Welcome to Litsy!

This is a mixed bag for me. I really loved so much of this—the characters were vivid and the 90s Florida setting was palpable. I was right there in CC‘s shoes as she navigated growing up in a tumultuous household. #dysfunctionalfamily lovers take notice! However! Parts of this fell apart and there was little to no ending. I even reread sections to make sure I wasn‘t missing anything. Nope, just several threads never mentioned again 🤷‍♀️

The Latecomer is one of those #dysfunctionalfamily reads with few (maybe 2 out of the bunch) likable characters. I had the physical book, but mostly listened for Julia Whelan‘s expert narration on the audio which I recommend. A set of triplets (Brooklyn, Jewish, wealthy) grow up chaffing against each other until tragedy strikes and things take a turn right at the cusp of adulthood. The book switches gear and we get to know “the latecomer”. Pick!

I absolutely loved this - it has everything a “dysfunctional family fiction” fan like me craves! The setting was perfect - both location-wise (Cape Cod) and political climate-wise (I‘ll never forget the election of 2016). Flawed characters, some way more so than others, found family, so many secrets. I‘ll be thinking about this one for a while.

Ch 2.8: I feel so cheated #theonlyscandalwasnodessert #fyodorpitchesafit #callsrandomlandownervonsohn #everybodyleaves #nodesssertforanyone #wompwomp #ivanpushesvonsohnoutofthecarriage #ohgreat #nowimdoingit #thebros #hashtagbrigade #pemberlittens

An espresso martini and a good societal drama - Yes, please! One thing I have learned over the past few years is that going to a bar or restaurant by myself to read is absolutely freeing. Coffee shops are a little different...most people go to coffee shops to read.

#espresso #martini #winebar #drama #dysfunctionalfamily #scandal #readky #December #lastreadof2023 #retribution

I adored this book. It was funny and quirky and just when I thought the worst had come for poor Penny, I turned the page and her story got more outrageous. It was a fun read overall.

I know this one was too aggressively quirky for some reviewers, but it hit me just right at the time I was reading it. I felt so much kinship with the MC, her loneliness and her struggles to communicate. My pick for August.
#2023readingbracket

Oh my goodness 💔 this book 😭

I recommend going into this one cold, guys. I was glad to know very little about it going in, as it‘s a very difficult book to categorize and the publisher‘s blurb seems to be setting wrong expectations. For instance, “the Dog of the North” is a van, but this is NOT a “road trip story”.

All I‘ll say is it‘s an emotional journey for the MC, Penny Rush, who is quietly neurodivergent and extremely lonely.

#womensprizelonglist

A bit of a disappointment to have this be my last 2023 long list read. It was fine but not memorable and compared to the other books on the list not nearly as creative or well crafted - though not as bad as Pod!
It felt as if the author was trying too hard to find cute silly ideas to bring in, and overall the atmosphere made me feel a bit grimy, but nowhere near as visceral as Children of Paradise.

Penny is at loose ends when her husband leaves her and her whole life blows up. She ends up following the wind a bit in a madcap adventure involving some very interesting people. This is whimsical and funny to balance the sad parts, but it‘s also a bit uneven in the writing, starting oddly flat and not so much ending as just stopping. Low pick for me.