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jessspeake's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
3.75
This book was so great, and I really wanted to give it more stars... but there were a couple of writing things that prevented me from doing so.
Positives
Let me start by saying I'm not normally a huge non-fiction reader, but this story was so compelling it caused me to want to read more non-fiction. I just needed to know what happened to all of the people in the story!!
The beginning of the book dealing with the tornado was engrossing! I couldn't put it down - I just had to know what happened. It was the same with the end of the book, during the football season when the team trying to extend their win streak.
Honestly, having the map in the front of the book was really helpful when referencing where the tornado was going. I referred to it many times while reading.
I loved the characters I really go to know through the book. Some were given more of a spotlight than others, and I found I really connected to the ones heavily written about.
Critiques
Sometimes the book's flow wasn't great. I loved all of the content, but wish it had been written together a little more seamlessly.
I think I would have gotten even more from this book if I'd been a fan of Alabama college football. I love football, but I'm more of an NFL girl, so not knowing the players from this particular college team hindered enjoying it to the fullest.
If there had been more details about each person, I don't think that would have mattered, but since I didn't have any backstory on these particular players before reading the story, I wished the author had offered a little more about each person (especially the ones he only wrote a little about).
I found myself sometimes mixing up the characters who were less mentioned. There were a couple of times I had to flip back in the text to make sure I understood who he was writing about.
Overall
I really liked the book, and think I would get more from reading it again. Now that I'm more familiar with the people in the story, I might be able to keep track of who is who a little more easily.
There were moments when I couldn't put this book down (during the tornado, and during the football season), and I think that says a lot about my enjoyment of the book.
Positives
Let me start by saying I'm not normally a huge non-fiction reader, but this story was so compelling it caused me to want to read more non-fiction. I just needed to know what happened to all of the people in the story!!
The beginning of the book dealing with the tornado was engrossing! I couldn't put it down - I just had to know what happened. It was the same with the end of the book, during the football season when the team trying to extend their win streak.
Honestly, having the map in the front of the book was really helpful when referencing where the tornado was going. I referred to it many times while reading.
I loved the characters I really go to know through the book. Some were given more of a spotlight than others, and I found I really connected to the ones heavily written about.
Critiques
Sometimes the book's flow wasn't great. I loved all of the content, but wish it had been written together a little more seamlessly.
I think I would have gotten even more from this book if I'd been a fan of Alabama college football. I love football, but I'm more of an NFL girl, so not knowing the players from this particular college team hindered enjoying it to the fullest.
If there had been more details about each person, I don't think that would have mattered, but since I didn't have any backstory on these particular players before reading the story, I wished the author had offered a little more about each person (especially the ones he only wrote a little about).
I found myself sometimes mixing up the characters who were less mentioned. There were a couple of times I had to flip back in the text to make sure I understood who he was writing about.
Overall
I really liked the book, and think I would get more from reading it again. Now that I'm more familiar with the people in the story, I might be able to keep track of who is who a little more easily.
There were moments when I couldn't put this book down (during the tornado, and during the football season), and I think that says a lot about my enjoyment of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
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