A review by saboyer
Beautiful Days, by Anna Godbersen

4.0

I was lost in this book for a giddy few hours. It's seriously so beautifully written, I sometimes didn't even mind what was being said. Godbersen is a genius at spinning scenes and making characters. The main three never betray themselves and, sure, sometimes that get's annoying--like how Cordelia is so single-minded she forgets her friend, or Letty is melodramatic and weepy and just making a mess of her romantic life, or how Astrid knows better but won't really fight what she feels is inevitable. And even for the dozens of men featured, they never feel flat. The sheer varieties of characters help draw out the scene and the period until we're lost in their world.

But, even for all the languishing beauty, Godbersen made sure the reader felt that sense of foreboding. As summer ends and, as we know, the Depression looms, we're nervous for the characters. They all got a version of their happily-ever-afters in this one but, somehow, it feels like it's just beginning--that everything has to come crumbling down in the wake of some disaster. And so I eagerly, desperately await the next.

And I hope Thom comes back as the good guy. Because I love him.

Read my full review here: http://by-its-cover.blogspot.com/2011/09/verdict-no-13.html