Stacy

It is hard to imagine growing up like Jeannette and her siblings did. I come from a “traditional” family background with 2 working parents who would sacrifice anything for their children, something I and my husband do for our own children. The perseverance it would take to overcome that background seems insurmountable to me. I would definitely recommend this memoir, just be prepared for an emotional ride.

I would give this 3.5 stars if that was an option. I can see how the allure of an unkown (to many in the west) culture would be a draw for this book and make it a classic/bestseller. I could tell it was not actually memoir and was written by a man versus written by a woman who lived that life. I did get a bit bored by the end and was ready for the book to be finished. I would still recommend for anyone looking for an enduring book with the caveat to not take this as an actual memoir.

I have finished book 2 in the series and I gave this one a 4 as I liked marginally more than “The Summer I Became Pretty.” I still find Belly (Why that nickname? It is terrible), to be incredibly whiny and immature. The bouncing between brothers is getting tiresome. I did find Belly to be a bit more manipulative and she told a lot of lies in this book. I am looking at this as a former teenage girl and I am trying to remember that this is similar to growing up for a lot of teens. It sure is tiresome though. I thought the storyline was better than book 1. I will read book 3 to finish out the series but I will be glad to be done.

I was interested in reading a book with a nonbinary (in this case gender fluid) character and chose this as it was in the list of banned books on my library app. In my opinion this book was terrible. I am guessing the author is straight. I am as well, but I think the author should have done more research about the lived experience of gender fluid people because I don't think it was a very accurate portrayal. The book never identifies what Riley's assigned gender was at birth which I found problematic. From people I know, a big part of their lives centers around their assigned gender and their actual gender. You can easily see that in the news with the fighting over what schools should and shouldn't be able to do in regard to lgbtqia+ students. It's a fight some students and their families have daily. I think some of the online harassment was more accurate but all in all, I would not recommend this book if you are looking for a book with a gender fluid protagonist.

The book had some interesting information in case the reader isn't familiar with the siege of Leningrad but it wasn't a book that I found completely compelling. I see some complaints about how the book perspective and the time shifts with little warning and it is hard to keep track. I found that to be the case as well but I am wondering if that was purposeful on the author's part as to make the reader feel as disconcerted and confused as Marina does with her dementia. Judging by the book description, that's probably not the case but that was my takeaway from the style of writing. If half stars were possible, I would rate it a 3.5.