Amber

compelling start, waste of time

Reviewed: 09-09-22

This starts off very interesting, but goes downhill after the various twists. It's the first book in a while I sat and listened through all the way, but jeez, what a waste of time.

Potential Spoiler....

The last chunk of the book is riddled with the revelation of the unreliable narrator and makes the story impossible to connect with, never knowing what's real or what's in her head.

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hasn't aged well

Reviewed: 01-17-20

I didn't enjoy this book much. Apart from the main character being utterly unlikable, the story is pretty dull. I can see how in the 1950s it was probably groundbreaking and unique, but if you're a fan of the genre in modern times you'll have heard it all before, with less annoying protagonists. It was short, at least, that's a redeeming quality.

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No science. Not body positive. Vegan conversion.

Reviewed: 08-26-19

My three main 'beefs' (pun intended) with this book:
- No science, just analogies and anecdotes
- Body shaming as motivation
- Raw vegan outcome

This book has a good introduction... then the red flags start appearing.

First up, the entire concept of the book comes from the idea that wild squirrels are not overweight. The analogies continue with the body being compared to computers or cars and all sorts. There is no science, there are no facts. It's like sitting next to someone at a bar as they explain why they believe the moon landing was faked.

There is an extreme emphasis on your physical appearance and the aesthetic reasons to lose weight, almost to the exclusion of other, healthier, motivations. Constant reference to "unsightly bulges", overuse of the word "slim" and stating that "you can't be at your ideal weight until you look in the mirror naked and are happy with what you see". There are a whole host of people who want to lose weight for a number of reasons, but who don't hate their body or feel ashamed of their appearance. This book assumes that if you want to lose weight you must feel unattractive. There are also a vast number of people who would be infinitely healthier at a lower weight, but still have plenty of padding. Skinny/'slim' is not possible for all people and not healthy for many people.

Finally - the '"eat as much of your favourite foods as you want" claim means that you need your new favourite foods to be raw and vegan. I knew we were headed in murky territory when he included cooked food under the 'processed food' banner. Then he started referring to meat as "flesh" and it goes back to the analogy of why squirrels are so slim and free of unsightly bulges - they don't cook and they eat nuts and plants. Voila.

Overall this is a really poor effort. I had a lot of faith in the brand, but unfortunately none of my expectations were met.

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Not a great retelling of the facts

Reviewed: 08-19-19

I found the layout of the book a bit frustrating. It jumped forwards and backwards a lot, and introduced a lot of things workout going into them for a very long time. The pace of the book made it difficult to stick with.

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6 people found this helpful

fun, light, entertaining

Reviewed: 07-26-19

I really enjoyed this book. I'd just finished a fairly heavy/intense series and needed something fun and easy. this was the perfect book.

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fun characters, but no plot

Reviewed: 07-05-19

I enjoyed this book, generally, and enjoyed the character development. I like how it set all the characters up. I'm looking forward to the next in the series, and hoping to find something more in the way of plot, as this really didn't have any, it was pure character development.

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14 people found this helpful

Entertaining and endearing

Reviewed: 06-07-19

I enjoyed the characters, the narrator did a great job bringing them to life.

The novel is fun and will appeal to young readers and adult readers who enjoy ya fiction. A nice spin on magic and sorcery.

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On par with the silk worm

Reviewed: 10-01-18

A great installment, overall, and I'm sure I'll listen again. I found the first third difficult to get into (after the first chapter, anyway). This one had a less clearly defined/less linear mystery and I found the sheer number of mysterious tidbits difficult to commit full attention to. There is a strong personal story in this one, more so than the others, which also competed for attention.

Another great installment, but not as captivating as the first and last. I think it'll be much more enjoyable on re-listen, too.

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very effective

Reviewed: 09-16-18

I have a few spell mediation books downloaded and I find this one is the most effective. I only listen to the second part, buy it will send me to sleep more often than not.

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Not at the same standard as the usual Grisham

Reviewed: 09-04-18

I am not a die hard Grisham fan, but I enjoy a good court room drama, and over the course have read quite a few of his. If I didn't know better, I wouldn't guess this had his name on it. The drama unfolds over several cases, and though their interconnection is clever, the story never hits its stride. The characters aren't very likeable, and the pace is very slow.

Skip this one, look for any other Grisham title instead.

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