Helpful Score: 2
Summary:
Beth Moon has taken her own life, leaving her two grown daughters to sift through and figure out what to do. Their mother was a writer and often lived within a dream world that was more important to her than the family around her. This has left each daughter with some scars that neither has really dealt with. Jazz has grown up into a very logical woman. While emotionally a little more closed off, she has goals and is strong enough to reach them. Her sister, Olivia, is a lot different. Olivia has an odd way of seeing things. She is very spiritual, dreamy, and impulsive. When Olivia packs a suitcase full of her mother's ashes on a plan to travel to the place that her mother dreamed and wrote about, Jazz is not surprised but also not happy. This leads the two sisters on a journey that includes many new people, places, and trouble. The two girls get lost both in the physical and metaphysical sense. In order to accept their mother's death, both sisters have to go through their grieving process and also face the issues between the two of them.
My thoughts:
This is an emotional ride. There were definitely times that I got a tissue out to dab my eyes. Jazz and I are very similar. In that case, it felt like Walsh was writing me on her pages and made me face how I would react in these circumstances. I do not have a sister, but because I felt so connected to Jazz, Olivia definitely got on my nerves. It was difficult for me to see it her way, even though she narrates every other chapter.
Another thing Walsh does so well is write. I know that sounds silly, but she has excellent word choice and her sentences flow beautifully together. She switches between Jazz and Olivia narrating their chapters and there is a clear distinction between each voice. A lot of the time, I feel like there is an author's voice that overshadows the character's, but not here. Jazz is very distinctive and so is Olivia. Olivia's chapters are more lyrical than Jazz. Since she sees things differently, it almost reminds me of times where I'm laying in bed clinging to a dream and narrating what is happening. You know that it's not quite right, but it's the only way to describe what's going on. Because of this, I found Olivia's chapters to be more descriptive. She has more texture in the writing, but Jazz is easier to follow. I see end points for Jazz.
All together, this is a wonderful novel about grief and family. While the adventure may be the overarching plot, the growth between each sister is definitely the highlight. I highly recommend it even as a cross over book between adult and upper teen literature.
Beth Moon has taken her own life, leaving her two grown daughters to sift through and figure out what to do. Their mother was a writer and often lived within a dream world that was more important to her than the family around her. This has left each daughter with some scars that neither has really dealt with. Jazz has grown up into a very logical woman. While emotionally a little more closed off, she has goals and is strong enough to reach them. Her sister, Olivia, is a lot different. Olivia has an odd way of seeing things. She is very spiritual, dreamy, and impulsive. When Olivia packs a suitcase full of her mother's ashes on a plan to travel to the place that her mother dreamed and wrote about, Jazz is not surprised but also not happy. This leads the two sisters on a journey that includes many new people, places, and trouble. The two girls get lost both in the physical and metaphysical sense. In order to accept their mother's death, both sisters have to go through their grieving process and also face the issues between the two of them.
My thoughts:
This is an emotional ride. There were definitely times that I got a tissue out to dab my eyes. Jazz and I are very similar. In that case, it felt like Walsh was writing me on her pages and made me face how I would react in these circumstances. I do not have a sister, but because I felt so connected to Jazz, Olivia definitely got on my nerves. It was difficult for me to see it her way, even though she narrates every other chapter.
Another thing Walsh does so well is write. I know that sounds silly, but she has excellent word choice and her sentences flow beautifully together. She switches between Jazz and Olivia narrating their chapters and there is a clear distinction between each voice. A lot of the time, I feel like there is an author's voice that overshadows the character's, but not here. Jazz is very distinctive and so is Olivia. Olivia's chapters are more lyrical than Jazz. Since she sees things differently, it almost reminds me of times where I'm laying in bed clinging to a dream and narrating what is happening. You know that it's not quite right, but it's the only way to describe what's going on. Because of this, I found Olivia's chapters to be more descriptive. She has more texture in the writing, but Jazz is easier to follow. I see end points for Jazz.
All together, this is a wonderful novel about grief and family. While the adventure may be the overarching plot, the growth between each sister is definitely the highlight. I highly recommend it even as a cross over book between adult and upper teen literature.
Helpful Score: 1
I wanted to like this book, but was disappointed as the story unfolded. The sisters' relationship and their grief over the probable suicide of their mother should have been riveting. It wasn't. Both girls were irritating individually and together, and their journey to their mother's "magical" place became tiresome. I appreciate the opportunity from LT to read it, but can't recommend it.
