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anamustacho's review against another edition
3.0
Notes from when I read this in Jan 2015:
Set in Australia.
Getting to understand one's true self.
Protagonist - Tiffany: hard time expressing herself or rather undaring to do so; repressing her inner voice; achieving journalist
Chara's (w/e i meant by that back then): likeable, shorttempered but sweet
Set in Australia.
Getting to understand one's true self.
Protagonist - Tiffany: hard time expressing herself or rather undaring to do so; repressing her inner voice; achieving journalist
Chara's (w/e i meant by that back then): likeable, shorttempered but sweet
janina_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely more towards three and a half stars, but not quite four. Lovely, quirky characters and a story line that just followed the every day life of Tiff, journalist-to-be. I might not have been in the perfect mood for this, but it was still a good read.
zippy_julz's review against another edition
4.0
Rating clarification: 4.5
This book is based on the events in Tiff's life over a Summer. It has a humble, understated Aussie way about it which left me laughing, hopeful and sad as I followed the story. So why didn't I give this a 5 star rating? There just wasn't enough of this book. I got so attached to Tiff and the other characters that I just wanted to know more about how their lives continue.
This book is based on the events in Tiff's life over a Summer. It has a humble, understated Aussie way about it which left me laughing, hopeful and sad as I followed the story. So why didn't I give this a 5 star rating? There just wasn't enough of this book. I got so attached to Tiff and the other characters that I just wanted to know more about how their lives continue.
katiehodgie's review against another edition
3.0
Predictable with no real story arc, but a nice summer read nonetheless.
amotisse's review against another edition
4.0
This IS a straight line to the heart! Warm, funny and happy sad.
A sweet coming of age story and connections between an unlikely family and friends. A well deserved winner.
A sweet coming of age story and connections between an unlikely family and friends. A well deserved winner.
357h3r's review against another edition
3.0
3⭐️
I enjoyed this book to a certain degree. I have just been reading it in the mornings when I’m waiting, but I haven’t had any motivation to read it before bed etc.
the story was alright, but the ending...? I was legitimately so confused as I was sure there had to be another page. They couldn’t just finish like that. But they did. The whole Davey thing was just weird, and other then their walk, they didn’t really do much to warrant her reaction to seeing him at the end. Anyway, I was tempted to rate this book 3 stars, but there were genuinely parts that I enjoyed, so that seemed a bit harsh.
I enjoyed this book to a certain degree. I have just been reading it in the mornings when I’m waiting, but I haven’t had any motivation to read it before bed etc.
the story was alright, but the ending...? I was legitimately so confused as I was sure there had to be another page. They couldn’t just finish like that. But they did. The whole Davey thing was just weird, and other then their walk, they didn’t really do much to warrant her reaction to seeing him at the end. Anyway, I was tempted to rate this book 3 stars, but there were genuinely parts that I enjoyed, so that seemed a bit harsh.
britt_uh_knee's review against another edition
3.0
A pretty quick read. I feel like there are a lot of pages but not much content. It's an odd feeling to read a lot but still not know much about the character or feel like much has happened in the book. But a bitter-sweet ending. I would have liked the romance to be fleshed out a bit more. Overall a good, but not great, read.
joyousreads132's review against another edition
4.0
So check it. This is how it is in Australia, apparently. There is ONE school where all the writers go and learn how to write the most heartfelt, realistic stories of the human element. Seriously, authors like, Melina Marchetta, Fiona Wood, Leanne Hall, Cath Crowley...etcetera...etcetera...Well, I just found out that Bill Condon also went to the same school! Imagine that. And you know what? I soooo could tell he went to the same school. His story telling style kind of follows the same formula as all the other Aussie authors I've discovered before him. Their final exams goes like this: Take the most banal character you could ever conceive out of your creative mind and then make your readers fall in love with them. How? Well, that's the tricky part. Mundane characters tend to be boring and painfully introverted...well, Tiffany is both. But what separates Tiffany from the rest of the poor heroines that forever be nicknamed as, Mary Sue? Well let me try and break it down for you if you're interested.
It's quite simple, actually: You have an orphaned girl taken in by Reggie, her sort of grandfather who also happens to be living with his stepson Bull. Tiff considers him as his uncle (but not really). These three remind me of a group of riff-rafts but their family unit is one that is the most tightly-knittted, supportive, and loving familial relationships I've ever had the privilege to read. So there's Tiff, cruising on to the highway of life when some barricades started sprouting out of nowhere. Poor Tiff. First, there was this giant of a boy who seemed to have developed quite an interest on her. He's a footie...er, footy...er...can I just call him a football player? Anyway, for some strange reason, this boy started talking to her...say what?! Tiffany? Plain, boring Tiffany whose nose is permanently glued to a book? Yes. That Tiffany! Well, there's gotta be something wrong with this boy, right? Actually, he's not that bad. He's quite cute and he appears to be well read, judging by his penchant for quoting Truman Capote. Tiffany figured that she could handle the boy, considering they don't even live in the same town. Besides, she's got other things she has to worry about. Like the fact that Reggie's acting extra weirder ever since he quit smoking. He's been talking more about funeral arrangements and tidying up loose ends. Oh! and she's about to start an internship at a local paper where her direct boss is called The Shark. So really, she doesn't need any more challenges in her life. But life is a meddling bitch who can't leave things well enough alone. Anywho, that's the gist of the story.
This book is patently Australian. The slang, the landscapes, the personalities. Seriously. I'm now more inclined to fall all over myself to meet an Aussie. There is a uniformity in the way these authors write about their folks and their country. The characters are all heart and the landscapes, no matter how extreme, becomes a work of art off the pages. One of the things that I enjoyed about these books is that there isn't a shortage of perfectly realistic characters. They're the type that I want to meet in real life. No frills, they'll tell you how it is and with not a single iota of pretentiousness.
I love that Bill Condon plied me with humour till I was comfortable enough to think that he wasn't going to go where he went. The best thing about it is he was consistent with the funnies even though you're supposed to be crying and it was great because I ended up tearing up and incongruously laughing at the same time.
Over all, A Straight Line to My Heart was a fantastic read. It's a story about an unconventional family with the most unconditional love for each other. Bill Condon truly captured all the qualities that I've grown to love about these books from Down Under; heartfelt, humorous and above all, realistic.
DISCLAIMER:
The first paragraph of this review is a complete BS...well, not all of them. The part of Australia having ONE school for writers is. :D
It's quite simple, actually: You have an orphaned girl taken in by Reggie, her sort of grandfather who also happens to be living with his stepson Bull. Tiff considers him as his uncle (but not really). These three remind me of a group of riff-rafts but their family unit is one that is the most tightly-knittted, supportive, and loving familial relationships I've ever had the privilege to read. So there's Tiff, cruising on to the highway of life when some barricades started sprouting out of nowhere. Poor Tiff. First, there was this giant of a boy who seemed to have developed quite an interest on her. He's a footie...er, footy...er...can I just call him a football player? Anyway, for some strange reason, this boy started talking to her...say what?! Tiffany? Plain, boring Tiffany whose nose is permanently glued to a book? Yes. That Tiffany! Well, there's gotta be something wrong with this boy, right? Actually, he's not that bad. He's quite cute and he appears to be well read, judging by his penchant for quoting Truman Capote. Tiffany figured that she could handle the boy, considering they don't even live in the same town. Besides, she's got other things she has to worry about. Like the fact that Reggie's acting extra weirder ever since he quit smoking. He's been talking more about funeral arrangements and tidying up loose ends. Oh! and she's about to start an internship at a local paper where her direct boss is called The Shark. So really, she doesn't need any more challenges in her life. But life is a meddling bitch who can't leave things well enough alone. Anywho, that's the gist of the story.
This book is patently Australian. The slang, the landscapes, the personalities. Seriously. I'm now more inclined to fall all over myself to meet an Aussie. There is a uniformity in the way these authors write about their folks and their country. The characters are all heart and the landscapes, no matter how extreme, becomes a work of art off the pages. One of the things that I enjoyed about these books is that there isn't a shortage of perfectly realistic characters. They're the type that I want to meet in real life. No frills, they'll tell you how it is and with not a single iota of pretentiousness.
I love that Bill Condon plied me with humour till I was comfortable enough to think that he wasn't going to go where he went. The best thing about it is he was consistent with the funnies even though you're supposed to be crying and it was great because I ended up tearing up and incongruously laughing at the same time.
Over all, A Straight Line to My Heart was a fantastic read. It's a story about an unconventional family with the most unconditional love for each other. Bill Condon truly captured all the qualities that I've grown to love about these books from Down Under; heartfelt, humorous and above all, realistic.
DISCLAIMER:
The first paragraph of this review is a complete BS...well, not all of them. The part of Australia having ONE school for writers is. :D
aja_98's review against another edition
At first I thought it's weird that it's just describing one week in a life and found it a bit boring, but at the end I saw the beauty of it. The ending was really sad as well.
kovost's review against another edition
2.0
I feel like I missed something and I don't know what. There's a lot of great reviews about this book and I just honestly feel like I might've missed something, but truth of the matter is that I was bored.
I don't really have anything against this book, but the only reason I finished it was because it was quick—at 77% into it, I was just sorta skimming/floating through the book because I wasn't invested in it. I could've just left it as a DNF (and probably would have if the book were longer) but like I said, it was a relatively quick and somewhat painless read, albeit also boring more often than not.
There wasn't really anything bad about it—the writing style wasn't bad (though it wasn't anything grand either) and the characters were alright, kind of bland in the grand scheme of things. I was amused with some of the banter between the characters, the relationships were cute and heartwarming, but I just wasn't feeling it? I 100% understood what this book was about and I even related, I just didn't connect. Which probably makes as much sense as a donkey wearing a tutu but oh well.
It wasn't a bad book—there's generally a reason behind a book having a lot of good reviews; it just wasn't for me personally.
I don't really have anything against this book, but the only reason I finished it was because it was quick—at 77% into it, I was just sorta skimming/floating through the book because I wasn't invested in it. I could've just left it as a DNF (and probably would have if the book were longer) but like I said, it was a relatively quick and somewhat painless read, albeit also boring more often than not.
There wasn't really anything bad about it—the writing style wasn't bad (though it wasn't anything grand either) and the characters were alright, kind of bland in the grand scheme of things. I was amused with some of the banter between the characters, the relationships were cute and heartwarming, but I just wasn't feeling it? I 100% understood what this book was about and I even related, I just didn't connect. Which probably makes as much sense as a donkey wearing a tutu but oh well.
It wasn't a bad book—there's generally a reason behind a book having a lot of good reviews; it just wasn't for me personally.