The Girl who Fell from the Sky: A Novel | 
so-soThere are a lot of things discussed on these pages from race and identity, to family and addiction and more. So many topics and ideas that I would have liked to see delved into deeper. Lots of promise, but I was left wanting more.
panMaybe it was the style of writing, but I could NOT tell the purpose of the book. The plot was so vague and mixed with how the story was told, I honestly felt like the book had nothing. 🤷🏻♀️ may be one for others, but lost for me. I dutifully finished my commitment to it in hopes of SOMETHING, but it never happened. Oh well, on to the next!
Finished my #bookspin #doublespin and #bookspinbingo board while baby Finnegan plays. It‘s the month of our Irish heritage..can you tell?! I‘ve averaged 5 books a month the last two! With no extra days off from work I‘m hoping to maintain progress! 🤣📚🧡
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This year I'm trying to pick up the books I've accidentally abandoned over the years. Those I DNF because life got in the way or a more exciting book came along.
I started this book about 12 years ago but didn't get very far before setting it down. I never got back to it...until today.
I am so so glad I picked it back up from the beginning! This was an incredible story about identity, surviving tragedy, and growing up. Highly recommend!
A subtle but complex story that speaks to both kids and grownups, this story is a conflation of magic, tragedy and hope
#conflate
#beautifulwords
@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @OriginalCyn620
pickI can‘t believe I left this in a pile for so long. What a great read. Heartbreaking, defiant and joyous all at the same time. Looking at both race in America and the role of parents from so many perspectives. Rachel was loving and broken, troubled and hopeful all while remaining relatable.
So decided to scroll through all my old posts and see what my oldest book haul post was! This was Feb/March 2017!
And you know the crazy part, I‘ve only read 4 of them, bailed on 1 (and got rid of it)!
Have you read any of these? Are there any I should bump up onto my list?!
#bookhaul #bookhaulchallenge
This was a heartbreaker. All we want is to protect those we love...
#blackhistorymonth #readblackauthors
pickRachel lives with her grandmother after a family tragedy leaves her the only survivor. Half Danish, half black, Rachel deals not only with the aftermath of that tragedy, but also her own identity as people around her want to simplify it. Stylistically complex with multiple narrators and important topics to discuss, this was an excellent choice for my library book discussion.
so-soI really appreciated the themes of this book and the idea behind it, but perhaps my expectations were too high. The lovely writing about identity and being caught between worlds expressed the loneliness and confusion Rachel and Nella feel. However, I never really felt connected to them, except at times with Nella due to her journals. It feels like Rachel's attempt to distance herself from her emotions also distanced herself from the reader.
Doctor's office reading today. Nearly halfway through after an hour in the waiting room!
so-soI was disappointed in this book. I thought the issue of race would be explored in more depth, but instead I was overwhelmed by multiple characters sweeping in and out of this story without a lot of meaningful interaction taking place. Oh, well. On to something I like better...
“If there‘s no one else to tell another side—the only story that can be told is the story that becomes true.”
Frightening. The truth should never be silenced in this way.
“That makes me think of how the other black girls in school think I want to be white. They call me an Oreo. I don‘t want to be white. Sometimes I want to go back to being what I was. I want to be nothing.”
Why do some people feel the need to judge others by racial purity? Why do people need to ask “What are you?” My response would be, “A human being.”
“Jesse Jackson wants us to be #AfricanAmerican now. I don‘t know if this is a good idea. I don‘t know any black people who have even been to #Africa.”
I had a work colleague who used to rant about this same idea.
I‘m about a quarter way through this book and feel kind of lukewarm about it. Race is a theme, but I‘m having a difficult time discerning who is what race. It also took several chapters to figure out how the characters were related to one another. My husband started reading this book and also couldn‘t figure out who was who. Then there‘s Roger...He sounds kind of stupid when meeting him in this book. I hope this novel improves going forward.
This is my new selection for a challenge on #LibraryThing to read a book with a title word that starts with G. I know nothing about this book, but I did read the first few pages which seem fine. We‘ll see if I like it...
Next book club read #fridayreads #ilovemybookclubwomen
Next book out of my library pile that I need to read before May 1st.
pickI didn‘t know much about this book before I started reading it and I think that really helped me get into and thoroughly enjoy this book. Rachel has such an incredible and crazy story. This book was great.
#mountTBRchallenge #pop18 - book set in decade you were born (80s)
#LRC - 2017 award winner - Nebula
Also picked this for the #TLPBC
so-soI am not sure if it is a new trend in writing fiction where the story is told in a series of vignettes. Rather than having to delve into character development the story is forcibly told rather than having it naturally unfold. I‘m not a huge fan of this.
Decided to pick a random book from my Kobo. One I could read in a day before the 3 year old is home from school.
so-soMultiple stories connected by Rachel, a biracial girl trying to find meaning in race, culture, family and identity after surviving a family tragedy. I devoured this book in a few days. It was an easy read but I felt it was a whole lot of tell and not a lot of show.
I like the idea and I wish it was more down and dirty like Salvage the Bones stylistically. Worth the read for the premise of biracial, multicultural identities.
pick#2017Book216
The multiple perspectives in this novel are what make it great. You get to hear the story from everyone involved, which gives you insight into what led a seemingly normal woman to the decision to kill herself and her children. The majority of the story follows the daughter who survived, but you also hear from the boy who tried to save her and flashbacks into her mother's diary. This novel is equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful.
These are words. They come from a book. I need to try doing this thing called reading a book. I doubt I'll finish one this month. Things change. I'll read more later.
Six Word Saturday. Ignore the last book, I totally counted watchmaker as 2 words! I haven't ready any of these books yet, with the exception of the Natasha Pulley (which doesn't count and I'm too lazy to take another photo 😬). However, they are all on my shelf. #booksacrossoceans
"But when a person fakes happy, it has edges. Regular people may not see, but the people who count, they can see edges and lines where the sadness (me) or the anger (Grandma), begins."
pickThis book! I loved Rachel's voice. What she went through and how she dealt with it hurt. So many feels, and those last 2 lines!! 😭 I want to know more about all the characters in this novel.
A subtle but complex story that applies to both children and adults, this story is a mix of magic, tragedy and hope
pickSuch a beautiful and heartbreaking story. But also a hopeful one.
I finished grading and am officially on summer break. Woohoo! And I started a new book. Hello, Summer!
YAY! My #blinddatewithabook round 2 came in! @Lacythebookworm I am so excited to read this one. It rings all my bells and I've never heard of it. I also feel especially lucky because I received a copy of another short story collection I've had my eye on for a while. You outdid yourself! Thank you.
@LitsyGoesPostal #litsygoespostalog
Finished this book this weekend. I think I'm a little traumatized.
She's always just a girl and she's always depicted as falling from the sky 😒
In the process of building me a bigger bookshelf. Seeing all my books like this makes me think I have a book problem! But I know I don't! 📚😄
No spoilers. The writing is so strong throughout, but somehow the catharsis is on the last page. I bawled like a baby.
Maine is supposed to get a wicked big mess of snow and freezing rain tomorrow. I never understood why people feel they need to get more bread and water in way of preparation - if we have books, aren't we all set? #libraryhaul (Also, it is thanks to #Littens that I even know about all but one of these books. How cool is that, huh?!)
pickA novel with several points of view, but mostly a from girl with a tragic past trying to work out who she is by learning about her complicated family. Do we find our identities through other's eyes, or through our own hearts?
I liked this very much. 4 of 5 ⭐️
pickA neighbor loaned this one to me--very worth reading.
I'm behind in my #booktober pics, so here's #diversereads and #somethingborrowed from the library. I need more time for reading in my days y'all. ⏳😢
pick3.5 ?. Moving story of a young girl, Rachel, the tragic story of her family, and her journey of figuring out who she is as a result. A very thought provoking and timely look at race and culture. The only criticism I have was that it left me wanting more.
P.144 (from Nella's Journal) "I want them to be anything. They are not just a color that people see" - truth
so-soI finally finished this for my YA Lit Book Club. The writing was good and it was an interesting story. However, I found myself avoiding this book. I think I am in a different place right now than where you need to be to actually enjoy this read. Dear Book: It's not you, it's me.
I admit I'm having a hard time with this one. I'm about 1/3 of the way through. I am reading it for my YA Lit Book Club (a fun group of retired reading teachers, librarians, & me). The group picked it from a list of non-YA titles teens like. The writing is good. I just don't want to read about one more tragedy that befalls the children in this family (and others) & I find myself avoiding it. Is there any hope in this book?
