As Good As True

Author: Cheryl Reid

One-sentence summary: A Syrian woman’s abusive husband dies and she must figure out how to move forward in a segregated 1950’s Alabama community and family that heavily suspect her of foul play.

B.A.D. Girls Book Rating: 7

Our favorite thing about it: This book delved into the complexities of relationships in interesting ways, which was fascinating.

Our least favorite thing about it: The plot was fairly slow.

Main Topics of Discussion: Marriage, Abuse, Parent/Child Relationships, In-Laws, Culture Norms, Segregation

Our favorite quote: "Water is life,” she liked to say. “It reminds us we are always moving, that we are alive."

Notes: We were kind of mixed in our ratings of this book. One of us gave it a 5, and another of us gave it an 8. And the others were 6’s and 7’s – right in the middle. So it’s fair to say that we enjoyed it to varying degrees. Here are some of our thoughts:

1. For those of us that listened to the audio book – the narrator was great.

2. We all felt that the book induced almost constant anxiety. Sometimes that’s fine, but it seemed relentless.

3. Some of us felt that there wasn’t much forward movement in the plot. It was a lot of thinking and talking and generally too slow.

4. There was a lot of exposition – kind of echoing the point of #3.

5. There was a lot of ambiguity in the end. That’s a statement. Some of us were fine with it, some of us liked it less.

6. Some of us felt that the death of the main character’s father was kind of random and felt like a plot device rather than something that naturally flowed from the ongoing story. It seemed sudden and unnecessary.

7. We discussed the main character’s relationship with her daughter, Marina, at length. It was one of the more interesting and heart-wrenching parts of the book. How their relationship ebbed and flowed was well done. Lots to talk about there.

Memorable Meeting Moments: Stephanie took us to Legacy Hall in Plano. We ate inside and then moved outside onto the upstairs patio for discussion, drinks, and dessert.

What We Ate: We all shared some fabulous dishes from the various stalls.