So, I read the book last week. I'm still not entirely sure what to think about it. I was a bit pissed off partly because Tibby was one of the characters I related to more.
I think my biggest criticism was Carmen's story. It seemed really flat and bland. Like, okay, the train ride made her slow down and get in touch with herself a bit more. But I found it very frustrating that she pretty much knew all along that she wasn't happy being with Jones, and all it took was the train ride to admit it to herself. And then on top of that, it was almost a repeat of the kind of relationship she had with that girl in the theatre program: she defers to the other person and it takes her a while to realize she's doing herself a disservice.
I mean, you could argue that Bridget falls into old patterns here too, but somehow Bee's story never feels contrived the way Carmen's does.
And, I'm pretty sure it was being implied that Carmen had an eating disorder or maybe just some disordered eating habits, and it bugs me that it was never addressed.
Also something that never fails to annoy me is how all four girls are just so conveniently never have money problems. They can always afford to travel wherever, blow off work to travel, and buy magical awesome houses. That's a lot of conveniently rich boyfriends.
I was also kind of raising my eyebrow at the possibly anti-choice message embedded in there. Which was sort of reinforced by the "babies are great! babies make you feel better!" kind of theme.
As for your point about it being dark, I'm not sure that's an entirely fair claim. The first book had Bailey dying, and a child dying is always a pretty dark element. IDK.
We're not really told why the character hid such a big thing from everyone she cared about.
Oddly enough, that didn't bother me. In the book where Tibby is in college and thinks she's pregnant, she seemed to fall into a kind of situational depression and blocked out Brian and other people. If she was determined to tell her family and friends in person that she was sick, but her health and the pregnancy kept her from travelling, that's the kind of thing that can build up, I guess.
It's the fact that we don't really get to see her parents' reaction to Brian and little Bailey that bugs me more, I think. Also, if she knew it was that risky, it's hard to believe she'd go swimming like that. I'm also confused about when she thought she would be dying, the way she had the letters timed and when the move from Australia was planned.
At any rate, despite my complaints, I did enjoy the book. I read it in about a day and a half, like it was Harry Potter or something.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
SPOILERS LOTS OF SPOILERS
Date: 2011-06-19 03:01 pm (UTC)So, I read the book last week. I'm still not entirely sure what to think about it. I was a bit pissed off partly because Tibby was one of the characters I related to more.
I think my biggest criticism was Carmen's story. It seemed really flat and bland. Like, okay, the train ride made her slow down and get in touch with herself a bit more. But I found it very frustrating that she pretty much knew all along that she wasn't happy being with Jones, and all it took was the train ride to admit it to herself. And then on top of that, it was almost a repeat of the kind of relationship she had with that girl in the theatre program: she defers to the other person and it takes her a while to realize she's doing herself a disservice.
I mean, you could argue that Bridget falls into old patterns here too, but somehow Bee's story never feels contrived the way Carmen's does.
And, I'm pretty sure it was being implied that Carmen had an eating disorder or maybe just some disordered eating habits, and it bugs me that it was never addressed.
Also something that never fails to annoy me is how all four girls are just so conveniently never have money problems. They can always afford to travel wherever, blow off work to travel, and buy magical awesome houses. That's a lot of conveniently rich boyfriends.
I was also kind of raising my eyebrow at the possibly anti-choice message embedded in there. Which was sort of reinforced by the "babies are great! babies make you feel better!" kind of theme.
As for your point about it being dark, I'm not sure that's an entirely fair claim. The first book had Bailey dying, and a child dying is always a pretty dark element. IDK.
We're not really told why the character hid such a big thing from everyone she cared about.
Oddly enough, that didn't bother me. In the book where Tibby is in college and thinks she's pregnant, she seemed to fall into a kind of situational depression and blocked out Brian and other people. If she was determined to tell her family and friends in person that she was sick, but her health and the pregnancy kept her from travelling, that's the kind of thing that can build up, I guess.
It's the fact that we don't really get to see her parents' reaction to Brian and little Bailey that bugs me more, I think. Also, if she knew it was that risky, it's hard to believe she'd go swimming like that. I'm also confused about when she thought she would be dying, the way she had the letters timed and when the move from Australia was planned.
At any rate, despite my complaints, I did enjoy the book. I read it in about a day and a half, like it was Harry Potter or something.