Welcome to Litsy!

#NotesOnYourSuddenDisappearance #AlisonEspach #SeriesLove2025

After I read The Wedding People, I decided to read another book by Alison Espach. I had enjoyed her writing and wanted to see how she was growing as a writer. This is her 2nd book and I have her first book, The Adults, on order too. I thought The Wedding People is her best book and we can see how she is maturing into a really better writer.

Loved the unique style and tone- really interesting to see the main character grieving and understanding loss at different points of her life. Also seemed super true to big sister little sister relationships. For me anyway. Thumbs up.

1) Tagged.
2) There are some I've let linger for a couple of years at least, but I think the longest I've spent reading regularly is probably the five months I spent on Hume's The History of England, Vol. V.
3) It might be the recency effect, but I'm very proud of how I handled a frank conversation about sexuality and romantic relationships with my 18-year-old this week.
@Eggs #WondrousWednesday

This is the only QF that‘s different from the #ToB23 one. In the real ToB Notes on your sudden disappearance is up against T3, in the #LitsyToB23 it is Seven Moons vs T3. With more than 20 votes T3 is our winner and therefor our second semi-finalist! The real tournament has its first surprise: Notes advances, which didn‘t make it past the opening round in our tournament!

There it is! The first bomb placed under the #ToB23! Notes wins from Seven Moons because the judge liked both and calls himself “one who roots for the underdog”. And he did, what a surprise!

In the #LitsyToB23 it was a close call as well. However, with two votes in its favour, we literature snobs, made Seven Moons today‘s winner 😉
So we are already drifting apart. Love it!

Starting another of the #auldlangspine books from @peaknit tonight.

@monalyisha

20% in and calling it quits. Not for me. #ToB23

13 year old Sally comes of age under the all encompassing tragedy of the loss of her older sister, Kathy. Nearly every aspect of Sally‘s life is touched by the absence of her sister, as Kathy was such a huge influence upon her young life. A character study. This is weird but I always age a character based on their names. A “Sally” and a “Kathy” seem like they would be from a different generation than these characters were supposed to be.
#tob2023

I liked this well enough, but it feels like an unusual choice for #tob23. I liked the section about the narrator‘s adult life the best, but that was just a part of the final third. An interesting portrait of how deep grieving affects one family, and a surprisingly easy read given the content.

#ToB23 #shortlisted This was an interesting study of a family dealing/living with grief/loss.
It‘s short on action but long on character study. While this book was good, I‘m not sure why it made the shortlist🤷🏼‍♀️
This was my last book from the shortlist - looking forward to discussing with the tournament crew.
#52Books23 #AboutSiblings #DoubleSpin February @TheAromaofBooks

Yes, the book is a tad too long and the very end a little hokey, but I really liked it despite it being a very melancholy story about a family overwhelmed by grief due to the death of a child/sibling and a coming of age story under that cloud. Once I got past the death, I was hooked by Sally‘s monologue to her dead sister. It‘s also funny from time to time, despite the grieving. Sally has a deadpan sense of humor that jives with my own. #ToB2023

I think that I am just destined to not really love any of the #TOB2023 shortlist with a couple of exceptions. This was a really heart-wrenching portrait of grief but for so much of it, it read like really simplistic YA. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I did “like” it but I am again perplexed by the panel‘s choices.

This was meh for me until about halfway through and then I thought it got a lot better. It was a soft pick for me. Marriages many times fall apart because people grieve differently and her parents definitely did. I also felt like Sally was all alone and emotionally separated from her family and that‘s why she was so drawn to Billy. #ToBshortlist #gladididntbail

Much of this study of grief and how it impacts a family is just terrific. But it carries on for far too long, which made me rather bored by the end. If this could have been reduced by about 20%, I think it would have been just phenomenal. Low pick for me. #tob2023

I loved this. I ached for Sally and her attempts to dismiss her grief while being appalled and concerned with her parents‘ grief. It felt very real to me. #TOB2023 #ReadICT Grief

And… may I just say that the TOB always offers a few confounding books. No one really knows how/why they pick what they do… BUT, the joy is in the discussion and seeing a book thru an insight or appreciation you may not have considered. #justsayin‘ #thankyou ⬇️

I didn't really fall for this novel the way I wanted to, but the ending really worked.

This book surprised me. I thought it was possibly a mystery/thriller. But this is instead a story about a family‘s struggle with grief after the death of older daughter Kathy. It‘s set over 15 years, told to Kathy by Sally, before, during, & after.
There‘s a melancholic tone throughout, it‘s a story about pain and loss after all. Yet Sally‘s voice manages to be refreshing, somehow humorous, and heartbreakingly honest.

I enjoyed the first part of the book before the disappearance quite a bit. After there were some jarring (for me) time line jumps and it felt a bit long, so a soft pick for me.

#Pantone23 #Titanite #52Weeks #SurvivalStory TOB23

@Librarybelle @rmaclean4 @Read4life @ravenlee @LaraReads @britt_brooke @triplem80 @AshleyHoss820 @BarbaraBB @jenniferw88 @squirrelbrain @KarenUK @LeeRHarry @Smarkies @Cinfhen @Bluebird @CarolynM @BookBelle84 @Clwojick

#BookReport 01/23

In this first week I read two #TOB contenders. I liked the tagged one but both aren‘t worth the Rooster imo. The Finlay was delicious: suspenseful and filled with twists. Overall a good start of the year!

Can you see the look 👀 Esther is giving me?! She‘s the best. Starting this for both #TOB23 and for #BookSpinBingo #DoubleBingo and for my local #ReadICT #griefcategory #Challenge

#DogsofLitsy #EstherFest #whpg #griff4short

First bail of the year. I am more than 50% through this novel and just can't continue. The topic and people are not compelling for me and the writing is flat. Life is too short and my TBR is too long to stick with this one. I am shocked it made it on the list for #ToB23
#52bookclub23

I like the exploration of grief, but three things don't work really well for me. First, some of the characters seem inconsistent in their motivations and personalities. Second, it feels a little too long and meandering. And third, novels always kind of lose me when they depict therapy sessions. They're just not something I enjoy in fiction. #tob2023

My language arts classes do a lesson in which we discuss first lines. What makes a good first line? What about a first line makes us want to keep reading? Or what gives us that sinking feeling, like, "Ugh, I have read *this*?" What techniques can we learn from effective first lines to make our own stories more compelling? This got me interested in looking more closely at first lines in the books I read. Hence, my nascent First Line Journal.

I enjoyed this book but I don‘t think it should be shortlisted for the ToB with so many better ones on the longlist.
The coming of age story of Sally, who loses her sister and best friend by a car accident, is a compelling one. The only one who understands her is Billy, her sister‘s boyfriend and the one who drove the car. An emotional yet humorous story.

#52bookclub23 #funeral #booked2023 #LoveTriangle #ToB23

Pic: Stuttgart, Germany

Going in with low expectations because of some of the reviews helped, I think. Sally‘s sister dies in a car driven by Billy, the sister‘s boyfriend. The various experiences and emotions of Sally, her parents, and Billy stumbling through life over the years following the death felt honest and relatable. It‘s a surprise that it‘s on the #TOB23 shortlist but I enjoyed it.

When Kathy‘s sister suddenly dies the only person who understands her and her grief is her sister‘s boyfriend. While they struggle to heal and move on, they grow closer and closer. I am glad I chose audio for this book and was able to dip in and out because, while I cared about Kathy, I would have been frustrated otherwise with how overly long and one note it was. I still reached the end and thought, “Was that all?” A light pick. #tob23

Sally adores her beautiful, fun older sister Kathy & Kathy's popular basketball-star boyfriend. But when a teenage Kathy dies suddenly, Sally's world is destroyed. A story about coming of age amidst grief & how it twists and stunts people, relationships, & families. It's also about finding a life in spite of loss.
A soft pick. I was interested at times but it also got bogged down by minutiae. I agree with @Megabooks that it is just too long!

Heads up again, American TOB-ers! #TOB2023

#ToB23 #ToB2023

Because of the title I was expecting a bit of a mystery in this read, but I was wrong.

This is a heartbreaking tale of grief and codependent relationships. The story is told through Sally's perspective as she grows up in the shadow of her older sister.

For me, had this been shorter I probably would have enjoyed it more.

I've only read 2 books on the #TOBshortlist so lots of catching up to do. Starting here.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This is one of those books where the title threw me off..I thought it was going to be a thriller BUT it's not! Such a heartbreaking story about 2 sisters and a boyfriend that does keep you entertained and connected to this family. It is kinda one speed throughout the whole book though, I kept turning the page expecting a twist.

This book has echoes of Judy Blume for me, I read everything she wrote when I was a kid, elementary school,and middle school. There is something aching in the voice of the author through the main character that I just felt drawn to. I enjoyed this book about broken people. They earned being broken and I am sad for them, rooting for them to find their way.

I really enjoyed this one.. the relationship of two sisters, narrated by the younger one speaking to the older. The blurb on the front from Claire Lombardo says it best.. "Heartbreaking and funny, often in the same sentence." This one will stick with me for a while.

This book was fairly tedious but not entirely unenjoyable. (I‘m really selling you on it, right? 😂) It WAS entirely too long, though.

Sally is obsessed with her sister, Kathy, and her sister‘s boyfriend, Billy. When the unimaginable happens, Sally and Billy are left to pick up the pieces. The book follows their strange, codependent bond through the years.

Fragmented thoughts: underlying sadness, coming of age, loss and grieving, character driven, flashes of humor, tiny lull in the middle, strong start and finish, a definite pick, autoread author now. The comparison to Tell the Wolves I‘m Home is spot on, and I really liked her other novel, The Adults. Solid read 💪

A strong start that started to lose its way in the second half, IMO. However, the use of the second person was intriguing and effective. I gave it 3/5 stars (which means I liked it but I won‘t be giving it out for Christmas presents).

This book was beautifully written but so sad. Like watching a train wreck, I couldn‘t stop watching (reading).

Sally spends much of that summer at the pool, watching in confusion and excitement as her older sister, Kathy, falls deeper in love with Billy—until a tragedy leaves Sally's life forever intertwined with his.

Despite the fact that there are some heavy points to the storyline this still manages to be a book with heart and will make a great summer read and you‘ll find yourself laughing and smiling. #summerread

This book has started to show up on lot‘s of summer reading lists and it is entirely worth the hype. There is sadness, but a lot humor that Espach provides. So glad I received a copy of this book.

My friend and I always have Wobbly Wednesday Adventures. Today we ate at The Fountain on Locust this amazing 1920‘s themed restaurant and then headed over to a independent bookstore. This was my haul today! 💜 me some book happiness!

We usually order chicks from a hatchery but due to the uncertainty that continues with the USPS, we decided to hatch out our own this year and it has been an incredible experience! 🥰🐣
Tonight I'm starting the tagged ARC I won in a Goodreads giveaway.

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance proved to be a well-crafted, insightful story that will easily resonate with anyone who has experienced significant loss. It‘s rich in all that makes us human and I loved being found in it for a while.

My full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4369140636

“It was only when Dad ordered mom to stop crying that I understood we were bullies. We ordered her to be happy as if we knew what it meant to be happy.”

Woke up to a Goodreads win! I was on a roll a couple years ago with wins and then they suddenly stopped 🤷‍♀️
I'm happy to start the year with this book! 🎉