Where'd You Go, Bernadette in Pick-a-Shelf

Sep 25, 2020 Carrie rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: humor, contemporary, mental-health

Being in the mood for a lighter humorous read I decided to pick up Where'd You Go, Bernadette. While I did chuckle along with the audio book at times after getting much further into the story I realized that this wasn't the light fluffy read I was thinking it would be.

It is light and it is fluffy but if you look at it through another lens you will see it has a heavier subject matter, it's a comedy and deals with mental health.

How her husband handled things is an example of NOT what to do, made ...more

29 likes · Like · see review

Mar 01, 2017 Misty marked it as to-read

Shelves: humor, own, contemporary, horror-mystery-suspense-thriller

Note to myself, in case I forget this again: Misty, you also have an audiobook of this from World Book Night.

5 likes · Like · see review

Jun 27, 2017 emily rated it it was amazing

Shelves: owned-physical, fiction-nongenre, funny-as-fk, family-drama, 2017, audiobook, fiction-contemporary

I liked this book waaaay more than I expected to. I mean, I expected to like it, but not that it would make me laugh out loud at many points. I actually think I found it funnier listening to it than I would have reading it-- which is also interesting because at the get-go I didn't like the narrator's voice that much, but it definitely grew on me as I went through. Her narration of Soo-Lin's email from the Argentinian internet cafe was one of my laugh-out-loud points, as was the PTSD doctor's let I liked this book waaaay more than I expected to. I mean, I expected to like it, but not that it would make me laugh out loud at many points. I actually think I found it funnier listening to it than I would have reading it-- which is also interesting because at the get-go I didn't like the narrator's voice that much, but it definitely grew on me as I went through. Her narration of Soo-Lin's email from the Argentinian internet cafe was one of my laugh-out-loud points, as was the PTSD doctor's letter to the Gayler parents after the would-be brunch.

I loved to hate Audrey at first, and was almost disappointed by her heel-face turn into self-awareness. The fax to her husband where she admits to her lies and exaggerations seemed too abrupt; I would've found it more believable if she'd decided to help Bernadette without admitting why (to herself or to anyone else). And Bernadette's brush-off of Elgin's affair also seemed a little too neat; I liked that they stayed together, but would've maybe preferred a little more emotional complexity between them, given all that they still have to talk about.

The bits with Bee at Choate reminded me of nothing so much as the 7th Flavia de Luce book, where she's shipped off to Miss Boadycote's and is mostly miserable. I have a growing list in my mind of girl characters I'd like to bring together in a "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" sort of super-group, and Bee has definitely joined Flavia on that list. Given the way the book opens with her glowing report card, I kind of expected her to be hatefully holier-than-thou, or a different person underneath than what her teachers see on the surface, but neither were true. Bee is a believable teenage girl-- maybe a bit young for her age (to wit, I equate her emotionally with Flavia, who is 12) but with vivid emotions and a complex inner landscape that I enjoyed exploring.

All together this book is one part satire of rich white helicopter parents, one part thorny family drama, one part plucky girl solving a mystery, and one part examination of how well any one person can really know another. I like the title a lot because each character in the novel asks that question, each has a picture of the person who's vanished, but it's only in looking at them all together that we get a clear picture of who she really is. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Dec 24, 2013 Joanna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobooks, 2014-read, bookclub-grasslands, rws-2014-winter

I enjoyed this book so much more than I expected I would. I didn't like the cover or the description that was told to me when this book was picked for my bookclub and I expected something sappy and annoying. Instead, I found the book warm but witty and sarcastic in fun ways. I have two friends who moved from the east coast to Seattle in the last few years, so I was especially enjoying the gentle fun being poked at Seattleites.

The reader for the audiobook did a fantastic job. It's not always easy ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Apr 01, 2014 Rachel N. rated it it was ok

Bernadette Fox is a reclusive former architect whose husband Elgie works at Microsoft and daughter Bee goes to a private school in Seattle. Bernadette hates basically everyone and is involved in a fight with most of the other mothers at Bee's school. She has turned over most of the chores in her life to an assistant in India. As her behavior becomes more erratic Elgie considers having her admitted to a psychiatric facility then Bernadette disappears. I really disliked every character in this boo ...more

Like · see review

Jul 11, 2013 Abigail rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2013

Couldn't stop reading this. Literally. I fell asleep holding it two nights in a row at nearly 1am. It's not that it's groundbreaking or anything, but it grabbed me all the same. ...more

Like · see review

Dec 02, 2013 Nicole rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2013

Surprisingly weird and wonderful!

Like · see review

Sep 29, 2013 Amy 💖 rated it really liked it

Shelves: light-fiction, kindle

The first half was so fun - 5 stars! Midway through the f-bomb begins to drop and the storyline deteriorates - 3 stars. Coincidence?? You decide. It's a fun, quick read. ...more

Like · see review