Grace

I am, unfortunately, the Hero of Ages.

My, oh my, this book is definitely THE end of all trilogies. It made justice to the story, in both writing and plot. The character development is amazing, and I am pleasantly surprised with how some of the themes were handled, such as depression, self-doubt, coming of age (and the mourning of who one once was), questioning your faith/religions in general (especially after a loss), sacrifice, love... it holds complex aspects of life in such a relatable manner that you can't help to care for all the characters for different reasons.

The masterpiece is the way it unfolds everything, bits and pieces, nuggets left in the past two books... it was just all beautifully executed. I haven't read a more fantastic way to end a trilogy (or any series, even duologies) than this.

Rating: 3.75 stars

The book is written with interlapping stories in the past and the MCs present, both written in chronological order but there's one chapter in the past followed by one chapter in the present and so on. The story follows Macy, a pediatric resident in the Bay Area with a past that is too painful to face, leaving some chapters still open that affect her present. She then sees Elliot, her best friend from her teenage years and the guy who broke her heart. Everything starts to change as old wounds are open, Macy starts to question her currently relationship, and advancing in parallel with her past you get to understand what happened that got her where she is.

Things I liked:

-Love is beautifully developed in the book, from the first interaction all the way through, some things may seem cringy but when one is a teenager you get to have that kind of conversation and find it natural because you are exploring your body. As an adult I didn't enjoy it as much but I understand how it plays in the story.

-I enjoyed pretty much the second half of the book, when Macy starts to take accountability in her current relationship and owns her part in her ghosting to Elliot

-I liked the healthy talks that were held: Macy's dad for one, how he managed being a widowed father and Macy's issues (I dropped my jaw when he managed THE talk every parent fears when their child reaches an age to appropriately address sexuality and safe sex). Also Macy and Sean's mature talk about their dynamics and how it would work when married, it was a nice chapter.

Things I didn't enjoy as much:

-Macy is the main character so both past and present are told exclusively from her point of view, in the end it works but it would have been so interesting to have at least some chapters from Elliot's POV as well, and the rest of the friends would be interesting as well, they are talked about throughout the book but some thoughts would be interesting to hear as they come and not filtered by Macy's POV.

-The first half made me think about DNF it, Macy felt very immature for her age, and like it was so annoying every time she expressed her confussion after seeing Elliot for a couple of seconds, and afterwards she felt like a teenager going to a Justin Bieber concert, and she was 28...... so I really disliked the start. Fortunately after the chapter where she talks with Sean about her final realization that they are not even compatible I think she suddenly matured.

-Linked to the last point, Elliot also seemed so cringy. Like why leave your girlfriend of (not sure if they lasted 1 or 5 years) just bc her saw Macy... huge red flag more than romance there. At least Macy's reason felt more reasonable because at first I thought she was being a dick but then it made sense with Sean being so not in sync with her so... it made sense for the breakup, but Elliot??? Nah...

-I would've liked a faster pacing in the first half, it took me almost 170 pages to stop considering DNF it

All in all I'm glad I didn't quit it, to me it got better past that half mark, and it all was worth it in the end. I got nice parenting advise, had a couple of good laughs, and cried so hard in the last 20 pages or so... which in the end made up for the bullets I didn't enjoy as much.

My favorite book ever!

I am so heartbroken right now...

I liked how it felt like real life, with its nuances... it shows how people come in and out of our lives as we grow and there's even a quote stating that you don't need to have a fight with your childhood best friend to stop being best friends, sometimes you just grow apart. In this case that turning point in Finn and Autumn's frienship is talked about through both POVs so I really appreciated that, since the book is all narrated through Autumn's POV it is natural to take her side of the story as the fact of what happened and when Finny exposed his side of things it felt all the most relatable because that's real life: we remember things one way and others may do so way different, that's when misunderstandings happen.

It became apparent pretty early on that depression and toxic relationships was going to be the theme of the book, and man ... Jamie is a walking red flag, I just wanted Finn to step in for Autumn bc I thought she wasn't going to do it herself, I'm glad they didn't end up together.

I think depression was handled well, and then again, the person usually doesn't know they are depressed or deny it altogether as Autumn did throughout the book, even her thoughts and actions after Finny's passing make it evident for the reader that she is indeed depressed, and for her it isn't something to be concerned about, it's just a natural course to follow... to me that's what makes depression very scary for the family more than to the person who suffers it.

The ending just had me sobbing, at first I thought it was very hurried but thinking better about it I think it is not about giving a happy ending, the heartache is more intense just because we feel they didn't get to live their love as they were meant to, but there's a little piece of Finn left in this world as a sign of hope for Autumn and The Mothers, a reason to live and love again.

Solid 5 star for me, I don't know if I'll ever get over this book. 💔

Definitivamente un libro muy interesante que aborda de manera general el potencial de los niños desde su nacimiento hasta los 6 años de edad. Su experiencia a lo largo de (me parecen) 20 años desde el inicio de sus estudios hasta la publicación del libro y las prácticas que propone para enseñar en casa desde edades muy tempranas me motiva a preparar los materiales para iniciar con la Lectura y matemáticas con mis niños.

El contenido es invaluable, desafortunadamente la traducción al español es muy pobre, llevando palabras al estilo literal más que al contextual, y utilizando un lenguaje muy repetitivo que no me ayudó a tener una gran experiencia lectora, me lo quedo como un buen manual pero creo que leería la edición en inglés.