A few years ago I read an entire book before realizing I had already read it. I looked back at my Goodreads read list and realized I had no memory of about half of the books on there. So I built a new habit – (almost) every time I finish a book, I word-vomit my thoughts and emotions into a note on my phone. Sometimes they’re brief, sometimes they’re long-longwinded, sometimes they just ramble…and now I’m putting them here. Please enjoy the madness.
SPOILERS AHEAD…
I loved this book so much. It felt like one of the most true to life, relatable things I have read in a very long time and even when the characters grew so large or obnoxious, it was in a believable way. The imagery of them at camp was so spot on and called up a lot of my own memories and nostalgia. I think that she also did a good job of growing each character without losing the fact that, even as people age, they stay the same, especially when they are around those who knew them when they were young. I think she addressed heart ache between friends really well and I like that she didn’t push certain characters together. Dennis was by far my favorite character because of the subtle ways he really was the best of them even though I think you’re supposed to think of him as pretty ordinary and a consolation prize. The characters were all complex just like real people without anybody being forced to the extremes of good or bad or right or wrong. They all were a little of everything.