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A review by alienclans
Marlena by Julie Buntin
4.0
This is a story about a female friendship in a small town and the lasting impact of addiction. It’s done so well.
This was a truly lovely book. It’s written beautifully and the characters are so compelling. Cat and Marlena are girls I could have been, girls I kind of was, girls who would have hated me, girls I still feel like sometimes. I liked that it was told from a much older Cat’s perspective. Her description of adulthood felt particularly true.
“Being an adult — it is not the same. It is not, actually, anything like what we wanted, what we imagined for ourselves. But, Marlena, mostly it’s better.”
Being a teenage girl is chaos. Being an adult woman is numbness. Instead of anxiety, I now have flashes of anger at the way the world treats me. This book perfectly captures how it feels to look back at the flurry of teenage feelings, emotions, changes, and new experiences as an adult who has settled into a life of routine and both miss it and feel thankful you never have to go back.
This book rang true. The writing is beautiful, poetic, and nostalgic. It took me a bit to get through it but it was worth the slow pace. It didn’t need to be rushed. I’m glad to have it on my shelf.
”Above is, the sky, a shattered mirror of the lake, and of course, the stars — as distant and unknowable as every single person I’d ever met, even myself.”
This was a truly lovely book. It’s written beautifully and the characters are so compelling. Cat and Marlena are girls I could have been, girls I kind of was, girls who would have hated me, girls I still feel like sometimes. I liked that it was told from a much older Cat’s perspective. Her description of adulthood felt particularly true.
“Being an adult — it is not the same. It is not, actually, anything like what we wanted, what we imagined for ourselves. But, Marlena, mostly it’s better.”
Being a teenage girl is chaos. Being an adult woman is numbness. Instead of anxiety, I now have flashes of anger at the way the world treats me. This book perfectly captures how it feels to look back at the flurry of teenage feelings, emotions, changes, and new experiences as an adult who has settled into a life of routine and both miss it and feel thankful you never have to go back.
This book rang true. The writing is beautiful, poetic, and nostalgic. It took me a bit to get through it but it was worth the slow pace. It didn’t need to be rushed. I’m glad to have it on my shelf.
”Above is, the sky, a shattered mirror of the lake, and of course, the stars — as distant and unknowable as every single person I’d ever met, even myself.”