Once Upon a Crime discussion
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The Awkward Squad
The Awkward Squad
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Hello everyone! I'll start, although I do hate to start things on a negative note. I did not like this book at all. As a matter of fact I only managed to get halfway through and I only got that far because I felt obligated as the facilitator of the group. I tried to finish it by skimming through it quickly but even that was killing me with boredom and I actually started to hate reading!!! This scared the heck out of me so I quickly started reading another book and thank goodness it was a good one. The writing in "The Awkward Squad" seemed clunky (maybe because it's a translation?), there was no flow and there was entirely too much setup and background on all the wacky characters, none of whom I found interesting enough to care about. It was extremely boring. So I wasn't too disappointed to have our meeting cancelled. I was afraid it would be like last time where almost everyone hated the book. But maybe I'm wrong? Did anyone like this book?
Hello everyone! I'll start, although I do hate to start things on a negative note. I did not like this book at all. As a matter of fact I only managed to get halfway through and I only got that far because I felt obligated as the facilitator of the group. I tried to finish it by skimming through it quickly but even that was killing me with boredom and I actually started to hate reading!!! This scared the heck out of me so I quickly started reading another book and thank goodness it was a good one. The writing in "The Awkward Squad" seemed clunky (maybe because it's a translation?), there was no flow and there was entirely too much setup and background on all the wacky characters, none of whom I found interesting enough to care about. It was extremely boring. So I wasn't too disappointed to have our meeting cancelled. I was afraid it would be like last time where almost everyone hated the book. But maybe I'm wrong? Did anyone like this book?
Tim here - first off, this was a great idea, I'm a big GoodReads user and I'm glad someone thought to do this. I'd hate to miss our discussion entirely. OH, and slight spoiler warnings to those who haven't finished.No need to worry about everyone disliking the book, I liked it. I will admit I was a bit confused during a good bit of it, as there were things going on that seemed totally disconnected from the main story, but as things went along, I thought she did a good job of bringing things into focus. Very low key reveals, no "Hey, look, this guy is the baby from earlier" rather just give you little bits of info that led to "Ah, THAT'S why we've been doing that part."
I also was glad that [slight] (view spoiler)
While it wasn't the best book I've read lately, I did enjoy it, and would consider reading the second in the series.
Tim
It's not a David Baldacci book or Ruth Ware mystery or crime book. I liked it and was looking for Henaff's second book. It was quirky and I liked it.
I liked it a lot. I enjoyed reading about all the quirks of the characters, and thought some scenes were really funny (e.g., the street sweeper chase). I agree with Tim that it was confusing at times, and I had to write down the names of the characters and who they were. I have read the second book in the series. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first, but it could be because The Awkward Squad was a change from my usual reading, and by the second one, I knew what to expect.
Mary wrote: "thought some scenes were really funny (e.g., the street sweeper chase).Oh yeah, the street sweeper chase was great.
I also liked how the dog was named.
Because of the library closure, Angela and I (Shannon, we met at the February meeting) decided that a virtual discussion might be a good option for anyone who would still like discuss March's book.
Below you can comment your thoughts on the book, questions you might want to ask members, or anything else you'd like to discuss regarding the book. You can post whenever, does not have to be at a specific time. Again this is OPTIONAL, if you do not want to or do not feel comfortable doing so you do NOT have to. If you have any questions about the book group feel free to email me or Angela.