I loooooooved this book. At one point I was so overwhelmed by how much I was enjoying it and the general relationship between Shep and Eve that I starI loooooooved this book. At one point I was so overwhelmed by how much I was enjoying it and the general relationship between Shep and Eve that I started to cry (?). I could not put it down and neglected a LOT of school work to read this. The audiobook narrator is PERFECT and snarky and did some great sound effects for us. She made it an even funnier, more pleasurable and raw reading experience than it already was.
I feel like popular fiction rarely explores pregnancy throughout the whole 9 months. It usually occurs in the epilogue of romances when the couple finally gets together, so I really appreciated the fact that the book started with the news, and we got to see Eve come to terms with her reality, consider her choices, and explore how a baby effects her relationships.
Despite the fact that the pregnancy in this book was not planned and wasn't the smoothest sailing emotionally or situationally for Eve, I appreciated that it turned into a positive experience/message. This is such a book of growth on all accounts, while still managing to be funny and poignant and sweet.
Perhaps I had started to cry because it is my life's dream to have a Shep. And also a child. Who's to say.
In any case, 5 STARS all day long. Everyone read this book. ...more
I read this book in one sitting and it made my cry my eyes out!!!!!!!!!! That might be more of a me thing than a book thing, but it for sure happened.I read this book in one sitting and it made my cry my eyes out!!!!!!!!!! That might be more of a me thing than a book thing, but it for sure happened. I don't have super coherent thoughts, so I might have to come back to this but it made me feel a lot of things and I refused to put it down. So, those things paired with the tears make it an automatic five star from Claire. The characters had such depth and felt like real people with both strengths and flaws. ...more
THIS BOOK!!! I was obsessed with it from the very first chapter and wish I got a hardcopy.
Fizzy and Connor had undeniable chemistry. They were both sTHIS BOOK!!! I was obsessed with it from the very first chapter and wish I got a hardcopy.
Fizzy and Connor had undeniable chemistry. They were both such unique and well-characterized characters and their banter made me swoon and giggle and tear up all at the same time. I especially loved Fizzy's sense of humor and wit. She was a fantastic heroine--lovable, spunky, and realistically flawed. She grows so much throughout the book, and it was nice to see her and Connor make mistakes, learn how to communicate, and move on from them.
Aside from the romance, which was obviously amazing, I loved the premise of the dating show. As someone who goes through at least two Married at First Sight or Love is Blind binges per calendar year, this show is something I would have had my hands all over. (Likely a few years after it airs and I finally get around to watching it a few seasons after the fact.) The DNA/soulmate science was very well integrated into the world so that it felt somewhat realistic, despite the fact that it is likely impossible IRL.
Another major plus for me was the relationships between the adult characters and the child characters. Connor's daughter Stevie is adorable, as was Juno. It is important to show all different kinds of families in literature, even lighthearted books like this. It was so wonderful to see a happy divorced family with parents who care about the other and their happiness despite not being married anymore. And not only that, but their individual relationships with their child who became such a bright spot in the book. It was all just so lovely and heartwarming.
THE ENDING almost had me in tears. I saw it coming pretty much since the beginning, but that didn't make the ride any less sweet. It's still a perfect movie moment I hope is up on the big screen someday.
This is definitely one of my favorite romances I've read in a WHILE, and I can't wait to recommend it to everyone, especially romance-skeptics. ;) ...more
I love this book. I haven't felt actually drawn into a series since I read the Lunar Chronicles, I think. I love how close the tv show is to the book.I love this book. I haven't felt actually drawn into a series since I read the Lunar Chronicles, I think. I love how close the tv show is to the book... while I noticed a few differences, it was only in the details, really. Reading this while in Scotland was also a really cool experience.
I love these characters and the way that the story explores the history and the culture of the Scottish highlands at the time. The audiobook was fantastic. Hearing the accents honestly made my days and the narrator did a great job of differentiating between voices and accents.
If there was ever a book series that seems to have been written for the screen, it's this one. It's practically written in episodes, which makes these monstrously long books so much more digestible. The only negative thing I have to say is that it's over and that sucks. (Though I'm expecting book 2 at my door this afternoon, so maybe it will all be okay in the end.)...more
I had never heard of it before it was assigned for one of my English classes, but I'm so glad I was assigned it.
I personally loI. Loved. This. Book.
I had never heard of it before it was assigned for one of my English classes, but I'm so glad I was assigned it.
I personally love a good book where nothing really... happens. But also you question your existence through the little anecdotes of the characters and the little bit that happens.
There are so many highlighted passages in here I don't even know where to start. I might come back and copy some once it's not 2am.
I would highly highly recommend this book, but not to people who exclusively prefer very plot-driven books. This is definitely for those who enjoy a good reflective yet easy brain break/explosion. Because it's kind of both.
This is technically third in a series, but now I want to go back and read the first two if they are anything like this one. ...more
This is one of my favorite books I think I've read in the past few years. It was absolutely beautiful. Humorous, insightful, and so relatable, this miThis is one of my favorite books I think I've read in the past few years. It was absolutely beautiful. Humorous, insightful, and so relatable, this might be my favorite work of John Green's and--as one of his fans--that is no small declaration from me.
I am glad I read it on my Kindle along with listening to the audiobook so I could highlight some of the many quotes that really struck me with their beauty. I loved the incorporation of quotes that provide further reflections on his own experience. Through this, he brought in the perspective of historical figures, friends, family, other writers, and musicians to strengthen, influence, or explain his own perspective. For a book with essays that are all somewhat centered around the context of isolation in the years of COVID-19, Green so carefully and beautifully reminded me (and himself, it seems) that even in isolation, I am never alone. I am not alone for the sheer fact that I can influence and be influenced--something that carries a unique kind of beauty.
This is another book I want to buy a hard copy of just to mark up and highlight and have for emotional support. I love John Green's personal voice as himself, in nonfiction works, and I am looking forward to more similar books he might put out. Gosh, I hope he does.
Holy crap. I don't even know where to start. This book is the first book to be added to my All Time Favorites in a very long time.
Frankl's story was hHoly crap. I don't even know where to start. This book is the first book to be added to my All Time Favorites in a very long time.
Frankl's story was heartbreaking and enrapturing. As someone who finds both psychology and philosophy extremely interesting, I really valued his utilization of both in his recollection of his time at Auschwitz. I have always been contemplative by nature, and I found that Frankl put into words concepts I have felt for a long time, which was a strange and beautiful feeling. I felt weirdly seen. Though I would never claim to relate to his experiences in any way, philosophy at it's heart is not always needy of context... I think that is true at least of the quotes that resonated with me most.
Here are some of the quotes that I hope to memorize:
"Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms--to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." (pg 86)
"Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it." (pg 95)
"The existential vacuum itself mainly in a state of boredom. Now we understand Schopenhauer when he said that mankind was apparently doomed to vacillate eternally between the two extremes of distress and boredom." (pg 129)
"Each man in questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible. Thus, logotherapy sees in the responsibleness the very essence of human existence." (pg 131)...more
This is perhaps the most clever book that I have ever read. About halfway through I wondered, "Why did Julie Berry choose to tell the story this way?"This is perhaps the most clever book that I have ever read. About halfway through I wondered, "Why did Julie Berry choose to tell the story this way?" I was thoroughly enjoying it, but I was curious as to what made her make the style choice to narrate the story via four greek gods/goddesses. However, the more that I read, the more I understood. The four main themes of this story are Love, War, Art, and Death. Naturally, that lends itself to the narration of Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo, and Hades. And it is oh-so-masterfully done.
The romance was believable but just special enough to feel magical. I obviously am not an expert on WWI, but the story felt very well researched to me. It had me laughing and shedding tears and sewing up the cracks in my heart that it caused.
Beautiful story that is beautifully (and very creatively) written. 5 stars. Absolutely recommend. ...more
I went into this book hoping for a cute summer romance and a craving for ice cream and came out with a few jolts of girl power and a business degree. I went into this book hoping for a cute summer romance and a craving for ice cream and came out with a few jolts of girl power and a business degree.
But really, I did come into this book hoping for a cute little summer romance but was OH SO pleasantly surprised with what it amounted to in actuality. I read the bulk of this book within two days because after the exposition, I really couldn't put it down. The romance I was looking for was there, but not in your face, and felt perfectly natural and personally I didn't think it came to fast either. It developed very nicely and was not the forefront of the novel.
I am always a sucker for a good old character driven story, so looking back I'm not surprised at all that I loved this book so much. Sure, there was the relationship between Grady and Amelia that happened, and everything with Meade Creamery, and digging up what really happened in the past to Sand Lake's favorite Mysteriously Heartbroken Old Lady™.
The relationships in this book were expertly crafted and felt very natural. Every single character had strengths, motives, and flaws that drove the plot forward. A lot of contemporary novels, I've found, don't really have much of a plot . . . but this one? Boy, does this one have a great plot. Though the story is mainly character driven, the plot is nothing to scoff at, there were twists and turns that I never would have expected from a contemporary.
Cate started out as my favorite character because I saw myself in her at the beginning, but throughout the story she turned absolutely poisonous to Amelia (which is around where I hoped the similarities between us ended, but who can be too sure). The relationship between Cate and Amelia was stressed a lot throughout the story, which truly completed the perfect collection of important relationships. Family relationships, professional relationships, friendships, romantic relationships, and acquaintance through a shared passion and written connection to the past. (Speaking of which, I also loved the diary entries sprinkled [ha, no pun intended] throughout.)
This book also felt like a crash course in owning and saving a dying business in all the best ways. I feel like I genuinely learned something about responsibility and that sometimes you just have to take a leap and not give up until you churn out the perfect ice cream, no matter how many batches of failure that precede.
Altogether this was just a wonderful summer read. My mouth is watering for some Home Sweet Home and I suddenly want to work at an ice cream stand. 140/10, would recommend. ...more
I want to cry. I love my little baby Oliver so much and I did from the beginning, too. Such a fun read. Loved the scene in Ireland. You know, THAT oneI want to cry. I love my little baby Oliver so much and I did from the beginning, too. Such a fun read. Loved the scene in Ireland. You know, THAT one. The one when she’s all alone. (No spoilers here.)...more
Wow, um. This book was subtly heart breaking and a definite new favorite from John Green. Though I can’t personally relate to the main character, I foWow, um. This book was subtly heart breaking and a definite new favorite from John Green. Though I can’t personally relate to the main character, I found myself lost in her head and her thoughts - both fascinated and heartbroken.
To me, this book wasn’t so much JOHN GREEN as it was John Green - not so much the TFIOS author, but the man. His style of writing was definitely still his but it felt different to me, more personal, more serious. And I loved every word. Perhaps this is more of a JOhn GREen book . . . Half and half. If that makes any sense. ...more
I am Claire, I just finished Mosquitoland, and I am not okay.
Simply put, I loved this book. I found Mim relatively relatable for being in a rather spI am Claire, I just finished Mosquitoland, and I am not okay.
Simply put, I loved this book. I found Mim relatively relatable for being in a rather specific situation and I thought her quirks were interesting to say the least.
Immediately the writing struck me as John Green-esque. Which is a wonderful thing, I think, because though it reminds me of another author I love it is wholly original and daring and made me cry and feel feelings I haven't felt in a long time. I felt an odd sense of hope at the end of the story even though I found the ending insufficient.
The only thing . . . This is a case in which I feel you can't trust the narrator. (view spoiler)[ It is revealed rather early on that Mim, the main character, has psychosis, which the first result on Google defines as "a severe mental disorder in which thought and emotions are so impaired that contact is lost with external reality." If that is so, it is hard to fathom which parts of this story I should believe actually happened, considering especially that it is written in first person. I don't know what I was expecting - a list in the back of the book boldly titled "Events In This Book That Didn't Actually Happen" - or something, but it really wasn't clear to me. If there were any subtle nuances to things being hallucinations, I really didn't pick up on them. At the very end, when Mim was in the parking lot after Kathy went back into the Rehab Center to get her keys and she looked over and saw the empty parking space, I thought that was trying to tell us that Beck and Walt never really existed, never became a part of Mim's journey, never crossed paths or shared stories or notes or soft forehead kisses. And I started sobbing. I couldn't read the words in front of my face because my eyes converted to puddles and I'm pretty sure the ink ran in my sister's copy of the book because of it (which I'm sure she won't be very happy about). But then she has the notes they leave - material things that she sure as heck didn't write to herself - so if everything that happened actually happened, her psychosis wasn't really relevant in the story. She just seems rather troubled. (hide spoiler)]
____________ “I think about how quickly things have changed for me. But that’s the personality of change, isn’t it? When it’s slow, it’s called growth; when it’s fast, it’s change.” -Mosquitoland, page 230...more
This review is probably just going to turn into a spoiler-y analysis of all it's themes, so . . .
If you haven't read it yet and are just OH. MY. GOD.
This review is probably just going to turn into a spoiler-y analysis of all it's themes, so . . .
If you haven't read it yet and are just reading reviews to see if it's worth it, yes. Please, for the love of God, read this book. And then read it again, and again, and again, and then come to me and we can cry together.
The way everything in this book was woven together was perfect. It wasn't too hard to piece together for yourself as the story unfolded, but was still complicated and must have taken Jodi Lynn Anderson a long time to figure out in her own head.
I loved how in the beginning, each section was told in a different point of view. I really found that interesting because I have this weird thing where I love reading books written in second person, but I know they are hard to write and therefore hard to come by, but I still love them. Especially when they are done well, like this one.
I don't need to say this more than once: I want my own Ellis Parrish. Enough said. (But it's killing me that we don't know if he went after Catherine back to England and her roots. I need to know! I'm just going to say that he did, so y'all can stop worrying. They're together, they're happy, and their children have English accents. All their dreams came true.)
Another thing that kept me intrigued was the whole "electric" part. It kind of bothered me that it was not more relevant to the plot, considering it is featured in the title of the book itself. Which led me to wonder:
Why was the book called Midnight at the Electric if the electric was featured maybe three times? Why did Jodi Lynn Anderson decide it was crucial enough to the nature of the story to make it the title (other than the fact that it sounds freaking cool)?
When I least expected it, the realization hit me. That brief moment that took place at the Electric was much more than part of an "ancient" diary entry and an old poster. It represents the idea of faith, the idea of hope and a better future in this novel. Catherine mentioned towards the end of the book that her faith was always changing in comparison to her Mama's, which was always rock solid and sure. At the time of the Electric coming to town, her faith was about as sure as whether or not Ross & Rachel were on a break. Catherine pinned what little faith she had left into ten dollars and a little bit of electricity--complete nonsense, and she knew it--that would somehow cure her sister.
Obviously, the importance of family is a big theme in this book, between Adri finding a home in Lily and the very family home in which Catherine and Beezie used to live, and Lenore with the loss of her brother.
(I think I'll elaborate more later when it's not 2 am.)
I'm still trying to clear up the exact family tree in my head, but I'm having a having a hard time putting Adri's piece into the puzzle. So, she's just Lily's distant cousin that isn't directly related to any of the main characters in the book except for Lily? I've been scouring the inter webs for a visual family tree but haven't been able to find any because this book just came out and isn't an international best seller yet. So, this is what I've gathered (SERIOUSLY DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE BOOK):
Lenore Allstock and James had Catherine, who was then "adopted" (I suppose) by Beth, who has a daughter named Beezie with her deceased husband. Catherine and Beezie's friend from NYC, Sofia Ortiz, moved into Catherine and Beezie's old house in Oklahoma, and had a daughter named Lily. And then Adri is probably like a fifteen-millionth cousin seventy two times removed or something, I don't know.
Frankly, I was surprised that I liked this book as much as I did.
I suppose I'll start small. Margaret Atwood has proven to me that sheWhere to begin?
Frankly, I was surprised that I liked this book as much as I did.
I suppose I'll start small. Margaret Atwood has proven to me that she has mastered diction, though this is the first and only work of hers that I have read so far. (I plan to read as many more in the not-so-distant future.) Atwood's use of the language frequently surprised me, as almost every sentence contained a clever play on words or a turn of phrase that proposed an idea I've never considered with words I use too often.
One example: "There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from. In the days of anarchy, it was freedom to. Now you are given freedom from. Don't underrate it."
Though the plot wasn't necessarily twisting and winding, I would have read a 600 page book of world building itself in this case. Gilead is interesting because it's such a possible hot mess. It's a train wreck from which you just can't manage to tear your eyes, no matter how hard you try.
However, above all the things I believe Margaret Atwood did correctly in the execution of this story, she (somehow) made me miss horrible things that we still have. That, ladies and gents, is true mastery of language. How did she make me miss cigarette smoke and comments that are sexist by the standards that efforts toward equality have built? How did she make me want to soak in every last second I spend in a dingy hotel room, or blow every roach I see a kiss? It's books like this that remind me of all the facets of life I don't consciously consider, and how it is even the vile and overlooked that I would miss should they disappear tomorrow. I do suppose one doesn't miss something until it's gone, but Atwood's ability to write from a place that no longer has many of the freedoms that she herself had while she wrote it is what is truly amazing. ("When we think of the past it's the beautiful things we pick out. We want to believe it was all like that.")
Overall, I think this book was brilliant and terrifying and a stellar reminder that control is not always a blessing....more
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