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vivisms_82's review
2.5
An alleged modern day retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Allegedly. Set 1990s-2000s, preacher's daughter Fern has always loved Ambrose the town heart-throb.
I don't know what to say other than I do not get the rave reviews and high ratings this book has received. Truly one of the worst books for character development I have ever read. Little explanation as to the motives and convictions of characters and why they do what they do. Such as,
The highlight of this book is Bailey. Muscular dystrophy and disability were well depicted and non-ableist. He was the one character I felt like I knew. If the whole book was about him and Rita, I would have liked it much more. He is the only reason I rated this book this high.
And lastly, what truly bugged me (and I have no idea why it is not getting more attention) are pages 101-2 i.e. The dialogue between the boys: Beans, Grant, Jesse, Paulie and Ambrose in Iraq about women wearing Burkas. I recommend folks to read those pages in full, however I have included the first half below. It is so disrespectful and feeds into this nonsense of "America the Free" and that the differences of other cultures means they are inferior to the great U.S. of A. I won't get political but this scene is blatantly ignorant and Islamophobic. Also very shallow in its depiction of female aesthetics. Rita is considered beautiful and Fern is not - yes we get told this repeatedly in this book but also that Fern is not aware of how she blossomed. Eye roll. The worst thing about this passage however, is that it is revealed Beans only started this conversation as "just a setup to rib Ambrose about Fern." And plain Fern not being pretty like Rita. So the author thought it would be a good idea to throw in some casual prejudice for such poor reasons?? Disgusting. All it does is portray male American soldiers as ignorant, disrespectful and intolerant. Not cool. Also, apparently wearing a burka is a great way for ugly women to trick men into marrying them. Well done Ms Harmon. Truly appalling. A heads up - the below reveals a minor plot spoiler from the first quarter of the book so do not read if that is an issue for you!
Beans:
“I would be happy to never see a woman that wasn’t wearing a tent over her head. Just once! And I would appreciate it if she was blonde or, even better, redheaded!” Beans moaned one afternoon after guarding a lonely checkpoint for several hours with only a handful of women clad in burkas… Maybe it was ironic that Beans longed for a blonde when he was Hispanic. But he was American, and America had the most diverse population in the world. A little diversity right now would be welcome.
Grant:
"I'd be happy to never see another burka again."
Jesse:
"I heard some guys, especially in places like Afghanistan, don't see their wives at all until after they are married. Can you imagine? Surprise sweetie!" Jesse batted his eyelids and made a hideous face...
Paulie:
"So how do they know who they are marrying?"...
Beans:
"Handwriting,"...
Paulie:
"Really?"...
Beans:
"Yeah. They write letters back and forth for a year or more. Then at the ceremony, she signs her name along with a promise she'll always wear her burka in front of other men. He recognises her handwriting and that is how he knows it's her beneath her veil."...
Jesse:
"Yeah. Just think, if Ambrose and Fern lived in Iraq, he never would have figured out it was Fern writing him those letters instead of Rita. Fern could have roped him into marriage. Ambrose would have seen her handwriting at the wedding and said, 'Yep, it's Rita, all right!'"
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Islamophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
elizabethmoon82's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Violence, and War
bbygirl21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Bailey was my favorite out of this whole book. Everyone in the book loved him and I understand why. He's the funniest sweetest most loving character. Most of my favorite quotes from this book came from him. It absolutely broke my heart what happened to him in this book. I knew he was gonna live a short life due to his muscular disease, I just didn't know that he was gonna go the way he did. He definitely deserved to have gone in a different way. But I can see why he went the way he did. It makes sense with the type of person he is.
I also really loved the theme of this book about beauty not being everything. Most of these characters are flawed in some way shape or form. Maybe not at the beginning but eventually you start to see the flaws of these characters.
I can't recommend this book enough. It may end up being in my top favorites of the year. Especially considering this is my first 5 star read of 2024. I would recommend this to everyone.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, and Pregnancy
luchikreads's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Murder, and War
jina's review against another edition
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Racism
midwesternreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I will say that this book had subject matter that went into some emotional places for me personally, places that I have been terrified of most of my adult life. Some of my greatest fears were in here, and while I sobbed I also was reminded that even when things hit that rock bottom there is beauty that can be found.
This was a beautiful and guy-wrenching story. As I finished the last page it was with a smile through tears. The raw emotion this book pulled on was a lot.
I absolutely adored Fern. She was a character that was a little naive in some respects, but also so strong and resilient without ever really knowing she was. Bailey also held such a special place in my heart, as did Ambrose. Their stories will sit with me for awhile.
This is a story of sacrifice, of not letting the things that are hard hold you down, of friendships despite differences, of love that goes beyond attraction. This is a story of taking some risks, of not being afraid of what others say, and for not giving up on one another.
This is going to be quite the book to recover from.
Graphic: Death and Grief
eurybia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, and War
lmcbarton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death and Terminal illness
Moderate: Domestic abuse