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Small Damages (2012)

by Beth Kephart(Favorite Author)

3.52 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0399257489 (ISBN13: 9780399257483)

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Philomel

review 1: I’ve picked this book because of the article on hellogiggle.com. It was highly recommended as a summer read. After all, it takes place in Spain, a perfect summer destination. I didn’t like it. It felt stuffy and nothing actually happened. Kenzie, still grieving her father, is shipped of to Spain by her mother when she gets pregnant. The baby’s father leaves her to deal with the situation herself. Her mother tries to desperately move on with her life after her husband passing. The situation with Kenzie’s friends is also complicated because one of her best friends had feelings for the baby daddy, so her relationship with Kenzie is strained and Kanzie doesn’t feel like she can even tell her about what’s going on. Her mother doesn’t want anyone to know that her d... moreaughter will be a teenage mom so she sends her to Spain and Kanzie is supposed to give baby up for the adoption.I didn’t like Kenzie at all. At one point in the book, she says she is seen as constantly pissed off – I agree with that so much. She is 18, though. She had a difficult year and doesn’t have support in her mother or friends. But she was so passive, it hurt to read. She finds a family in Spain, with people who are also broken. In the end, she makes a decision for herself, though.The book is written is a poetic, dream-like style. Not my cup of tea, but it was still a quick read.
review 2: This is a gorgeous book--a prose poem, lyric and sensual, and searching. There's yearning, there's love, there's a beautiful, restless yet sturdy and wise cast of characters--mostly adults and one young man who guard the narrator--Kenzie--the young woman struggling to accept the indelible impact of her actions. Kenzie lives in an ocean of memories--recent and more distant and these visions wash over her present. This aspect of time and timelessness saturates the story. Emotions gain traction with each sentence moving forward, a gathering of heart that takes you to the final, riveting end. The descriptions of landscape and food, weather, and sky will take your breath away. Everything happens in a remote town outside of Seville, Spain. I didn't want this novel to end. What a supremely gifted writer and storyteller. less

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