College Students! discussion

Please use this thread to talk about the book as a whole after you have finished.

Some general starting questions:

Did you like or dislike the book? Did you like the ending? Favorite characters? Favorite quotes? Did you like the author's style? Were you confused by anything in the book? etc.

Feel free to post any discussion questions that are more specific to the book once you have finished. The moderators and discussion leader will try and facilitate the discussion but since everybody's reading schedule/life schedule are different, they may not be able to do so at the beginning of the month. So, any discussion questions are welcome! :)

Just finished the book, I liked it overall,
my favorite character was def. Martin! <3 he was so adorable. I sympathized with him and was happy with his progress.

I thought the twins were odd, their personalities and stuff, there was something very off about them, but I guess they were meant to be that way. I really disliked Elspeth by the end of the book, but at the same time I thought, well, this is what Valentina might have wanted.

It kind of saddened me that Valentina took the kitty ghost and just left, I kind of wanted her to come back to life in Elspeth's body or something. It's just that she wanted this great big adventure and we can only assume that she's going to get it as a ghost.

I didn't like the way Valentina's ending was written, I wanted a little more I guess.

I am assuming Robert went back to London, maybe he would have gone to Valentina but I don't think so.

I couldn't help but wonder what Elspeth-Valentina's kid would be like. I wished they were twins.

Robert abandoning his thesis annoyed me a little :( but I guess it was to signify that that chapter of his life was over, to sort of show Elspeth that he was done with her/her ways. I feel like she was always manipulative.

Anyway, I really liked it. One of those books that you don't want to end.

My favorite character was Martin also :). He was so interesting, I felt like I was always learning something from him.

I did not like Elspeth, Valentina or Robert at the end of the book. I feel like Valentina should have done something or Robert and Elspeth should not have ended up happily ever after. I wish that Robert would have said no to Elspeth or something. The ending kind of just dropped off.

I liked the book up until the end where I felt that the author was just trying to come up with an ending instead of leaving the reader gripping for more.

Overall I liked it- and this will probably be a story I'll think about for a while. Some of the aspects became a little too predictable for me- like Elspeth finally being able to make her presence known, Elspeth taking Valentina's body and Martin finally going to see his love Marijke. But I was still really engaged in the story.

I am a little disappointed with Valentina's ending. I didn't expect her to leave the flat. I was surprised that her twin just let her go as well, I figured she would want her to keep her company forever. I would have liked some how for Valentina to find Elspeth and become her personal poltergeist.

It's really weird that Robert had fathered Elspeth's child while using Valentina's body? haha, completely morbid- something I didn't see coming. I think he should have left Elspeth waay before they had a child- leaving her with the baby just makes him even more of a wanker.

My favorite parts were about Martin and Marjike by far :) I like to think the are living happily ever after with on another.

I liked it. 4/5 stars. I found it was well-written, enjoyable to read as a story, although some parts were predictable.

I really enjoyed reading through this story even though some parts, as mentioned above, were a bit predictable, including Elspeth taking over Valentina's body. I still found it eerie to read the part of when Elspeth (in Valentina's body), was laying next to Robert in bed, and did that thing she does with her finger and his face, and he instantly knew it wasn't Valentina in there. Creepy.

Which is also strange, that Valentina had to go to such great measures to break free from her twin sister, but in the end, Julia just let her go so freely? Perhaps in the briefly mentioned writings between Julia and Valentina's ghost, they finally came to an understanding? But the author never elaborated on that.

I agree with Earrings, if Elspeth (in Valentina's body) had bared twins instead, it probably would have left the reader thinking of all the more chaos this could ensue...

I liked Valentina and her drive to be independent from her twin. The twin girls' relationship was odd and annoying. I hated the "do-everything-together" attitude and that they're 21 and wearing the same clothes.

Valentina's plan to make everyone think she's dead reminded me of Romeo & Juliet.

I did like Martin, too! He was so sweet and endearing. I wanted to learn about how Martin and Marjike got on in the end. It's okay, though, I agree with Denise and think it's safe to say they did live happily ever after.

Just finished last night. I agree with the characters of the twins being odd, but that was important to the story. I can't pick a favorite character because I loved and hated them all (even the death kitten).

I am going to go against the concensus here, but I liked Robert. He was a fun guy when he started dating Valentina. He was understanding and helpful to Martin. And he really cared for all the residents of the cemetary. Wasn't it 1500 pages and he was only up to World War I. I guess what got you all disliking him was because Elspeth's manipulation. I really beleived he loved Valentina and was hoping for her to come back. I think when it didn't work out that way, he felt stuck. What could he do?

About the ending for Valentina. It left a bunch to be desired. I love the fact that Julia helped her escape. After all the fighting to stay together, it looks like she finally grew up. I also like to think she found a more appropriate version of Martin in his son.

I beleive that all the problems were Elspeth related. She seems the type to do the whole twin switch thing. I know the book said it was Edie's idea, but somehow I don't buy that. I am so glad I don't personally know someone that manipulative.

Tami wrote: "Just finished last night. I agree with the characters of the twins being odd, but that was important to the story. I can't pick a favorite character because I loved and hated them all (even the dea..."

I also really liked Robert. I really loved all the characters in their own way, each of them made the story what it was, even Elspeth, but I just didn't like her as much.

I think that Robert was probably with Elspeth due in part to her manipulation, probably in one way or another (and partly due to mutual attraction as well). I also believe that he was waiting for Valentina in the end, not Elspeth. Hence why he left her.

I love reading how the twin's relationship evolved. Not only did she find a more appropriate version of Martin in Theo, but she found a friend who is not her twin sister.

Over all I really liked the book. I was not expecting it to end the way that it did. I thought that there could have been a bit more explanation of what happened to all the characters. However I also like it when authors leave stories open so you are left wondering. I think for this story I like this type of ending for certain characters but others I wanted a complete ending.

I hated Elspeth by the end of the book. How could a mother do something like that? However the ending to show that Robert was correct about Elspeth. Telling Valentina that she was manipulative and controlling.

The way the twins acted towards each other was odd, it actually annoyed me. The hitting punching and the immaturity. I did like Valentina's need for independence. To me it felt like she was maturing and realizing that what they wanted to do wasn't a meaning full life. Julia annoyed me throughout the whole book, she was self-centered and I felt that the reason why she wanted Valentina with her and doing things with her all the time was that she was insecure.

When Julia let Valentina go I was shocked and happy. I was expecting Valentina to be in the flat and for Julia to sell the flat. Then when Julia let her and the kitten go I felt like Julia final grew up and I love the introduction of Theo in the end. As soon and Martin left I had a feeling that he would be showing up.

Finished the book last month and thought it was an okay read but I am unlikely to pick it up again. To start with I was expecting a "modern ghost story" but was left disappointed rather than wanting more. Like Denise and Monica above, I thought that some parts were a little predictable.

At first I liked Julia and Valentina's oddness but quickly outgrew this initial attraction. I found Valentina's plan for independence fell flat - why take such a drastic step just to gain some freedom from Julia? Just so the author can move onto the next twist?

Robert was my favourite character in the novel, followed by Martin. However I disliked Robert once he went back to Elspeth, knowing how manipulative she had been and how little regret she seemed to have for what she'd done to Valentina. Maybe I'm missing something but I felt little sympathy for Elspeth from page 1 right through until to the end.

Just finished the book. I really liked Valentina. She was my favorite character, after Martin of course :) I liked Robert, also. I don't believe he ever wanted to hurt Valentina. The manipulation was all Elspeth.

I was actually hoping that Valentina would win back her body after she was able to leave the flat. That would have been a suitable revenge (or at least a way to set things right). She would have been strong enough as a ghost to do it. I suppose she was happy as a ghost in the end, though. I'm so happy she didn't have to spend all of eternity in the flat. That would have been heartbreaking.

It still bothers me that Elspeth would choose to do that. I thought here character was fine until the end of the book. At that point I hated the character.

Seems to me that everyone disliked or hated Elspeth by the end of the book. lol.

I think that it is hard not to hate her. I can see a touch of sympathy for her being stuck not understanding what is going on at first. Then as her "powers" grew I think she became a villain in a way. I am still debating whether or not she knew that she could not put Valentina back in her body and planned it, or if it was true she couldn’t and then she decided to go into Valentina’s. I could see it both ways the way Robert explained Elspeth to Valentina. I am curious to know what everyone else thinks of this.

I feel like it was planned, Robert himself kind of warned Valentina about Elspeth, she was a sneaky.

I am leaning towards that also. I still cant believe that Elspeth could do that to her child. I find it hard to believe that any mother could do that. Unless they are completely heartless.

I was rooting for Elspeth at first but couldn't stand her by the end of the book.

My favorite characters were the secondary ones. For some reason their flaws were more charming. I could have read a short story about Martin and Marjike and been perfectly happy!

So I just finished this last night and I really loved it! I agree with most of you that commented already, I loved Martin and I totally called Julia falling for him! I really wanted them to be something but at the same time I was happy that he was able to go back to Marijke.
I HATED Elspeth. Pretty much through the entire thing. She was selfish and it was almost like she was torturing poor Robert! I loved Valentina and was so glad she and Robert were together!
I thought the idea of capturing the soul was a little sci-fi, a little far fetched but it was alright. I KNEW Elspeth was going to pull some shady move and come back in Valentina's body! As soon as he said something wasnt right I knew it was Elspeth.
And the whole twin switching thing.. I was very confused with who was who when they were talking about it. But it made me laugh that Jack knew all along. (Take that!)

Anyway, I loved this book! Definitely one that everyone should read because it is awesome! And one that I will have a hard time getting over :(

I finished this book a couple nights ago. At first I had a hard time getting into it, but I ended up really liking it. I did not expect Elspeth to come back in Valentina's body, especially since it was her daughter! ( I think it was her daughter...I started getting confused when they were talking about Edie and Elspeth switching places).

In the beginning of the book Elspeth seemed okay but I hated her by the end.
I loved Martin! I wish we would have heard a little more about him after he went to Amsterdam to find Marjike. I hope they lived happily ever after!

Did anyone else see a potential romance between Julia and Martin and Marjike's son (forgot his name)? I was kind of excited thinking about Julia's future with him. I liked Julia alright at the end of the book, so I still wanted her ending to be a happy one.

I just finished and overall really liked it. The ending left a lot of be desired though. It seemed like instead of tying up loose ends the author unraveled them. I was glad that Robert did leave Elspeth, because she was a terrible person. And that Julia let Valentina have her own ghost life instead of clinging on to her as she did while she was living. I thought the whole switch-a-roo was a little too much and, like Annie, thought it was hilarious that Jack knew the whole time.
I agree with most everyone in liking Martin and Marjike best...they seemed so normal comparatively.

I just finished it. Honestly, I really disliked it. I couldn't really like any of the characters, and the plot was, well, pretty unbelievable, even considering the obvious unreality implicit in the subject matter. Honestly, I don't think it was worth reading. Oops.

I liked the first 3/4 of the book, but once Valentina came up with her plan, I stopped liking it. It just seemed...stupid. I never really liked Elspeth. Like most other people, I loved Martin and Marjike because they and their relationship were quirky in...I guess a lovable way. In comparison to the epic nature of The Time Traveler's Wife, Her Fearful Symmetry is a bit of a failure, but I didn't dislike it until the end, so I feel that it was still worth reading. I also enjoyed all the random bits of information about the cemetery and London...I love learning things when I read a book, haha.

I liked it overall, mostly the portion before Valentina's plan. I thought it was rather weak of her to get away from her sister in that way (not to mention the pain she thoughtlessly inflicted on her family). I don't think if she was strong enough to leave her twin while alive she would have been strong enough to live a life on her own after gaining her body back afterwards (if the plan had gone as scheduled).

I really disliked the ending. After spending so much time with Robert, we weren't shown where he ends up or given any kind of conclusive ending to his "journey". It also ended with my least favorite character, Elspeth. My favorite character was Martin, I ended up caring about his progress more than most everybody but Robert.