pickIt seemed the right time of year to pull an Alice Hoffman story from my TBR. I really liked this book even though I was convinced early I wasn‘t going to like the MC, Shelby. It didn‘t take long for me to be completely in her corner and hoping she could find her way out of her soul-crushing guilt and grief. …Btw, this cover is all sorts of gorgeous to the touch.
so-soStarted & finished yesterday all while continuing to work on the house.
As a follow up to Haig's Midnight Library, think I was on a bit of a depressing kick. The treatment of the accident was somewhat annoying because it was built up to be like a mystery with an "aha" moment coming but it wasn't/didn't. The end relationship was a little predictable too. Q:. Would you be upset if someone tattooed something on you that wasn't what you requested? ?
pickA tragic accident leaves 17-year-old Shelby with extreme guilt and feelings of worthlessness. I really liked this book even though the MC goes through dark times and makes some bad choices along the way. I had several l-did-NOT-see-that-coming moments. Probably needs a trigger warning for sexual violence that occurs early on. I almost bailed because of this, but I‘m really glad I didn‘t. The audiobook narration is very good.
Book 52
Alice has never failed me yet! Another great heartwarming story.
pick
pickThe book follows Shelby, who makes a mistake when she's just 17 and tries to punish herself for it for the rest of her life. Hoffman's writing instantly sucks you into shelby's life, pitying her, agreeing with her, sometimes mentally yelling to tell her how wrong she is. This is a touching story of someone who thinks is unworthy of even being alive to actually realizing life is far more than a tiny moment or an accident that happened long ago.
𝐇𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲!... did anyone else have an unnecessarily large book mail stack this week thanks to 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘦𝘴 at B&N, Target, Amazon and/or BetterWorldBooks? 😬📚📬
panI think I can safely say that I hated this book. It is not a book I would have chosen but I received it as part of the #bookhivebookclub so I felt compelled to finish it. This book could have been so much better, but instead, the author tried to write a 250 page version of a book that would have had to have been much longer to do justice to everything she attempted. Too much tragedy, not enough reality, no logic or explanation.
“You like monsters?”
“Sure,” Shelby says. “It takes one to know one.”
The kid laughs. “That‘s why the best heroes used to be villains and vice versa.”
pickThis was another beautifully awful Alice Hoffman story. I always feel like I received a life affirmation after reading her books.
A big bonus for me was that this one also has dogs. In fact, Alice named her real life dog after the main character, who I also follow on Instagram (mizindependentshelby).
🐕🐩🐶🐕🐩
It takes a moment before Shelby realizes she is the little girl in the picture. Her mother‘s handwriting is on the back. Shelby at five. She‘s wearing a sun hat and there‘s a huge smile on her face. She is surrounded by stalks of dahlias, orange and yellow and pale red, with leaves so big you could write your life story on each one. She looks like a flower in the garden, just like her mother said.
Currently reading & California dreaming
(story is set in New York though)
💙 Alice Hoffman 🐶
#fridaynightbookclub
@JoScho @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
pickGood story, I liked how Shelby was able to overcome her troubled youth. She had many mistakes as a young woman, but with her love for dogs and a new man towards the end, she was able to turn her life around for the better.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
pickHoffman's writing is a living thing. Her stories breathe and grow and as the reader, you transcend. Her characters are layered and complex, her writing is rich and incredibly moving, it is fluid. I missed the magical realism associated with Hoffman~I don't think this novel had enough of it other than the reference of an angel. While this story was by no means my favourite, it was indeed a page-turner and I'm so glad I got to read it.
pickComplete disconnect between the cover & novel inside but never mind...I didn‘t much like the book at the outset primarily, I think, because the main character Shelby Richmond didn‘t much like herself. Mired in guilt, Shelby has to navigate life after a tragedy that changes everything. It takes time, & numerous bad choices, but eventually Shelby finds reasons to live, really live, & love again & by the end of the book I liked it & her. Recommended
#tarottakeover @ErinSueG @WhiskeyMistress
Shelley Richmond fits The Hanged Man Card well
My Alice Hoffman stack! I will be ready to read these soon. Any suggestions on which to start first?
pickHow does a young woman overcome feeling like she stole her best friend‘s life after a tragic car accident? Alice Hoffman does a nice job of addressing grief, heartbreak, loyalty, friendship and love. This story just pulls you along until the very end. 4⭐️s
Today I'm participating in the #24in48 readathon. I'm starting with my current read - Faithful by Alice Hoffman. I'm growing to love this book as the main character grows. I don't know if that was intentional, but it certainly is an experience.
This is my first experience with Alice Hoffman and I think I've found a new favorite author. Consensus seems to be that this isn't even close to her best novel... if that's true, I've got some wonderful things in store.
Alice Hoffman amazes me at how different each book she writes is but also how fantastic she is as a storyteller. This is somewhat of a coming of age story of a young girl who is involved in a car accident as a teen that leaves her best friend with brain damage. Very good.
Spending my Thursday night with this novel. I‘m on page 93 and impressed. 😊
so-soRead this last year and whilst it‘s not a bad book it‘s not the greatest. I didn‘t care for the end and I think Hoffman tried to do too much.
pickWasn‘t sure to make of the book at first, but I really enjoyed it. While it deals with heavy subject matter, it was quite enjoyable. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Am a little over halfway through the book and am really enjoying it. May break my reading slump...
For book club. Just started it and while I only have less than 24 hours to complete it, I am really enjoying it.
pickI really love this book. For anyone whose been through depression or a hard time in their lives, it‘s a good story about life, guilt, growing up, and moving on from tragedy. Pick it 😎
Each one thanks her lucky stars she is not Helene, even though Helene was the beautiful girl who could do as she pleased, the one every boy wanted to date and every girl wanted to be like. But that was then. Now even the outcasts—the fat, the unattractive, the lonely, the sorrowful, the lost—are grateful to be who they are, at least for a single evening.
pickI just finished this audiobook so many emotions and feels while listening. Not very easy subject matter but the story & character development was wonderfully done. Loved how NYC sort of central character in the book bonus book & writter references in the story added to the characters as well. The plot had some twist & turns i did not know where the book was taking me but it was a great journey the whole way through.💗💗👍👍🎧📚
#readingresolutions #audiobook @Jess7
I feel like i always need an audiobook ready on my phone ever since i started with them a couple months ago. This one just downloaded now I'm waiting for atleast a 30 mins span where i can hit play
bailedI have read about 60 pages and I just can't get into this book. I don't know what it is about it.
I made it my resolution this year to work on getting my TBR pile down and to not buy so many books and try to read the books I already own. So far so good on this goal!
My reading is slow going this month. We're still unpacking the new house and that work seems to be never ending. Wouldn't trade it for anything though!
pickOn my way to work today I chatted to this lovely guy who was reading a #homemade 'faith' book. What a beautiful way to spend time during your #subway ride. Over the last six months, I've spotted quite a few people reading religious book. Who else does that? He explained to me that this book was pretty special and has all type of prayers. #NYC #subway #commute #spotareader #thebookcam #faith
Faithful: A Novel | 
