Women's Literature - Romantic Comedy ~ 3.4 out of 5 Stars - 1 point lost for typos!
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Media: Kindle
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BLOG SECTIONS
INTRO
Mhairi (pronounced Vah-Ree) McFarlane has fast become a favourite author of mine. Her stories resonate with me. Serious undertones elegantly blended with romantic-comedy - it's my jam, and I'm hopeful my own manuscript has a similar vibe.
Full disclosure: I lost my Mum seven months ago and this story has quite a few 'lost mum' moments, and 'not lost' mum moments, and they all got me right in the feels! Combine that heart-jerking stuff with 'women looking after women' and 'bad-guys getting their just deserts' and you had me at the title.... 'Mad About You'.
One of the gravitational pulls that drove me to start writing my story was because of an unhealthy relationship. It was the combination of a lack of closure from that relationship, the outlandish movie-like things that occurred and the 'madness' (more 'dislike' than crazed lunacy - but that was also present, to be fair) that led me to writing it all down. My story is book worthy but the pull to write my story was more than just that. I have come to believe that writing is a cathartic act - something that assists with reflection - enabling much needed perspective and also a kind of magical closure. I like to think of writing as personal closure - something you do by yourself for yourself.
I originally gave Mhairi's book a 4.4 (rating breakdown is at the bottom as per usual). I really liked this book, it deserved a 4.4 but I have taken one-whole-point off because I found two typos and three bits that were just really oddly structured sentences that made it super hard for me to understand. Maybe this is just because I am not from England. But still? And anyway because this book is traditionally published book (Harper Collins not less!) I expected more. I expected perfection. Suffice to say I was a tad bit disappointed. The version I read is: 2022-10-12 below are the odd bits I found:
Bit in bold just doesn't make sense? "Always enterprising when in a fix, Roxy said she was pregnant and had morning sickness, in a single stroke transforming their judgement disgust into warm sympathy. naturally, they bought the house, and throughout the purchase process Roxy had to work out how far along she was meant to be when they asked after her and the baby's health. 'For Roxanne, a son: Gregg Bean-Melt,' Lorna had said, and she and Harriet had been rendered incapable of speech for several minutes.
I has to read this several times over, I now get that Lorna is making some kind of joke about Lorna's fake baby being a food baby. but I just think this could have been written much clearer.
Another bit in bold that didn't make sense. "It was a cold-feet, bolt-spooking that showed when push came to shove, behind the seductive façade, Calvin Clarke could be incredibly ruthless. I hate Cal Clarke. Who has hostile graffiti in their own house?
I may have skipped over it - or missed it all together, but I looked high and low for some kind of reference to hostile graffiti in Cal's house that would have given this sentence much needed context.. but alas even a search of the word 'graffiti' came up wanting.
And another bit that I didn't think made sense... "He said: You, you're well covered though, aren't you? No, I don't mean it in a bad way. you like your food a bit too much, but so do loads of us. I stopped liking food so much. He laughingly reported his friend said I looked: like a cartoon chipmunk. You would, but you don't know if you should. Mortified, I objected. Haha, I obviously don't mind, do I You're my girl! He clearly thinks you're punching, but I don't."
After reading this for the umpteenth I think I finally understand this passage. But I can also see where it's not working. The MFC is retelling a memory, and she is recalling what her ex boyfriend had said to her. But I couldn't tell when it was her speaking in the memory versus when it was her boyfriend speaking. I think this could have been made clearer.
Typos.... here's a 'to' that just should not be there. "An unbothered Nina nodded, unwrapped her Stroppwafel and balanced a tea strainer on her cup. 'I know I said I wanted to him to suffer, but I hope she's not going to suggest hardcore dragon tattoo shit, because it'll be hard to resist but also, I'm not going to prison for him,' she said."
Typos.... and here's where the word 'other' as in 'each other' is completely missing. "'Where's the other ex going to be? Is it Nina? Are we meeting her?' 'We're only contacting each through our phones as we reckon the sight of the two of us together is too risky in terms of Scott realising something's up,' Harriet gazed at the city scenery flying past her window, heart a slow but increasing gallop, and said:"
CONFLICT
At first McFarlane would have you believe Harriet, our MFC is conflicted due to her rebuttal of a recent engagement proposal, however this is a red-herring for a much larger conflict that underpins her desire to remain unwed. It's all connected and we learn this as we become completely and utterly engrossed in the story.
TENSION
There's many tensions, relationships with friends, ex-boyfriends, and also with herself - Harriet isn't sure she isn't the monster - and the reader is kept guessing as to who's actually the baddie right up to the end. This highlights the MFC's lack of self-belief in herself - a key theme of the novel.
PLOT
It's a strong plot. With several very well crafted cliffhanger chapter endings that force you to keep reading. I draw the line when I'm reading past 11pm - the kindle must be turned off and sleep must be prioritised.
THEME
Mhairi sums up the theme in her Acknowledgements: "This book is about female solidarity".
For me there was a really clear message in this book, and I think that's why I loved it so much.
Men
"Anyone criticising him must be in bad faith, or at least have bad taste. All of this was the early hazing phase. I had to be in a state of bedazzled worship, where he was all the points on my compass and my heart’s only desire, as preparation for his destabilising me. I had to have pushed my poker chips across the green baize and gone all in."
"He said losing both my parents young had left me with deep problems and because I’d not been to therapy, my unresolved issues were being taken out mercilessly on him. You really need to see someone, he’d say, after he’d forgiven me another of my trespasses."
"He's turned the death of my parents into another weapon." "It was about positioning me as damaged."
"Who stops these men? How do we stop them? Scott never hit me, he never physically attacked me or hurt me in any way where I can point to a scar. But he demolished me. If I could go to the police, I would."
"He wasn’t the love of my life, he was an abuser. To confuse the two things seemed impossible."
"...his best chance of discrediting her: the suspicion of female hysteria. That bitch is crazy."
Women
"All we really have is warning each other. Who am I, if I don’t warn this woman?"
"If there was a special place in hell reserved for women who didn’t help other women, perhaps there were special rewards for those who did."
TONE
Mhairi has a characteristic tone. I wonder if she knows that? There's a good dose of humour which I really appreciate.
I'm not completely sure how I feel about this next point. McFarlane seems to be on a mission to extend my vocabulary. Every single book of hers I've read manages to wangle in a bunch (38 to be precise!) of interesting words that I don't know. This means the 'highlight for dictionary definition' kindle feature gets a decent work out when I'm reading one of her novels. While I like the fact that she's teaching me new words, I dislike that it takes me out of the story to learn what they are. If I was reading a paper back version it would probably be worse, as I wouldn't look up the words, which would mean I wouldn't fully comprehend the authors meaning.
Actually I do know how I feel about these 'strange' words being dotted through the book - to me it feels contrived. It's like they've been added in, almost afterwards, as part of the editing process. I feel like a lot of them don't really fit with the tone of the book. I might have that completely wrong, but that's how it feels when I read them.
I'm sure I'll regret sharing this, but here's the list of words I had to look up from this book. I suspect one day I will write a #Bookstagram post with all the new words I have learnt from Mhairi.
Consigliere | "He was a husband and a consigliere, with the flushed House of Lords look of someone who had dined and drunk well for many decades."
It means: A member of a Mafia family who serves as an adviser to the leader and resolves disputes within the family. In Italian it literally means 'a member of a council'.
Quenelle | "They made it to a chocolate marquise in raspberry coulis with a quenelle of tonka bean ice cream without controversy, until Martin Junior said: 'How's the wedding photography going, Harriet?'"
It means: A small seasoned ball of pounded fish or meat. - So I'm not totally sure this word really fits here. Perhaps sometimes, simple is good? Perhaps 'small ball' would have adequately explained the ice cream had been spheric in presentation?
Largesse | "The moments that followed were a blur, the small thunder of the room's applause, of Jon landing a clumsy kiss, half on her lips and half on her cheek, of Martin Junior bellowing: well, this calls for champagne! and picking up a brass bell and jangling it - a sound which resonated inside Harriet like an alarm - to summon minions, so he could demonstrate his largesse by sticking bottles of Moet on Jon's tab."
Firstly what a massively long sentence - I did not notice that when I read it the first time.
It means: Generosity in bestowing money or gifts upon others: presumably public money is not dispensed with such largesse to anyone else.
Incaution | "The incaution of praising his mum for her key role in this shitshow was...
It means: carelessness - of a person or an action heedless of potential problems or risks: he blames incautious borrowing during the boom.
Okay, to be clear, I know what 'caution' means, and I understand how prefixes like, 'a', 'in' and 'un' work to create a negative. But "with all that knowledge, I kid you not - I still had not seen the word 'incaution', It was so unfamiliar that I actually initially thought it was a typo.
Again, I'm not sure 'careless' wouldn't have done the job here?
Expurgated | "He'd be cheerfully whistling and secretly scheming how to incorporate an expurgated version of their exchange tonight into his speech."
It means: remove matter thought to be objectionable or unsuitable from (a text or account). I had an inkling this word meant something along these lines because I am familiar with the word 'expunge'
To clarify they are definitely two different words:
Expunge means to obliterate or remove completely something unwanted or unpleasant. Where as 'Expurgated' means to remove questionable matter be that text or an account.
Granary | "They both stopped dead in the door-way at the sight of Barty, alone calmly picking his way through an absolutely gigantic full English, with three fat sausages, extra granary toast and a fruit salad on the side."
It means: British short for Granary Bread
There are quite a few British terms I have to look up - I assume people will end up having to do that with my novel too. After all, not everyone speaks Kiwi.
Pernicious | "I felt his effect on you was pernicious and he was complete wrong for you."
It means: having a harmful effect, especially in a gradual or subtle way: the pernicious influences of the mass media.
Sangfroid | "Jonathan went to get the round - now something of a celebrity in Alfred's, he's dot them comped - and Harriet has to admire his sangfroid."
His what now?
It means: Ohhh! his coolness and composure shown in danger or under trying circumstances. The literal 18th century French translation means 'cold blood'. See what I mean? It's kind of unnecessary to use this word isn't it? Unless, I suppose they needed to cut back the words, and this was one word instead of six?
Gnomically | "What a learning curve this is proving to be,' Jon said, gnomically, after a pause, and stalk back to the front room, which seemed a twattish statement, given he'd learned nothing."
Now that's a dialogue tag, if ever I learnt one! Ha!
It means: expressed in or of the nature of short, pithy maxims or aphorisms. - difficult to understand because enigmatic or ambigous: I had to have the gnomic response interpreted for me.
Misandrist | Best new word of the book! And! Cannot believe I have never heard of this one! "She was equally certain he didn't want a reminder of that day cohabiting his property, judging him in her misandrist silence while they cooked there pasta and pesto of an evening."
It means: The hatred of men - I know right!!!?? How did I not know this word, especially when I have lived months, nay years in this state! Cue traumatic cheating breakup story. It get's better: The word originates from Greek (all the good ones do, don't they?) miso = hating and aner = man.
What I like about this word, and the Author using it, is I think right now, there has never been more misandry in this world, and I actually think it's super toxic. Yes, yes, a correction was needed, but I think we have swung way too far the other way these days, things are bad, the man bashing has got to stop. Two wrongs do not maketh a right ladies.
Diminutive | "She got up to answer it and pulled it open to see a stunning, diminutive and distinctly grumpy woman, with long black hair pulled back from her face."
It means: Extremely or unusually small, implying smallness, either actual or imputed to convey affection, scorn etc. e.g. teeny, -let, -kins. A smaller or shorter thing.
So that's where my brain went when I read this word, as in 'diminished' make smaller etc.. but again, I just don't recall seeing this word and considering I am a tiny human I figure some smart alec kid should have teased me with this term at least once.. but I got nothing!
Contretemps | "Harriet had seen very little of Cal in the weekend since she overheard that 'Sam in the garden' contretemps."
The what in the garden with Sam? I mean - if you're reading this, you get my meaning eh? Sometimes the effort to understand is just a tad too far to stretch.
It means: A minor dispute or disagreement: she had occasional contretemps with her staff. An unexpected and unfortunate occurrence. Not surprisingly it hails from 17th century - originally as a fencing term (delightful I know!) denoting a thrust made at an inopportune moment. French of course: translating to: 'Motion out of time'. With contre- = 'against' and temps = 'time'.
A beautiful word, that I am glad I now know... if only I could pronounce it! On that note come on Kindle when are you going to enable the 'get AI to read my book to me' feature?
Perfidy | "Harriet updated Lorna on her meeting with Jon, and how he started quoting literary greats on the perfidy of women."
It means: the state of being deceitful and untrustworthy. Origins from late 16th century - French via the Latin word perfidia, from perfidus 'treacherous', based on per- 'to ill effect' and fides 'faith'.
Raze | "He knew perfectly well his mother was a nuclear warhead in Hobbs occasionwear, but she was never going to raze his village."
I thought I knew this one, but wasn't sure, so ha 'd to look it up.
It means: Completely destroy (a building, town, or other settlement): Villages were razed to the ground. It's Middle English (in a sense 'scratch, incise) from Old French raser 'shave closely' from Latin ras- = scraped, from the verb radere.
Paroxysms | "Harriet mentally filed the last like to quote Lorna and Roxy, to send them into paroxysms."
It means: a sudden attack or outburst of a particular emotion or activity. a paroxysm of weeping. In medicine it's a sudden recurrence or attack of a disease. Latin from Greek: para- = beyond. +oxunein = sharpen.
Basilisk | "I know plenty, thank you," Jacqueline said, returning her basilisk stare to Harriet."
I think I learnt this one from Harry Potter, it was a snake wasn't it?
It means: a mythical reptile with a lethal gaze or breath, hatched by a serpent from a cock's egg. Another term for cockatrice. 2. a long, slender and mainly bright green lizard found in Central America, the male of which has a crest running from the head to the tail. It can swim well, and is able to run on its hind legs across the surface of water. Latin from Greek basiliskos 'little king, serpent, from basileus 'king'.
Ceilidh | "This man would surely be throwing a celebratory ceilidh once she was out of his property."
It means: A social event with Scottish or Irish folk music and singing, traditional dancing, and storytelling. Not surprisingly this word's history comes from 19th century from Scottish Gaelic and Irish - meaning visit/visiting and ceile = companion.
Harridan | "'I genuinely though you handled her with aplomb,' Cal said. 'Total harridan.'
It means: a strict, bossy, or belligerent old woman: a bullying old harridan.
Vermillion | "Harriet shook the hand of a large-bosomed woman in her fifties in a vermillion fascinator."
I figured this was linked to vermin, as in rodents. Or it was another way to say pink perhaps? But that was a total guess based on the fact that 'fascinator' was the word that followed. As it turns out that was a pretty close guess...
It means: a brilliant red pigment made from mercury sulphide (cinnabar).
Diaphanous | "She was in a lilac dress - she and Scott had co-ordinated - with diaphanous lace panels that stretched tight across her hips, and Scott had a proprietorial arm draped around them.
It means: adjective - especially of fabric, delicate and translucent: a diaphanous dress of pale gold. 17th century Latin, from Greek - dia = through and phainein = to show.
Chignon | "Roxy snorted and patted ger chignon."
Pretty sure you should pat that in public. Joke! After looking up the definition I have just realised I do know this word, and have read it in another book. My memory is lacklustre these days.
It means: A knot or coil of hair arranged on the back of a woman's head.
Barmpot | "Or completely unlucky, depending on the wisdom of your barmpot plan to contact her."
I'm assuming this is a colloquial way to say 'crazy'
It means: Interestingly the kindle dictionary did not recognise the word and sent me to Wikipedia which also found no results. Google confirmed my guess was accurate: "Northern England, informal, derogatory - An idiot; an objectional and foolish person."
Pugnacity | "After all her pugnacity with Lorna, on the brink of going through with this, she was doubtful."
Is this like audacity?
It means: Eager or quick to argue, quarrel, or fight: the increasingly pugnacious demeanor of right-wing politicians.
Indicting | "Of course, if she chose to use it against Harriet, she'd also be indicting Scott."
By using the words around this word, I assume this means 'to provoke'
It means: formally accuse of or charge with a crime.
Well, I was well wrong with my guess on this one.
Abasement | "Harriet had weighed up Marianne publishing it to the world, on some platform, and thought it wasn't for her to fear the abasement of the contents."
It means: Humiliation or degradation. The action or fact of abasing or being abased. Abasing someone is to behave in a way that belittles or degrades someone.
Caner | "'He's an egotistical caner, not Lord Byron.'"
It means: Had to scroll right to the bottom of the Kindle dictionary definition to understand this one, yet another colloquial term from Britain - as it turns out. An informal term for 'take (drink or drugs) in large quantities: the others were probably out caning it in some bar.
Prurient | "'I didn't want to be ... what's the word. Prurient.'"
My mind went to Purist?
It means: having or encouraging an excessive interest in sexual matters, especially the sexual activity of others. She'd been the subject of much prurient curiosity.
Tabards | "It was the advice-giving equivalent of moving from reflective tabards, dire warnings, hard hats and clear instructions about handrails, to simply lighting a scented candle and handing you a glass of wine."
It means: a sleeveless jerkin consisting only of front and back pieces with a hole for the head. a herald's official coat emblazoned with the arms of the sovereign.
Are you kidding me? I think the obvious/simple words to use here are 'high-vis vest' - am I wrong? I mean I totally didn't understand any of this because what the hell is a reflective tabards.
Irascible | "Once she'd finished reviling Harrier for their face-off, Jacqueline was probably quiet irascible towards her son."
It means: having or showing a tendency to be easily angered. An irascible and difficult man. Latin irasci = 'grow angry' and ira = 'anger'
Mollified | "Harriet was somewhat mollified at this."
Nullify? To make something redundant perhaps?
It means: Appease the anger or anxiety of (someone): nature reserves were set up around the power stations to mollify local conservationists. Reducing the severity of something.
Gilead | "Or vice versa, if you wish to dwell in a Gilead of your own creation."
It means: Kindle dictionary came up empty - no definition.
Wikipedia: Hebrew / Arabic - is the ancient, historic, biblical name of the mountainous northern part of the region of Transjordan. The region is bounded in the west by the Jordan river, in the north by the deep ravine of the ricer Yarmouk and the region of Bashan, and in the southwest by what is known during antiquity as the "plains of Moab", with no definite boundary to the east. In some cases, "Gilead" is used in the Bible to refer to all the region east of the Jordan River.
After all that I assumed it meant 'caged' or 'imprisoned' but wasn't sure so I googled it and got the definition: A hill of testimony - which after re-reading the sentences around it, still didn't make sense to me.
Google: "Gilead is explained in the Hebrew Bible as derived from the Hebrew word: gal‛êd, which in turn comes from gal ('heap, mound, hill') and ‛êd ('witness, testimony'). If that is the case, Gilead means 'heap [of stones] of testimony'. There is also an alternative theory that it means 'rocky region'."
Chat GPT:
My prompt: Can you please help me understand what "Gilead" means in the below sentence? "What? You won't do anything with us on the off-chance he proposes something? Book us in and book him in around us. or vice versa, if you wish to dwell in a Gilead of your own creation."
GPT reply: "In the context of the sentence you provided, "Gilead" is used metaphorically to represent a place or state of contentment, peace, or prosperity. It refers to a condition or situation where everything is favorable and pleasant, often resulting from the absence of troubles, worries, or conflicts. The sentence suggests that the person being addressed has the option to join the group or activity, and if they choose not to, they can create their own idyllic and peaceful space (a "Gilead") in which they feel comfortable or content. The term "Gilead" is derived from the Bible and is associated with a mountainous region and an ancient city in the Middle East, which were often depicted as places of abundance and prosperity. Over time, "Gilead" has become a symbolic reference to an ideal or utopian place."
Aberrant | "No matter how many times Harrier rehearsed: Marianne wanted this, Scott should be stopped, and Nina would grab her, mid-dive - it was a completely aberrant thing to do."
Is this like Abhorred? i.e. disgusted / hatred.
It means: Departing from an accepted standard. Chiefly diverging from the normal type. 16th century Latin origins, ab = away, from. errare = to stray.
Beatific | "She accompanied it with the beatific smile that was generally used here, to convey it was an adorable piece of rhetorical silliness.
It means: feeling or expressing blissful happiness.
Cool word, I like the idea of feeling blissfully happy.
Prescient | "It was a bittersweet achievement to be the prescient one for a change."
It means: having or showing knowledge of events before they take place: a prescient warning. 17 century Latin 'knowing beforehand' prae = before. scire = know.
So again, simple language would have been: "It was a bittersweet achievement to be the one who knew what was going to happen for a change."
Badinage | "Cal would be anxious she wasn't enjoying herself, that the flatmate badinage he remembered with nostalgia, wasn't appearing on cue."
It means: humorous or witty conversation.
Divertimento | "'Er...' Cal frowned. 'Divertimento...? Ah, that was my sister! Erin.'"
It means: a light and entertaining composition, typically one in the form of a suite for chamber orchestra. 18th century - denoting a diversion or amusement. Italian: literally means diversion.
Brinkmanship | "Harriet couldn't take the brinkmanship anymore, if that's what it was."
It means: the art or practice of pursuing a dangerous policy to the limits of safety before stopping, especially in politics.
Apposite | This word wasn't in the book, it was in the Acknowledgements. It felt like there were so many words I read and then re-read thinking: 'That's a typo! That's spelt incorrectly.' Like this one for instance.... I thought: 'That's 'opposite' spelt wrong' - and then I realised it was not, and that my vocab is distinctly lacking.
"Cheers also to Bruce Springsteen, 'Dancing in the Dark' and a line so apposite it's Harriet Hatley's mission statement.
It means: Apt in the circumstances or in relation to something: an apposite quotation | the observations are apposite to the discussion.
SETTING
I'm currently reading Happy Place by Emily Henry, and just last night I highlighted an amazing scene-setting chapter intro. I don't think I highlighted any amazingly written setting moments in Mhairi's book. But that's neither here nor there is it. Flowery scene setting can become boring, although as I get more and more into writing I really am starting to love these bits of prose. I guess if the scene really plays a role in the plot then it makes sense to double-down on explaining it I guess. In this book it wasn't really necessary to go into detail on the scene, it was about humans, men, women, and relationships.
CHARACTERS
This book focuses on the main female character, and marginalises all the male ones. I mean that seems about right for a book about female solidarity and that taught me the word 'misandrist'.
We get the most insight into Harriet the MFC, her friends are a little more one dimensional - but remember I say this having never written a book, and really not knowing what I am talking about. I just feel - a few weeks on from having read this book, I don't remember much about Harriet's best-friends are Roxy and Lorna. One owns a restaurant (Lorna), the other was a real estate agent (Roxy) - but I had to look that up to get it around the right way. See what I mean - not memorable enough as characters.
Harriet
The only person who can call you damaged, is you. If there's one thing I know it's that every human has faced adversity of some kind - Harriet has experienced more than her fair share. She is brave enough to share this vulnerability - people's responses vary and this is played with my McFarlane throughout the story.
A key message in the book is: good people will see it [your damage] for what it is, something that happened, something (most likely) out of your control. Characters with agendas (and their own damage) will leverage it to control you. And the ones who truly love you will realise just like Harriet does, that vulnerabilities don't weaken her, they make her stronger.
I related to Harriet so much, I experienced a very similar 'relationship' situation to her, also in my twenties.
"When I was twenty-one and naïve I didn’t spot the grooming, I was like wow look, spooky, we’re soulmates."
"I wasn’t myself yet, if you know what I mean: I was a bundle of ideas and intentions, untried and untested. But like most twenty-five-year-olds, I didn’t think there was anything I didn’t know."
For a long time I thought it changed me.
"In a sordid, unhealthy relationship, you become sordid and unhealthy too."
But what I now realise a decade later is that I lost the me that was there before him, and became a shell to be manipulated. The independent, free-willed, loving-me came back once he was gone. I found her again after... she loved life and she was never going to subscribe to the way society prescribed women had to live their lives.
Harriet "had no moral objection to marriage, she just had no interest either."
But again there are consequences to these decisions.
"My job was my only time out of the atmosphere, the only part of my life that existed independently of his influence."
Lorna - the loyal friend Roxy - the questionable friend
Nina - another woman scorned Marianne - the bride to be and also yet another woman scorned Jon - the ex Scott - the other ex Cal - the MMC
CLIMAX
The climax is legendary - and built for a movie I'd pay to watch! Here's hoping
RESOLUTION
King Joffrey (GOTs) level poetic justice! Take it from someone who didn't get the closure she would have liked from her real-life Scott Peck, this ending was the icing on the cake!
RATING BREAKDOWN
ELEMENT | OF A NOVEL | RATING |
Conflict | The lifeblood of a story, creating Tension, launching Plot and evoking Theme. | 5 / 5 |
Tension | Something ominous, simmering under the surface. Comes to fruition beginning of Act 2 | 5 / 5 |
Plot | A strong plot is centred on one moment. Raising a dramatic question to be answered. | 4 / 5 |
Theme | An important idea woven throughout the story. Links a big idea about our world with the action of the text. | 4 / 5 |
Tone | The mood implied by the Author's word choice. The way the text makes the reader feel. | 4 / 5 |
Setting | Relates to the time and place in which the story is told. | 3.5 / 5 |
Characters | Are they unique, three-dimensional, with depth, personality and clear motivations? | 4 / 5 |
Climax | The most exciting part of the story, when the Conflict is resolved. i.e. when the dragon is slayed. | 5 / 5 |
Resolution | The end of the story, occurring after the climax, when we learn what happens to the characters after the conflict is resolved. | 5 / 5 |
TOTAL | | 4.4 / 5 |
GOODREADS STAR RATING SYSTEM
0 stars = Goodreads doesn't offer up a description for zero star ratings.
1 star = "Did not like it."
2 stars = "It was okay."
3 stars = "liked it."
4 stars = "Really liked it"
5 stars = "It was amazing."
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