In order to understand and fully appreciate this book, you need to read The Instruction first. But those of us who are old souls, we know it. We can feel not only confused but overwhelmed and disparaged by the awareness we have of being DIFFERENT, and Ainslie's words help make some sense of this. They also provided me with a sense of comfort in letting me know I'm not alone.

"Being bipolar is like having an ax to grind with an ax you need to split wood to keep you warm in a cold dark forest you only might eventually realize you'll never make it out of."

I like the concept of this book - shifting perspective to show the transformation of the protagonist over the course of the book - but I found myself disconnecting with the story as the author lost sight of himself. I liked the first chapter (written in first person); the second chapter was triggering for me from a codependent perspective. I just wanted it all to be over by chapter 3. Definitely a "meh" read overall for me.

WOW. I wrote to the author to tell him how I felt about this book, about Beartown, about its citizens and his characters. I fell fast in love with them! And all the time I was reading and couldn't put the book down, I dreaded its end. Someone said it reminded her of Friday Night Lights, that it was a book about so much more than sport - and it surely is. It's a book with heart about a community full of heart, and I can't recommend it enough.

To me, this book was delightful. Eleanor's story was devastating and her character deep, intricate, clumsy, and irresistibly loveable. The friends she makes along her surprising journey are delightful and all the much more endearing because of the kindness with which they treat Eleanor. An excellent debut novel indeed!

For as much as this book has been recommended to me, I expected it to be fantastic...but it was meh at best. I appreciate Rachel's perspective and words of encouragement, but they seem to come from limited experience. I wonder if it's her age or Christian perspective or the fact that she keeps talking about her history of trauma when it seems like pretty ordinary things have happened to her (life is hard), but it just feels a little naïve to me.

Historical fiction-esque. Interesting characters and an interesting storyline in theory...but it seemed to drag on forever and struggled to keep my attention.

What a delightful read - my first Elizabeth Berg book in a while. The characters were so endearing, especially Arthur of course, and the story delightful. Unexpected and perfectly-timed friendships are a beautiful thing. 💜

I was skeptical of this one because of its similarities to The Shape of Water...but it's not often I get lost in reading a book of fiction, and this one fully-captivated me. It speaks to those of us who have found ourselves addicted to love - or the inability of others to love us in the way we desire (there are definitely triggers here for codependents) - and I found myself relating to the protagonist's feelings at every turn.