seekittyread's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
My feelings about this book are mixed. After thinking long and hard about it and writing most of the rest of my review I found that I couldn't in good conscience give it higher than a three. If one thing had been left out I probably would have given it a five.
Jessie and Claudia's love story drew me in from the first chapter. I don't think there is any point in this book where there is any doubt that they are in love. I rooted for them through the whole book even when I knew there would be a lot of sadness involved. I think their story is an excellent example of what being gay was like at that time.
As much as I loved Jessie and Claudia and their stories there was one part of the book I struggled to forgive. The author obviously has a deep distaste or discomfort for pregnancy and birth and yet chose to include both in this book. There is a graphically inaccurate forced medical delivery in this book that truly put me off. Glorification of the hero doctor and jokes aimed at the poor dumb woman who doesn't know how to give birth. Talks of feeling ripped in half and how it would have been better if she was completely unconscious. It was completely barbaric and entirely unnecessary to the story line. There is also a comment later about hospital "births" being more civilized implying that birthing at home is uncivilized. I really wish that authors who are uncomfortable with birth would just leave it out of their writing.
I would not recommend this book to any woman who is pregnant or ever indends to be as everything described within this book to do with pregnancy and birth are inaccurate. It feels criminal to even call what she described as birth as that was a forced delivery.
Jessie and Claudia's love story drew me in from the first chapter. I don't think there is any point in this book where there is any doubt that they are in love. I rooted for them through the whole book even when I knew there would be a lot of sadness involved. I think their story is an excellent example of what being gay was like at that time.
As much as I loved Jessie and Claudia and their stories there was one part of the book I struggled to forgive. The author obviously has a deep distaste or discomfort for pregnancy and birth and yet chose to include both in this book. There is a graphically inaccurate forced medical delivery in this book that truly put me off. Glorification of the hero doctor and jokes aimed at the poor dumb woman who doesn't know how to give birth. Talks of feeling ripped in half and how it would have been better if she was completely unconscious. It was completely barbaric and entirely unnecessary to the story line. There is also a comment later about hospital "births" being more civilized implying that birthing at home is uncivilized. I really wish that authors who are uncomfortable with birth would just leave it out of their writing.
I would not recommend this book to any woman who is pregnant or ever indends to be as everything described within this book to do with pregnancy and birth are inaccurate. It feels criminal to even call what she described as birth as that was a forced delivery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Medical content, Cancer, Medical trauma, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Misogyny, Police brutality, Sexism, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment
majesdane's review
2.0
DNF. A lot of the writing, especially the dialogue, felt really anachronistic. The constant use of "cutesy" nicknames seriously grated on me.
More...