Finny

this book is my favorite type of novel: a coming of age story with characters that simultaneously drive you to keep reading the book because you're THAT involved in their lives... and make you sad when the book ends because you feel like you're leaving behind good friends. yes, it's THAT amazing. i loved finny short and the collection of quirky and wonderful people in her life. there is a depth and beauty in the story that is surprising given how funny much of the book is AND how read-able it is. it's a great look at human nature/relationships and how they change over our lifetimes. there's a love story woven throughout the entire narrative, and yet, it's not "a love story." hard to describe other than say: READ IT! you'll be glad you did!

Read this book! It's instantly engaging and keeps up a good pace throughout. The prose is beautifully written- this is a fun book to read! You really care about Finny and the other characters- in this novel the character development shines! It's a coming of age story, and you truly get the sense that you're watching a fully-formed life unfold. Finny is a charismatic focal point and the evolving supporting characters enrich the story, adding humor and perspective.

The (believable) story of a girl that is amusing and cute. Finny is told over three sections of tweens, college and late 20s/early 30s with rather fast interlude chapters to explain what occurred inbetween. Each section has its moments that resulted in me actually laughing out loud in public. The book's transition to later life was gradual and flawless as the jokes seemed to taper off later in Finny's life and the tone became more serious. I felt like I was becoming wiser along with Finny. Overall it was a well-written story of love, loss, and... well, living.

I really liked this book, it was quirky and unusual and the things I thought might happen didn't. If you don't read it for any other reason, do so for the sometimes beautiful metaphors. I'll choose a line in the book to sum it all up: "The story was about something sad, though [he] hadn't been afraid to make it funny."

Finny is a dramatic character-driven novel that follows Delphine "Finny" Short's life from early childhood well into adulthood. It's sort of a coming-of-age novel, not ending with young adulthood, but continuing through each phase of Finny's life. Calling it a dramatic novel doesn't really do it justice, because it's funny as well. It's another of those books that had me laughing out loud making people around me look over to see what I was reading. And I wanted to tell them. In fact, I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to read them the scene that made me laugh, and how completely delightful I found this book. And I usually did. Not only did I want to talk to others around me about this book, but I found myself shouting at the characters at least in my mind, like some people (ahem) might do as they watch reality TV: "Don't do it!" or "Tell him!" or "What are you thinking??" This is one of those novels that has a timeless feel. Though it has a contemporary setting, I still found myself surprised when a reference to something contemporary, such as Jenga, crept into the story. It's sad to see a book end when you've come to love the characters, the storytelling, and the writing so much, but the final chapter was so satisfying. All of the characters were brought back together, so I felt like I could properly say goodbye. It reminded me of the series finale of a TV show, where you really want to see everyone one last time, and the writers indulge you. This is a wonderful debut novel, and I know that I will definitely keep an eye out for what Justin Kramon writes next.