From the Bookshelf of WACKY READING CHALLENGES…
Find A Copy At
Group Discussions About This Book
No group discussions for this book yet.
What Members Thought
Audiobook performed by Joan Walker
From the book jacket: Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy – as in standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-men-who-want-to-talk-about-Jesus crazy. She is also Elsa’s best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother’s stories, in the Land-of-Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal. When Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves b ...more
From the book jacket: Elsa is seven years old and different. Her grandmother is seventy-seven years old and crazy – as in standing-on-the-balcony-firing-paintball-guns-at-men-who-want-to-talk-about-Jesus crazy. She is also Elsa’s best, and only, friend. At night Elsa takes refuge in her grandmother’s stories, in the Land-of-Almost-Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas where everybody is different and nobody needs to be normal. When Elsa’s grandmother dies and leaves b ...more
When Elsa was seven years old, her Granny died and left a set of letters behind for Elsa to deliver for her. She is Elsa's best and only friend because none of the other children her age seem to like her. We get a chance to meet her grandmother in the beginning of the book and realize her main goal has always been to make Elsa feel more comfortable about being different. The way she does that is by making up a fairy-tale-influenced Land of Almost Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas, where no one is
...more
I really loved A Man Called Ove when I read it earlier this year, and have been very much looking forward to reading something else by Backman, and was hoping for more of the same quirky, charming storytelling. This was not it. This was really, really not it. None of this worked for me. Elsa was easily one of the most irritating protagonists I've ever come across - yes, she was marketed in the beginning of the novel as being precocious, but I'm not entirely sure Backman has ever met a seven year
...more
I only picked up this book because I needed a 9-word title for a challenge. Since the audiobook version had been recommended to me, I tried that. What a delightful surprise! I totally enjoyed the book, and the narration definitely enhanced the story. Elsa and her Granny are inseparable because they are both considered "different," meaning they don't conform to society's rules (and Elsa is constantly getting bullied at school). When Granny dies of cancer (this is not a spoiler--it happens quite c
...more
I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook read by my new favorite narrator, Joan Walker. I loved the story and Walker's narration was perfect. I loved that the story was so different - half make believe and half real life. Backman does a great job of creating The Land of Almost Awake and the Kingdom of Miamas and all of the stories (fairytales) that take place there. He also does a great job of weaving those stories into the daily lives of young Elsa, her Granny and her eclectic group of neighbors. I
...more
If you have trouble thinking outside of the box than this is not the book for you. It's a bit strange right in the beginning and the characters will weird you out, but as the story goes on (And it will, you just have to hang on) you begin to understand who these characters are in the story and why they are the way they are. I think the story is beautifully written and it's told in a manner that sneaks up on you and makes you feel a kinship with the characters.
...more
Heartwarming... Funny... Charming!!
Fredrik Backman, I'm a fan. This is my third encounter with Backman and his quirky characters and I absolutely love his books. They make me giggle, they bring tears to my eyes and I immediately want to re-read them.
The stories are simple and in many ways everyday stories, but they are relatable and still filled with a lot of wisdom.
I can't wait to pick up a new book by Backman! ...more
Fredrik Backman, I'm a fan. This is my third encounter with Backman and his quirky characters and I absolutely love his books. They make me giggle, they bring tears to my eyes and I immediately want to re-read them.
The stories are simple and in many ways everyday stories, but they are relatable and still filled with a lot of wisdom.
I can't wait to pick up a new book by Backman! ...more
I love the cover and the title. And the book description was sufficiently intriguing. Elsa is 7 years old and very close to her grandmother. Just before she died, however, she left Elsa (a Knight in their imaginary dream land) a quest: To deliver all her letters and tell the recipients that her grandmother says sorry.
It begins quite interestingly though at halfway point, I started to get a bit bored and felt that it just kept going on and on; too many fairy tales. I struggled trying to keep the ...more
It begins quite interestingly though at halfway point, I started to get a bit bored and felt that it just kept going on and on; too many fairy tales. I struggled trying to keep the ...more
*2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge*
Prompt #33: A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child)
Forced myself to finish this in one sitting because of how much I hated the reading experience. It's not that it's objectively a bad book - in fact, I can see why so many people love it - but I hated the central character of the grandmother so much that I couldn't stand any of it. A person who cares more about other people's children than their own is not someone I can admire, and the craz ...more
Prompt #33: A book featuring three generations (grandparent, parent, child)
Forced myself to finish this in one sitting because of how much I hated the reading experience. It's not that it's objectively a bad book - in fact, I can see why so many people love it - but I hated the central character of the grandmother so much that I couldn't stand any of it. A person who cares more about other people's children than their own is not someone I can admire, and the craz ...more
3-1/2*
Excellent narration by Joan Walker
I find that Fredrik Backman's stories are slow reading, often drawn out and even somewhat dull in places, then hard to put down in others, so the reading of them feels kind of push-and-pull ("I think I can, I think I can"). Once you near the end, however, and his secrets are revealed, you see how he has weaved together the plot, characters, and heart of the story. I'm not that smart myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if people call his writing kind of gen ...more
Excellent narration by Joan Walker
I find that Fredrik Backman's stories are slow reading, often drawn out and even somewhat dull in places, then hard to put down in others, so the reading of them feels kind of push-and-pull ("I think I can, I think I can"). Once you near the end, however, and his secrets are revealed, you see how he has weaved together the plot, characters, and heart of the story. I'm not that smart myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if people call his writing kind of gen ...more
2021 - 52 in 52 #35 Set in a country that starts with the letter "S"
2021 - Book Hoarder reading challenge - By a FAVE author
I really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh, cry, gasp, and sing with joy. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who asks. ...more
2021 - Book Hoarder reading challenge - By a FAVE author
I really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh, cry, gasp, and sing with joy. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who asks. ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Jun 20, 2015
Lisa
marked it as to-read
Sep 15, 2015
Katharine
marked it as to-read
Jul 15, 2016
Agnieszka
marked it as dnf
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
y-06june,
short,
ow-borrowed,
language-german,
x-2013,
original-not-english,
audiobook,
y-b07july
Sep 06, 2016
Lorri
marked it as to-read
Oct 12, 2017
Jackie
marked it as to-read
Apr 12, 2018
Elle
marked it as to-read
Aug 21, 2022
Chelsey
marked it as to-read
Dec 07, 2022
Hannah Peterson
marked it as lost-interest
