A review by laurawoods13
This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The story of Rosie’s son becoming her daughter was fantastic to follow. But there were a few aspects of the book itself that I did not enjoy: the writing style was long/clunky and distracting, the parallel fairy tale told by the father was dragged out too much and way too on the nose to the point that the kids recognized what he was doing, and the parts in Thailand pulled away from everything that had been built up to. It seemed the parts in Thailand were supposed to teach Rosie and Clyde/Poppy about what to do next and that life is magical etc etc but it was like the author was trying to wrap the story up with a pretty bow, despite drilling in the message that you can’t control how the world perceives you and that all you can do is be yourself. The ending was pretty abrupt and disappointing. 
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