Alison

I liked this book a lot but not quite as much as I expected to after having been told by many friends how amazing it is. The descriptions are vivid and I absolutely felt like I had a strong grasp of the protagonist but I wasn't wowed. If you like books about writers and artists and the processes inherent to both you'll enjoy this book a lot.

Simply extraordinary. Education snuck up on me a little and by the time I'd reached the halfway point of this incredible book I was unprepared for how invested I had become. Tara Westover manages to articulate the myriad of feelings that come from loving damaged people, how our histories shape us, and how we are formed and reformed by trauma. She does so both unflinchingly and gently, without artifice and with lyrical prose. I couldn't put this book down.

More of a love story than I expected, but I was still never quite sure where it was all headed. Though beautifully written and heartbreaking, I didn't feel like I ever got to know enough about the characters to really root for any of them. It's worth the read, but if you're hoping for an examination of race, class, or the justice system, you might be disappointed.

This book was at times difficult to read but always moving. I laughed and cried and found myself thinking about my own childhood with frequency. I had heard so many great things about the book and it lived up to every expectation and then some. If you have experience with an addict, this book might be hard to get through, but there are so many glimmers of hope and optimism to be found.