Reviews

Faithful by Alice Hoffman

cherryghost15's review against another edition

5.0

I loved this book, but it might not be for everybody.

The omniscient narrator worked well.

This story is a flowing tale of trauma and loss, pain and growth, friendship and love, uncertainty and faith.

The angel aspect actually was wonderfully intriguing.

Do something
Be something
Free something
Save something
Leave something
Love something
Remember someone
Trust someone.

logbennett's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

jiimjam's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

camiand96's review against another edition

2.0

This book was very dark and sad. I was disappointed with how brief and lacking the resolution was. The idea behind the book is brilliant and I feel that there was a lot of potential for this book to be amazing but the author missed the mark for me.

tania_1975's review against another edition

4.0

I received a copy of Faithful via Netgalley.

I absolutely adore Alice Hoffman's writing and again with Faithful she doesn't disappoint. I was drawn into Shelby's story from the start and fell in love with her character, in fact all the characters in this book. Every character has their own story and we see how they develop throughout their journey, their ups and downs, highs and lows. I am now craving chinese food and the love of a dog!

kaylaowens's review against another edition

5.0

This was one of the most heartbreaking and beautiful stories I've ever read. It was also incredibly uplifting... there was no quick turnaround or instant gratification, but rather slow and steady character development that made this read so worthwhile.

robinetta's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• 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

3.25

slaterj's review against another edition

hopeful sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Child death, Sexual violence, and Suicide attempt

eesh25's review against another edition

DNF

I should probably schedule this review closer to the release date, but I simply wanted to get it over with.

Here's part of the GR synopsis: Growing up on Long Island, Shelby Richmond is an ordinary girl until one night an extraordinary tragedy changes her fate. Her best friend’s future is destroyed in an accident, while Shelby walks away with the burden of guilt.

This was a story about a woman learning to live again after a horrific tragedy and it was completely wrong for me. So wrong that, had I known what it would be like, I wouldn't have gotten it from Netgalley in the first place.

You see, the genre is 'Magical Realism'. To me, that's an oxymoron. Things are either real or magical. Not both of them at once. I'm not one for miracles and angels watching over you. Not when it comes to real life at least. I more enjoy...



Yup, that. And I make no apologies for it.

But there were other problems as well. For one, I didn't like the protagonist and I couldn't connect with her either. She was okay at first, but she soon started to annoy me with all the bad decisions and whatnot. Not that I liked other characters more. I didn't like Ben either, or all the other people who couldn't seem to realize the fact that Shelby was in serious need of therapy; and not being stoned 24x7.

The tone of the book was very depressing (another reason why it was all wrong for me) and I couldn't bring myself to care about what was happening or what would happen. Especially after we found out that Shelby was repeated raped, only to have the issue shoved aside. Because apparently, rape is not something worthy of much attention.

And now I'm going to stop typing because the more I think about the book, the more I dislike it. And I prefer not to shit too much on books I haven't even finished.

Overall, this wasn't a badly written novel, just not my cup of tea. And while I don't recommend it, you can try it if you want.


I recieved an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

bittersweet_symphony's review against another edition

3.0

It took me a long time to warm up to this angst-ridden protagonist. Admittedly, I have plenty of Jon Snow-eque caverns in my own psyche, but she was so insufferable for a good chunk of the book. I think at best it was a good exercise in empathy to read Faithful.

I made very different choices with the early tragedies in my life than Shelby did, but Hoffman's book is a reminder that there's always some redemption possible. An "ideal" life takes many forms. For some of us, it takes into our 40s or 50s to see that, and some of us are allowed that knowledge in our 20s.

All is well that ends well.