Reviews

Sweet Water by Christina Baker Kline

sarah_reading_party's review against another edition

2.0

this book was just okay. some parts were interesting... but aside from alice i didn't really like most of the characters. cassie was just blah... so many references to what she was looking for, but i didn't seem to get the vibe that she was looking for anything at all (and no i'm not talking about the box, but rather the "secrets" or "memories"). and the cousin romance??! ewww. unnecessary. and what an anti-climatic ending. but at least some of these weird parts were entertaining on our thanksgiving drive. so many details seemed to be missing. why were they even mentioned? elaine's adopted kids? for the cousin romance bit? or the resemblance between cassie & troy? odd...

danapr's review against another edition

4.0

Cassie is a young artist living in NYC when she inherits a small family farm in Tennessee from her maternal grandfather. Since her mother was killed in an accident when Cassie was a young child, she has never met any of her mother’s family yet decides to move to Tennessee and take possession of the old home. The family has difficulty accepting Cassie and make every attempt to keep family secrets buried.
I enjoyed the book for the most part but found some of it unrealistic and slow moving at times. None of the characters struck me as especially likable and Cassie seemed kind of bland. I often wondered why she tolerated the obnoxious family members especially since she barely knew them. I think the message was that she had yearned for extended family relationships even though they were so dysfunctional.

britlaccetti's review against another edition

2.0

I acquired this book because it was a free download a long time ago and it was one of the only unread books sitting in my iBooks while I was stranded without internet for a weekend. I love the writing and the initial story.

I'm not a fan of a main character falling in love with their cousin, and I'm honestly confused as to why the author would have even considered this as a choice since the cousin did nothing besides gross me out.

nursenell's review against another edition

2.0

The book was hard to get into, almost quit reading it. But then it got good, then it was over! It was just over, just when you expected more was coming. Very disappointed the way it ended

amandadelbrocco's review against another edition

3.0

You can definitely tell that this was her debut novel as there were some problems with the pace and plot.

julibug86's review against another edition

3.0

Read this for a book challenge - first book by an author I like. Didn’t enjoy this as much as her later books, but still found it well written.

mfaulkenberry's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

mv64's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

lachelle45's review against another edition

mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

kkop12's review against another edition

3.0

Just Ehh. I read it since I heard Orphan Train is good and this is the same author. Nothing bold about the characters. I didn't really like the plot and subplots and it was highly predictable. I would give it a 2 1/2, but there are no 1/2 stars on Goodreads. And I couldn't give it a 2 since the few 2s I've given have been given for books that REALLY bothered me.