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Rosie Colored Glasses
by
Sometimes even all the love in the world is not enough to save someone.
Willow Thorpe knows friction… The friction between her parents, Rosie and Rex. The friction inside herself as she tries to navigate two worlds since their divorce.
But life has not always been like this.
When Rosie and Rex first met, theirs was an attraction of opposites. Rosie lived life for those height ...more
Willow Thorpe knows friction… The friction between her parents, Rosie and Rex. The friction inside herself as she tries to navigate two worlds since their divorce.
But life has not always been like this.
When Rosie and Rex first met, theirs was an attraction of opposites. Rosie lived life for those height ...more
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I read the description and for some reason I thought it would be a lighter read. Maybe it was the use of the word whimsical. It wasn’t. It's a sad story, sadder even knowing that the character of Rosie and the story in some ways is based on the author's free spirit mother who was addicted to opiates. Sad because this starts out as a love story between two people who are polar opposites and in spite of loving each other, they both know that it won't last . Sad because when the marriage ends, the
...more
Rosie Colored Glasses is an emotional and heart breaking read. To be honest, I was not expecting to be so moved and touched by this novel.
Brianna Wolfe delivers a rare and inspiring novel about loss, love, attachment, and relationships. What I loved about this novel is how Brianna was able to create a "story" within a story. I loved this!!
The novel starts off with introducing us to a unique but unhealthy love relationship between Rosie and Rex. What can I say about Rosie?! She's wild and quirk ...more
Brianna Wolfe delivers a rare and inspiring novel about loss, love, attachment, and relationships. What I loved about this novel is how Brianna was able to create a "story" within a story. I loved this!!
The novel starts off with introducing us to a unique but unhealthy love relationship between Rosie and Rex. What can I say about Rosie?! She's wild and quirk ...more
When I was about thirty pages into this book I wrote in the comment section of my updates, that Willow was going to break my heart. She did, but what I didn't expect was that this whole family would. It is not that I am getting marshmellowy, but rather than going into a long discourse on my personal life, I'll just say this was a novel in which I could relate. Plus, as the author tells us this is a semi-autobiographical novel, a novel it took many years to be able to write
Willow, fifth grade, bu ...more
Willow, fifth grade, bu ...more
I LOVED this book!!!!! I was a mess by the end but I loved every single page!
This book reads like a fairy tale which I LOVED!!! Very nice touch.
This book touched on so many things: love, loss, mental illness, addiction, bullying, family, Mother-child relationships, Father-Child relationships, etc.
Rosie is eccentric! She doesn't stay in one spot for too long. She wanders around doing as she pleases living here and there, working numerous jobs, never staying rooted for too long. She skips to her ...more
This book reads like a fairy tale which I LOVED!!! Very nice touch.
This book touched on so many things: love, loss, mental illness, addiction, bullying, family, Mother-child relationships, Father-Child relationships, etc.
Rosie is eccentric! She doesn't stay in one spot for too long. She wanders around doing as she pleases living here and there, working numerous jobs, never staying rooted for too long. She skips to her ...more
Rosie Colored Glasses is Willow Thorpe’s story. She’s been untethered since her parents split up because there are two worlds to navigate now, one with each parent.
We are also told her parents, Rosie and Rex’s, story from when they first meet. They are opposites; Rosie, the risk-taker, while Rex plays it safe. It’s a good balance. They are in love.
After the divorce, Willow wants desperately to be with Rosie. She thinks she’ll be happiest with her. She feels most loved with her mom. She doesn’t ...more
We are also told her parents, Rosie and Rex’s, story from when they first meet. They are opposites; Rosie, the risk-taker, while Rex plays it safe. It’s a good balance. They are in love.
After the divorce, Willow wants desperately to be with Rosie. She thinks she’ll be happiest with her. She feels most loved with her mom. She doesn’t ...more
Divorce is bad for kids... but joint custody is suppose to be the best option....
but when mom is undiagnosed with Bi-Polar disorder, self medicating with drugs, and dad is emotionally distant with rigid rules-
both lacking communication parenting skills together -and neither offering a balanced healthy environment... maybe not.
Beneath the surface of this collapsing vulnerable unsettling family...there is Love!
Achingly human story!!!!
but when mom is undiagnosed with Bi-Polar disorder, self medicating with drugs, and dad is emotionally distant with rigid rules-
both lacking communication parenting skills together -and neither offering a balanced healthy environment... maybe not.
Beneath the surface of this collapsing vulnerable unsettling family...there is Love!
Achingly human story!!!!
Mar 13, 2018
Sonja Arlow
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audio-books,
2018-read
2 ½ stars
This is a good story not very well told.
From the start I didn’t connect with Rosie, I think it’s because the title and book cover made me think I will get a quirky fun read. What I got was a manic woman who is smothering her children with love and letting them run wild.
The kids themselves are in a tug of war between divorced parents with very different parenting styles. Rex is a stickler for rules and order and shows his love by buying his children educational toys and giving them check ...more
This is a good story not very well told.
From the start I didn’t connect with Rosie, I think it’s because the title and book cover made me think I will get a quirky fun read. What I got was a manic woman who is smothering her children with love and letting them run wild.
The kids themselves are in a tug of war between divorced parents with very different parenting styles. Rex is a stickler for rules and order and shows his love by buying his children educational toys and giving them check ...more
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”Willow Thorpe knew friction. The heat it created when one thing rubbed against another. When one world rubbed against another.”
From the prologue, we know that Willow’s world is filled with tension, with every “Late again, Rosie.” followed by a dismissive retort from her mother. With every time the walls of her world changed from the fanciful, art-filled walls to generic white ones that scream out that the rules are different here, the children feel the change.
But how d ...more
”Willow Thorpe knew friction. The heat it created when one thing rubbed against another. When one world rubbed against another.”
From the prologue, we know that Willow’s world is filled with tension, with every “Late again, Rosie.” followed by a dismissive retort from her mother. With every time the walls of her world changed from the fanciful, art-filled walls to generic white ones that scream out that the rules are different here, the children feel the change.
But how d ...more
This was a sad story, but at the same time, it was a story so full of love! It’s not often that I come across a book where I love the characters so much, having to let them go in the end felt like a piece of my heart was being taken away as well. I fell so hard for this beautiful, broken, flawed family. I fell hard for Rosie – a free spirit who infused so much life and love into everyone and everything she encountered; who embraced everything around her with exuberance and vitality; who thrived
...more
4.5 stars
Heartfelt. Evocative. Poignant. Beautiful.
These are just a few of the adjectives that found their way into my notes as I read this book. A book I loved and which should really be required to carry warnings to potential readers. You should be warned that your heart will be given a workout. It will be stretched, it may be trampled, it will soar and eventually it should fall back into shape but it will be ever so slightly different. Different because this family cons ...more
Heartfelt. Evocative. Poignant. Beautiful.
These are just a few of the adjectives that found their way into my notes as I read this book. A book I loved and which should really be required to carry warnings to potential readers. You should be warned that your heart will be given a workout. It will be stretched, it may be trampled, it will soar and eventually it should fall back into shape but it will be ever so slightly different. Different because this family cons ...more
In many ways, Rosie Colored Glasses was the most heart-wrenching book I think I’ve ever read, but in a really good way because it managed to thumb its nose at tropes and explore the havoc of mental illness in a way that rang so true that at one point I actually had to put the book down and cry for a while.
It started out as an excellent story about mental illness from the point of view of a child. We follow the love story of Rosie and Rex, two polar opposites (he’s buttoned-up, she’s a free spir ...more
It started out as an excellent story about mental illness from the point of view of a child. We follow the love story of Rosie and Rex, two polar opposites (he’s buttoned-up, she’s a free spir ...more
Gotta go against the grain here. I feel like no one else was thinking when they read this book, just feeling. I really wanted to like it, and started out liking it, but just ended up frustrated, trying to burn through to the end.
I couldn't stop thinking: WHERE ARE ALL THE OTHER ADULTS?? There are 2 parents doing a terrible job with their children and somehow there is not one other family member, teacher, therapist, etc present (and with no explanation as to why not). Are you trying to tell me t ...more
I couldn't stop thinking: WHERE ARE ALL THE OTHER ADULTS?? There are 2 parents doing a terrible job with their children and somehow there is not one other family member, teacher, therapist, etc present (and with no explanation as to why not). Are you trying to tell me t ...more
I received an ARC copy of Rosie Colored Glasses in exchange for an honest review. Thanks goes to NetGalley as well as Mira Books for this advanced copy which is expected to be released February 20, 2018.
Rosie Colored Glasses from author, Brianna Wolfson is, straight to the point an evocative, heart-wrenching, heart-breaking read. I was not expecting to be so incredibly moved by this book. I’ve been reading a lot of books pertaining to touchy themes such as depression and suicide given the bleak ...more
Rosie Colored Glasses from author, Brianna Wolfson is, straight to the point an evocative, heart-wrenching, heart-breaking read. I was not expecting to be so incredibly moved by this book. I’ve been reading a lot of books pertaining to touchy themes such as depression and suicide given the bleak ...more
This book has been done before: a carefree mother, a stiff father, and a broken daughter that feels she doesn’t belong. The daughter, Willow, reminded me so much of Eleanor from Eleanor & Park without Park. What made this book different is how the author captured Willow’s tentative awkwardness. It was heartbreaking, realistic, and had me rooting for Willow the whole time. The ending....ugh....beautiful! After I turned the last page, Willow stayed with me. She’s the reason I gave this book 4 star
...more
Boy meets girl and they fall in love, except they're totally wrong for each other.
Although Rosie is playful, cute and fun, she's flitted from job to job, place to place never able to settle herself down anywhere or anytime. Not unusual for a twenty-something, but eventually most people coast to a grown-up spot of responsibility. Rosie seems to always be in double-time, never able to turn her brain off at night or put her restless body on pause. (A first hint of ADHD, anxiety) Rex was her exact ...more
Although Rosie is playful, cute and fun, she's flitted from job to job, place to place never able to settle herself down anywhere or anytime. Not unusual for a twenty-something, but eventually most people coast to a grown-up spot of responsibility. Rosie seems to always be in double-time, never able to turn her brain off at night or put her restless body on pause. (A first hint of ADHD, anxiety) Rex was her exact ...more
Rosie Colored Glasses was a truly sad, and yet beautiful book.
I chose it because the blurb gave the impression of an emotional story, but I never thought it would be this emotional. Maybe not best to read if you have a sensitive heart, but a very moving and special story nonetheless. Read the full review here.
Rosie colored glasses is a novel based on the authors own experiences and relationship with a mother with an addiction. It's a heart-breaking tale of a mother's and daughter's love, ...more
Rosie colored glasses is a novel based on the authors own experiences and relationship with a mother with an addiction. It's a heart-breaking tale of a mother's and daughter's love, ...more
Feb 18, 2018
Andi (A Literal Hottie)
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
arc,
beautiful-writing,
literal-hotties,
favorites,
coming-of-age,
made-me-cry,
2018,
mental-health
Finally! A solid 5 star read in 2018!
I had a feeling I would love Rosie Colored Glasses. It's the story about a mentally ill mother with the story telling coming from the 5th grader, this sounded right up my alley. What I didn't expect was to have such fierce love for the father and brother, not to mention I never thought I'd find myself wiping so many tears from my face, I mean I was sobbing. The tears aren't because it's a heartbreaking story, I read plenty of those without tears but because ...more
I had a feeling I would love Rosie Colored Glasses. It's the story about a mentally ill mother with the story telling coming from the 5th grader, this sounded right up my alley. What I didn't expect was to have such fierce love for the father and brother, not to mention I never thought I'd find myself wiping so many tears from my face, I mean I was sobbing. The tears aren't because it's a heartbreaking story, I read plenty of those without tears but because ...more
I scoured the reviews on this book looking for others bothered by the style of writing as I was and found few. Obviously, this book went over better with most than me. So, I rounded up to2. I got so very tired, yes tired. More than tired, very, very tired of repetitive incomplete sentences.
And one line paragraphs.
This went on throughout the book, over and over and over and then over again. And again. (I quote!). Rarely did words contain more than two syllables. And why use a complicated idea whe ...more
And one line paragraphs.
This went on throughout the book, over and over and over and then over again. And again. (I quote!). Rarely did words contain more than two syllables. And why use a complicated idea whe ...more
I'm going to have to go against the grain here on this review. The blurb about for fans of Where'd You Go Bernadette feels completely off. I do feel the author is a great writer. I just wasn't that captivated by how the story was unveiled. It was a little too "once upon a time". I didn't like Rosie from the start and honestly I had a hard time connecting to Willow. Perhaps if we knew why Rosie was like she was I might have had some bit of understanding. Who I did feel bad for was Rex. He really
...more
Willow's parents are complete opposites. Rosie is a free-spirit who believes in the power of colors, the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and not keeping to a schedule, and seems to exist solely on Pixie Stix, cream soda, and pizza. Rex is firm and regimented and believes in balanced dinners and to-do lists. Opposites may attract, but they can also explode. And what happens to the kids when the attraction ends? Willow can tell you, but it's not pretty.
This book had the potential to be an interesting e ...more
This book had the potential to be an interesting e ...more
An excellent book especially for a debut - a bit hard to read emotionally with themes of motherhood, mental illness and growing up but very well written
How different the world looks when you take off your Rosie Colored Glasses.
Two very different worlds collided when Rex met Rosie. The couple couldn't have been more different, her a whimsical spirit, and him, firmly grounded by rules. Yet the polar opposites fell in love. Right?
Years later, life's not all that golden. Despite living their separate lives, Rosie and Rex are doing their best to keep the family together, but it's not meant to be. Willow and Asher, their children, are struggling. Wil ...more
Two very different worlds collided when Rex met Rosie. The couple couldn't have been more different, her a whimsical spirit, and him, firmly grounded by rules. Yet the polar opposites fell in love. Right?
Years later, life's not all that golden. Despite living their separate lives, Rosie and Rex are doing their best to keep the family together, but it's not meant to be. Willow and Asher, their children, are struggling. Wil ...more
Nope. This one really didn't do it for me. I read it based on a Goodreads interview with the author where, as I remember, she said the book was loosely based on her own childhood. I surely hope not. These were two of the most dysfunctional parents that I can ever remember reading about. They were so over the top dysfunctional that they came across as caricatures. That would have been enough to turn me off to the book but their treatment of their daughter Willow just finished it for me. Add to th
...more
What a book. I really enjoyed this one- it was really hard to put it down. This book is not as whimsical or quirky as the first few chapters would suggest. Instead you’ll find a harrowing story of a young family torn apart by opioid addiction. My heart breaks for all of the Willows and Ashers out there. Five easy stars- this one will stick with me.
Rosie is an Asshole. Rosie has some serious issues. Rosie is the reason I kept reading this book.
This turned out to be a very sad tale and I felt so bad for Rosie. My afternoon with her was perplexing, wonderful, sad and very entertaining.
I can't say anymore without giving anything away. I can't do that. You need to read it. I will say that I did shed tears while reading this. A lot of tears.
Thanks to Harlequin (US & Canada) and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an ...more
This turned out to be a very sad tale and I felt so bad for Rosie. My afternoon with her was perplexing, wonderful, sad and very entertaining.
I can't say anymore without giving anything away. I can't do that. You need to read it. I will say that I did shed tears while reading this. A lot of tears.
Thanks to Harlequin (US & Canada) and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an ...more
This book which I read in two days has touched my heart and opened my eyes. This book really went in depth on mental issues. The author made you feel the hurt Willow was going through. I cried the last 30% of the book. This is a novel that I will encourage others to read. This really is an outstanding piece of work
A wonderful debut charting the highs and lows of love. Highly recommended
A fabulous read dealing with the most strenuous issues including post partum depression , drug addiction, and sadly parental alienation.
When you watch someone self destruct from an addiction it's not something anyone takes lightly as countless lives are affected by one's choices and those choices have dire consequences .
Rosie and Rex Thorpe seemed to live a life of envy until you learn that their two kids are being neglected do to the mother's hidden drug use and abuse of vicodin.
Rosie has lapse ...more
When you watch someone self destruct from an addiction it's not something anyone takes lightly as countless lives are affected by one's choices and those choices have dire consequences .
Rosie and Rex Thorpe seemed to live a life of envy until you learn that their two kids are being neglected do to the mother's hidden drug use and abuse of vicodin.
Rosie has lapse ...more
This book is a good start for 2018.
I loved everything about this book. I loved the author’s writing style, the way she describes situations with feelings that stabs through my heart. I was hooked right from the start and I couldn’t leave my place without finishing this book. I cried, I laughed, I sympathized, I got angry, and I related to this book so, so much.
I loved everything about this book. I loved the author’s writing style, the way she describes situations with feelings that stabs through my heart. I was hooked right from the start and I couldn’t leave my place without finishing this book. I cried, I laughed, I sympathized, I got angry, and I related to this book so, so much.
I really wanted to like this book as it deals with a topic that I have had to endure in my life. I just felt the writing was too rushed, too forced, and didn't really touch on Rosie's mental health.
I really liked Willow, and the complete seperation of the love she received from her Mom vs her Dad and why they loved her the way they did and how it was shaping her to be who she was. There were a lot of cute moments in the book, as well as heavy moments, and how the effect of your mental health can ...more
I really liked Willow, and the complete seperation of the love she received from her Mom vs her Dad and why they loved her the way they did and how it was shaping her to be who she was. There were a lot of cute moments in the book, as well as heavy moments, and how the effect of your mental health can ...more
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| Goodreads Librari...: Could you please change a few things for this book? | 3 | 21 | Apr 24, 2018 11:55AM |
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New author Brianna Wolfson told Goodreads about using her life (and her parents' star-crossed relationship) as inspiration for her first book,
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“Because love is crazy and magical. It’s right and it’s wrong and it’s simple and it’s complicated. But no matter what, you feel it all over, you let it in , and it twists through your insides.”
—
1 likes
“And then Rosie moved quickly to tears.
'I love them, Rex. I love them [our kids] so much.'
All Rosie's anguish, and sorrow, and hopelessness was pouring our of her eyes and straight through the phone. Her suffering coursed through his veins and clung to his heart.
And then his ex-wife asked so simply, so innocently, so naively, 'Isn't that enough?"
And then Rosie fell into full sobs.
...
And then Rex, invoking all the love he still had for Rosie, said something so plan, and so true. But so difficult.
'No, baby. It's not enough..”
—
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More quotes…
'I love them, Rex. I love them [our kids] so much.'
All Rosie's anguish, and sorrow, and hopelessness was pouring our of her eyes and straight through the phone. Her suffering coursed through his veins and clung to his heart.
And then his ex-wife asked so simply, so innocently, so naively, 'Isn't that enough?"
And then Rosie fell into full sobs.
...
And then Rex, invoking all the love he still had for Rosie, said something so plan, and so true. But so difficult.
'No, baby. It's not enough..”
