This book starts incredibly slow and I wasn‘t sure I was going to finish it. I only did because it‘s been so well received, I felt like I had to understand the hype. I‘m glad it stuck with it as the second half was very engaging and I couldn‘t put it down. An extremely thought provoking story, that has left me with many questions but I‘m an interesting and exciting way. Despite some of the ambiguity at the end, I still felt fulfilled reading it.

I enjoyed this book but have enjoyed some of Marie Benedict‘s more. I‘m not upset having read it, it was entertaining. What I disliked most was that it seems more fictional than the rest of her work. While, pretty much all are historical fiction, there had been more to support the direction she took in her other stories. This one seemed almost completely fictional, and again while enjoyable, less interesting as a result.

This was such a struggle to read that I couldn‘t even finish it. Then, I went to discuss it in book club and learned that it hadn‘t gotten any better and was even happier with my decision to bail on it.

A memorial about an incredibly talented woman struggling with severe and persistent mental illness. You can‘t help but empathize with Elyn as you‘re reading her recount of the events during the onset of her illness and the unique but incredibly successful support she has had since, academia.

This book was wonderfully written and I couldn‘t put it down. It‘s thought provoking and deep but manages not to get too heavy. It was also a great subject to discuss in book club, as it was very easy to talk about and could be easily interpreted in different ways.

While it‘s a pick for me & I did enjoy it, it‘s also definitely not my favorite recently. As an east side Clevelander I loved reading about the familiar places throughout. Also, watching Ellie grow and progress, while frustrating because I wanted a more drastic feminist embrace, was page turning. (It was huge steps for the time it took place). Only real complaint is that some parts at the end felt rushed & thrown together without much intention.

I LOVED this book. Picked it up and couldn‘t put it down until I finished it. Heather Morris paints a great picture of Lale & Gita and tells their story in such a compelling way. The book was heavy at times, as you would expect given the subject matter, but was a surprisingly quick read still. When I finished, I saw she wrote a book about another individual she writes about in this story. Can‘t wait to read that next!

This was kind of a frustrating read but in an enjoyable way. The anticipation of something happening is what keeps you hooked. Once I started reading it I actually couldn‘t stop until I finished it. I needed to know where it was going. The illustrations created a great vibe for the reader for this story.