One-sentence summary: Twin brothers born out of (and orphaned by) tragedy grow up fostering a fascination with medicine as their lives remain tied to each other no matter their different paths.
B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 8 (unanimous rating)
Our favorite thing about it: We really enjoyed the writing and story-telling of this novel, both of which we thought were top-notch.
Our least favorite thing about it: Some of us disliked the somewhat graphic medical descriptions and situations.
Main Topics of Discussion: Love, Family, Betrayal, Loyalty, Resiliency, Tragedy, Medicine, Ethiopian culture
Our favorite quote: “Not only our actions, but also our omissions, become our destiny.” (p.351)
Notes: We all loved the rich, but not overly wordy writing style of this author. We thought he told the story beautifully and wove everything into an amazing epic tale of these two brothers. There were some incredibly poignant phrases and quotes as well.
We also enjoyed the setting of Ethiopia and the political backdrop of the story. We all agreed that it was not overpowering, but just enough of information to pertain to the story and remain interesting.
The medical situations, themes and information are not only a part of the story but in many ways, they are the story. At least a few of us remarked that we felt like we were watching a compelling medical drama at times. This unique central theme and setting is interesting and novel.
There were a few things that didn’t resonate with us as much. For one thing, the supposed connection between the twins even as babies was a little unbelievable and even annoying at times. We definitely all liked and identified more with Marion. That is probably because of his personality and also because he is the narrator.
We all also agreed that despite the many tragedies and dark events in the novel, we did not come away with that as the pervading theme of the book. We all liked how it ended and how the author treated the events of the lives of the brothers (and other characters).
Memorable Meeting Moments: Amberly attended this meeting after having knee surgery the very same morning! Becky also brought us our completed, and very cute, aprons.
What We Ate: Guacamole and Blue Corn Chips, Lime Marinated Chicken with Tomatillo Corn Salsa, Black Beans and Rice with Cilantro Pesto, and Key Lime Pie with Whipped Cream
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