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#2021Book87
Books about the relationships between grandmothers and their granddaughters will always have a special place in my heart. But this book has the added bonus of switching between the grandmother, the mother, and the daughter, so you get everyone's side of the story. Several parts of this book made me tear up because I felt so strongly about the characters, but I have to say I'm very glad the book didn't end the way I thought it would.

Really good! Three generations of women, each one has a secret. A portrait of how complicated families can be.

#pop21 - a book featuring 3 generations

Three generation of women, with three hidden secrets. I really enjoyed this read.

This is a really sweet story, beautifully written story. It's a great exploration of how complicated families - and people, and life! - can be.

#ReadHarder challenge 8: A children‘s or middle grade book (not YA) that has won a diversity award since 2009 (won a Stonewall children's and YA Literature award in 2017.)

Love a book that makes me think, was recommended to me by a friend and is a glorious discussion of subjective truths and the beauty of individuality and expression of self. Absolutely loved it the emotional rollercoaster Downham managed to achieve in so few pages.

An audioread from earlier this year that tells the story of 3 generations of women. The youngest, Katie, is betrayed by her best friend after they kiss, so it fits this prompt. Her grandmother, Mary, is the most interesting of the three.

#ikissedagirl #junetunz

I didn't particularly care for this book. It was hard to get into and it didn't hold my attention. I felt like it took me forever to read (situationally I didn't have the same energy to sit and read either). I think it did a great job approaching difficult real life topics (single mothers, adultery, abandonment, LGBT, mental disorders) and the way stories are told and perceived based on the POV. It was a good read even if it didn't captivate me.

"Katie had always tried very hard to avoid danger...But in avoiding danger, you have to keep to yourself. To guarantee not catching Ebola or SARS or bird flu, for instance, you have to live in isolation and see no one. Viruses are transferred by bodily fluids, by intimacy. If you don't touch or kiss another person...you'll never catch anything. But you'll never know closeness either. Or what it is to love. Or really be alive."

"A story, Katie decided as she crossed the courtyard to the gate, is like a bolt of material or a woolen scarf, and you might pull out a thread and look at it boldly.l because there it is sitting in your palm. But there are countless threads tangled together and some belong to you and some belong to other people, and incoherence and inconsistency become part of the narrative."

"How can she tell her daughter that disappearing for weeks is perhaps the most honest thing she's ever done? Foolish perhaps, definitely selfish, but certainly the most eloquent. For once in her life, Caroline has said, I can't manage; and it's such a relief."

"I have special needs."

"We all have those. I especially need to leave, for instance, but you're not letting me."

#LRC10 #litsyreadingchallenge #LetterU #litsyAtoZ @jessica

I enjoyed this YA book about 3 generations of women, told from the perspective of teenage Katie & her grandmother, Mary. The audiobook is read by the author, and the story is fleshed out enough where I was sympathetic to everyone- even Katie's mother, Caroline, though that took me awhile. I'd like to read more of Downham's work.

About 150 pages in but I'm not connecting. I don't necessarily want to give up or completely bail, but I'm worried about falling behind if I don't put this down and pick something else up. What would you do?

i loved mary and hated caroline and i thought katie and simona were cute

A wonderful book about family. I had high hopes for this from the outset and it did not disappoint. I loved the story and the differing relationships between the characters #ukya

My mind was made up when I read the grandmother has Alzheimer's. My own grandmother lived with the disease so I think I'll be able to relate, with that part of the story at least.

I really loved this look at three generations of women struggling with their own demons as they also struggle to understand and be understood by each other.

All the thumbs and toes up for this fabulous look at what it has meant to be a girl and what it means to be a girl and how the first has shaped the second, told through three generations of the same family.
One of my top five books of this year.

Beautiful! Like reading a sunset! I've been absolutely captivated by this book!

"It was only one man who had gone, but it felt like forever, something so permanent and unstoppable that it blasted her. If she were a tree, she would drop all her leaves."

Wow. That is a really striking way to describe grief. My heart aches from reading that section and at how vulnerable the character is. I was not ready for all of these emotions I'm currently feeling.???

I made my weekly trip to the library and snagged Unbecoming, which has been on my list forever. Family secrets, coming of age, aging, queer representation, charming characters. I'm loving it

"She was bound to stumble, but if she did-she'd pick herself up and try again. She'd falter, resolve, lapse, have another go. Her whole life over. On and on.
Just like Mary. Just like Mum and Chris and everyone else. Works in progress, all of them"

I had better get reading, my holds came in way to fast (or maybe I just put to many things on hold😝)

Got this great book at the #library! Also, cool, we have hashtags now!

About a third of the way into this story about a grandmother, mother and daughter. There's obviously a lot more explaining to do about their fractured relationships, but I like it so far! The daughter is so easy to root for!!

Some readers may not connect with this story, while others may find it hits them right where they live... It all depends on your own life experience.

Tonight's read. Continuing the YA Book Prize shortlist.

“She knew she was spreading the anger. It was stuck to her like tar and the only way to get it off was to rub it onto other people.”

Excerpt From: Downham, Jenny. “Unbecoming.” David Fickling Books Ltd, 2015.

Brilliantly written! A gorgeous book with the most dazzling characters! You will become a better person after reading this phenomenal novel.

Forty pages in and loving this novel...But I keep pausing to stare at the cover art. It makes me so happy!

I loved this book! Great piece of YA fiction, with some lovely words about learning to own who you are!

Our book date for the week. Is it on your list?