This book follows three generations of women and their unique struggles to make their way in a male dominated world. Some of the struggles are more overt and some are quietly pervasive, but they are all impactful and glaring. I did enjoy this book, but I found myself feeling like it was a bit too "on the nose" and perhaps trying too hard, as some portions came off as cliche. The characters weren't easy for me to relate to, which may have contributed to the disconnect. Overall, I think there are feminist reads that made more of an impression on me, but there wasn't any one thing I can really say was "wrong" with this one.

What a beautiful book about mothers and daughters, music, queerness, home. I loved how this novel explores how much people change over time, how even the most fundamental things about us can change. All of the characters in this are so messy, so fluid, continually discovering themselves. Beautiful, sharp writing.

Unfortunately, this one just didn't do it for me. I've read a lot of "mommy lit" recently and I think there are several other books that just did it better. Zoe Whittall is obviously a very talented writer and she wove a compelling story but I never fell in love with any of the characters (maybe by design?). I think this is a good exploration of the changing expectations about motherhood and the generational shifts that will continue around having/raising kids. I'm definitely going to try out more of Whittall's works in the future.

You will not want this one to end. Three women at a crossroads and wanting to find a new path. The young Missy is stuck in a revolving door of gigs that have lost their luster and have not reached the stage of patina. Carola is living in less than ideal circumstances when she sees her daughter Missy on a cover of a magazine. Ruth is longing for the seaside village of her youth. Missy goes to her grandmother for a moment to sort her life and find her way. Ruth has decided it’s time the women in her family rediscover the wealth of their heritage and the life they need to change before it slips away.

Some mixed feelings on this one, I have to say. Is it bad form of me to say I wish THE SPECTACULAR was a bit more... spectacular? I love Zoe Whittall as an author and television writer, and this premise certainly drew me in, but it left me feeling like there wasn't much else to hold on to. It is character driven for sure, however I felt the characters were drawn a little too two dimensionally, and had a had time making sense of the book's overall thesis.

We start in 1997, where Missy is a cellist (odd choice but I'm down) in a punk rock band that is hitting big and touring the country. She is 20 and coming to terms with her sexuality, as well as the fact that her Mom left her and her dad behind at an intentional commune-type scenario when she was a teen. We also get her point of view, though there isn't much from her to discuss. We also hear a bit from Missy's paternal grandmother, and then fast-forward to 2017 where the estranged mother and daughter reconnect over some life-altering news and a sense that the past needs to be reckoned with. I could see how Whittall's narrative is about the gender revolution in an atypical way, but it just didn't speak to me as much as I had thought it would.

This was a great read. Exploring the lives, problems, and struggles of characters all at different stages in their lives. I loved it! Very interesting and great writing!

This is a multi-generational story about womanhood and changing gender roles. It had the makings for a book I would love but it didn't fully land for some reason. I liked Missy's story the best but I felt like the book petered out by its later chapters.

THE SPECTACULAR follows three women and their respective journeys of sexuality, gender, and motherhood. While a premise I was immediately drawn to, I found the voice to be annoying at times, and wasn't attached to the characters in order to continue reading. Frankly, it wasn't that "spectacular".

Wow what a book! I highly recommend clearing your schedule and curl up with this book and not stopping! It’s a great read.

The story of a mother and daughter separated when Carola, Missy’s mother leaves to join something of a cult. When the novel opens, Missy is a cellist in a Punk Rock Band that is starting to get big. She wants to get her tubes tied but no doctor will perform this surgery given her age. Carola is the center of scandal against the leader of the group that she has been living with for many years.

This is told over many years, Carola having many regrets over leaving her daughter, and Missy forever not wanting to get pregnant until she want’s to get pregnant.

The Spectacular is a very complex story of two women, connected through blood but very different in the way they live their lives. While the author shows two very different lives, they do converge to something very special, how they get these is the best part.

I absolutely loved this one. This genre is completely in my wheelhouse, but these characters are both interesting on their own, but something special together.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballentine Books for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“The Spectacular” was not spectacular, but it was pretty good in the end. The story is rather up and down in terms of quality. If I had not received a copy of the e-book from NetGalley in exchange for a review, I might not have finished the book, but I am glad I did. The story focuses on Juniper/Carola and her daughter Melissa/Missy, although the mother-daughter relationship is rather fraught and fragile, as Carola abandoned her family when Missy was a child, and it would be many years before they were reunited. Even after they are reunited, their relationship is tenuous, as Missy harbors anger at her mother for abandoning her, and Carola is unable to explain, in a satisfactory manner, why she did what she did, in part because she is unwilling to be open, honest, and vulnerable with her daughter.

The book itself is split into three parts, but the transition between "Book One", set in 1997, and "Book Two", set in 2013, is rather disjointed (leaving aside the second part, which is an interlude involving another character, Ruth). At the end of “Book One”, Missy is facing the consequences of her irresponsible actions, including being banned from returning to the United States and finishing the tour with her punk band. “Book Two” starts sixteen years later with Missy a rich and famous musician, married, and living in California, but no explanation of how she reached that point. Some backstory explaining the intervening sixteen years would have been helpful. The book deals with numerous weighty topics -- societal pressure on women to be mothers; abortion; drugs/addiction; mental illness/suicide; pregnancy at advanced maternal age; parent-child relationships; sexual and gender identity (multiple LGBTQ characters); neglect; abandonment, etc.

The best part of the story, in my opinion, is the interlude involving Ruth, who is Carola's mother-in-law and Missy's grandmother. There are also portions of Missy's story and Carola's story that are quite good.

The Spectacular by Zoe Whittall is a thought-provoking meditation on motherhood told across three generations of women - the challenges, the joys, the very question of becoming.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

I didn't love this. Honestly, I guess I wasn't prepared for the book to be so much about motherhood, a subject which holds no allure for me. I wasn't particularly invested in the characters and mostly found their choices to be illogical even within the world of the story. Plus huge story beats, like Tom suddenly committing suicide, were thrown in like they were nothing and barely ever explored. Just a lot of weird writing choices. I did like the queer/trans relationship at the end between Andy and Missy, though.

Thank you to Netgalley for my advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!
The Spectacular takes the reader on a journey through three generations of women's lives. Missy, Carola, and Ruth. The stories dive into the characters inner most thoughts and feelings. However, the only character I connected with was Missy. Ruth and Carola almost felt like afterthoughts to me. I did like how empowered all of the women were and I enjoyed seeing their lives play out. Unfortunately I felt it to be simply medicore.

DNF for me. I cannot deal with a lot of drug and substance abuse in books - especially if that someone is pregnant. I don’t have many triggers, but this is one of the few. I also can tell this will be nothing more than a 3 star, so am going to pass on it for now. Thanks for the opportunity to review, and sorry this one missed the mark for me.

This was my first time to read this author and I really enjoyed this novel and it’s exploration of three women as it covers motherhood, addiction, death and the different choices made in the face of trying to discover yourself.
The first half of the book that followed a young Missy and Carola was a lot more engaging. Missy, the only girl in a punk band in the 90s, and her mother Carola who left her as a young girl. The book is bisected by a very brief story of Ruth's, Missy's grandmother's, journey coming to America, surviving an unhappy and almost abusive marriage, finding love at an older age, and taking control of her life. There are other perspectives shared through the eyes of her mother and grandmother. The writing is a gorgeous depiction of intergenerational trauma.
The story follows the lives of real (fiction) people, and how so very few of our lives actually follow a traditional story plot. While this book has some good transgender representation, I am reluctant to recommend this book as an LGBTQIA+ book since they were only minor elements of the story. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would read this author again.

The Spectacular by Zoe Whittall is truly Spectacular. So engrossing, in fact, that while staying at a resort casino, I chose to stay in my room and read. This was a one sitting read for me. The Spectacular is the story of a grandmother, a mother, and a daughter, their dysfunctional relationships, and their attempts to reunite as a family.

Missy Alamo (aka Melissa) is the foundation of an indie band. Missy left college to tour with the band and hasn't looked back. Her life on the road is music, sex, and drugs, with a lover in every major city. Missy was raised by her father after her mother left them. She hasn't seen her mother in years, and has given up looking for her.

Carola (aka Juniper) is Missy's mother. She grew up in a dysfunctional family where her police officer father was abusive to her long-suffering mother. As an adult, she started a commune with her husband and they had continued living there as Missy was growing up. She tired of the commune life and relationships, and walked away one day without a word.

Ruth is Missy's paternal grandmother. As a child, Ruth barely escaped Turkey as a child when the country was invaded. When Ruth and her husband immigrated to the USA, her husband brought his mistress along on the same ship. Ruth has always wanted to see the relationship between Carola and Missy mended.

I truly enjoyed The Spectacular and would give it 10 stars if I could. I would highly recommend this title to anyone who enjoyed Daisy Jones and the Six, as well as to anyone who enjoys deeper women's fiction.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was invited to review The Spectacular by Zoe Whittall and Ballantine Books. In exchange for a fair review, a free digital copy of the book was provided by Net Galley.

#TheSpectacular#NetGalley#ZoeWhittall#BallantineBooks

This was such a fresh spin on what seems to be a recent spate of novels about singers and bands. All of the characters were wonderfully and sympathetically drawn. I really enjoy family sagas and this novel was squarely within my wheelhouse!

This one had highs and lows for me; overall I enjoyed it, but I had some issues with a few of the characters and story lines. I enjoyed Missy, particularly younger Missy. Carola fell flat for me. I adored Ruth. I would have loved to have heard more about Ruth, honestly, and less about Carola. I thought Missy and Carola's relationship could have been handled differently/better - at times it felt spot on, and other times it just didn't quite feel authentic. In addition, adult Missy didn't really feel like a natural progression from younger Missy - they were more like completely different people. And finally, I honestly was completely turned off by the whole gender identity theme that basically took over the last part of the book. So as I read back through this review, I have to ask myself, "What, exactly, made this three stars?" And I guess I have to say that even given the issues I had with the book, it kept me interested and reading, and there were some great parts scattered in there that made the book worth reading.

Unfortunately, the book did not live up to its name. It did start out strong but the second half of the book somewhat lost it for me. The premise was about three generations of women striving for real freedom. But what does that mean? In this book it came down to children.

One issue that bothered me was the transformation Missy undergoes from the first part of the book to the second. It was a jump in time, but also in her character. We never get the growth, how did it come to be this way?
We don't have much of the oldest generation, the grandma of either parent. Her mother we have some, but it is mostly Missy’s story here, which wasn't very strong throughout.

I got the sense the writer had an agenda with this book, and that made for a weaker read. Perhaps the real freedom wasn't the question of children but sexuality? If so, this book missed the mark on that aspect as well.