Helpful Score: 4
A lot of quirky charm but ultimately unsatisfying.
Helpful Score: 4
This book was good from start to finish. Truly isn't your typical heroine and I think that is why I was drawn to her story. Larger than average, but with normal dreams and aspirations, Truly went through life expecting nothing and getting nothing, until she took her destiny into her own hands. The author's way with words made the story believable, from the magical parts to the unexpected parts to the surprise ending. Favorite passage: The reason that the two of us were as opposite as sewage and spring water, was that pretty can't exist without ugly.
Helpful Score: 3
I really liked this book.I cant wait to read the next book by this author.You could really sympathize with Truly the main character.She is not the average size of a normal human being.She cant understand why she is like this.She has to make her own clothes because normal clothes wont fit her.Everyone makes fun of her.Her father resents her and doesnt pay attention to her while her sister gets all the attention.She then marries a doctor who tries to figure out why she is like this but he is not nice to her and she ends up betraying him at the end.She then learns about different herbs and remedies and tries them on her self.Other people soon come looking for her to help them. If you get a chance read this book.You will enjoy it she also finds the quilt which help her make the potions she needs to help cure people
Helpful Score: 3
Fascinating story. Spellbound.
Helpful Score: 2
A friend recommend this book to me and I have to say I rather enjoyed it. It was well written and the story moved along at a steady pace. The only fault I could find with it was that the author mentioned the fact that the title character was a giant a few to many times. The story begins with the past and weaves it way to the present and recounts the life of Truly and her friends and members of the small town she lives in. In a way it is a sad recounting of a persons life and the twists that happen in her life that created the person she is at the end of the story. The characters are mean, spiteful, bitter people who can not look beyond their own reflection and when you think they are beyond redemption there is a glimmer of hope. In the end the bad people get what they deserve and the good people get what they deserve. But, it isn't necessarily what they all wanted from life. Overall I enjoyed the book and found it to be a delightful well thought out insightful book into human nature and what people will do for love and acceptance.
Helpful Score: 2
This book is very well-written, with robust and unique characters in the vein of John Irving and rich descriptive prose reminiscent of Sue Monk Kidd. I enjoyed the book very much, even after the story took a dark turn.
Helpful Score: 2
This is a great book. When Truely was born, she was a giant baby. Her mother died at her birth leaving Truely and her sister who is 2 years older and a natural beuty to the care of a father who was not good at raising 2 little girls alone. As Truely grew older, she also kept growing to proportions way beyond normal. The girls attend a one room school house with a very strick teacher. Things go well for Truely's sister and bad for Truely. She is the brunt of jokes and eventually even shunned by her sister. Truely grows so large, she can only fit into very large men's clothing. The characters are very well developed and the story is unique. Add in some witch craft and you have a great story.
Helpful Score: 2
The life story of this novels heroine, Truly, is one of hardships, death and misunderstanding. Despite her obstacles, she manages to grow up to be a kind, hard-working person with a good moral conscience. She looses both of her parents early in life, and shortly after, she finds herself permanently separated from her sister, who is her only remaining family member.
Truly finds a good life with a poor family in town, and helps out on their farm while attending the local school. As as adult, her life takes a turn and she finds herself the caretaker of the small town doctors home and his child, Bobbie. Her relationship with Bobbie is one of my favorites throughout the novel. The novel spans most of Trulys lifetime, and much of Bobbies as well.
There is enchantment, mystery and unexpected romance in the last two parts of the book that part one of the story just didnt seem to possess. Its well worth reading through the first part to reap the rewards of the rest of the novel.
Truly finds a good life with a poor family in town, and helps out on their farm while attending the local school. As as adult, her life takes a turn and she finds herself the caretaker of the small town doctors home and his child, Bobbie. Her relationship with Bobbie is one of my favorites throughout the novel. The novel spans most of Trulys lifetime, and much of Bobbies as well.
There is enchantment, mystery and unexpected romance in the last two parts of the book that part one of the story just didnt seem to possess. Its well worth reading through the first part to reap the rewards of the rest of the novel.
Helpful Score: 2
I am still mulling this book over. Very odd but extremely intriguing. I do think the accolades for this new author are a bit over the top. Certainly worth a read but not if you are looking for something uplifting. Sort of felt like I was reading someones Creative Writing assignment. Hard not to finish it once you get into it although I was tempted many times.
Helpful Score: 2
I found this book interesting from the very first page! It totally held my interest and kept me reading late into the night. If you like books by Anne Tyler and Ellizabeth Berg, then I think you'll enjoy this as well.
Helpful Score: 1
The cover is what draws you to this book, but the story of Truly Plaice is what keeps you turning the pages.
Truly is put forth as part behemoth, part witch, part Cinderella. When her mother was carrying her, their small town took bets as to what the size of this baby boy was going to be, but the surprise was on them when a larger than life girl was born. Small towns seem to garner small minds which caused a rather painful childhood for Truly who had to live in the shadow of her older sisters beauty.
When Serena unexpectedly vanishes, Truly finds herself taking care of her nephew in the house of her brother in law Doctor Robert Morgan, a former childhood tormentor, who now continues to subject her to criticism and medical experiments. But she loves her nephew Bobbie and because of that love, she will put up with whatever Bob-Bob Morgan can come up with.
Though the book takes place in the early 1960's, the issues that Truly faces are very much current day topics - war, euthanasia and the most important, what is beauty. Truly, with her band of misfits leads a rather unique life, a life that in it's way is very fulfilling, even with it's potholes and disappointments, Truly is inspiring.
To me, this book had a slight fairytale feel, you had the good, the bad, the evil and the ugly. They just weren't necessarily who you thought they would be when you first started reading the book.
Truly is put forth as part behemoth, part witch, part Cinderella. When her mother was carrying her, their small town took bets as to what the size of this baby boy was going to be, but the surprise was on them when a larger than life girl was born. Small towns seem to garner small minds which caused a rather painful childhood for Truly who had to live in the shadow of her older sisters beauty.
When Serena unexpectedly vanishes, Truly finds herself taking care of her nephew in the house of her brother in law Doctor Robert Morgan, a former childhood tormentor, who now continues to subject her to criticism and medical experiments. But she loves her nephew Bobbie and because of that love, she will put up with whatever Bob-Bob Morgan can come up with.
Though the book takes place in the early 1960's, the issues that Truly faces are very much current day topics - war, euthanasia and the most important, what is beauty. Truly, with her band of misfits leads a rather unique life, a life that in it's way is very fulfilling, even with it's potholes and disappointments, Truly is inspiring.
To me, this book had a slight fairytale feel, you had the good, the bad, the evil and the ugly. They just weren't necessarily who you thought they would be when you first started reading the book.
Helpful Score: 1
It's 1953 in a small town in NY state and a giant sized baby girl is born. This is the story of life in a small town , the lives we are sometimes forced to live and the choices we sometimes have to make. Wonderful charachters highlight this tale of families and their legends.
Helpful Score: 1
If you read and like "The Secret Life of Bees" you will like this one.
Helpful Score: 1
I found something very disquieting about this story. I think the premise was good, a female child, Truly born with an untreated hormone disorder that causes her to grow from a huge baby to an even huger adult. She also has an older sister who is perfectly proportioned and beautiful. She grows up in a small town and has a huge range of experiences, and finally comes into her own in a neat, tidy ending. As I read, I often felt irritated and impatient, rolling my inner eyes at fantastical stretches of imagination that just did not add up, or behavior that was not age appropriate for a character. In spite of the fact that this story started in 1953, the descriptions of the town and especially the one room schoolhouse did not ring true to that time. This was rural New York in the 60's, a one room school house for her youth AND her nephews? That is a stretch... I felt this book was weighed down with stereotypes also. Just about every character was one or became one. I thought it was a rather depressing story, and though I usually enjoy stories about unusual people, this one just did not ring true. A story has to be at least somewhat believable to be credible, and this was not. Sorry.
Helpful Score: 1
Captivating. A different story but held me to it. You can relate to the characters, because of the authors writing is so beleivable. This is in my opinion a well thought out novel & written so beautiful. "Truly" a grand book, a little quirky but all in all too good to pass up.
Helpful Score: 1
enough forshadowing to predict the plot turns. all together an enjoyable read, not outstanding.
Helpful Score: 1
Charming book that reminded me a bit of The Giant's House. You will enjoy it and it will make you smile.
Andrew H. (blacktoastintolerate) reviewed The Little Giant of Aberdeen County on + 18 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I thought this was a great story. I really felt for Truly throughout the book and wondered just how much more she could stand. The really sad part of this book is just easily those with little self confidence can be taken advantage of. Big as a house and meek as a mouse!I loved the ending! Without being a spoiler I'll just say that I was glad that she found a little of she had deserved all of her life.
Took a while to get into - almost abandoned it. Glad I stuck with it - very good read, deeper than it seems at first. Enjoy!
Just finished reading this. It is a treasure!!! I highly recommend it. A part of Truly, the main character, is a part of me. What Truly had to put up with for being physically different, the nerve of people telling her right to her face what they thought she was. A lot of heartless remarks she had to deal with. Despite everything that had happened to her, she had her own philosophy to keep herself together to overcome other people's cruelty. She had a lot of cruelty thrown at her too. In the end, her spirit had grown for her to survive.
There was so much about this one that I loved. The writing was beautiful, the characters were very well developed, and the story was captivating. I had actually been eying this one for a while and never got around to it. But I'm glad that I was finally given the chance to read it.
There's so many great things about this book that in trying to write this review I don't really know where to start. The main character is so great. Truly's life is so extraordinary, and yet so simple. The events that occur in her everyday life are really so normal. There are just a few events that cause her life to be so different.
The main characters were so well written that I was able to connect with them all. I could understand what they were all going through and why they choose the paths that they took. While my emotional attachment in this one was with Truly, I had a great understand of what they were all feeling.
In addition to the great characters the story was very well written also. While it was definitely larger than life none of it was unbelievable. This story is really something that I could see happening in any town in America.
With this one I could go on and on forever, as it was just a great book. I guess that's the best way to sum it up: Truly a great book!
There's so many great things about this book that in trying to write this review I don't really know where to start. The main character is so great. Truly's life is so extraordinary, and yet so simple. The events that occur in her everyday life are really so normal. There are just a few events that cause her life to be so different.
The main characters were so well written that I was able to connect with them all. I could understand what they were all going through and why they choose the paths that they took. While my emotional attachment in this one was with Truly, I had a great understand of what they were all feeling.
In addition to the great characters the story was very well written also. While it was definitely larger than life none of it was unbelievable. This story is really something that I could see happening in any town in America.
With this one I could go on and on forever, as it was just a great book. I guess that's the best way to sum it up: Truly a great book!
I loved this book. I got it out of the library, then had to get my own copy because I loved it so much. It is a family/ town saga - complete with the town legends, which makes it sort of gothic. It is not a romance, more like a John Irving novel -- sort of fantasy in places. Reminded me of "The Monsters of Templeton", which I also loved. A very inventive and imaginative book. It was great!
This is a truly remarkable debut novel. There are astounding similarities to John Irving, one of my favorite authors. It is the story of a very large girl, Truly, with an unusually beautiful sister. When they become orphaned, they are separated because the beautiful sister is claimed by a woman who wants only the attractive sister. Their fates are inextricably intertwined in a set of bizarre, mystical events that end in a riveting conclusion. I highly recommend this book and look forward to reading more by Tiffany Baker.
Very enjoyable. At first I thought it might be moving too slowly, but there was a lot of information. About midway the pace was more my style and I was hooked the rest of the way through the book.
A large girl and her larger life.
This book was very good but slow at times. I enjoyed the story and could identify with the characters. The ending was a little predictable, but still worth the read! I rate 4.5 stars.
I liked it but other members of book group really liked it. We had a pretty good discussion about Truly's relationship with the doctor, her friend, Amelia, and her eventual lover Marcus. Truly is a memorable character and I loved her voice. I enjoyed the author's use of language. I think my personal stumbling blocks were the fact that the town's doctor, teacher, and preacher's wife were the "bad guys" this time around.
Outstanding novel about a young woman whose physical attributes make her an outsider in her community. Not at all the poor-fat-girl-gets-thin story I was expecting, but a real and beautifully crafted story with characters that blossom off the page.
I kept thinking this would get better, but it did keep me reading it.
I don't know why I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would have. The plot is a good one: A girl keeps growing and growing, causing her to be ostracized from a very young age. Forced under a particular set of circumstances to move in and take care of one of her lifelong bullies is a tough pill to swallow, but she does it. Later on, this bully and others that turned their noses up at Truly, will need favors from her. Somewhere along the way, however, the story lost its magic for me. I kept reading on just hoping to finally get to the last page and be done with it. Could make for a good movieâ¦
Good Story.
For some reason I just could not get into reading this book. It didn't grab my attention.
Not impressed at all.................
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