Nora
A BOOK MADE ME CRY!!! FINALLY!!! I THOUGHT BOOKS WEREN’T ABLE TO MAKE ME CRY BUT THIS ONE MANAGED TO DO SO WOOOOOO!!!!
The book does the thing where it starts at the end where you get to see this big tragic event to come, then it goes back in time to show the context of how things got there and why we should care. Making me care is something it very much succeeded in doing. I ended up caring so much for these characters that realizing we were moving closer and closer to the event the book started with made this book so stressful but also so rewarding.
It is kinda slow at the start. Not necessarily slow pacing, I think the book was really well paced honestly! I mean, I did read it all in one day. What I mean is it didn’t really have its claws in me at first, it needed time to make me realize that oh yeah this is genuinely a great story. There came a point about 2/3 through the book where I realized “fuck, this is actually such a good book!!!” and then the last third was some of the most engaging stuff I’ve read this year!
The book’s biggest strength is the characters, I love them so much!!! I love Joan and I love Vanessa and I especially love Frances!!!!!! Frances is so adorable and so innocent and so smart! The whole Frances story is what resonated with me the most, the young child who doesn’t feel seen or loved. I’m getting teary eyed just writing about it here. Her relationship with Joan is just so sweet I can’t help it! Joan and Vanessa’s love is also great. This is a lesbian love story set in the 1980’s when being gay was still not very welcomed by society, and the book really leans into that to make their relationship both painful and really really sweet. You really want to root for them, for things to be okay!
I wasn’t completely sure about the book in the beginning. This is like the fourth book I’ve read within a month about how women are treated in a male centered world so it kinda felt like a repeat of stuff I’ve already read recently. But the further and further I got into it the more I realized I really really do love these characters. And the more I loved the characters, the more I realized how impactful the ending would be. Then the ending came and it was sooooo good!!!!
Read this book!!!
A BOOK MADE ME CRY!!! FINALLY!!! I THOUGHT BOOKS WEREN’T ABLE TO MAKE ME CRY BUT THIS ONE MANAGED TO DO SO WOOOOOO!!!!
The book does the thing where it starts at the end where you get to see this big tragic event to come, then it goes back in time to show the context of how things got there and why we should care. Making me care is something it very much succeeded in doing. I ended up caring so much for these characters that realizing we were moving closer and closer to the event the book started with made this book so stressful but also so rewarding.
It is kinda slow at the start. Not necessarily slow pacing, I think the book was really well paced honestly! I mean, I did read it all in one day. What I mean is it didn’t really have its claws in me at first, it needed time to make me realize that oh yeah this is genuinely a great story. There came a point about 2/3 through the book where I realized “fuck, this is actually such a good book!!!” and then the last third was some of the most engaging stuff I’ve read this year!
The book’s biggest strength is the characters, I love them so much!!! I love Joan and I love Vanessa and I especially love Frances!!!!!! Frances is so adorable and so innocent and so smart! The whole Frances story is what resonated with me the most, the young child who doesn’t feel seen or loved. I’m getting teary eyed just writing about it here. Her relationship with Joan is just so sweet I can’t help it! Joan and Vanessa’s love is also great. This is a lesbian love story set in the 1980’s when being gay was still not very welcomed by society, and the book really leans into that to make their relationship both painful and really really sweet. You really want to root for them, for things to be okay!
I wasn’t completely sure about the book in the beginning. This is like the fourth book I’ve read within a month about how women are treated in a male centered world so it kinda felt like a repeat of stuff I’ve already read recently. But the further and further I got into it the more I realized I really really do love these characters. And the more I loved the characters, the more I realized how impactful the ending would be. Then the ending came and it was sooooo good!!!!
Read this book!!!
Updated a reading goal:
Read 25 books by December 30, 2025
Progress so far: 27 / 25 108%