Rain
I heard this described as “Educated” on crack. And that's kind of accurate. I wasn't as emotionally invested in what was happening to the author as I wanted to be. And because she wrote from her perspective as a child thinking everything was okay and nothing was weird, I started thinking that way too, and stuff that is normally very shocking became less impactful in the story...
It's definitely interesting, but I don't think the writing is amazing and therefore i just wasn't as drawn-in/invested or cared as much as I wanted to.
Book Club Pick #8
Very different than what I was expecting. Just a cozy little fantasy, with found family, and many interesting characters to meet along the way.
3.5⭐️
The main character, Molly: 5⭐️, easy! I adored Molly!And the first half of the book. But the second half dragged for me. And there was a decent twist at the end. But not enough to bump up my rating.
3.5 ⭐️
This was a very sweet story. With the comparisons to Daisy Jones, I was expecting more adult themes. They are touched on, but very briefly and through the eyes of a 14 year old, so I thought this read very YA. It was fun and enjoyable but not amazing.
DNF - I tried. Twice. As a physical book and an audio book. It's not bad. It's probably a pretty fun, spicy read. But I just never wanted to pick it back up. Oh well.
4.5 ⭐️
Book Club Pick #1
Very well told. Loved all the science. Loved the dual timeline. Loved the relationship. I would rec'd to everyone!
I was so surprised with how much I loved this. I don't usually read historical fiction, but this really drew me in. And I loved the characters. They're all so real and fleshed out. And even the side characters are so well done.
I cried at the end. Not because the book is sad, but because I was sad to leave this story.
I was SO excited to read this book! Being able to go back in time, and make different choices, and live your new lives over and over as many times as you want.... that sounds like a dream! And yet this book is boring and sad. And on purpose. I don't get it. It could have been amazing!!
I cried 20 pages in (and a bunch at the end), because it's just so damn relatable. This book will make you feel seen. I don't care if the story is “too sweet” or “too perfect”, I love it. And I love Fredrik Backman. The end. I won't hear a negative word about any of it!
This one kind of reminds me of 1984, in that I didn't enjoy the actual reading experience, but it's a fascinating story/concept. And I want someone I know to read it so we can talk about it!
Book Club Pick #7
2.5 ⭐️
I enjoyed some of the actual horror elements. But most of the book was boring. And it was too long. And the ending was predictable.
This was so good.
It's like a modern day Lolita told from the perspective of Lolita. So, you can imagine it tackles pretty difficult subject matter, but I thought the author did it very tastefully, albeit explicitly.
The book follows Vanessa from the age of 15, when she starts a sexual relationship with one of her teachers, through her 30's. I found it fascinating, because as the reader you get to see the reality of what is happening, but then it's through the lense of a 15 year old girl who's been groomed to think this is love and romance and special.
I don't have personal experience with this type of situation, but this seemed so real. Especially the way she grew up to view her relationship and how the book ends. It all just made sense, even if it's not the happy ending you might want.
I listened to the audiobook, which was very well done, and at the end there was an interview with the author. I loved the discussion at the end and it prompted me to look up more interviews and discussions about this book. One thing I had totally overlooked that they brought up was how as a society we sexualize young girls, for example Brittney Spears, and how we are all complicit in allowing it. Just the examination of what is normalized in our society and the consequences of that was very interesting. Definitely a book worthy of a read and a discussion.
DNF at 50%
This book had so much potential, but, man was it boring! I didn't care about a single character, even the Gods.
But it's got great reviews, so what do I know? Ha ha
SO good!! I'm not even sure I completely understood what was going on, but I loved it.
Book Club Pick #13
This was great! I LOVED the writing and all the snarky little comments. I wasn't expecting it to be funny and it really was.
Great choice for a book club. I thought one thing when I finished reading the book. And then after discussing I completely changed what I thought was actually going on. And that was a fun surprise.
It's definitely weird. But I had a blast.
Meh.
Not terrible. There was some enjoyable witty banter. But honestly, I just didn't care.... about any of it.
This had kind of a slow, creepy build up, and I liked it. I also thought the way it's written as a letter is really interesting. (I'm aware it's not realistic, but I don't care, I think it's cool!)