Wonderful story with masterful writing. Women‘s lives intertwine in the story, which unfolds naturally. Nothing feels forced, the emotion is genuine and a topic not often focused on.

Loved the start and the concept, but just felt long and underwhelming. And so many names and descriptions without anything that compelled me emotionally.

Couldn‘t get over the over-the-top British writing and contrived characters

Such a fun read with a heartwarming story and fun, quality characters

Such a good story, compelling narrator and narrative. Inspiring and steeped in nature and humanness

This book could have been three sentences. Not my type of narrative style. So halting and recursive

The ending is very well done but it doesn‘t make up for the first 80% of the book which is just 😩🥱😶‍🌫️. It was such a struggle to get through and I‘m not sure the message is new nor unable to be conveyed in any more enjoyable or engaging way. It‘s written for authors, not readers. ….update a year later—this book has stayed with me more than almost any other. The delicate love and stinging poetry of loss.

Fun premise, disliked the protagonist and writing style

What a strange slice of life story with an almost magical realism ending. The authors style is distinctive and original

So, funny enough I didn‘t necessarily love reading this book. I put it down midway and almost didn‘t pick it back up. But, I‘m glad I did because I think it‘s given me an important perspective about reciprocity and motherhood that I‘ve found myself thinking a lot about. …update 1 year later—the lessons of this book have really stayed stayed with me and affected how I see myself connected to the universe around me

What a story.

Small parts of this book were helpful (like even *more* motivation to work out), but overall I didn‘t really relate. I don‘t think I‘m a “human giver” or feel overly obligated to take care of others. But, I know many people (mostly women) do. All the stuff about the bikini industrial complex felt overly dramatized, but I suppose that‘s how a lot of women do feel. So, I‘m sure this book is important for someone, but maybe not me

This was a fun read, vividly written and interesting. I can‘t believe how candidly she wrote about people at the Times. Discussion of her costumes and personas added meat to what might otherwise have been a sorry that was too light. I wish there was some thread tying back whether any of her personas had a lasting impression on her.

The book was descent, some character storylines were more compelling than others. I really enjoyed the roping in of astronomy and life of scientists. Not sure why there was so much emphasis on Lydia in the second half—could have done with less of her lol 😆

If we want to care for one another better, we have to rehumanize grief. We have to talk about it. We have to understand it as a natural, normal process, rather than something to be shunned, rushed, or maligned. We have to start talking about the real skills needed to face the reality of living a life entirely changed by loss.

I liked the subject matter and the first half better than the second. It felt like the story got more diluted as more characters/perspectives came into it. Didn‘t love the ending.

This book is in four parts, part one is an amazingly beautiful whole story that I loved. The last two seemed a bit in pieces and like the stories didn‘t have a clear arc. The end felt a bit rushed but the language, setting, and imagery throughout are unbeatable ☺️

“Perhaps Pangaea dreamed of being a million islands. Perhaps the million islands now dreamed of being one. Like the ridiculously dressed sailors sent forth by mad queens, perhaps the continents also discovered that the end of one‘s world is another‘s beginning.”

The concept is refreshingly original and it generated lots of fun. The setting and characters are good, and how the character flaws will lead to hardships are clear from the get-go. I personally found it annoying that this is a story about a witch and the author never describes the witchcraft itself (missed opportunity!)

I picked this for book club as a way to see what short stories appealed to which members. It seems ahead of its time, and was creative and interesting but I think doesn‘t fully assemble the pieces into something greater. Themes related to values, technology versus tradition and where knowledge fits into that spectrum, as well as the theme of colonization and superstition. Thought-provoking

This is the best book I‘ve read in the past 5 years. Kline‘s writing is raw and poetic and true to life. The storyline has an original protagonist who is rarely the centerpiece of a novel. The story is a delightful and soulcrushing mix of beautiful and bittersweet

Love love loved this book. Awesome female protagonist and takes the “spunky female trying to make it” trope and turns it into a really compelling and authentic narrative. Beautiful and powerful writing. You‘ll hope it all works out while you cringe thinking “no no no don‘t do that pleeeease” :)

the setting was fun, but I didn‘t care much about the main characters aside from maybe Poppet. I think the cutting back and forth across timepoints was done more than necessary. The last chapter is set up as this explanation of competing views of the world, and it just didn‘t come together for me.

Not my thing. The storyline was decent, but the smattering of characters the reader is introduced to seemed without greater purpose. I suppose it‘s kind of a slice of life and a murder trial mystery, but it just didn‘t come together for me into anything greater. Most character storylines were abandoned—what happened to Chablis? Minerva is by far the best part of the book.

“Are we born with blank hearts, waiting to be imprinted with any imitation of love?”

“For many hours each day, she and Yiban talked, their heads bent together like two flowers reaching for the same sun.”

Anybody that didn‘t know would have thought that things had blown over, it looked so quiet and peaceful around. But the stillness was the sleep of swords.