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Aug 11, 2016jmli rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
Actual rating: 2.25 stars (I made it up to page 164 and stopped.) When I first picked up this book, the plot and premise really intrigued me. I was anticipating for a great story, but as the story dragged on, it made me weary. The beginning part, when Elsie was still on the farm, was rather likeable for me. I actually really enjoyed the screenplay-like format for the dialogue. Things were straightforward and easy to follow up with. Then, things started going in different directions. Right when Elsie and Tom and Shalom's trip began, the story began to bore me. This was supposed to be the journey, but I wasn't interested. Shalom's constant Yiddish vocabulary was really annoying, and the author began inserting way too many references and allusions. It became harder to read and less enjoyable for me. So, overall, there was a great proposition for this story, but the writing was incapable of living up to it. Rather disappointing.