libbykerns's reviews
306 reviews

pure vibes. toby is a hater and that’s delightful 

i started crying at the xylophone and couldn’t stop. mixed feelings about the epilogue but i loved this book all the same. sisters, addiction, grief, love. 

the most unrealistic thing about this was that julia was into winston  

i don’t know how to feel. so much happened here

wow. 

as an introduction to some women philosophers i hadn’t read previously, this was an interesting read—but i didn’t find it particularly compelling as a memoir… both because i didn’t feel particularly bad for the author (blatantly and infuriatingly misogynistic treatment notwithstanding, she came across as a self-interested and self-centered person who i didn’t particularly like). also, i didn’t entirely trust her reading of the women philosophers she discussed, as she brushed away/by their religious thoughts even as she acknowledged those angles of thought as significant to the women themselves. (this is reminiscent of a larger trend in philosophy and academia that i find irksome, and not necessarily only a fault of this author.) 
that said, i look forward to doing my own reading on some of these women—and am therefore glad to have read this book, even if it didn’t quite deliver in the way i’d hoped it would. an intellectual memoir is delicious, but the elements need to be well-integrated. 

this was a fabulous, engrossing read. the worldbuilding was fascinating, though i have a few questions about the larger system (what’s with Mississippi??) and the ending was a smidge drawn out. those complaints are mere blips, though. i love joe and this novel!

the pacing felt off to me—probably because i went into this totally blind. the back of the novel suggested i wild story, but this book is just the origin story of a hero! a fun origin story—but know what you’re getting into. enjoyed nonetheless! the worldbuilding is awesome

sometimes, woman can live on vibes alone 

the pacing and the beginning and end was a little off, and i think the

romantic ending was forced—the history was there but the chemistry isn’t

but overall the idea and plot was fascinating, the setting was super cool, and the prose was strong. i enjoyed it!