautiful. So that's where it's unfortunate. The author can write a fantastic sentence. She cannot write a story.
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual content, and Abandonment
ashlurtis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I read this for a "semi-autobiographical" challenge at my local library and was constantly feeling weirded out about how the author and main character share the same name among other characteristics. Also, every character in this story, including and especially the main character, is super icky. There might be an appropriate audience for this book, and I am definitely not it, nor can I conceive of who would be.
The narrative switches between the main character's very unreliable point of view and these random letters from a character I wasn't even sure the identity of until near the end of the book. I am assuming there are a lot of heavy and raw emotions that went into the writing of this book and that for some people it might be very cathartic to read, but not for this young-ish Midwestern mom who loves her family...
The content is just as icky as the characters and I kind of felt like I needed to take a really hot shower to wash this book off me. Probably will not be seeking out more work from this author.
Graphic: Drug use, Sexual violence, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent
Minor: Abortion
rdebner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Addiction and Drug use
Minor: Rape
kelsea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction and Drug use
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault and Murder
bookishcori's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual content
Moderate: Addiction, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Abortion
cocacolor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Infidelity, and Sexual violence
Minor: Abortion
generalalarm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Mental illness, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault
gm3116's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The story is also accompanied by her parents' stories which come together to offer a look into a bygone time with bygone hopes and aspirations.
Graphic: Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse