sonia_reppe's reviews
1293 reviews

Made a really good impression at first, because I liked the writing. Part one I would give 3.5 stars.

Part 2 was way too long. I didn't enjoy being with these people, especially Richard (the narrator), because he got kind of boring. Half the time, he is sleeping. I started to think that this should have been written from the point of view of Henry, or anyone of the other interesting characters. The story really lost momentum. The funeral and the goings on before at the Corcoran's house could have been cut from the story. There are entire scenes that we didn't need to see, that could've been summed up in one sentence. 1.5 stars for part two, which leaves us with a total 2.5 stars.

I was disappointed that the romance went nowhere. Interesting ending, but I suggest reading Ten Cents A Dance instead, which is also a coming-of-age girl story during the 1940's.

This book is very subtle. It seems like not much is going on with Potter, recent college grad back at home in Missouri, but a lot is going on. He has parents he doesn't feel entirely comfortable around; he has a rich pal; an ex-girlfriend; a temp job; a hot neighbor; a lonely kid whom he befriends; and a dead brother.

Yes, on some level he's trying to figure out himself, but it's not self-conscious. His reflections on what he sees and experiences—some of his descriptions are wittily good—don't come off as condescending because he's always one step behind everyone. Always scrambling.

It took me almost the entire book to figure out that the whole time he was suffering a broken heart. (He never cried. Guys hold a lot inside). But even though Potter is kind of sad and lonely, and he's in that time of life between leaving adolescence and defining one's adulthood, you know things are going to change for him. He even says that at one point, that things are always changing. And yet still there are those constants you can rely on—which is what I got from the end of this book: his dad, his mom, a friend, and baseball season.

She can put together some good essays, but I don't think anyone should view her as an authority on Christian subjects or tenets. Her writing is entertaining and very relate-able for women, but it gets sort of tiresome when she goes on and on about George W. Bush.

2.5 stars. I liked Anna (the story is from her viewpoint) but I did not like her (girl) friend Frankie. You're supposed to forgive her obnoxious behavior because she's mourning her brother. Despite the very predictable blow-up scene at the end where Frankie finds out Anna's secret and they fight (this is hardly a spoiler—you know it's going to happen); and we find out Frankie's secret (also predictable); and cardboard parents; I thought the end was nicely done, and there were some emotive moments from Anna that I liked.

2.5 stars. I read this in like an hour. It was formulaic, but the voice/pov was entertaining enough.