A review by literatehedgehog
Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ah, contemporary romance. Where it is possible to both love a character and want to kick them in the pants. To want the character to find love, but also a therapist. Sadie is an imperfect heroine, to be sure. I think the audiobook narrator makes her...soliloquys more endearing than the whining they could be, especially when she's averring that she doesn't need help, doesn't ever ask for help (even though many of her actions contradict this??). She is a real navel-gazer of a self-absorbed person, clearly traumatized from a traumatizing adolescence, but dang did I want to shake her into recognizing  that the other people around her have feelings and experiences, too. And maybe she could ask them about their lives and feelings, sometimes. I have feelings about her, but that also shows some great writing: Sadie feels like someone I want to talk about over tea (literally? figuratively?).
So there is a plot twist, and even knowing there is a plot twist could be a spoiler, so read at your own risk. I figured out the reveal partway through, and it was actually still satisfying waiting for the penny to drop for Sadie, clues confirming my expectations. Again, very believable for her diagnosis and characterization! So oblivious, get it together girl.
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