Stephanie
This book made me cry in the best way. I love the way each character's flaws build into the bigger picture of the family dynamic and I really loved each of the family members despite their mistakes. I thought it was a really beautiful look at grief and the way it breaks us down. Definitely recommend.
I'll make you feel small and dumb, but I really enjoyed this book. It's interesting how easily we can be influenced and primed to believe whatever someone wants us to believe. It's an interesting and quick read!
Here's the issue - I agree with most of the conclusions this author arrives at. Women should be teachers, women are not second-tier (and it's never taught that in the Bible), women are partners with their husbands, not “lower than”. The issue I have with this book is that the author thinks her genius that has uncovered these deeply hidden secrets - my girl, you just went to a toxic church. This is not a well-researched essay about Biblical Womanhood, but a memoir highlighting the flaws in the American church today.
The entire second chapter argues that “perhaps” Biblical text is misunderstood as a whole - nope, you just need to learn context before diving into scripture. Understanding the basic context that Paul and Peter wrote in their letters to various churches will completely change the way you read those passages. These men did not think women should be silent, and there's not some massive conspiracy from biblical translators to undermine women. You just need to get better teachers and pastors in your life.
If you grew up in a very “traditional” church or maybe left a toxic church, this might be a helpful book to reframe your mindset around feminity and patriarchy, but if you are in a healthy church, you probably already know all of this from regular Sunday services or perhaps just from observing how healthy Christians treat the women around them.
What this book really did for me is realizing how toxic Christianity has become so normal and loud. None of the things that happened to Barr in her church was justified or Christ-like in any way. I can't help but wonder if there's more to her stories or if her political views and past experiences tainted her view of this “research”. Overall, it's a skip for me.
Pure poetry. Do yourself a favor and listen to this on audiobook - Jackie truly has a gift for speaking. I want to listen to this on REPEAT.
The writing was painfully average, specifically the dialogue, but I enjoyed the characters and loved the pacing. It's an enjoyable read and I can definitely understand why it was so popular.
Creepy and unsettling and a page turner but it was missing something. I'm not sure if I just don't care about the characters enough or if it's just forgettable. I can't quite place why I didn't like it more
Such an amazing book. The ending was not what I was expecting (or hoping for) and it breaks your heart a bit. But I guess that's the point, war rarely ends well and this is one small example of how horrible WW2 was for just a couple of average kids.
I read this really slowly on purpose to try and implement each chapter into my life. There's nothing marvel or new in this book, but it's a great reminder with practical elements on how to parent from a biblical perspective. Overall, I think this is a book every Christian parent should read again and again.
EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. NEEDS. TO. READ. THIS. BOOK.
It's not political, it's not biased, it's just a pure fact that the world is built for men. Until you read this book, you'll have no idea the depths of suffering that is directly responsible for that fact. If you're a man, you need to read this and be made aware of the tiny things you may do and how they impact women on a large scale. If you're a woman, you need to be aware of how this system impacts you and how to fight against it.
From health care and data science to political office and disaster response, every industry plays a role in making men the default being. It's not out of hate or even purposeful neglect, but out of missing data and women's voices that the needs of the female species are often completely ignored.
Nothing will change until the vast majority of culture begins to shift, but there are things every single person on this planet can do that will make an impact on how half of the population lives. Literal lives depend on men and women stepping up and making these changes in society, law, culture, and standard practices. Start by just reading this book, then ask yourself how you can make an impact.
I couldn't help thinking through out this story - why wouldn't she talk to her doctor about any of this much sooner!? Mental illness is just that - an illness. God gifted doctors and researchers to HELP people. You wouldn't skip going to the doctor if your leg was cut off, why do it when you have crippling panic attacks?
She clearly states that a ton of us will deal with anxiety or depression but then she tells us the story as if she's the only one who ever had to deal with it.
On top of that the story was jumbled and not very easy to follow along. She tried to tie the story together at the end but I can't help feel like I just could've read the same story in a short blog post.
I wanted to enjoy this after hearing her speak at if: gathering and really enjoying her story but this book was a mess.
I read Madeline Miller's “Circe” first and loved it. I expected too much from this book and the hype around it was truly a let down. I didn't care about the characters at all. Although the story is beautifully written, the two main characters are boring as hell. Their only characteristics is their love for each other and it seems more like they fell in love because of proximity rather than truly liking one another.
Overall it was just a bit boring, and I highly recommend reading another one of her books before judging the author too harshly on this one.
I couldn't decide if I want to write us a three-star or four-star. The beginning was boring and the second half took so many strange twists and I haven't decided how I feel about it. It was entertaining and I literally read it in one day but at the same time I can't stand the main character. I also have some issues with the fact that this is usually sold as a YA book. It's probably because I'm a mom now, but keep in mind that YA targets 12 to 18 year olds. I would not want my tween/teen being marketed a book where the son of a child murderer gets shot in front of a high school student. It just takes such a dark turn from the previous book that it almost feels like a completely different story. That being said, I did enjoy it, and while, listening to the audiobook, I can say it's really well done and entertaining to listen to, it's almost like listening to a true crime podcast. There's just certain aspects about it that feels a little bit immature even though it touches on very sensitive topics (ex. A known rapist getting let go, death of loved ones, sexual abuse, minors drinking, drug use, child abuse, child murder, regular ol' murder, bullying, catfishing, marital abuse, burning a building with people inside, etc etc etc).
A fun thriller. Overall, for a YA novel, it's pretty well done. The slow introduction of characters keeps you from guessing the end right off the bat. There are a few things to nit-pick and I think the main character is a little boring but I'll read the next few books for sure.
I can't figure out how this got onto the best seller list. First off, I didn't realize this was a memoir, otherwise I would have avoided it completely. Second, this girl has a serious addiction issue and rather than seeking professional help, she started a blog. Third, her self-described life changing situations are actually just normal life for most other people. The end result is a whiny, disorganized book.
I really like Carrie's business but I've never been a huge fan of visualization and the more woo-woo side of her business. That being said, I was presently surprised by how helpful this book was. I find myself going back to it to work on the questions and follow the 30 day challenge. I think this a book you need to read slowly and really work through as you read. However, the formatting was awful. Chapters were just a couple paragraphs long and it drove me insane. There were quotes and new chapter breaks in the middle of ideas and it was just very hard to read. Hence: reading it slow.
Hey, it's inspirational - if that's what you're looking for, great. It's also complete BS and full of ridiculous advice that clearly shows Rachel Hollis as a woman with lots of money and Instagram followers. Her goals all center around what others think of her and her marriage advice turns out to be complete bull since she is now divorced. This girl has a lot of issues, and they are hidden under layers of self-help. The mere fact that she thinks any of her life is relatable or that her advice is obtainable to more than 10 of her readers shows how horribly self-absorbed she is.
If you need a good pep talk from a girlfriend, this can be a quick and easy read. If you're looking for real-life advice and actually good ideas from an expert, keep looking, this ain't it.
I really enjoyed this book more than I thought I would. After reading the reviews I worried this book would be one of those that you skim over sections, but I thought all the stories and examples are what made the science interesting. Without them, it would be a research article. The stories give you an idea of how to apply the science to your life and improve your life. I read this from a business perspective to see how I could be more productive and get more done and I left with a better understanding of my own brain and how to train myself into better habits.
I can't list a single personality trait other than “stubborn” for any of these characters, they're so incredibly boring and the story is just as slow. For a mystery involving a massive fortune, attempts at murder, missing heirs and tragic pasts, I have zero interest in reading any of the other books in this series. Why was this so popular and highly rated??
The puzzles and treasure hunt should've been the best part of this but it was like a shitty escape room plot.
A small list of major issues with this one:
- The attempted murderer had zero motive or anything to gain for the attack, and the mom was involved but gets off with no punishment?
- The mystery of Emily is so boring and lame, I don't even understand the point of this side of the plot.
- “Henry” aka Toby is barely mentioned and supposed to be the big twist yet you don't care about him at all or even worse, hardly remember how he's supposed to be involved.
- The dialogue is awful. Teenagers do not talk like that. In fact, no one talks like that. Listening to the audiobook made this 10x worse.
- The love triangle is boring. All three characters have no personality so I don't give a single crap who wins in the end and it seems like the main character doesn't either since she appears to settle for the one she didn't get rejected by.
Overall, I'm staying away from any book that's popular on social media. It keeps disappointing.
I enjoyed reading this quite a bit but toward the end, it got a little silly. The plot twists weren't shocking, it just made you kinda hate everyone. I really didn't like that it made the father's character weaker in the process of the big reveal.
It was enjoyable and if it was a movie, I'd take the time to watch it, but at the end of the day, it's very similar to every other book in this genre.
Thriller tropes I'm learning to hate:
- When the main character inserts themselves into investigations with absolutely no experience in crime scenes and murder investigations.
- When the main investigator distrusts the main character because they continue to get involved in ongoing crimes and then the main character solves the crime and isn't believed.
- The main character continuously puts themselves in mortal danger for seemingly no good reason other than their own stubborn pride.
Ugh, it's so boring and cliché. The characters just aren't realistic and not very fleshed out. Say it with me “trauma
Take out the last chapter and the twist of who was in the car/driving the car, and this would've been 4 stars. It's like the author wasn't sure how to end it, so she threw all the ideas in last minute. Otherwise, it was a decent domestic thriller that I finished in one evening.
I like this one. Maybe because I read it in a few hours, but I liked the fast pace and the twist was decent. But I'm sorry, wtf was the whole sub plot about the bigpharma threat???? It was so incredibly useless and silly. If it had been left out this book would have actually been better.
