Jamie Carothers

One of those I just decided to pull off a book stand for the heck of it after reading the summary. A leisurely read for the beach bag or for anytime unwinding. I almost gave the story 5 stars, I think the last portions of it could have involved "more" which was the only reason I haven't. Better than most modern novels. I especially liked her take on "Amber". I do substitute teaching sometimes, once in awhile I pick up a "young read" in case a student is looking for a reading recommendation or simply because they're simply a good kick back / throw back read! I did want more "resolution" with "Ness" and "Henry" at the end of the story, as a reader. Even if that would of meant them seeing each other as Ness was entering the salon and she was going to a tutoring assignment or something like that; one last descriptor of a character we weren't exactly sure about throughout the story. It was never really certain if "Ness" was self absorbed or some other quality, although there is some understanding at to how the couple exists in theory at the end of the book. Wildcard scapegoat perhaps? Depends of Lui's background, if there were to be a sequel, and writing approach I suppose. It's interesting the boundaries authors put up for their characters perhaps without even realizing it, something I thought about after a recent read where there didn't seem to be the, "this, but not that" and other such rules for character creations. With this one she can be errand runner, she can be a spreadsheet maker, she can even zip the dress of an elite, but the rule seems to have been, it stops there. Perfect love sort "skip stepped" confirmed my real life notions as to the dynamics with that early in the story that as to what was being developed that it just can never be. Of course, we (readers) love "Ella" many students have a little bit of "Ella" in them. That part of the ending I did like, a very "Ella-esk -esque action, maybe the drawing was the only "real" haunting that occurred in the story. You can find my short stories on Amazon Kindle.

I'm giving it 5 stars because of the talent in the writing, it's a page turner. A quick read which is smartly written. Absolutely no "story lag" which I can't state 100% about any other read. Strong environment creation. The character development was strong, even "raw", a little too much for my personal liking, but perhaps that was the author's way of letting the reader really getting to know the characters... really. I liked the "lists" in the story, and the actual nature of humans which surface when survival and instinct becomes relevant which show strongly in "Ruth" and "Danny" at various moments in the read. The characters were written completely "unguarded" as to their "lives", which has made me question my own approach in fiction writing I have done (short stories) as to have I created character "guardrails"? I'll likely read all his novels at some point. I liked his take on trees, woods, and nature, even small details such as insect response... all that was interesting. When the reader is analyzing grocery lists and recipes specific to a character then I'd say a character was "made" which has some interest, probably you'll be doing that if you read this one. Rural people, don't "lemon zest" pasta, which I guess is besides the point of the story itself, lol. The decisions with doubt even to the characters themselves seem like a "recipe" for total loss, then things go back into alignment and there seems to be some optimism again, that occurs several times throughout the story line, except for with a couple male characters who decide they are confident of their actions plan who make adjustments along the way, but give no indication that will be.. he does leave the reader with some peace at the end. I have no idea how "Ruth" was changed to be the daughter when this was made for film what I read online about that, to me she seems like an integral part of the story as wife of one of the two couples. I'm surprised at the amount of one star reviews, maybe my reading preferences are different from other people which I hadn't been aware of. I rate it the best modern era novel I've read, I read past era lit. 1890 to mid-century commonly because I think the quality lacks in the writing of many current era novels. It might be a matter of preference as to which stories are actually about "nothing" something which was referred to in low reviews, I often say that about books and movies, I think this novel is about plenty of something. That being stated I do think the audience who it's catered to is the 40 and older group which might account for some of the lower reviews and maybe some other life dynamics of the reader ones who have navigated through life a bit, something like that. I found the flow of the narration to be very smooth , again reading style preferences maybe. What does confuses me now based on some of the reviews is what actually is considered quality written fiction, I bought my copy new and at what I think is a very low price, that's not very encouraging as someone who has been an "on and off" aspiring author. I'd like to state something as to what makes each character interesting, none of them really are "all that" alone, except for maybe "Rose", it must be a collective group thing which makes that. I don't even know why "G.H" needs to be there, how'd he become a structural pillar of the story, he's just sort of "there"..

O'Henry is my favorite author. Some of his stories are more clever than others. The first 3 short stories in, "Roads of Destiny" are exceptional in my opinion. I discovered this author on 9/9/2023 when I got a second hand book ("Options") containing a series of his short stories. Based on what I'm seeing in reading more of his authored works all "books" with his writing are compilations of short stories he wrote and not full length novels. I'm moving around in reading in his "books", the stories in the beginning of each seem to be the best. Some themes he sort of repeats in a way between stories, I like the "love story" about an artist and musician in, "A Service of Love" in the book, "The Four Million", more than, "The Gift of the Magi". They both showcase the sort of things people might do regarding someone they love, depending on the couple. He's so "real" in how he records life in many ways through fiction, I like the personalities he creates, hard to pick a favorite one, "The Skylight Room" that's another interesting one, also in the book, "The Four Million". "She wasn't meant for the skylight room". In some of his stories he creates very vivid environments and he does it using very few descriptions. I some stories he wrote when the words don't seem to flow that well you sort of need to think of how broken English sounds as a language or street slang, unless you're a lit. major or something like that. The stories probably aren't, "global" for that reason, the same reason why stories using "old English" can be a little struggled for me as a reader, I can't exactly always "place the voice" because I haven't been around that sort of speech. He's sort of a "working class" author of a past era, you'll need to keep that in mind to get the most out of reading his stories. There's actually quite a bit of "working class" carryover speech still today that was used back then, not all, but some. I'm enjoying, "Postscripts", newspaper and mag. story compilations of his, I don't think all the "takeaways" necessarily translate that well in this era, there seems to be a need for certain "street knowledge" 3/4th's of the way through 1800's which isn't known all that well now for a "full read" of that book.

As someone who has done public school substitute teaching I think this is a great addition for teachers to consider reading to their classrooms, if allowed to outside of the designated curriculum. A simple way of explaining how a butterfly comes to be with stunning artwork illustrations. As a classroom reading addition it may bring the love of learning about nature and the sciences to students, as well as the visual arts. The artwork in the book can be enjoyed and appreciated for any age, STUNNING! I give it an A+! I'd like to see more, "quality books" in the classroom. In my opinion, not all of them are, not in concept or in artwork illustrations. I started searching for that on my own as a teacher after noticing it's an improvement area needed in education, an opinion based assessment of mine. I think sometimes low quality material can be discouraging on an interest and motivation level for young readers, teacher passion level for the literary arts may also be a factor. It would be very difficult if we had to pick a favorite out of the entire butterfly classification, wouldn't it be? I love many of them although I am particularly fond of the, "owl" and the "luna". I'm in favor of the evolutionary anti-predator defense hypothesis in regards to "eyes" in some of the butterfly markings, which of course we see in the "owl".