Reviews

It Is Wood, It Is Stone by Gabriella Burnham

haidenehall's review against another edition

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

claudiaslibrarycard's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

3.0

I went to read this title after enjoying Burnham's sophomore novel, Wait. It is Wood, It is Stone is the story of three women in Brazil. Linda is from the US, and has recently moved for her husband's new professorship. Linda is struggling to adapt to her new surroundings, which seems to be made more apparent with the addition of a maid named Marta. Linda is not used to sharing her life with household staff and struggles with comparing herself to Marta and stepping on Marta's toes. One day, Linda meets an artist named Celia who will change how all the women feel. 

This story fell flat for me because I didn't feel truly connected to the characters until near the end. I wish we'd had more access to the emotionality of the characters and their vulnerabilities earlier on. While those topics were discussed, they felt hands off until the final quarter of the story. While this one didn't quite hit for me, I thoroughly recommend Wait. 

heyma's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

emilyyyytug's review against another edition

3.0

Well written but boring

whoisrois's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

read this when ur suffering from big head disease

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Cancer, Classism, and Sexual content

Moderate: Pedophilia

kstrobs's review

inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

tracey1981's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I found this easy to read. I read it while in Brazil and liked that it was set here and written by a Brazilian-American author, with many references to food I was eating, places I was going, and aspects of the culture that were familiar. That made for an enjoyable and timely read. The story itself was kind of forgettable and the main character was quite unlikeable so that knocked it down a star.

dimples0508's review against another edition

4.0

Fantástico

jessicaseptember's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

sycrain05's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.25