This is an absorbing read about coming of age. Taking place over the course of the summer, it's a book that tells many stories within one plot, with many little subplots that add depth and layers to the characters and gives the main protagonist more interest as a character.

I feel like it's been about 10 years since I read a novel by Meg Rosoff - it's probably been longer. As a teenager, I was a massive lover of How I Live Now and Just in Case, both books that introduced me to the YA genre and opened my eyes to just how good the genre can be. I still love YA fiction (weirdly, Meg Rosoff is included in this post!) but I must admit I don't read half as much from the genre as I used to. I'm trying to rectify this, asking for recommendations and keeping an eye out on authors that I love. I was browsing Netgalley a few days ago and noticed that a Meg Rosoff book was on offer - naturally, I requested a copy and was lucky enough to have my request accepted by the publisher. I got stuck into the book straight away - I just couldn't resist taking myself back in time.

The Great Godden Book Review - a YA novel by Meg Rosoff

This book was gifted to me by Bloomsbury Publishing but as is always the case, all thoughts are my own
We are guided through the tale by an unknown narrator - we know very little about their physical being, their gender and their appearance; we do, however, know that they have two sisters and a brother and that they don't really consider themselves to be all that beautiful. Every year, the narrator and their family drive to the beach and spend the summer holidays there - each with their own hobbies and past times, spending the summer doing their own thing. Our narrator chooses to work - we know that they want to get out of the house and away from the Goddens - both of them, that is. The Goddens have arrived from America - one gorgeous, magically endearing and the other dark and mysterious. Both appeal to the narrator, in seemingly different ways. The narrator's sister quickly strikes up a relationship with Kit; he's the gorgeous one, the one everyone wants. The story unravels and Kit's true character comes to light - how can someone so beautiful be so dangerous?

I loved this story - I fully expected to, considering my love of Meg Rosoff growing up. It's quite a dark book, inadvertently so, and I found myself really sympathising with the characters- bar one, of course. It's a very quick read - I read it in a single sitting, and the language is very reliable, warming and intricate. I'd argue it's the perfect summer holiday read.

I finished Meg Rosoff’s The Great Godden late last night and I don’t know how I feel about it, to be honest.

There are a few things I admire about this book. First of all, there is no denying that Meg Rosoff is a sophisticated, poignant and clever writer. I have never read a book that has quite the same flair and I found how Meg Rosoff chose to tell the story intriguing. The Great Godden reads almost like a memoir or an historical piece, even though it’s set in this decade as far as I know. The story is told through the narrator/main character, in slice of life segments as the summer unfolds. The narrator has no known name or gender, so that kind of leaves the reader guessing and free to decide who the character is. The fact that the main character has no name or gender is quite fascinating, though it was something I didn’t realise until about half-way through the book. Being female, I imagined them as a girl, but towards the end of the novel, there were certain plot points that made me realise I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I’d imagined the character as a boy.

While I could admire the writing style and the way Meg Rosoff chose to present the narrator/main character, overall I didn’t really enjoy this book as a story. Characters are always such an important part of my enjoyment of a book and unfortunately, I just didn’t connect with the characters this book. Sure, there were moments I thought the little brother, Alex, was amusing and moments I wanted to protect the younger Godden, Hugo, but apart from that…I just didn’t like the characters because I couldn’t connect with them. For me, there just wasn’t enough depth to any of them. If I had connected with the narrator, I would have enjoyed this book a lot more, but my personal reading experience just didn’t allow for that. Though, as I’ve said, I admire the narrative style, I personally felt it lacked substance, largely because I didn’t feel like I truly understood the main character. I didn’t understand everyone’s obsession with Kit, though I can’t really say how I feel about his character without giving things away. I didn’t believe in the romance aspect of the story or really get any feeling that the narrator was in love with Kit. It just didn’t come across that way to me. Although I didn’t struggle to finish the book, there wasn’t much in the actual plot that kept me hooked or got me excited or made me feel something. Everything felt emotion-less. Things just seemed to happen story, such as to the narrator, and then were just pushed aside as if they didn’t happen at all. In the end, I finished this book just feeling underwhelmed, confused and a little bit disturbed.

The Great Godden certainly got me thinking and I can see it as a book that would be great to study and write an essay on. Overall, though, it’s just not my type of book. I really hope other readers out there enjoy it more than I did because I do think it has its moments and might really speak to some people. But it’s just not for me.

Firstly, I’d like to thank NetGalley for providing me a copy of The Great Godden to read in exchange for an honest review.

Let’s get into the good stuff. It was very well written and smart (or pretentious? You decide). The author is definitely great at stringing sentences together, poetically and intelligently. It was a very simple slice of life story with some unexpected happenings.

Now, not necessarily the bad, but what I didn’t like. I did not appreciate the tone of the story. It was a bizarre fit for me and felt in writing like a historical fiction novel, but it’s clearly set in modern times. It kept niggling at me whenever something more modern was mentioned because it seemed so out of place.

The characters were all very undeveloped. I felt like they were all barely touched upon and there wasn’t much development. I just couldn’t really care for any of them, even Hugo who was clearly the best character in the book. They were all really irritating, privileged and unlikeable.

The pacing was off for me. It moved incredibly slowly and nothing really happened at all. Even toward the end with the revelation, and I guess like I said before it’s more of a ‘slice of life’ summertime happening but it just lacked a lot. There wasn’t enough building up of a mood, setting or their characters.

I may be in the minority on this one because I can understand why some people could love it, but it really fell short for me and I almost DNF’d it. I don’t think I would have missed anything if I did - but I carried on purely in respect of getting my full opinion on this book for review.

2 stars

Set over the course of a summer Rosoff, through our narrator, chronicles the idiosyncrasies of one family, their holiday traditions and how the arrival of strangers, in this case Kit and Hugo Godden, can delicately upset established relationships.

The author quickly established some distinct characters, and the language and descriptions are beautifully done.

However, it’s a very slim volume and in places, to me, doesn’t dig beneath the surface. Despite setting up these people, it doesn’t really get past one or two feelings and traits given to each of the characters, and the ending hits like a steam train. I would have liked the whole thing to be fleshed out, and doubled in length.

There is a very clever conceit surrounding the protagonist and what you actually know about them that I realised after finishing the book, which is obvious when pointed out that nearly edged me up to a fourth star.

Unsettling, well crafted coming-of-age tale with a great sense of place & a clever narration that allows for subtle plot and character developments going on around our self-absorbed heroine. Absorbing read for thoughtful teens

spoiler alert ** 3.5 stars

A one sitting read.
I could almost feel the Sun shinning on the idiocy beach,and quirky house,where the family met.
Then Kit Godden storms through,blowing up hormones,and common sense and lives,leaving a wreckage behind him.
He was so charming,the adults were so blind to his actions, it was all to believable.
A great summer book I think.

I read the book in one fell swoop and really enjoyed it. The story surrounds a summer beside the sea where the teen narrator and her family are swept off their feet by the presence of the Godden brothers- one charming, the other less so. What’s follows is a summer that she’ll never forget.

I liked this story with its easy style and at times funny narrative. I would’ve liked more depth with some of the characters and more explanation with the plot in some chapters but overall I think teens will like it.

Cute and charming YA novel that channels I Capture the Castle crossed with My Family and Other Animals. It's not deep (the comparisons with Bonjour Tristesse are misleading) and though painful things happen, the emotions of the book are on the surface. Think beach/bathtub reading - or to buy for young teens.