A solid, enjoyable offering from Lorna Landvik. Her writing is reminiscent of Fannie Flagg, each of the characters feels like an old friend. There's nothing surprising about this book featuring decades of columns written by 80-year-old Haze, who is in a coma in the hospital after suffering a stroke.
My favorite character in the book is teenager Sam, his growth and maturity was fun to watch and really resonated with me. I saw how young people could learn about the past and then learn how to apply that to their lives, and it is an encouraging thought. I loved his relationship with his grouchy neighbor and how the two forged a friendship based on the columns.
What I didn't care for with this book, and honestly by the end was a HUGE distraction, was the author's need to get on her pulpit and preach every last thing she believes about every single issue from abortion to pages and pages (and pages!) about politics. I am literally weary and exhausted of discussing and reading about the 2016 election, and in this book the author decided we needed to wallow in it some more.
Overall, I'm glad I read this book, but it could have done with a more balanced discussion of the issues in order to foster understanding and create lively debate instead of alienating half of the readers who might otherwise have really enjoyed their experience.
My favorite character in the book is teenager Sam, his growth and maturity was fun to watch and really resonated with me. I saw how young people could learn about the past and then learn how to apply that to their lives, and it is an encouraging thought. I loved his relationship with his grouchy neighbor and how the two forged a friendship based on the columns.
What I didn't care for with this book, and honestly by the end was a HUGE distraction, was the author's need to get on her pulpit and preach every last thing she believes about every single issue from abortion to pages and pages (and pages!) about politics. I am literally weary and exhausted of discussing and reading about the 2016 election, and in this book the author decided we needed to wallow in it some more.
Overall, I'm glad I read this book, but it could have done with a more balanced discussion of the issues in order to foster understanding and create lively debate instead of alienating half of the readers who might otherwise have really enjoyed their experience.