florida mom

This is not the description

Revisado: 11-08-23

I listened to an interview with this author and the book sounded fascinating. It was supposed to be about a young person being evicted from his parents house and going to the only place he knew, an apartment where he pet sat for a woman’s parrot, for which he had a key.

An hour in I thought I had the wrong book. It was very rambling. There wasn’t even the smallest breadcrumb to lead me to believe it was going to be what I thought I purchased. So much so I sought to return it.

Do not buy based on the description or the interview. There’s another book she wrote about a dog that left readers feeling the same way. I like dialogue heavy, intellectual, dry fiction. However, the start was so misleading my interest couldn’t latch on.

One bright spot: The narrator was quite good.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Very subtle, realistic

Revisado: 10-25-22

I thought I’d picked the wrong book at first. It was subtle in its escalation towards the ‘school’ environment. However, I liked the slow shifts/changes and how alterations in rights can affect some and easily be ignored by others until they too get swept up into it.
When the main character tries to engage her divorce lawyer thinking she’ll have a sympathetic ear only to be told the laws have changed and she needs to be cautious in a bit of a scolding tone; her surprise reminds us the comfort we hold while others rights are limited is temporary.
The author could have fallen into many traps that would have made it a different book. She deftly avoided them all to focus on the motherhood dynamic. I thought it may go in directions it ended up not taking. Looking back, I understand.
It hits many points of how easily we define aspects of society not on what is realistic or right, but rather, what is familiar or idealistic.
As life sometimes is, the messages are heard through short interaction. Sometimes in one sentence observations and then never spoken of again. It challenges you to listen.
I liked the use of affirmation drills in the school environment and how that oppressive/broad-brush language was used by individual characters to express emotions creatively throughout the book right up until the end. The diverse situations in which each character took ownership of and spoke the school’s forced affirmation breathed paragraphs of understanding of the emotions felt.
This strategy made the read feel very efficient. I didn’t drift when listening. That says a lot.
The narrator was tight in tone, more factual than scolding. Then used speed to show emotion. Many mothers have expressed that ‘gotta hold it together for my kid’ tone in the face of insurmountable odds and the narrator captures that brilliantly. You could bounce a quarter off her taught language during times she was caught between being what a mother is vs what the laws now defined it to be.
When you listen, focus on the grammar of the school’s affirmations, it’s there that the full story of the future of these mothers are told.

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Listened to it twice

Revisado: 04-08-20

This is the book I go to when I need to feel relaxed and enveloped in a story. Think about sitting at your great grandmother’s feet as she weaves a beautiful, historic tale.

The narrators soft voices made me feel like they were telling me a village secret at times.

It was the first audiobook I listened to twice. The second time I picked up some details I missed the first listen.

On the second listen we were on the edge of the covid pandemic and my job connects me to this crisis daily. This audiobook helped me climb down from the tree of stress I was in and exhale for a moment. I’d thank the narrators and author personally if I could.

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esto le resultó útil a 11 personas

Surprised the people like this so much

Revisado: 02-13-19

I really wanted to like this but I was left feeling like it was all somewhat predictable. The characters were not likable and the main character was so horribly self absorbed it was hard to take listening to her when she wrote her blog posts. It was almost like she was making fun of modern moms. Saying things like ‘of course I feed my child nothing but organic’. It was more lifetime movie quality v a thriller with unexpected twists. I was sad about it as the plot seemed interesting but ended up meh. The ending was as if even the writer gave up. The good reviews really threw me. Compared to other thrillers out there this kind of fell flat.

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As good as 'gifts'

Revisado: 05-27-16

I was surprised at some of the reviewers suggesting they did not care for Fellside as much as other work from this author. It was every bit as girl with all the gifts. Flinty Williams is an excellent narrirator who brings a subtle inflection that may not appeal to some. However, I'm a fan of narrirators who focus on the book rather that let their personalities overwhelm the story like a vaudeville act. I will say the ending, though well done, went on past its prime. I found myself distractedly flipping though Amazon shopping cart during the last 30 or so minutes. All in all though a fabulous read. Great characters. They were trodding well-worn territory personality-wise but the backdrop of the story was interesting. I'd reccommend that it's worth a credit.

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had me looking for other books by this author

Revisado: 01-08-16

Would you listen to The Girl with All the Gifts again? Why?

It's just complex enough that I might have missed something and it was incredibly entertaining

What other book might you compare The Girl with All the Gifts to and why?

Childhood's End, Enders Game, The Road

What does Finty Williams bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Having to portray so many characters she did a masterful job; I could feel the youth in her voice when she was a child and the weariness of the adults. She split between men and women expertly.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The very end...just amazing. I never would have thought that's how it would end. The writer really gave it their all up to the last syllable

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