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@TheSpineView #two4tuesday

There were so many characters and points of view in this book, but they all tied together nicely.

This book blew me away. The writing is so rich, it‘s hard to believe this is Wetmore‘s debut novel. A story about the fallout of a violent crime told from various perspectives, Wetmore weaves a narrative of resilience and vulnerability. 1970s Odessa, TX offers a bleak outlook for its female residents, but these deeply defined characters are some of the toughest around - telling a powerful story about female rage and the righteousness of it. 5⭐️

Aspects of this debut novel are so strong- from the vividly described setting and the characters in 1976 Odessa, TX. The opening of the brutal rape and attack that Gloria suffers sets a dark tone for the book and the shifting perspectives give a wider but not uplifting view of the aftermath. Some style choices are a bit distracting but I can see this being a solid discussion starter for a book club!

⭐️⭐️ This book started off so good. The first two chapters were excellent! But then other female characters were introduced and had their own chapters and the book diverged into too many different situations. I wasn‘t as interested in the other characters‘ stories. I just wanted to get back to Glory and Mary Rose. I also didn‘t like the glib tone. These women are strong but the writing didn‘t represent that strength to me. #doublespin July No. 15

I thought this was fantastic!
#alphabetgame #LetterV @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Overall, I really liked this. I could feel the setting of the dry Texas desert, the stifling heat. I always enjoy following different narrators and seeing how their stories come together. The only thing that left me feeling a bit cringe was realizing I had read the story of the sexual assault of a Mexican girl, yet the whole book focused on the white women in the town who were affected. #LMPBC

Here‘s what I read I April. It was a solid reading month. Valentine was my lone 5-star read, but I enjoyed almost all of these.

#aprilwrapup #aprilreads #monthlywrapup

This is my #LMPBC #Round14GroupB choice (#botm backlog), and it was excellent. I hate that I waited 2 years to read it, but I love that I get to read my group‘s thoughts.

It‘s the 1970s in oil booming Odessa, Texas, and a 14 year old who has been brutally raped crawls to a farmhouse for help. This is the story of women in town and how they reacted. I will say I love how the author really inhabited and wrote differently for each woman.

This was the first book I read in 2021. I originally gave this a four star rating, but thinking back now…I probably would give it three stars. It was well written, but not overly memorable.

1. Waterfalls in Wisconsin and Michigan
2. My first PSL! Cooler temperatures arriving
3. This is my #doublespin #bookspinbingo
#thoughtfulThursday @MoonWitch94
@peaknit @Kshakal @BethM

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This is definitely a book where it‘s easier to keep track of the characters if you don‘t set it down for too long between readings. I thought this book was very well written and held my attention until almost the end. I‘m not sure if it‘s just my impatience, but I felt the last section dragged a bit. Overall it‘s a powerful story and an excellent debut. I‘m glad I read it.

#audiopuzzling again!

This was fine. I would have liked Wetmore to focus with more depth on fewer women since I found it hard to keep track of so many characters when we visited them so infrequently. I did like how much the stories intersected but again, would have liked to concentrate on just a small handful of the women.

Also, I was confused as to why there were only two narrators, given the number of different story lines?

Recommended by Mr B's in Bath. And I trust their recommendations completely 😍😍🤩🤩

There‘s some good ones here! I tagged a reread remaining a 5* even after a second time through it. My bookclub noted Salma Hayek is adapting the book to small screen. I‘m intrigued when books on my radar are the inspiration for a limited series.

5* = Loved It, want non-reader IRL friends to read. I do/will own a physical copy. A+
4*= I liked it, would love to discuss. Solid B
3*=Meh, no need to discuss. Average C
2*=Nope D
1*=DNF F

It just so happened that I‘d already read 10 of the 11 books chosen for my 2021 IRL (Zoom) bookclub. After realizing I had little to contribute to a conversation because I neglected reread one of the books for our meeting, I‘ve been rereading the others. Boy, this book was worth the reread! I loved Corrine and Potter - how did I forget about these characters I only met last year!?

This is my local indie‘s book club pick for March. I finished it probably 2 weeks ago and still think about it daily. The setting is so wonderfully evocative and each of the characters are so richly drawn. Even though the catalyst for this story is the brutal rape of a young girl, I found it fiercely feminist. Highly recommended.

Which ones do you want?

https://apple.news/AZCAQdazhQ42siQepsAPdIg

Thanks @RamsFan1963 for the tag!
1. Not usually
2. No but I am looking for one.
#two4tuesday @TheSpineView

Like it‘s West Texas setting, this is a gritty debut novel of survival, courage and how women support each other. The descriptions of Odessa are completely vivid and like another character in the book. The audiobook narration was really good and kept me engaged enough that I finished it quickly.

I was surprised by how much I liked this book. It‘s a very slow burn (something I usually hate) - it‘s not happy and doesn‘t have a tidy ending (the antithesis of what I‘ve been reading for the past month, cause, you know, the state of the world)... but I found myself engrossed in this small Texas town with these 2 girls and three women - which highlights their struggles and resiliency. Frustrating and true to life.

Lots of mixed reviews for this one but I loved it. Focusing on the lives of women in a Texas town in 1976 after a 14 year old Mexican girl is violently raped. These are women that nothing much is expected of and who are largely ignored outside of the comfort they can provide men but Wetmore shines a light on their resiliency and compassion.
#booked2020 #bookclubworthy

Ebook on sale today

Interesting start. Disappointing middle. New characters introduced after the climax. Ultimately a disappointment. Would not recommend. ⭐️⭐️

I got this for book of the month club awhile back and I just thought it was kinda slow and hard to get through. I really wanted to like it, but it just didn‘t grab my attention and it was a slow burn for sure.

We recorded our ‘best books of 2020 so far‘ recently - choosing 3 each. So hard to narrow it down! These were my 3. (I would add Vanishing Half but Annie chose it luckily). #booksonthego

Ostensibly about the aftermath of a violent rape, this book is really a portrait of a community, 1976 Odessa, Texas, echoing the structure of Julia Phillips‘s Disappearing Earth. I found it riveting from page one and have no doubt it will be one of the best books I read this year. Phenomenal.

I wish I had read a physical copy of this book as opposed to the electronic version. I found it hard to keep up with who was who as the POV changed with each chapter.

That being said, I really enjoyed this book. It shows how one violent act affects many people.

I can already feel the emotional book hangover starting. It‘s a haunting and raw story, the writing is done really well. The multiple POV‘s were easy to follow along with and described so well that I completely lost myself in this book. The sisterhood in this novel rivals that of Steel Magnolia‘s.

What a heartbreaking story. The characters are incredible, with a razor sharp edge between strength and vulnerability. Fantastic writing with so much brutal honesty about womanhood and motherhood.

What a fantastic debut! It balances character development and plot so well. A great sense of place and time--1976 Odessa, Texas. I've never been there nor was I born by then and yet I could envision it perfectly. Content warnings abound as this story is about a violent rape of a teenage girl, if you are OK with reading about that content please do pick up this book.

No words for the emotions I have reading this as a woman and a mother. 😭

A brilliant, hugely accomplished debut. I couldn‘t put this down. Set in 1970s Texas in an oil boom, it vividly depicts the landscape & tough lives of the women. Characters beautifully observed. Great tension with a menacing atmosphere: drought, sexism, teen pregnancy. I was invested in all of the characters & kept wanting to see how it would resolve. Moments of kindness & laughter provide relief. I loved the polyphonic structure. Recommended.

Book 138 of 2020
#botm #botmbacklist

I plowed through this audiobook and it really had me thinking, a lot. It takes place in the mid 70‘s in Odessa TX. There are 4 or 5 different point of views, all female, surrounding a brutal rape of a 14 year old Mexican girl. It was sad, and frustrating, but worth the read. After reading this, I‘m moving Friday Night Lights up in my TBR pile since it also takes place in Odessa.

Wow- loved this! Something I will definitely be recommending to others. #botm

Wow! Beautifully written, this book is filled with remarkably strong women in a place and time where women held little value and their choices were limited. The author draws Odessa Texas in the 1970s so vividly, you feel the land and politics and social mores, and the sexism...you definitely feel that too. The book made me angry, disgusted, and inspired.

#BookReport 27/20

My books this past week. #MoreMehThanYeah... I know, it‘s me, not the books!

June Round Up Part 1: Overall these were all really good. I didn‘t like The Everlasting but would recommend everything else.

I wanted to like this more. I wanted more of Glory's story. I am saddened that this book wasn't what I hoped.

Rust, dust, poverty, church, heat, racism, and oil. That is Odessa, Texas in a nutshell. It‘s the 20th century, men rule, girls get pregnant, nothing changes. But this is is the story of some strong women who stand up for themselves, against tradition and bigotry, who change things a little bit.

All ingredients are there for a very good book and most people do love it but somehow it didn‘t do much for me. Between a pick and a so-so

Finally making my way through some of my #BOTM #backlist. I enjoyed this novel about the rape of a 14 year old Hispanic girl in small town Odessa, TX in the 1970s and focused on the reactions and consequences as well as the daily lives of some of the women in the town. I thought this focused on too many characters, we never really spend more than two or three chapters total on any one character, but overall an interesting novel.

This one was between a so-so and a no for me. It just felt like it dragged on with no clear destination.

Gorgeous writing! Alternating chapters from several women's perspectives, each in different places in their lives. Odessa, Texas in the 70s (for the most part, I believe) could not have been an easy place to live for anyone who wasn't a white male. Misogyny + racism are themes but not what the entire book hinges on, if that makes sense. Corinne's description of her relationship with Potter was my favorite part of the whole novel.

I really enjoyed parts of this book. The story was interesting and I liked the different perspectives of the women during the time of the rape of a young Mexican girl. I just thought some of women's stories were not developed enough, and they didn't entirely tie in to the story. Beautiful writing though.

A storm is a brewin'. (On this cover + in my backyard!)
This book is incredible so far.

Another #readwithjenna pick; not that I'm reading her selections on purpose... 🤷🏼‍♀️ I've enjoyed many on her list, so I may have to follow her picks more closely.

I loved this.

I‘ve seen such good reviews for this one, so am excited to get to listen to about an hour while I work today.

I have mixed feelings about this, although I think it‘s still worth reading. Some parts were brilliant, raw, relatable, etc., but I think the story as a whole suffers because of lack of cohesiveness. It‘s all over the place. It lessens its impact to some extent, but still, I‘m left with many things to think about tonight. The world is an unjust place. 3.5⭐️

#BOTM