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xishimmerix's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
knaylor's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
marg408's review against another edition
3.0
I kind of hated Prudence at the beginning of the book, but I got through and enjoyed the read! Fun story. Sara may have been my favorite.
sterialm's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
quietjenn's review against another edition
4.0
Humor, with heart. But much better than that pithy statement would have you believe.
mountie9's review against another edition
3.0
The Good Stuff
Unlike anything I have ever read before
Wacky and weird but beautiful and hopeful
The young girl Sara is so unusual and sweet and living in such a horrible situation that I just wanted to reach out and adopt her
Prudence is a complete flake, but a truly lovable flake with absolutely no malice in her and such wonderful enthusiasm for everything and everybody - she reminded me so much of my buddy Tosca
this is not story you read all at once. It is something you read a bit of every day sort of like watching a favorite tv show.
wonderful dry sense of humour and hilarious lines that will make you laugh your ass off
The Not so Good Stuff
hard to explain but felt like the author was trying to hard to make all the characters especially odd at the expense of the story at times
Sara's parents are so horrible they made me really depressed for the kid
It takes a bit to get into with all the different narrators, but this also ultimately makes all the characters more interesting from the various points of view
I picked up on some anti-love vibes about blogger's and popular writers - it could just be me though
Favorite Quotes/Passages
"He'll just take them, even if they are driving or flying planes with other people in them. So that will cause a lot of accidents for the people who are left behind. It's kind of an irresponsible way for God to handle it, if you think about it. You would think that if God was going to do a Rapture, which is what it's called when God takes all the people, he would do it when they aren't busy. But I think the point is that the people who get left behind get what they deserve."
"My book was, according to the lone blogger who reviewed it as part of one of those roundups about what is wrong with young adult literature, "anxiety-saturated but surprisingly dull." I couldn't, in good conscience, argue with that assessment."
"I used to update my blogs eights, sometimes twelve hours a day. That's eight or twelve hours of writing, Stephen King is probably one of the only other guys who writes that much. Him and James Patterson, although King's the only one of those two worth reading."
What I Learned
Some actually fascinating information about sustainability and farming
Who should/shouldn't read
Those who like a story that is just a little bit odd
This is not one for those who like fast paced exciting storylines
3.75 Dewey's
I received this from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest
Unlike anything I have ever read before
Wacky and weird but beautiful and hopeful
The young girl Sara is so unusual and sweet and living in such a horrible situation that I just wanted to reach out and adopt her
Prudence is a complete flake, but a truly lovable flake with absolutely no malice in her and such wonderful enthusiasm for everything and everybody - she reminded me so much of my buddy Tosca
this is not story you read all at once. It is something you read a bit of every day sort of like watching a favorite tv show.
wonderful dry sense of humour and hilarious lines that will make you laugh your ass off
The Not so Good Stuff
hard to explain but felt like the author was trying to hard to make all the characters especially odd at the expense of the story at times
Sara's parents are so horrible they made me really depressed for the kid
It takes a bit to get into with all the different narrators, but this also ultimately makes all the characters more interesting from the various points of view
I picked up on some anti-love vibes about blogger's and popular writers - it could just be me though
Favorite Quotes/Passages
"He'll just take them, even if they are driving or flying planes with other people in them. So that will cause a lot of accidents for the people who are left behind. It's kind of an irresponsible way for God to handle it, if you think about it. You would think that if God was going to do a Rapture, which is what it's called when God takes all the people, he would do it when they aren't busy. But I think the point is that the people who get left behind get what they deserve."
"My book was, according to the lone blogger who reviewed it as part of one of those roundups about what is wrong with young adult literature, "anxiety-saturated but surprisingly dull." I couldn't, in good conscience, argue with that assessment."
"I used to update my blogs eights, sometimes twelve hours a day. That's eight or twelve hours of writing, Stephen King is probably one of the only other guys who writes that much. Him and James Patterson, although King's the only one of those two worth reading."
What I Learned
Some actually fascinating information about sustainability and farming
Who should/shouldn't read
Those who like a story that is just a little bit odd
This is not one for those who like fast paced exciting storylines
3.75 Dewey's
I received this from HarperCollins in exchange for an honest
mollyjordan's review against another edition
1.0
Prudence, Prudence, Prudence. The main character, Prudence leaves her life in Brooklyn when she finds out that she has inherited her dead uncles farm. She has always been inclined to attempt to live a sustainable lifestyle (rooftop gardening in the city and worm composting) and when she finds out she alone now has a farm, she quickly moves in and all of her grand ideals begin to grow.
Not only has she inherited a farm, but some of the people and animals that have been left there. She now has an elderly farm hand named Earl (who she begins to use almost immediately) and a decrepit sheep named Bertie who is only half shorn (sheared? I'm not sure about that one.) Bertie becomes her first farm animal and Earl continues to help out around the farm. But then Prudence finds out that Earl has a famous musician brother and that Earl was part of a famous bluegrass band when he was a teenager. Wow, she sees an opportunity to exploit this as well.
Shortly after moving into the farm, Prudence has the neighbor, Seth, move in. Seth is an internet blogger and a recluse who hasn't left his mother's house since his love affair with his highschool art teacher blew up in his face (in front of the whole school and his community). Seth moves not only his computer into the home, but also his alcoholism and negative attitude. But that doesn't faze Prudence. She quickly uses Seth's creative side to her benefit and creates a fake treatment center where he is her only "patient." He's not a patient in the least--just a drunk 21 year-old who she allows to live in her house for free as long as he does whatever she asks of him. Another person she gets to use.
Then along comes Sara. Sara's an 11 year-old girl who comes from a rough family life. Prudence meets her parents who automatically ask if Sara's chickens can be housed on her farm. Not only do the chickens take up residence on the farm, but so does Sara. Don't worry though, Prudence doesn't feel bad about using Sara and her chickens to help create her sustainable farm.
Then we get Eustace the vet. She's the eye candy of the novel and basically allows himself to be lied to and treated poorly by the beautiful and ever so likeable and loveable Prudence.
This whole book was just ridiculous. Every character is continually exploited by Prudence and the author continues to write like Prudence is just a great person who is only trying to save her family farm in any way possible. All I saw was a girl who for some reason never has to worry about money even though she's putting money into fixing up the farm and having bluegrass festivals. Where is the money coming from?
The author should stick to writing YA. I compend her for trying to make the leap over to adult fiction, but I don't think a book that has 2 main characters over the age of 23 really counts as a true adult work of fiction. Everything was predictable and ridiculous. The best part of the book was its cover and probably the animals. Other than that, most of the characters were annoying and overly simplified. Prudence gets away with lying to everyone she meets and never having to apologize for her behavior and poor decisions. That's not how things go even in YA books. Just check out her list of grand ideas, they all have lies in them at some point or another:
Grand idea number one: live sustainably and completely off of the farm and its produce (exploit everyone to do the dirty work)
Grand idea number two: turn her farm into a mock drug and alcohol treatment center in order to delay payments to the bank (engage in fraudulent behavior and get away with it without an explanation to anyone)
Grand idea number two: teach writing courses to pay off the bank (treat all of the people poorly and then charge them for nothing)
Grand idea number three: have a bluegrass festival on the property (use Earl's past and his famous brother to get the farm out of debt, but do all of this without ever asking Earl if he was interested in participating or having his past brought up)
Not only has she inherited a farm, but some of the people and animals that have been left there. She now has an elderly farm hand named Earl (who she begins to use almost immediately) and a decrepit sheep named Bertie who is only half shorn (sheared? I'm not sure about that one.) Bertie becomes her first farm animal and Earl continues to help out around the farm. But then Prudence finds out that Earl has a famous musician brother and that Earl was part of a famous bluegrass band when he was a teenager. Wow, she sees an opportunity to exploit this as well.
Shortly after moving into the farm, Prudence has the neighbor, Seth, move in. Seth is an internet blogger and a recluse who hasn't left his mother's house since his love affair with his highschool art teacher blew up in his face (in front of the whole school and his community). Seth moves not only his computer into the home, but also his alcoholism and negative attitude. But that doesn't faze Prudence. She quickly uses Seth's creative side to her benefit and creates a fake treatment center where he is her only "patient." He's not a patient in the least--just a drunk 21 year-old who she allows to live in her house for free as long as he does whatever she asks of him. Another person she gets to use.
Then along comes Sara. Sara's an 11 year-old girl who comes from a rough family life. Prudence meets her parents who automatically ask if Sara's chickens can be housed on her farm. Not only do the chickens take up residence on the farm, but so does Sara. Don't worry though, Prudence doesn't feel bad about using Sara and her chickens to help create her sustainable farm.
Then we get Eustace the vet. She's the eye candy of the novel and basically allows himself to be lied to and treated poorly by the beautiful and ever so likeable and loveable Prudence.
This whole book was just ridiculous. Every character is continually exploited by Prudence and the author continues to write like Prudence is just a great person who is only trying to save her family farm in any way possible. All I saw was a girl who for some reason never has to worry about money even though she's putting money into fixing up the farm and having bluegrass festivals. Where is the money coming from?
The author should stick to writing YA. I compend her for trying to make the leap over to adult fiction, but I don't think a book that has 2 main characters over the age of 23 really counts as a true adult work of fiction. Everything was predictable and ridiculous. The best part of the book was its cover and probably the animals. Other than that, most of the characters were annoying and overly simplified. Prudence gets away with lying to everyone she meets and never having to apologize for her behavior and poor decisions. That's not how things go even in YA books. Just check out her list of grand ideas, they all have lies in them at some point or another:
Grand idea number one: live sustainably and completely off of the farm and its produce (exploit everyone to do the dirty work)
Grand idea number two: turn her farm into a mock drug and alcohol treatment center in order to delay payments to the bank (engage in fraudulent behavior and get away with it without an explanation to anyone)
Grand idea number two: teach writing courses to pay off the bank (treat all of the people poorly and then charge them for nothing)
Grand idea number three: have a bluegrass festival on the property (use Earl's past and his famous brother to get the farm out of debt, but do all of this without ever asking Earl if he was interested in participating or having his past brought up)
amandanan's review against another edition
5.0
So much humor. The 4 POVs were interesting. Mishaps with livestock will always make me laugh until I cry.
lisadsam's review against another edition
5.0
So charming and lovely. I can't remember the last time I laughed this much while reading fiction. Would reread just to enjoy the witty writing.