Joanne’s Comments

Joanne’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

Note: Joanne is not currently a member of this group.

Yay Rachel! My library does that too and it's somehow so exciting. I'm always keeping my eye open on Libby for that purple cloverleaf symbol.

How many tags do we need as a team? 10? Do we have enough books claimed? I will have my second tagged book done by the deadline.

I've started The Sun Down Motel but it hasn't pulled me in yet. Definitely not keeping up with the BOM reading schedule but I should finish it next round if not this one. I'm mostly focusing on the other three books I've got on the go.

I think those would both work for stripes and tents.

Day 4 Questions Chapters 16-21

15. We get to find out about the title in this section. What did you guys think about the new rule, and the reason behind it?

Realistically I'm not sure you would feel much closer being five feet away rather than six, but I like what it symbolizes for Stella: taking something back from CF after all it has taken from her.

16. Did you all like Stella and Will’s first date? Do you think you would have the self control to stay away from the love of your life?
As an aside, are there any YA books of this type that allow the kids to spend more than 6 minutes together before falling in love?

I thought this was a cute first date. I find it hard to get emotionally invested in any YA romances when the characters fall in instalove, but for these characters, falling in love quickly actually makes sense, since neither knows if they have very much more time.

17. They spend a page or two discussing the afterlife. Do you think their takes on it made sense to the characters? Realizing I am wading into murky waters here, did you want to discuss your own views? (Optional, teehee.)

The ideas they each have seem to fit their characters. I am of the same mindset as Will.

18. Abby. We find out why happens to her here. What did you think of this reveal? Was it a satisfying explanation of the missing sister story to you?

Not surprised. Seemed in character.

19. Chapter 21 is a bit of a rollercoaster. The birthday dinner is pretty cool. Did you like what Stella and all set up? Then, Poe. This hit me more than any of the other "feels" in the book. How did you take this? Discuss.

I really liked the birthday dinner and was glad the whole group got to spend some time together. The ending with Poe though was hard to read. I was wondering who was going to die because in books like these, someone always does.

Day 3 Questions
chapters 10 - 15

10) I can't imagine the stress of trying to balance the knowledge of a fairly terminal prognosis with trying to be hopeful to live. I mean, we all know our days are numbered, but when you have an idea of what the number might be, you can either try to suck the marrow out of every day or curl up and try not to care enough to let anything hurt you more. Who do you think will have a bigger effect on the other, Will or Stella, and what do you hope will be the outcome, from a personal growth aspect?

I think they both have something to learn from the other, but I think Will brings risk to Stella's life that feels dangerous to me. She's so close to getting her transplant and if he gives her B. Cepacia her life would take a huge turn.

11) Maybe I'm too cynical, but I kept feeling like Abby was used as the personification of the idea that "See, you never know how long you have to live, so..." and not flawed enough to be a real person. Did anyone else feel that way or am I being a meanie?

I don't think of Abby as a real person so much as what she means to Stella. She was her support and got her through so much, but she's not very fleshed out in the book.

12) I loved Barb's parental takedown. Do you think the shift in Stella's parents will last?

I think it would be a bit unrealistic if they get back together right away based on this, but I certainly hope Barb opened their eyes to what they were doing to Stella with their behaviour and they can act more civil in the future for her sake.

13) Reflecting on Barb's story of Amy and Trevor: would you choose a much shorter but immediately fuller life, or a longer lifespan though it may be less vibrant?

I guess I'm cynical, but I dont' think one teenage romance is worth risking your life over. I like a quiet comfortable life so I would probably choose the longer lifespan. There would be lots of opportunities to find small happiness for me there. Now if it were a case where a longer life would be spent suffering for a very small chance of treatment working vs accepting my fate and refusing treatment, I might feel differently depending on the odds.

14) Poe says "It's my sickness...it's my problem." While it's admirable to strive for self-sufficiency, a main message of the book seems to be about how it's imperative to open up and do the work to nurture healthy, supportive relationships. What is your take on this? When in crisis, do you distance yourself or reach out?

I tend to close in on myself during times of stress.

Whooo, first in BOMs!!! Let's keep that going! I'm going to read them all, although I'm having trouble finding a copy of The Sun Down Motel because my elibrary doesn't have it and it's too $$$ to buy. I'm keeping my eyes peeled though and will request it for my library to buy.

I'm going to be reading two tagged books for sure. One works for O and I and the other works for U.

✿ Claire ✿ wrote: "Pride and Prejudice is tagged as tiger?????? Why?"

LOL! Also

I can only imagine someone has a tiger shelf that means something other than the animal to them.

Day 2 Questions

6 . 'I wonder how many strings she had to pull and how much money she had to throw away to get me into this trial'
This quote caught my attention because in the UK we don't have to pay for treatment, even in a clinical trial in the UK. Did it catch anyone else's notice?

It's always strange to read about how expensive health care is in the US, because it's just unimaginable to me, but I'm used to reading about it in books. Characters always seem to have good insurance though I guess because they don't worry about it much.

7. Are you surprised at how quickly Stella has become attached to Will? I wasn't expecting this strength of reaction to him not taking his treatment seriously. Did you think it was in character?

Not really surprised as it's a short book. Also I agree with others that mentioned that a lot of it seems to be about control. There is so much in Stella's life that she can't control, so if she can take charge of this one thing, she feels she has to do it.

8. Wow Will's mum is controlling. I'm not surprised he's ended up rebelling from taking his treatments. Do you think you'd react like Stella (perfectionist, controlling about treatment and planning for the future) or Will (fed up, rebellious and living for the moment) to being in this type of situation?

I'm sure I would be like both, depending on the day, but my personality type is much more like Stella's. I would be obsessively trying to do everything I need to to make my way to the top of that transplant list.

9. Masks, lots of hand washing, staying 6 feet (or roughly 2m) apart, limited places you can go… The recent pandemic is giving me more insight into some of what this must be like than I'd had before. How are you coping with the changes?

I work in health care (although in a patient testing lab and not directly with patients) so my life is not that different than before. I still go into work every day and do the same work as before. Work stations are just spaced further apart and we have masks available for when we have to work closer than 6 feet from someone else. My province also never had very many cases and as of now there are only about a dozen active cases, so things are starting to get back to normal. I'm still mostly just going to work and staying at home as much as possible otherwise, even though everything seems to be opening back up.

Discussion Questions - Day 1

1) From what I know, this book is the novelization of the movie. While this doesn’t happen too often, I’ve read a couple books before that were only written after a movie/series (e.g. The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet). Have you ever read a book like this? What did you think? Was it successful? Did this experience influence your expectations of this book?

I hadn't realized until now that it was a novelization and knowing it is wouldn't normally entice me to read it. I tend to either read the book or watch the movie, not do both, with a few exceptions and I feel like a movie always tends to leave some things out, but I can't see how a book would add much in, if it was based on the movie. I have to say that I am enjoying the book so far and didn't want to stop reading after I finished today's portion.

2) Stella and Will, wearing face masks & using copious amounts of hand sanitizer before it was cool. All jokes aside, this is an oddly timely reminder that face masks do make a difference to prevent the spreading of diseases. I knew next to nothing about CF before starting this book and I’ve seen very mixed reactions to the representation of CF so I was wondering… do you have any experience with CF and therefore expectations? (If you don’t feel comfortable answering, feel free to just skip this question!)

I don't know a lot about CF, other than that kids suffering from it can't get close because of the risk of transferring infection. I plan on doing some internet research after answering these questions though.

3) "If I’m going to die, I’d like to actually live first.“ This quote from Will’s POV reminded me of the countless bucket list stories and made me wonder whether this will go in that direction. Yet while Will takes more of a Devil-May-care attitude, Stella is very cautious to follow the rules. Do you think Will’s attitude is going to influence Stella as they got closer (literally?!). Will she also take more (dangerous) risks?

I can totally understand if you know you don't have hope of getting better, wanting to live out the rest of your days doing what you want. I hope that Stella can loosen up a little bit, but hopefully not jeopardize her chance of getting a transplant.

4) Stella is a "tech nerd", even programming her own app. Most MCs in YA books have artsy, "girly" hobbies (sorry for using that terrible gendered stereotype), if they have any prominent hobbies at all. Books about artsy people are among my favorites and I’m always on the hunt for more. While I like traditional hobbies, some of my favorite books (e.g. With the Fire on High) have non-mainstream hobbies and I am actually quite excited to learn more about this aspect of Stella’s story. Have you read any other books where the main character had a prominent hobby that wasn’t drawing/painting/writing/theater/an instrument?

I'm sure I have but I'm having a hard time thinking of any examples.

5) Stella’s parents are recently divorced, in what she calls the “most ridiculous divorce of all time”, and she worries a lot about them. It both breaks my heart and confuses me slightly why it is so far being kept from us what happened - we only know that Stella believes both parents are unhappy after the separation. So… what do you think happened?

It seems her and Abby were close so I would assume if Abby were around she would have been at the hospital, so I think she died somehow and that may be part of why Stella's parents divorced. I hate that she feels so much pressure and responsibility for keeping them from worrying. It's the parents' job to worry about their kids and she shouldn't need to be so focused on their feelings that it affects how she makes all her decisions.

Discussion Questions Day 5 - Part 10 to End

17.) Anyone else find Giovanni's thoughts on Cord (his a 36 year old adult) to be a refreshing bit of grow up, you're an adult, figure out a way to handle your crap? Did Regan's revelations to Giovanni change your opinion of her?

I think Giovanni may not completely understand how difficult it is for Cord to move on from his childhood. Cord needs to grow up, but it's not always easy to do that without help. He needs to be in therapy. I'm not sure if it was explicitly stated, but I got the impression that Matt was very controlling and emotionally abusive (there was a mention of Regan bringing up leaving Matt and his reaction, he wouldn't let her go on the cruise without him, etc) so Regan came up with a plan to get away, since he could be dangerous if she just left. If he thought it was his idea, then she could just go along with it.

18.) What did you like about the revelation Lee (or really Jason via the credit card) paid for the trip, pretending Charlotte won the contest? Why do you think the author did this?

I was surprised by it and also confused as to why Jason wasn't more upset.

19.) A lot happened at the final stop. Charlotte had the 'big O' and fixed by the magical penis. Regan got back in touch with her artist self and her kids randomly appeared in a foreign country (how did they get passports? both parents must be present at the time of application in the US for children to be issued passports), Cord and Giovanni worked things out, Lee had her breakdown and started healing. Did anyone else think this was abrupt and when they were all together (including Regan's kids) thinking WTH is going on?

Did Regan's kids show up? I must have missed that. How sad that Charlotte had her first orgasm in her 70s. Too much going on, not really a good ending.

20.) Final Thoughts on the book? Rating? Any idea what point the author was trying to make with this book?

I literally have no idea what the point of the book was. Giving it 2 stars.

Discussion Questions Day 4 - Part 7 - 9

13: The characters have each made some defining decisions on the vacation. Which decision or resolution stuck out to you the most? Example - Mine was when Charlotte pretended not to see Cord at the end of part 9. It broke my heart to see her have so much difficulty loving her son!)

That was so hard to read. Lee and Regan seem like they're making decisions to try to move forward with their lives (whether they're good decisions or not) but Cord can't seem to make any progress toward being who he is and facing his problems, which I think Charlotte isn't helping with.

14: Why do you think Charlotte took on and passed on the traits of her mother that she didn’t appreciate? What might have been different in her interactions with her children if she intentionally shook those off? Example traits are her mother’s inability to communicate, and her disapproval turning into a lack of love)

I know it's possible to make your own choices on how to raise your children, but there's a reason people talk about turning into your parents. It's easy to repeat the behaviours that are modelled for you when you're too young to know better.

15: The characters each have a flaw in that they hold back a piece of themselves from their family and the ones they love. Which character is the hardest to read about and why?

All of the characters seem really screwed up, but I don't really relate to any of them. It's hard for me to read about Charlotte wanting to be closer to her kids, while continuing to shut down any real conversations that come up.

16: This was my first time reading this author. Do you think you’d read something else by Amanda Eyre Ward? Why or why not?

No, I am not really enjoying the book at all. Another book by the author would have to have really great reviews for me to consider it.

Navi wrote: "Greetings from Team Pants! I've come to request recommendations from you all 😊 Lately, I’ve been in the mood for some great nonfiction. Any favourites? I don’t have a genre preference – biography, ..."

I absolutely love non-fiction so here are a few that I've rated 5 stars:

Sammy wrote: "Hello there team Gulliver!

Having just finished The Art of Fielding (a book I can heartily recommend!), I am left in the mood for more sports-themed books, so have come to see if a..."

I took a look but couldn't really find very many non-romance sports books that I enjoyed, but I wanted to second Celia's recommendation of , which is very good. If you're open to non-fiction, I really liked , which turned out to be a real page-turner for me surprisingly.

Louise wrote: "How is everyone getting on with their reading?
Currently got 3 books on the go!"

I've finished one and have two more on the go. None of my current books are grabbing me, but I'm still making decent progress on them and at least I should be finished with soon, giving me room to get started on something new. I'm going to start the other BOM on time and hoping I enjoy that one more.

Discussion Questions - Day 3 - Parts 5 & 6

9. Structure: "The Jetsetters" is divided into nine parts with an average of five different chapters (other than Part 1, which had nine chapters) in each part. Each chapter has, as yet, indicated a point of view change. What do you think the different parts are designating, if anything? How is it affecting your reading of the book, if at all?

I haven't really noticed the structure, although I am glad that it is set up with a rotating point of view. We wouldn't get all the secrets so quickly otherwise.

10. Setting: So far, the Perkins have visited, in some capacity, Athens, Rhodes, and, most recently, Malta. How has the Mediterranian setting impacted both the story and the characters, if at all? And how do you think the story and characters would have been affected if the cruise was traveling through a different setting (say the Perkins boarded an Alaskan cruise line), if there would be any?

I sometimes forget where they are and feel like they could be anywhere. I think the important thing for the story is they are "stuck" together for an extended period of time. Otherwise they would have drifted apart already.

11. Minor Character (Paros): As a follow up to question eight (since I am biasedly refusing to discuss Matt at any great length if I can help it), Paros has positively influenced both Charlotte (in feeling seen and admired) and Lee (in reconnecting with her family after coming to some big personal realizations). Why do you think Paros (and not Charlotte's recently deceased friend Minnie or Lee's one-time therapist) has been able to make these positive influences? Do you think this will continue and Paros will positively influence Regan and Cord in some way? If so, how?

He does seem to be around a lot so it's possible he will get to know Regan and Cord. I can see the relationship between him and Charlotte deepening.

12. Minor Character (Kiko): Kiko's character has been used to further characterize the children indirectly: signifying Regan's meticulous mind (a mind that is plotting a murder, ha!), Lee's reformed ways rejecting the advances of men, and Cord's attraction towards men. Is Charlotte's character also indirectly characterized via Kiko? If so, how? (Also, I was so dismayed because Cord was my favorite character and his engagement to Giovonni was so cute and yet many of you predicted that Cord would be outted by being caught in a compromising situation by his family! gasp! So I ask you...) Was Cord's flirting with Kiko harmless, or was it a foreshadowing of a similar situation to come later in the novel?

Hopefully it was not foreshadowing, although Cord seemed to be flirting pretty heavily. His inner monologue never seems to mention Giovanni either. Maybe Cord is not as in love as he seemed.

Discussion Questions Day 2: Parts 2 - 4

5. We get more flashbacks to Charlotte's early life in Paris, and start to get an understanding of why her family isn't close or communicative - she herself was brought up to repress feelings. Will her current crush on Paros blossom into a full relationship? How will her fascination with Paros help or hinder her main aim of this holiday - to reconnect her children?

I hope she manages to hook up with Paros. It seems her aim was just as much to hook up with/find someone to love as much as reconnecting with her children. She can't get sex out of her head.

6. Cord: he jettisons a year and a half of sobriety very easily, though I did enjoy how the author then used his drunken ramble through the ship to show off some of the glorious absurdities of massive cruise ships. Will Cord be able to pull himself together over the cruise or is he going to self-sabotage any happiness he might have had? Do you think Charlotte would react badly to his coming out of the closet? Any guesses on how he gets outed?

This was very sad and I think staying sober on a cruise ship where free booze is always flowing is too much for most alcoholics. I hope that he's able to make a new start. I don't see Charlotte reacting badly to his coming out, just maybe being surprised.

7. Lee: We get confirmation that Winston did commit suicide, and chose to do it in her bathroom (what a $*!@$!). Why would Charlotte make her lie to her siblings about how he died? And why does noone call her out about her lies about her career?

That was horrible, but fits with Charlotte's character of caring what other people think. In her eyes a husband having a heart attack is more respectable than one killing himself. No one calls anyone else in the family out about their lies. They're all keeping too many secrets themselves.

8. Regan: plotting murder! The plot thickens! What do you think the private detective has turned up? I assume it must be worse that infidelity, because you don't hire a PI unless you suspect infidelity, right? ('cos of course we have all thought about having our partners trailed rather than just, y'know, communicating with them!) Do you find the flashbacks to Matt rescuing Regan from the artist teacher (shades of Charlotte again!) make him more likeable?

I don't know what the detective found but I am intrigued to find out. The flashbacks do make him more likeable.

Discussion Questions - Day 1

1) This is not a book I would’ve picked up on my own, and from the beginning I felt very strongly that I’m not the target (age) group, so I’m extra curious how I’m going to feel about this. Had you heard about this book before it was chosen as BOM? What were your expectations going in?

I had not heard of the book, although I've read and enjoyed many of Reese's Hello Sunshine picks in the past. When I saw the ratings and reviews on this one, I didn't really want to read it though, so I'm not expecting a lot, but I would love to be pleasantly surprised.

2) I was surprised to see that the POVs rotates. Somehow the blurb made me think the whole book would be from Charlotte’s POV. Whose POV are you enjoying the most so far? Who is your favorite character?

I can't say I really like any of them all that much yet, but I guess Regan's is the story I'm most interested to see play out.

3) While Charlotte is supposedly the closest to Regan out of all her kids, their POVs show that they actually resent each other the most out of any of our four main characters. I can understand where Regan’s coming from, but Charlotte’s dislike of Regan so far is quite a mystery to me. What do you think is at the core here?

Charlotte seems really obsessed with appearances so I think she just hates the reminder that she was not the mother she wanted to be with Regan. Plus Regan seems to enjoy taking care of people around her and I think Charlotte feels guilty that she wasn't able to do that for her.

4) What do you think will happen on the trip? Will they even do the whole thing? Who will be the first to pack their bags and run back home? Which secrets will come out first?

I think the family will complete the trip. I think the Matt/Regan/Lee situation will come up first and hopefully Matt will leave the family to it.

I read the first day's section of The Jetsetters and am debating whether to continue on or wait until the questions are posted tomorrow. I always like being perfectly in sync with the questions. Hmmm...