Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to read and review this ARC. Full review to be found on Goodreads and on my website.

2 stars

A family with three generations of unhappy women.

This was a backlist NetGalley title that didn’t work out for me. I usually love books that focus on female main characters, especially family stories involving multiple generations of women. I can handle sad stories — I actually love having a good book cry every now and then, and I generally enjoy connecting with characters going through tough times and hardships. However, I have to have some sort of investment in the characters and care about them somehow first for the sadness to impact me and this just wasn’t the case with this novel. I didn’t care for any of the characters. The storyline was slow and depressing and I found myself bored and wanting to speed up the audiobook to get through it. I was curious enough to continue on and see how things came together but even the ending was lacklustre. Even though I didn’t connect with any characters, I wanted to feel a sense of hope for them and even that didn’t happen.

Overall, a complete miss for me. Not sure if this authors writing just isn’t for me or maybe it was a one-off with this particular storyline.

Audio rating: 2 stars. The narrator didn’t make this depressing story any more enjoyable.

Thank you to the publisher for my review copy! Thank you to my lovely local library for the audio loan!

RATING: 4 STARS
2018; Simon & Schuster Canada
(Review Not on Blog)

This is my first novel by Jean Thompson and it will not be my last. I already have a few titles in mind. "A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl is a poignant novel about three generations of the Wise family—Evelyn, Laura, and Grace—as they hunt for contentment amid chaos of their own making." (Amazon) What I loved about this novel, is that we see how each woman tries to live her life on her own terms within the era setting they were living in. While at times the characters - primary and secondary- can appear unlikable they are also well written and realistic, in my opinion. This is an engaging and well-written novel and I highly recommended.

***I received an eARC from NETGALLEY***

Three generations, grandmother, daughter and granddaughter. It tells of terminal illness, addiction and love, how the family copes. Th femalesand seem to feel the need to be the caregivers, despite it not always being encouraged by the male counterparts. The writing is extrodinary and, a page turner, partly because she developers the character in slow but detailed descriptions. Thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.

3+ stars

A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl is the third novel I read in a short time span dealing with the generational divide between millennials and baby boomers. The two others were Unsheltered and Boomer1. Each one of them had a heavy bleak undertone. This was not exception. The writing was good, but it was hard to like these self-pitying self-destructive characters. In the face of a real crisis, they seem to make all the wrong decisions.

This was monthly read with Angela and Diane. I’m long overdue with my review. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an opportunity to read an advance copy.

A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl is about a young woman named Grace fighting the fate of living a life filled with regrets like her mother and grandmother did.

We all have a little dysfunction in our family, but I felt that the unhappiness in A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl felt exaggerated, and overwhelming. The writing itself is beautiful, and I know a lot of readers that love this kind of narrative. It just wasn't for me. I'm discovering that I'm very picky about the women's lit that I like.

There are big themes in this story: heartbreak, marriage, family dysfunction, alcoholism, drug abuse, death, grief, mortality. I didn't feel a connection to any of the characters, and had a really hard time remembering who was who. This isn't for the readers who like a fast-moving plot, or surprises and action. It's a slow-burn, introspective novel that will make you think of your own mother, and whether you are like her.

Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for the complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.

I’m giving 3 stars because of the writing, which I thought was well done. But, unfortunately, I did not connect with any of the characters. I love drama and the premises sounded very promising, but the story of 3 generations of very sad women did not touched me. I expected a lot more.

I'm sad to admit it, but I DNF'd this book. I'm not in the habit of DNF'ing ARCs (this is the first one where I've done so), but I made it 50% into the novel and I simply didn't care for any of the characters.

I understood and liked the premise: it follows three generations of women - Evelyn, Laura, and Grace - and their lives as they navigate love, marriage, family, and social and familial expectations. It made me think about my own mother and grandmother, and their own lives in this same sort of way. And of the three women, Grace probably resounded the most with me.

That said, I didn't really care or connect with Laura and Evelyn. When emotional events occur, no doubt where I am supposed to sympathize, I couldn't honestly bring myself to care. I felt very detached from Evelyn especially. She and Laura do some really awful things, and my disinterest in them as characters made it difficult for me to justify or approve their actions.

Sadly, this book just wasn't for me.

This story sucked me in from the very beginning. Evelyn, Laura & Grace were the best characters I’ve read about in a book in a very long time.

Three generations. Three very different stories. Evelyn wasn’t the best of mothers and Laura was the exact opposite. Grace, well , maybe she’ll get to tell her story one day, aside from taking over the care of her father & brother when needed.

This story made me laugh, it made me angry, it made me cry, numerous times. My emotions were all over the place as I related to each of the female characters.

This book is very well written and the story is not to be ignored. Every daughter, mother & grandmother should read it.

Disclaimer: I was given a free advance copy from NetGalley in return for my honest review.

A Cloud in the Shape of a Girl, by Jean Thompson, examines the lives of three generations of women and how they were shaped by the boundaries placed on them by society. As the family saga unfurls the reader is caught up in the drama of terminal illness, addictions and love affairs – all themes we have read about countless times before. Yet Thompson captures something enigmatic about these ordinary people living ordinary lives that keeps the reader glued to the page as each of the three main characters reflect on how they have chosen to respond to the circumstances of their life.
A satisfying and fulfilling read.

I received a free copy of this ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A well written and insightful look at the lives of three generations of rather unhappy women. I appreciated the hopefulness of the ending.

A little confusing in Part Two, Chapter III when Dr. Chang twice refers to Laura as Mrs. Asmussen rather than Mrs Arnold. A typo, one assumes.