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A review by brandypainter
Beth and Amy by Virginia Kantra
5.0
CW: eating disorders
I LOVED this so much more than I thought I would as I was hesitant about how this one was going to turn out in a modern setting. Unexpectedly, Beth was the reason this is now a beloved read for me. I love the way her story is updated. Her overwhelming anxiety for life manifesting itself the way it does in this book is so very real and perfectly portrayed. It is clear Kantra knows what she's talking about when it comes to disordered thoughts on food and the behaviors that go along with it. Watching Beth's struggles with all of this through the entirety of the novel is difficult but so rewarding. She has so much more personality here than the original gave her. Her thoughts about keeping this one thing for herself that belongs to her and not her sisters moves her out of the unrelateable sainthood category and makes her a real woman with real struggles. Her character arc is great, and I love where she is by the end. It's so realistic.
Amy's story is also well-rendered. I've always been an Amy fan. Adult Amy in the original is awesome, and she is awesome here too. How she tries to balance her artistry, her ambitions, and her need for her family is complicated, but she meets the challenges like the boss she is. Her relationship with Trey was mostly developed well, even if Trey himself as a character was not. I don't know if this is due to Kantra writing male characters in the first person rather than the third as she has always done in the past, but Trey just wasn't as fully defined and real as most of her other male characters in books are. Not being able to be in his head made some of his choices seem plot driven rather than character driven. I just felt like I never got a good handle on WHY Amy was so far gone for him because he never fully came alive for me. (Also, I still hate that his name is Trey.) However, I loved loved loved the way Amy handled him and their relationship and the resolution they got.
Finally, Abbie gets a lot more page time in this book, and she is also amazing. I wanted desperately for her to be as happy as her daughters, and I appreciate where Kantra took her story.
This is excellent, and whether or not your a fan of the original, you should read it. (If you're a dyed-in-the-wool Amy hater, this book may not be for you though.)
I LOVED this so much more than I thought I would as I was hesitant about how this one was going to turn out in a modern setting. Unexpectedly, Beth was the reason this is now a beloved read for me. I love the way her story is updated. Her overwhelming anxiety for life manifesting itself the way it does in this book is so very real and perfectly portrayed. It is clear Kantra knows what she's talking about when it comes to disordered thoughts on food and the behaviors that go along with it. Watching Beth's struggles with all of this through the entirety of the novel is difficult but so rewarding. She has so much more personality here than the original gave her. Her thoughts about keeping this one thing for herself that belongs to her and not her sisters moves her out of the unrelateable sainthood category and makes her a real woman with real struggles. Her character arc is great, and I love where she is by the end. It's so realistic.
Amy's story is also well-rendered. I've always been an Amy fan. Adult Amy in the original is awesome, and she is awesome here too. How she tries to balance her artistry, her ambitions, and her need for her family is complicated, but she meets the challenges like the boss she is. Her relationship with Trey was mostly developed well, even if Trey himself as a character was not. I don't know if this is due to Kantra writing male characters in the first person rather than the third as she has always done in the past, but Trey just wasn't as fully defined and real as most of her other male characters in books are. Not being able to be in his head made some of his choices seem plot driven rather than character driven. I just felt like I never got a good handle on WHY Amy was so far gone for him because he never fully came alive for me. (Also, I still hate that his name is Trey.) However, I loved loved loved the way Amy handled him and their relationship and the resolution they got.
Finally, Abbie gets a lot more page time in this book, and she is also amazing. I wanted desperately for her to be as happy as her daughters, and I appreciate where Kantra took her story.
This is excellent, and whether or not your a fan of the original, you should read it. (If you're a dyed-in-the-wool Amy hater, this book may not be for you though.)