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pub 9/6/16 by St. Martin's Griffin
YA - Contemporary
Received from pub via Edelweiss |
I really, really wanted to like
The Possibility of Somewhere so the first thing I want to do is point out what I appreciated about it. First and foremost, diversity. The author addresses cultural and economic differences and even when it felt stereotypical at times, I still liked that it was there. You have Eden Moore who lives in a trailer-park with neglectful parents. She’s unpopular, snarky and incredibly smart. Her perfect GPA is her ticket out of town and she has her eyes set on a college scholarship. (I really liked Eden.) In comparison, you have Ash Gupta. He’s a popular guy with a tight-knit group of friends, wealthy parents and great grades. Of course, Ash and Eden are competing over the same scholarship and well, their “relationship” has been fraught with rivalry from the beginning. When they get paired up on a project, they realize they connect and actually get along when they look past their bickering. So up until that point, I was into it. But the execution and resolution left a lot to be desired. I just didn’t like Ash or his friends, plain and simple. I thought Eden was too good for him and the speed of their relationship accelerated far too fast. If the book focused more on Eden's personal growth, I think that would’ve been better? But because the focus was very much on the romance, it didn’t work for me and I had trouble connecting to the book overall.
Do I recommend? It wasn’t for me so it’s hard to recommend. But it does read really fast so if you decide to give it a try, I guarantee you’ll fly through it.
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pub 9/6/16 by Algonquin Books
Adult - Contemporary |
Leave Me is a book that’ll evoke very different reactions in people and that’s ultimately what impressed me. Maribeth Klein is just so human, flawed and real. She does the things that I’m sure many women in her position have daydreamed about doing on a crappy day. And the catalyst for the book is a heart attack Maribeth doesn’t even realize she’s having because she’s so busy taking care of her husband and twins. When the doctor tells her the full extent of what’s happened and the people around her seem treat her like a burden, she runs away. I know it sounds awful. She’s a mom and a wife and she just up and leaves. But once she gets the isolation she’s been desperately craving, it puts her on this journey of self-discovery and awareness. I mean, I don’t know if I’d recommend her choices but it undoubtedly gave her perspective. She makes new friends, goes outside of her comfort zone and faces issues head-on that she’s long avoided. The book is definitely introspective. So, even though it may not seem like a lot is happening, it's all about the transformation Maribeth goes through and the decisions she makes for herself in the end. I personally loved being on that journey with her.
Do I recommend? I do! I super appreciate character development and Maribeth certainly goes through a lot changes. I think
Just One Day will always be my favorite Gayle book but I thought this was very good as well.
Well, we felt similarly about both of these books, to say the least! (It's also not all that surprising.) I particularly liked Leave Me a lot, because I thought it tackled a theme that is easy for most readers to relate to and in a way that challenges them to consider their response :)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. The Possibility of Somewhere was OK. Not bad, not great. It had it's good points, but something was missing. Not sure what, but it was missing. Loved Forman's new book. So much going on, yet it all worked so well. Lots of feels. And yes, the Just One Day books are still my favorites, but this was great. Good reviews!
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