Bastard Out of Carolina

This was both funny and harrowing. I thought the voice was great and the characters memorable, the writing a pleasure to read. I'm sure it's got flaws that I didn't notice or overlook, but I thought it was a great read -- the best of the year so far for me. ( )

I can't rate this book yet. It's compelling and also deeply, bitterly sad.

Good, but also very tough. It leaves a lot of threads dangling, which feels right for the story Allison really caught me up with Anney as the strong mother that I found I was really eliding her complicity in everything that was happening, right up to the end. That whiplash reversal in feeling hit me incredibly powerfully; it was extremely effective at making me see what I had been allowing myself to overlook. ( )

I had a really hard time reading this. There were a lot of crying breaks. ( )

I think it was courageous to tell this sickening story of abuse & poverty, but i wished it could have been something more than the suffering. Really depressing. ( )