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Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader's Reviews > Educated
Educated
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5 brilliant stars to Educated! 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
I grew up in a home of readers with a teacher mom and a dad who questioned my effort when I made an A-minus on my report card. When I began reading Educated, I was floored that Tara and her siblings were not in school, and they were not homeschooled either. How could this happen in modern times with compulsory schooling put in place long ago?
Tara made it clear from the start that her family’s Mormon faith did not cause her father’s substantial paranoia; however, he used his faith to feed it. This family not only did not have insurance, they did not believe in accessing traditional medical care. Horrific accidents and illnesses abounded due to the father’s and one sibling’s risk-taking, and no one went to the doctor.
While the family was clearly having difficulty grappling with many things, I was struck by the love and devotion between them, even with the strained family dynamics. It was both fascinating and heartbreaking to watch those dynamics shift even more as Tara’s aspirations developed and were achieved.
Strength. Grit. Perseverance. Tara’s tenacity resulted in her leaving the farm at Buck’s Peak and enrolling in college, after never attending a day of school. Her words were upfront, bold, but never complaining or looking for pity.
Overall, I found Educated to be one of the most engaging, powerful, and inspiring memoirs I have read.
Thank you to Tara Westover, Random House, and Netgalley for this reading experience I will treasure. Educated is now available!
I grew up in a home of readers with a teacher mom and a dad who questioned my effort when I made an A-minus on my report card. When I began reading Educated, I was floored that Tara and her siblings were not in school, and they were not homeschooled either. How could this happen in modern times with compulsory schooling put in place long ago?
Tara made it clear from the start that her family’s Mormon faith did not cause her father’s substantial paranoia; however, he used his faith to feed it. This family not only did not have insurance, they did not believe in accessing traditional medical care. Horrific accidents and illnesses abounded due to the father’s and one sibling’s risk-taking, and no one went to the doctor.
While the family was clearly having difficulty grappling with many things, I was struck by the love and devotion between them, even with the strained family dynamics. It was both fascinating and heartbreaking to watch those dynamics shift even more as Tara’s aspirations developed and were achieved.
Strength. Grit. Perseverance. Tara’s tenacity resulted in her leaving the farm at Buck’s Peak and enrolling in college, after never attending a day of school. Her words were upfront, bold, but never complaining or looking for pity.
Overall, I found Educated to be one of the most engaging, powerful, and inspiring memoirs I have read.
Thank you to Tara Westover, Random House, and Netgalley for this reading experience I will treasure. Educated is now available!
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Reading Progress
January 3, 2018
– Shelved
February 17, 2018
–
Started Reading
February 19, 2018
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-50 of 117 (117 new)
message 1:
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Bookworm
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rated it 4 stars
Feb 19, 2018 05:41PM
Glad you enjoyed this one Jennifer!
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Can’t wait for your review, Jennifer! I just knew you would give it 5 stars . 😌
Just downloaded this one and can’t wait to read it!!!! So happy to see all those stars! Looking forward to your review! 😊💕
Bookworm wrote: "Glad you enjoyed this one Jennifer!"Thanks, Bookworm! 😊
Angela M wrote: "Can’t wait for your review, Jennifer! I just knew you would give it 5 stars . 😌"Angela, I somehow knew we’d be on the same wavelength about this one! 💕
Julie wrote: "Can't wait to read your thoughts!"It’s up, Julie! Wonderful book!
Lindsay wrote: "Just downloaded this one and can’t wait to read it!!!! So happy to see all those stars! Looking forward to your review! 😊💕"Thanks, Lindsay! I hope you are enjoying it and can’t wait to read your thoughts! 💗
Jennifer! I’m going to have to pick this up, you all have rated this so high with such fabulous reviews! Thank you so much! 💗
Parents are supposed to care but it was not fun, having a Mom who yelled over report card issues! We definitely got Dad to sign them, who dropped out at 16 and cheerfully reassured us: "That's all right. You will do better next time"!When you say you treasure reading this: enough to buy a physical copy? I see so many "Netgally" or other free references, I wonder how many love books enough to obtain an actual copy to keep. Taking advantage of freebies is fine, especially if unsure we will like a book. I am merely concerned so few seem to purchase literature. Non "Netgally" reviews should not be as rare as they sound! We aren't hearing enough stories about trips people made to procure books. I have one for each of mine! I used to hear a few exclamations about great scores at book sales. :-)
Wonderful review, Jennifer! I’m looking forward to reading this one! 🌸
Excited for this one. Just downloaded it yesterday!
So glad you liked this, Jennifer. I am half way through it. It does remind me of Glass Castles.
Excellent review, Jennifer! it sounds like a very interesting book :)
Jennifer, a perfect review as I expected it would be ! One I’ll remember also .
So glad you liked this, Jennifer! I thought it was fantastic too
Fantastic review Jennifer!😊
very good review! I just headed over to NG to download it. Thanks! If you liked it, I imagine I will too!
Terrific review, Jennifer! I am reading this now.Love all the stars! 🙌💜
Nice review and happy to see all the stars. I’m getting ready to start it 😊
Wonderful review, Jennifer! On my list. Now I’m so psyched to read it!
Wow! What an interesting story. One I know I’ll have to read. Excellent review!
Fantastic review Jennifer😄
Terrific review, Jennifer! Hopefully reading this soon. :)
Excellent review, Jennifer! So glad to see your 5 stars!
Great review, Jennifer! I grew up with a teacher Mom and a family of teachers, principals, and superintendents, so I need to read this.
Great review Jennifer. I'm adding this one to my TBR list.
Sounds like a great book, Jennifer! Glad you enjoyed it so much. Great review.
I'm up next for this one from my library, but it will likely be weeks before I get it... your review makes me wish I was reading it now! Excellent review!
Awesome review, Jennifer! I have this from Netgalley; can't wait to read this. Lots of 5 star reviews!
Great review, Jennifer!!
Awesome review Jennifer, I'll have to add it. (My guess, it's probably better than Hillbilly Elegy, which I chi just made me mad.) ; )
Wonderful review Jennifer! Great to see another 5 stars! I just started this one — haven’t gotten very far yet but excited to read it considering all my GR friends loved it! :-)
I will be relieved when Jennifer replies to our comments. The odds of them being more than "thanks" from #10 (me!) to #39 are low. LOL. I'm chomping at the bit because I like to uncheck myself from notifications when someone is finished replying to me. You don't want a string of notifications that aren't speaking with you, of course!
Berit☀️✨ wrote: "Jennifer! I’m going to have to pick this up, you all have rated this so high with such fabulous reviews! Thank you so much! 💗"Berit, I don’t think you will regret it one bit! I know you aren’t a memoir person typically, but this one reads like fiction. I’m already awaiting your review! 💕
C. wrote: "Parents are supposed to care but it was not fun, having a Mom who yelled over report card issues! We definitely got Dad to sign them, who dropped out at 16 and cheerfully reassured us: "That's all ..."Hey Carolyn! I’ve already got a physical copy on its way to me. It’s one I want to share with family and friends, especially my mom. 😊 I am a huge book buyer for my personal library. Our house is literally overrun with books I’ve bought. I have a shelf here entitled to-read-owned books, and those are only the ones from the last two years or so, and only those I have taken the time to mark off. I’m a huge supporter of authors and buying books.
I have used Netgalley in fits and starts. The past couple of months I have used it more, but for me, the fun is not because of “free” because I clearly buy droves of books. The fun is being able to read books before they are released. I have many authors I follow, and I love being able to read one of their books early/not having to wait.
I fervently support my local indie bookstore (it’s actually a charity bookstore that gives back to our local community).
I tend to make a longer reply when the comment on my review is longer. 😊 I try my best to tailor it to the person who took the time to comment to whom I am always grateful. Thanks for the comment, Carolyn. 💕
I know you do, which is why you are so loved by so many of us. I just thought it not very possible with so many comments in the queue, wow! I hope you found my little story about my Dad funny, us going to him because he cared less about educational performance. And I am so relieved that Netgalley is a fun option for you and not a switch away from books. It sounded like you loved this one enough to own it.I can say the same about myself with music. I get songs for free and if I like a lot of them, I will buy that hardcopy album. Often I'm downloading songs I have on record or cassette but want to make party CDs.
Oh and I *have* to buy second-hand because I buy in droves too. I remark that I have as many actual books stored for eventual reading, as people have in e-versions! I can't wait for my blog to have its annual "Show Your Stash" to see where people like you keep them.We have that in common! A lovely reply well worth waitng for. :) *Hug!*
Norma wrote: "Wonderful review, Jennifer! I’m looking forward to reading this one! 🌸"Thank you, Norma! I think you are going to love it. I love your hibiscus and need to find one like it. 🌺
Holly wrote: "Excited for this one. Just downloaded it yesterday!"Holls, I’m excited to read what your teacher mind thinks of this one! 💗
Marialyce wrote: "So glad you liked this, Jennifer. I am half way through it. It does remind me of Glass Castles."I hope you are enjoying it, too, Marialyce! I need to check on the sister thread.
Carol (Bookaria) wrote: "Excellent review, Jennifer! it sounds like a very interesting book :)"Thanks so much, Carol! It really is an original story.
Angela M wrote: "Jennifer, a perfect review as I expected it would be ! One I’ll remember also ."Thanks, Angela! You always warm my heart with your comments! (And our shared books in common!)
Excellent review, Jennifer! This is definitely a must-read for me! 😊
Excellent review dearest Jen ❌⭕️😘
brilliant review Jennifer! Looks like an excellent read!!!
You write the best reviews Jennifer! You get me excited to read the book without giving me a complete plot summary. This one is now officially on my radar!
