orygunn's review against another edition
4.0
I always forget how I struggle through the first 80-100 pages of Meg Waite Clayton's books, but at that point they really take off and I enjoy the remainder so much I forget how labored the first parts are. This is no exception and it was nice to return and visit with the Wednesday Daughters.
melissakuzma's review against another edition
2.0
Loved the Wednesday Sisters but thought this one was a huge mess. I felt like it started in the middle because I had no idea who anyone was (even though I read the first book!) and even after I figured out who was who, like many other reviewers, I had a hard time following it. Absolutely terrible. I'm not even sure why I'm going it two whole stars.
lynnaeaowens's review
4.0
The pros:
- I like that Ally became one of the main characters in this book (kind of...), even though she was quite secondary in the first book. I found her to be the least developed "Sister" in the first book
- the setting! I ADORE the Lake District. Reading about all the familiar sites made me so happy.
- realistic friendships
- Beatrix Potter's inclusion was very creative and was my favorite part of the novel
- grief was portrayed realistically. I liked how each character coped with very different strategies
The cons:
- point of view - no idea why they chose Hope as the narrator. I think spending time in each of the three main women's perspectives would've really helped me understand the story better. Having Hope "guess" at the motivations of the other women, somewhat omniciently, bugged me
- unrealistic romance. All of this was gag inducing. Just flat romantic relationships of convenience (hmmm there's a guy around, he must be paired with a woman!).
- slow build. It took me half the novel to feel invested. Even then, I was only mildly interested in a couple plot lines.
Pros outweighed the cons for me. The themes played out here were more complex than in The Wednesday Sisters, which may have contributed to some of the components falling flat.
4/5
- I like that Ally became one of the main characters in this book (kind of...), even though she was quite secondary in the first book. I found her to be the least developed "Sister" in the first book
- the setting! I ADORE the Lake District. Reading about all the familiar sites made me so happy.
- realistic friendships
- Beatrix Potter's inclusion was very creative and was my favorite part of the novel
- grief was portrayed realistically. I liked how each character coped with very different strategies
The cons:
- point of view - no idea why they chose Hope as the narrator. I think spending time in each of the three main women's perspectives would've really helped me understand the story better. Having Hope "guess" at the motivations of the other women, somewhat omniciently, bugged me
- unrealistic romance. All of this was gag inducing. Just flat romantic relationships of convenience (hmmm there's a guy around, he must be paired with a woman!).
- slow build. It took me half the novel to feel invested. Even then, I was only mildly interested in a couple plot lines.
Pros outweighed the cons for me. The themes played out here were more complex than in The Wednesday Sisters, which may have contributed to some of the components falling flat.
4/5
sbunyan's review
3.0
I enjoyed the first half of this book a lot. I liked learning about the women and watching them gain confidence. The references to events in the late 60s and early 70s were also interesting. The second half of the book dragged. What I initially thought was good descriptive writing became drawn out, overly cliched writing. Eyes couldn't just be blue, they had to be strikingly blue with flecks of green, ocean like and clear, swimming with reflections of the love for her children. Every thought and every event was tediously described. The author needs a better editor.
ciska's review
2.0
*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in return for an honest review*
Author
Meg Waite Clayton is the bestselling author of The Wednesday Sisters, The Four Ms. Bradwells and The Language of Light. Her books have been published in six language and her essays and stories have aired on public radio and appeared in national news publications. A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Clayton lives with her family in Palo Alto.
Review
When I first saw this book it caught my attention due to to fact it was a book holding a story on a long gone author. I love books on books or old authors and especially when they take situations from the old books and translate how relevant these still are in the 21th century. That was well done in this book and I liked reading the quotes from Beatrix Potter's various stories as well as her diaries.
There was one big problem though I encountered with reading this book which more or less ruined the whole book for me and that was the point of view. There where two parts. The diary/notebook entries from Ally where she discusses her discoveries concerning the search for her mothers family as well as the investigation for the Beatrix Potter book. These where okay to read though the dialog she had with Beatrix Potter did disturb me a bit but this could be the result of the most frustrating thing of this book. The point of view in the NOW chapters. In the NOW chapters we are supposed to live inside Hope's head but Hope obviously has some psychic abilities because she writes whole parts from the insides of Julie and Anne Pages heads. Things both Julie and Anne Page think or do while Hope is not even near without any indication that Hope wrote down the story afterwards after receiving all the information from the other woman. This makes it difficult to connect to the people because I was never sure who's head I was in.
The story itself was the ideal story for me, family secrets, secrets between friends uncovered because the situation is just asking for it but the whole struggle with the point of view made it difficult for me to really get engaged. I know there are people out there who will not be bothered with it as much as me. If you are not sure be sure to pick up the book in a bookstore and check the third chapter because IF you can deal with the point of view thing I am sure this book is a great read!
--update--
an anonymous commenter on my blog pointed out to me that it does mention indication that it was told afterwards
"- e.g., p. 11 "As with much of this story, what I know of the rest of that evening ... I know from the REHASHING AFTERWARDS. We Wednesday Daughters, like our mothers, love to tell stories on ourselves."
With this knowledge I read to the first part which I remember being annoyed with which is the chapter where Anna Page wakes Julie and she is thinking about the conversation she had with Jamie and I still cannot see this told from Hopes perspective. For me this feels as if it is told from Julies perspective and as Hope is not involved there at all it does not click in my head that she is telling the story now making it difficult for me to really connect there.
Author
Meg Waite Clayton is the bestselling author of The Wednesday Sisters, The Four Ms. Bradwells and The Language of Light. Her books have been published in six language and her essays and stories have aired on public radio and appeared in national news publications. A graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, Clayton lives with her family in Palo Alto.
Review
When I first saw this book it caught my attention due to to fact it was a book holding a story on a long gone author. I love books on books or old authors and especially when they take situations from the old books and translate how relevant these still are in the 21th century. That was well done in this book and I liked reading the quotes from Beatrix Potter's various stories as well as her diaries.
There was one big problem though I encountered with reading this book which more or less ruined the whole book for me and that was the point of view. There where two parts. The diary/notebook entries from Ally where she discusses her discoveries concerning the search for her mothers family as well as the investigation for the Beatrix Potter book. These where okay to read though the dialog she had with Beatrix Potter did disturb me a bit but this could be the result of the most frustrating thing of this book. The point of view in the NOW chapters. In the NOW chapters we are supposed to live inside Hope's head but Hope obviously has some psychic abilities because she writes whole parts from the insides of Julie and Anne Pages heads. Things both Julie and Anne Page think or do while Hope is not even near without any indication that Hope wrote down the story afterwards after receiving all the information from the other woman. This makes it difficult to connect to the people because I was never sure who's head I was in.
The story itself was the ideal story for me, family secrets, secrets between friends uncovered because the situation is just asking for it but the whole struggle with the point of view made it difficult for me to really get engaged. I know there are people out there who will not be bothered with it as much as me. If you are not sure be sure to pick up the book in a bookstore and check the third chapter because IF you can deal with the point of view thing I am sure this book is a great read!
--update--
an anonymous commenter on my blog pointed out to me that it does mention indication that it was told afterwards
"- e.g., p. 11 "As with much of this story, what I know of the rest of that evening ... I know from the REHASHING AFTERWARDS. We Wednesday Daughters, like our mothers, love to tell stories on ourselves."
With this knowledge I read to the first part which I remember being annoyed with which is the chapter where Anna Page wakes Julie and she is thinking about the conversation she had with Jamie and I still cannot see this told from Hopes perspective. For me this feels as if it is told from Julies perspective and as Hope is not involved there at all it does not click in my head that she is telling the story now making it difficult for me to really connect there.
gmr's review
3.0
This book renewed my faith in sisterhood and friendship. An easy read which combines current events (of the era), family relations, and the support of a good group of girlfriends.
snarkmeister's review
2.0
Meh. It was just ok. Now that I'm done with it I can barely remember it. Not a good sign.
diana_reads_and_reads's review
2.0
Eh. I may have liked this better had I known it was a sequel and read the other book first. I found it hard to keep the characters straight. There was just enough story to keep me reading to the end.
b00kr3vi3ws's review against another edition
4.0
Hope Tantry along with her friends, Anna and Julie visits the cottage where her mother spent the last years of her life. Hope’s mother’, Ally, had used this cottage as a retreat to finish her biography on Beatrix Potter. Hope knew very little about the time her mother spent here.
Hope soon realises that there’s a lot of things that she did not know about her mother – like the friendly neighbour next door and the encoded journal that ally left hidden in a drawer. Hope is overwhelmed by her grief, the unanswered questions and her doubts about her own marriage. She also realises that her friends have their own struggles – Julie is still grieving the loss of her twin sister and Anna’s facing her fear of commitments. As they try to find the answers regarding Ally, they take on a journey of their own that teaches them more about love and family.
Though Hope stands out in the novel, Anna and Julie are equally important parts of it. The characters are each unique in their own ways, yet it feels like as if the story would be incomplete even without any one of them. Well-developed characters are easy to connect to and these characters were no different. Even though I haven’t read Wednesday’s Sisters, the prequel to this one, I never felt completely lost. The intertwined lives of the characters were really interesting to read about.
The plot line is simple yet compelling. Bringing together the lives of the ‘Wednesday Sisters’ and the ‘Wednesday Daughters’, this book deals mostly about how each person’s past can influence their present and future. The book also explores the bonds of friendship and family and their effect on our lives. Even the secrets kept from the ones closest to us and betrayals – basically with the simplest concepts of each and every person’s lives. The author has managed to deliver it all in a beautifully wrapped package that is her very precise style of writing.
Though ‘Wednesday Daughters’ can stand alone, I wish I had read ‘Wednesday Sisters’ before reading this so as to be able to forge a relationship with both the generations from the very beginning.
Hope soon realises that there’s a lot of things that she did not know about her mother – like the friendly neighbour next door and the encoded journal that ally left hidden in a drawer. Hope is overwhelmed by her grief, the unanswered questions and her doubts about her own marriage. She also realises that her friends have their own struggles – Julie is still grieving the loss of her twin sister and Anna’s facing her fear of commitments. As they try to find the answers regarding Ally, they take on a journey of their own that teaches them more about love and family.
Though Hope stands out in the novel, Anna and Julie are equally important parts of it. The characters are each unique in their own ways, yet it feels like as if the story would be incomplete even without any one of them. Well-developed characters are easy to connect to and these characters were no different. Even though I haven’t read Wednesday’s Sisters, the prequel to this one, I never felt completely lost. The intertwined lives of the characters were really interesting to read about.
The plot line is simple yet compelling. Bringing together the lives of the ‘Wednesday Sisters’ and the ‘Wednesday Daughters’, this book deals mostly about how each person’s past can influence their present and future. The book also explores the bonds of friendship and family and their effect on our lives. Even the secrets kept from the ones closest to us and betrayals – basically with the simplest concepts of each and every person’s lives. The author has managed to deliver it all in a beautifully wrapped package that is her very precise style of writing.
Though ‘Wednesday Daughters’ can stand alone, I wish I had read ‘Wednesday Sisters’ before reading this so as to be able to forge a relationship with both the generations from the very beginning.
wrightashleyg's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25