I’ve been really wanting to feel totally engrossed in some fiction for a while now. Re-scanning the list of books I read last summer, I noticed that there were quite a few fiction selections that I really enjoyed. One of them was We Are Called To Rise, which brings together many stories around the same central event. When I saw that Friendswood alleged to follow the same path, it seemed like a no-brainer pick!
Friendswood opens with the vague knowledge that something happened in this town, and it was environmental and caused some issues in the town. It is pretty slow building- I knew the basic premise of the event because I read the description, but it wasn’t obvious from the beginning. In fact, I noticed I was more than 75% of the way through before it felt like it started to pick up at all, and even then…nothing was particularly shocking or surprising. I wanted a little more of a payoff- I suppose that comparing it to We Are Called To Rise was perhaps a bit unfair because of how much I enjoyed that book and how artfully it weaves together different stories, but I didn’t think it was an entirely unreasonable request. The ending felt, to be honest, a little bit rushed and maybe even a little lazy. Some plot points were opened and not revisited and there was no huge climactic scene. I did love that you saw the story from a few different perspectives and LOVED the overlap in personal stories, so it was a structurally sound book at the very least, but not the most compelling I’ve read.
In all, the book was fine. I feel as though I’m reading a bunch of “fine” books lately and that’s okay, but I can’t tell if I’m picking poorly or if I’ve become way more in tune with what I actually find to be good since I’m always reading something new or if I just am setting an unreasonable expectation for my book choices. There are still some weeks left of summer- I’m hoping something in the next few weeks brings something more gripping to my poolside lounging.
You’ll like this if: I mean, you’ll like it if you liked We Are Called To Rise, but probably not as much.
Happy reading!
carlyreads 