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What Members Thought
This is Elizabeth Strout's debut novel and it is extraordinary. Amy is the teenage daughter discovering her sexuality while Isabelle is a single mother wishing a man would discover hers. As every one of us who has been a teenage daughter, and then the mother of one, we know all too well what a volatile situation this can be.
I must admit that for the first 75 pages I felt this was, indeed, a debut novel, knowing Strout can do better. Strout lulls you with her easy going style. Still, there was, e ...more
I must admit that for the first 75 pages I felt this was, indeed, a debut novel, knowing Strout can do better. Strout lulls you with her easy going style. Still, there was, e ...more
Aug 03, 2025
Joanna
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
rws-2025-summer,
2025-read
I've been meaning to read this debut novel for quite a while. I've loved the other Elizabeth Strout books I've read, so I wanted to see where she started out.
The emotional power in this seemingly simple novel is impressive. Strout captures the shifting and complicated feelings between this mother and daughter as they circle each other and navigate a conflict. I don't want to say more than that about the plot because the slow reveal of what happens is part of the joy and strength of this novel.
Hi ...more
The emotional power in this seemingly simple novel is impressive. Strout captures the shifting and complicated feelings between this mother and daughter as they circle each other and navigate a conflict. I don't want to say more than that about the plot because the slow reveal of what happens is part of the joy and strength of this novel.
Hi ...more
If I could have given this book half stars I would have given it 4 and half stars. I loved this book and would only take away a half star because it was a little hard to get into. A great story about a difficult summer in the relationship between a mother and her teenaged daughter. Very well written! I thought it was a very touching story.
This was Elizabeth Strout's first novel, and all of her skills and trademarks are already evident. It's the story of teenaged Amy, who is falling in love with a teacher, and her mother Isabelle, who has an unrequited love for her boss. But at the same time, we see into the heads of a lot of other people in the small town where the mother and daughter live, as more and more fractures appear in their relationship.
...more
May 01, 2010
Athira (Reading on a Rainy Day)
marked it as to-read
Apr 19, 2011
Natalie
marked it as to-read
Jun 10, 2011
Anastasia
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
0-2012,
letteratura-nordamericana
Jun 16, 2012
Ariel
marked it as to-read-overdrive
Aug 03, 2012
Rachel
marked it as to-read
Jul 08, 2014
Chinook
marked it as to-read
Jan 18, 2017
Terri
marked it as to-read
Jul 01, 2017
Krista
marked it as to-read
Jan 01, 2020
Kate
marked it as to-read
Mar 02, 2020
Alexis Noffke
marked it as to-read
Sep 18, 2021
Sarelle
marked it as to-read
