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2016 monthly challenges: The final list
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By Sara · 11 posts · 137 views
last updated Dec 27, 2016 03:55PM
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What Members Thought
4⭐️ I liked it. I really liked the story and how it was told, the characters not so much, especially the parents. It was an incredibly amazing character study and thought the story was well-written and very engrossing. I think what I liked about the book was that the book delved beneath the surface of what appears to be a “perfect family”.
A melancholy and introspective story. I don't take notes while I read because I'm too busy reading, so I'm still mulling over how I feel about this book.
It is well written: soft, lyrical, insightful, poignant, and bittersweet are some of the words that come immediately to mind. At the same time, it is unsettling.
It is at its core a book about dreams: those dreams we have for ourselves and those dreams we give up for others; those dreams that others foist upon us without realizing their weight; ...more
It is well written: soft, lyrical, insightful, poignant, and bittersweet are some of the words that come immediately to mind. At the same time, it is unsettling.
It is at its core a book about dreams: those dreams we have for ourselves and those dreams we give up for others; those dreams that others foist upon us without realizing their weight; ...more
This book was like an emotional gut punch - not exactly sad, but heartbreaking in the sense that I wanted their fates to be different - better, happier, sunnier, even though I knew that they wouldn't be.
The plot is thus: Lydia dies. This isn't a spoiler, you know this in the first sentence of the book. And really the plot around the events before and after Lydia's death aren't what is important. What is meaningful about this are the characters and their relationships to one another and society ...more
The plot is thus: Lydia dies. This isn't a spoiler, you know this in the first sentence of the book. And really the plot around the events before and after Lydia's death aren't what is important. What is meaningful about this are the characters and their relationships to one another and society ...more
This novel about a Chinese dad and a Caucasian mom, parents of three kids and residents of a small town in Ohio in the 1970s, begins, "Lydia is dead. But they don't know this yet." I was disappointed in the way that the book develops from there - if the reader is to know this from the beginning, that tension should be used more powerfully. In part, it's muddied and stalled by flashbacks in which we learn about the father, the mother, and family history. There are some interesting insights, but o
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I generally enjoyed the book but was disappointed in how the themes seemed disjointed. I expected more of the story to focus on the mixed marriage experience in the 70s and for Lydia's character and demise to tie into this more. Jack's character seemed under developed and without spoiling the story, really could have been examined more to enhance the ending. I felt like this writer wrote a portion of this book, put it down for awhile, and then when revisited was telling a different story.
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This one simply didn't do it for me. I didn't feel connected to any of the characters. I feel like the flaws of each character were highlighted with very few of their redeeming qualities explored and it just left them all rather unlikeable. I just felt meh about the whole reading experience. I kept waiting for a big reveal or something satisfying but it never came.
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Loved this book and the lesson(s) of family ties, both good and bad.
A haunting story of a family in the aftermath of a beloved daughter’s death.
There is an element of mystery, as no one knows if Lydia killed herself or was murdered, but mostly this is a story about the subtle, day-to-day interactions within a family and the ways in which we can make assumptions and projections about family members while never knowing them at all.
Beautiful and sad, but ultimately hopeful.
There is an element of mystery, as no one knows if Lydia killed herself or was murdered, but mostly this is a story about the subtle, day-to-day interactions within a family and the ways in which we can make assumptions and projections about family members while never knowing them at all.
Beautiful and sad, but ultimately hopeful.
Hit close to home. Really enjoyed it.
Jan 24, 2015
Tria
marked it as to-read
May 20, 2015
Ciara
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Nov 10, 2015
Maria
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Dec 30, 2015
Margaret
added it
Sep 14, 2017
Kristin Brandt
marked it as to-read
Feb 04, 2018
Kelly
marked it as to-read
Aug 08, 2022
Lucinda
marked it as to-read
