maggiejean'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
5.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Classism, and Racism
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Abortion
skyba3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Abortion and Classism
Moderate: Xenophobia, Car accident, Death, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Infertility, Kidnapping, and Grief
cayls's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Abortion, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, and Racism
Moderate: Kidnapping and Miscarriage
sweetsanchia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, and Abortion
Moderate: Infertility and Pregnancy
Minor: Kidnapping and Abandonment
seethinglloron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Abortion, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Racism
angelofthetardis'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? Yes
3.5
This is definitely a step outside my usual genre. Technically, the book is very well written and very easy to read; the author's use of contrast, imagery and description really give the story depth and a bit of a dark edge, and I can appreciate why it seems a popular choice and why it's been made into a TV series. However, the story itself seems to me to reflect the setting; meticulously planned, a pleasant place to be, but where not too much interesting or exciting happens. The expectation is set quite high at the outset, but the payoff never really materialises.
From a non-US perspective, this feels like the epitome of white middle class America, and I just don't get it. Sure, a nice big house with a garden in a good neighbourhood is totally understandable, but I just can't get my head around the fact that people actually aspire to live in places like Shaker Heights. So immediately I struggled to get into the story because I cannot relate to the community at large at all.
In terms of characterisation, I think Mrs Richardson in particular is very reflective of that same white middle class privilege that perhaps blinds us to our own prejudices. She is so keen to show that she's accepting, charitable, open-minded... but only when you fit into her world without a problem. Disturb the status quo and immediately you're not welcome. There's nothing overtly wrong with what she thinks day to day, but her world view is skewed by the community in which she's been raised. When you compare her to Mia, Bebe and even her own daughters (especially Izzy), she actually comes across as quite a two dimensional, Stepford Wives style character, whom again I could not get invested in.
Motherhood is a huge theme throughout the book, in all its forms. Each mother is judged in some way; from letting fear turn a relationship sour, to whether money is as important as love when you're raising a child. To me, it seems that every mother is doing their best with what they have, save again for Mrs Richardson, who recognises that there's a problem but does nothing to try and change it. I will be honest, there were moments where I wanted to stop reading as, while I have no particular triggers, the subject matter is quite emotive and I did find certain scenes hard to get through.
I was expecting a lot of different things to what was actually delivered, so in that respect Incan say this book was, if not full of shock twists and turns, then certainly not as predictable as you might think. In particular, I was waiting for quite the denouement, as the events did seem to be building towards something big. But the ending left me very disappointed; it just gently tails off. Until the last few pages, I was going to give this a 4 star rating despite it not being my cup of tea. The only thing I can see is that the author has left it wide open for a sequel, which could work as there are plenty of plot lines that could be extended easily and the rounded off to a proper conclusion. I suspect that even if the author does write one, the producers of the TV version will be happy to run with it!
Interesting and not something I regret reading, but just a little too far outside my comfort zone to be properly enjoyable.
Moderate: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Abortion, Abandonment, and Infertility
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, and Death
alisonfaith426's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Abortion, Child abuse, Classism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Kidnapping, and Racism
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Car accident, Cancer, and Cursing
captainnat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Infertility, Miscarriage, Gaslighting, Abortion, and Sexual content
Moderate: Terminal illness, Stalking, and Kidnapping
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, and Grief
gardens_and_dragons's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The plot twist at the end that ends up, tearing the two families apart is really shocking to me. Even though I don’t necessarily agree with how the mother made her decision, I sympathize with her character for having to go through what she did to be a single mother and love her daughter, with her whole heart.
The side story of the drama surrounding the Chinese infant who was away by her birth mother, and then is now being fought for again because she is at a different point in life - utterly heartbreaking. It’s such a complicated situation, but ultimately the plays of power and race schism that go down in the court case are tragic.
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Pregnancy and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Infertility, Sexual content, and Classism
abbruzzese's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
You’ll always be sad about this. But it doesn’t mean you made the wrong choice. It’s just something that you have to carry.
one of the cardinal rules of writing is that the first page—the first sentence, even—is supposed to hook your readers. this book did not do that, but i am so glad i stuck it out and kept going! this book is good! the plot is always moving & it was the perfect subway read because it was easy to pick up wherever i left off.
now, for the characters...
- pearl & mia are perfect. i loved them. wouldn't change a thing.
- lexie & izzy were okay characters, but it def felt like they were plot-movers if not their own people.
- trip felt sooo forgotten as a character, would have loved to see him incorporated into the plot more.
- mr. richardson was replaceable. he had one somewhat important role in the story and even then, it could have easily been written with anyone else & not changed a thing.
- mrs. richardson made me want to break fucking necks. but i guess that means she was well-written?
- and finally, moody...
Spoiler
girl what the hell happened? he's a sweetheart, he disappears from the plot, and then he turns back up as an asshole? how does he go from <i>"he would crack dumb jokes and tell stories and dredge up bits of trivia, anything to make her smile"</i> to <i>"i thought you were smarter than the sluts who usually agree to do it with him. but i guess not.”</i> ??? celeste ng, please explain wtf you were trying to accomplish with this regressive development bc i am NOT having it. i could maybe understand moody's bitterness over pearl liking trip if the brotherly conflict arc had been explored <s>at all</s> a little more, but it wasn't, so this whole sibling jealousy thing comes out of fucking NOWHERE.
anyway, other than my nitpicky critiques of the characters, i enjoyed this book! i might have to take a peek at what else celeste ng has written.
Graphic: Abortion, Racism, Infertility, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Car accident, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, and Racism
Minor: Sexual content