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Commencement

J. Courtney Sullivan

Discussion: September/October 2009

Discussion leader: Stephanie

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September/October 2009

Commencement - J. Courtney Sullivan
By Stephanie · 3 posts · 19 views

last updated Aug 10, 2011 01:35PM

Shanghai Girls - by Lisa See
By LynnB · 7 posts · 16 views

last updated Dec 28, 2010 07:59AM

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What Members Thought

Jul 30, 2009 Bookmarks Magazine rated it really liked it

Shelves: sept-oct-2009

"Sullivan skillfully explores the complexity and depth of female friendships, including their dark side. Most critics (two of whom write for the same newspaper, of course) praised her richly drawn characters and her ability to give each woman a distinct, and believable, voice. Many favorably compared Commencement to Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep (**** Mar/Apr 2005) and Mary McCarthy's groundbreaking novel The Group (1963), which follows friends after their graduation from Vassar in 1933. Several crit ...more

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Sep 22, 2010 Melissa rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: now-hear-this

The author seemed to feel having an interesting story about how four women come together as freshmen (excuse me, first years) at Smith and how each of them grows together and apart wasn't enough. Her attempt to give the book depth by adding the plight of April really ruined it for me. I felt the developments in the second half were unbelievable and out of character for April (what we knew of her). The ending just left me frustrated that I had spent the time listening to it. If I'd been reading, ...more

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Jul 11, 2009 Sera rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, chick-lit

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. I really enjoyed this story of four women and their friendship while they were roommates at Smith College and then learning what happens to them post-graduation. Each female character has her own story to tell in the novel, which I like, but then April's story completely derailed the last quarter of the book for me. I'll call it the "April isn't really dead story".

When we find out in the last chapter of the book that April isn't really dead, I felt bamboozled as a reader. April was hiding in a ...more

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Nov 22, 2009 Amy rated it really liked it

Shelves: _own-ebook, fiction, rec-ig-blogs-friends-other, read-in-2013

I love J. Courtney Sullivan's novels and this one was no exception! I really enjoyed this novel. I enjoyed the exploration of friendship and felt that it was a realistic representation of female friends. My only gripe is that I found the ending to be off kilter. It didn't seem to flow from the overall book very well - it felt disjointed and separate in some way. But, despite my issues with the ending, I did enjoy every moment of reading this novel. It was a fun and interesting read that I defini ...more

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Aug 04, 2010 Molly rated it liked it

Beach read, definitely fun.

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Dec 05, 2009 Molly Hart rated it liked it

This was an ok book. I was not really moved by it, but didn't not like it either. Perhaps the experince was too far removed from my own, and I had trouble relating to any of the characters. It wasn't terrible, by any means. It just didn't move me. ...more

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