Official Review: Just Give Me a Soft Place to Land

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Standor5865
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Official Review: Just Give Me a Soft Place to Land

Post by Standor5865 »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Just Give Me a Soft Place to Land" by Judy Condon.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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"Every woman, having experienced and survived their own painful journey, had developed a deep sense of compassion and understanding for the others. There was no longer anything shared in the group that would surprise the others or had not been heard before. These women exemplified the depth of some of the strongest emotions in life be they joy, anger, pain, or love." - Page 217.

Just Give Me a Soft Place to Land by Judy Condon takes us through the lives of three women, Beth, Caroline, and Sarah, in the 80s as they find solace in their friendship, which developed from their engagements in knitting, after everything they had been through and were still going through in life. Beth, having suffered a great loss at the age of sixteen and experienced abandonment by her loved ones, was suffering nightmares. Sarah, having suffered her own loss at a young age, was struggling with breaking out of her husband's shadow and becoming her own woman. Meanwhile, Caroline was living in fear since her husband's psychological issues made him dangerous to her. Together, these women would form a bond that would help them confront their past and present issues and provide them with a soft place to land.

Besides the theme of friendship, the book also explores themes of self-discovery, family influences, finding happiness, and love, and we are taken through these themes in a way that highlights several issues that women have been facing, so there are a lot of lessons for readers to pick up here.

Most of the story takes place in one scene, which is the loft the main characters meet to knit and discuss on Wednesdays and share their life experiences that drive the story. Therefore, the book is mostly dialogue. While I looked forward to other scenes exploring the main characters' lives outside their meetings and didn't get much of that, which was a dislike for me, their rich life experiences drove the story adequately and kept me interested throughout. I found it very easy to relate to most of what the women were going through, especially as they attached a lot of importance to painting a happy picture to outsiders before they found each other.

I liked that the author effectively displayed what the times were like through the characters. We get to see how Beth's father's participation in World War II meant that he wasn't around in the first few years of her life and how it affected her relationship with him. We also get to see the different stereotypes that constrained men and women in that time. The book is a very emotional read, as Judy Condon does a great job at conveying the characters' emotions to the reader, putting you directly in their shoes to feel their pain, loss, victories, and even the support they received from each other.

I found a few errors in the book, but they were all in the dialogue, so I could not count them. However, the book seemed like it was professionally edited to me. The main shortcoming for me was how tedious it was reading through the story consisting of just dialogue. Including some other scenes to show the characters' experiences outside their meetings would have helped in this area. I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars due to the complaint I discussed. Readers who are going through difficult times in life can learn a thing or two from the characters' support for each other. Historical fiction lovers will also enjoy this book.

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Just Give Me a Soft Place to Land
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El_limitless
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Post by El_limitless »

Friendships that provide safe spaces to all parties is the best kind of human connection to have after a great family. I love the theme of this story. Great review.
Mevin Nyamache
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Post by Mevin Nyamache »

The book is good it brings out the theme friendship that brings goodies to both sides no matter what the situation is, it's so impressing to read.
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Morphinbeast
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Post by Morphinbeast »

Friendship is more over than we think. Here we can see such friendship, whatever the situation came they are with each others and get some solutions and learn from them
how to get rid off from any situation with our friends together.
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Pallavi Lakra
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Post by Pallavi Lakra »

Sounds like an appealing read to understand from the ladies longtime friendship. Thanks for the review.
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Kavita Shah
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Post by Kavita Shah »

The knitting group meeting will enrich the readers with experience and lessons. It's like peeking into a room filled with tales of the past. Thank you for a wonderful review!
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Post by Natrah Mohd »

This book about friendship, family relation, happiness and also about love.
Athira MG
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Post by Athira MG »

A very simple, well - written review. You have not overcomplicated the story line, but have included all the necessary details. The book sounds excellent as well. I will definitely be giving the book a shot.
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Becca Olsson
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Post by Becca Olsson »

This sounds heart-warming and I’m glad the women have each other to lean on me hen life gets difficult. Thanks for the great review!
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Urvashi Tripathi
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Post by Urvashi Tripathi »

The cover of this book is looking so cute and going with the plot. I'll love to read about friendship between women's who all are having difficult life. Thank you for your amazing review.
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AntonelaMaria
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Post by AntonelaMaria »

I was interested in the story until I read the part about only the dialogue and one scene. That is confusing to me. I rather like the balance between descriptive writing and dialogue. Great and informative review. Good job.
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OTrain D
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Post by OTrain D »

These three different women seems to be brought together by what they have in common—their brokennnes and vulnerability. I think it is a soothing book that will leave other readers understanding that they are not alone in whatever they are going through. Because review. Congratulations on BOTD!
Nwadinso Okoro
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Post by Nwadinso Okoro »

The book involves friendship and self-discovery. I love how the author expressed effectively the emotions of the character. Beth is an interesting character, and I would love to read the book.
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Timothy Rucinski
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Post by Timothy Rucinski »

I read the first several pages, and this type of story is not of any interest to me, so I'll take a pass. Nevertheless, best of luck to the author, and congratulations on earning BOTD.
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Tars
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Post by Tars »

I have associative thinking kind of mind and in this case connotations are all wrong. The song "A Soft Place to Fall" by Allison Moorer brings such sadness to my heart, mind you not slight and bright type, that it is impossible to concentrate on anything over this aching. Apologies, I will have to pass this book, but still congratulations on BOTD!
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