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A review by jojodoug55
Room and Board by Miriam Parker
3.0
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advanced reader's copy of this book.
My Rating: 2.75/5
"Room and Board" is a domestic fiction novel that tells the story of a New York City publicist who is ousted from the industry due to scandal. As a result, she is forced to move back to her hometown in California and find a new job. She settles on being the high school dorm mom of the boarding school that she attended when she was a teenager. Doing so, she travels down a path of nostalgia as she redefines her life and future.
I found the idea behind this book quite appealing when I first happened upon it. It immediately caught my attention. As I began reading it, I realized that it covers many interesting themes such as change, identity, career, friendship, love, trauma, nostalgia, generational disparity, class, corruption, and more. The plot, though prominently featuring a romance, is generally void of clichés, which is something that I definitely appreciate. It makes it original. More unique. Additionally, there are some likeable characters, one of which I believe could serve as the protagonist of a sequel. However, I do not believe that there should be a sequel if the main character of this novel remains the protagonist of a subsequent one.
Regarding negative aspects of the book, I found there to be a general lacking of sufficient exploration of the themes that I mentioned. It is unclear as to what the scandal actually is that drives the main character to her hometown to start over. It is also unclear as to how a certain boy from her past betrayed her. These are important aspects of the story, and they are under-developed. Due to this, most characters in the novel come across as one-dimensional; their stories are not adequately explored and, therefore, seem incomplete and inconsequential to the story. Their reactions also often seem weak, especially in situations that would normally merit a strong response in reality. Though this is largely due to what they say in dialogue, it is the narration within the dialogue that is disappointing. Almost every character speaks with the simple and repetitive description of "said." There is not much variety, colour, or emotion present in the characters' conversations, at least when it comes to their narration. As such, this presents a dismissive quality in the story line of the book. It does not drive the story forward with intrigue, but rather stagnates it upon each repeated and predictable usage of "said" and halts the reader's interest in the characters and the book's plot points. The book also has a nice open ending, but that is found at the end of chapter 22, so the subsequent chapter and epilogue seem unnecessary, especially since they appear to negate the journey of re-self-discovery of the protagonist, which seems to be the purpose of the story: re-self-discovery. As a result, I was left confused and wondering what the point of the book was. Its message was more or less clear throughout the read, but with chapter 23 and the epilogue it was blurred, and not in a good-twist-like way.
Overall, the idea behind the story is good, but unfortunately it was not executed as well as I expected it to be. The book is not bad, as I did find myself enjoying it, relaxing my mind in its simplicity. It attempts to explore a variety of interesting themes such as change, identity, career, corruption, class, generational disparity, friendship, and love. However, its delivery on these discussions lack elaboration and general sufficient exploration. Due to this, I would neither re-read this novel, nor be likely to recommend it. But I had a decent time reading it.
My Rating: 2.75/5
"Room and Board" is a domestic fiction novel that tells the story of a New York City publicist who is ousted from the industry due to scandal. As a result, she is forced to move back to her hometown in California and find a new job. She settles on being the high school dorm mom of the boarding school that she attended when she was a teenager. Doing so, she travels down a path of nostalgia as she redefines her life and future.
I found the idea behind this book quite appealing when I first happened upon it. It immediately caught my attention. As I began reading it, I realized that it covers many interesting themes such as change, identity, career, friendship, love, trauma, nostalgia, generational disparity, class, corruption, and more. The plot, though prominently featuring a romance, is generally void of clichés, which is something that I definitely appreciate. It makes it original. More unique. Additionally, there are some likeable characters, one of which I believe could serve as the protagonist of a sequel. However, I do not believe that there should be a sequel if the main character of this novel remains the protagonist of a subsequent one.
Regarding negative aspects of the book, I found there to be a general lacking of sufficient exploration of the themes that I mentioned. It is unclear as to what the scandal actually is that drives the main character to her hometown to start over. It is also unclear as to how a certain boy from her past betrayed her. These are important aspects of the story, and they are under-developed. Due to this, most characters in the novel come across as one-dimensional; their stories are not adequately explored and, therefore, seem incomplete and inconsequential to the story. Their reactions also often seem weak, especially in situations that would normally merit a strong response in reality. Though this is largely due to what they say in dialogue, it is the narration within the dialogue that is disappointing. Almost every character speaks with the simple and repetitive description of "said." There is not much variety, colour, or emotion present in the characters' conversations, at least when it comes to their narration. As such, this presents a dismissive quality in the story line of the book. It does not drive the story forward with intrigue, but rather stagnates it upon each repeated and predictable usage of "said" and halts the reader's interest in the characters and the book's plot points. The book also has a nice open ending, but that is found at the end of chapter 22, so the subsequent chapter and epilogue seem unnecessary, especially since they appear to negate the journey of re-self-discovery of the protagonist, which seems to be the purpose of the story: re-self-discovery. As a result, I was left confused and wondering what the point of the book was. Its message was more or less clear throughout the read, but with chapter 23 and the epilogue it was blurred, and not in a good-twist-like way.
Overall, the idea behind the story is good, but unfortunately it was not executed as well as I expected it to be. The book is not bad, as I did find myself enjoying it, relaxing my mind in its simplicity. It attempts to explore a variety of interesting themes such as change, identity, career, corruption, class, generational disparity, friendship, and love. However, its delivery on these discussions lack elaboration and general sufficient exploration. Due to this, I would neither re-read this novel, nor be likely to recommend it. But I had a decent time reading it.