Review: Young Widows Club by Alexandra Coutts

Review: Young Widows Club by Alexandra Coutts Young Widows Club by Alexandra Coutts
Published by Farrar on November 10th 2015
Pages: 304
Format:eARC

First came love, then came marriage, and then...

For seventeen-year-old Tam, running off to marry her musician boyfriend is the ideal escape from her claustrophobic high-school life on the island, and the ultimate rebellion against her father and stepmother. But when Tam becomes a widow just weeks later, the shell-shocked teen is forced to find her way forward by going back to the life she thought she’d moved beyond—even as her struggle to deal with her grief is forcing her to reinvent herself and reach out to others in ways she never imagined.

reviews2

So, this was the book that won in last week’s poll of “What the heck should Shannon review”, and as promised, I shall review. This is a hard one, because there were quite a few things I quite liked about it, but there were also a few things that nagged me through the book.

Tam (short for Tamsen, which sounds like some kind of spice, not a girl’s name) has just lost her husband, at seventeen. This is where I first was a little unsure of the story, of course. Because why is she married at seventeen? At first I’d assumed he would be in the military, or maybe even one of those A Walk to Remember situations where she knew he was dying, so they got married. A-Walk-To-Remember-a-walk-to-remember-22758285-500-213
But alas, no. They just… did. Which kind of bugged me through the whole book. Noah (the husband) was nineteen and he died in his sleep of some heart thing that no one knew he had or whatever. Okay, that stuff happens. Obviously, Tam is devastated. She isn’t in school because um… reasons? Noah is was in a band, and I guess she planned on being with them. This makes me sad for Tam on an entirely different level, because who drops out of high school at seventeen and plans to follow a local band around? I digress.

So Tam’s plans for her life are basically derailed with Noah’s death. She doesn’t have a great relationship with her dad or stepmother, and pretty much clings to her old life with Noah. She stays in the house they were fixing up on his parents’ property, she spends countless hours with the band, and wants so much for nothing else to change. In this respect, I felt that while it was sad, it was incredibly accurate. I can’t imagine a widow, especially one as young and lost as Tam, just leaving everything behind and starting over. The problem was, Noah’s band was moving on, and Tam wasn’t really part of things anymore.

Eventually, Tam is forced (yes, forced, this isn’t her choice) to return to school and to attend a widow support group. The widows aren’t all young, as the title suggests. Tam is by far the youngest widow. But the group is a great mix of people with different experiences, and I think it added a lot to Tam’s story. School does also, as Tam starts to realize that  she can have friends and interests outside of Noah.

There’s a bit of an additional romance too. It’s another widow, though he is nine years Tam’s senior. That didn’t really bug me, because they obviously share a lot in common that most people of either of their ages would not understand. So at times, it was a little weird, but it was also not a fast moving romance, so it didn’t seem wildly inappropriate, given the situation.

Tam’s dad and stepmother seemed so unfeeling and unsympathetic. Though I guess for people who okayed their daughter’s marriage at seventeen for no legitimate reason, it fit. Noah’s parents were amazing. I loved them, and their love for Tam was evident. Even through their suffering, they looked out for Tam. Here’s the problem I had: I didn’t care about Noah. I mean, sad that a young person died, of course, but other than that? Eh. I didn’t get any sense of who he was, honestly. And because of that, I felt like his death actually did Tam a huge favor. She’d never have gone to school, met new people, or really even had a chance to find out who she was.

Bottom Line: I enjoyed Tam’s story and evolution. I wish I’d had more insight into why she’d given up her identity for Noah to begin with, but I enjoyed watching her grow without him all the same. I probably would have felt more if I hadn’t been as apathetic about the loss.

3s

What do you think about super young marriage? Is it more appropriate with a good reason, or is it a bad idea regardless? I am fine with it if there’s good cause, but for funsies, it’s probably a bad plan. 

Posted November 20, 2015 by Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight in Review / 17 Comments

Divider

17 responses to “Review: Young Widows Club by Alexandra Coutts

  1. Confession. I totally thought the rings that make up the O in Widows on the cover was a soccer ball. No idea why I thought that but I totally thought soccer would play a part in this book. Ooops. So now that that is out of the way the book sounds interesting. I always like to see the evolution of someone grieving and how they grow. That part of the book sounds good but getting married that young. For what seems no reason other than love (which I guess is a good reason, maybe) is weird to me. Gret review and lovely reference to A Walk to Remember which makes me cry every time I watch it 🙂

    • I did too when I first saw a small version of the cover! I thought maybe they were… soccer sweethearts? He died in a soccer game?! I think it is because of the black edge and font, and then you see the ball shape, and your eyes play tricks!

      And sure, love IS a good reason to get married but…. at 17? When there isn’t any reason that you could just, I don’t know, wait a year? I am a pretty hardcore romantic, but even for me that’s pushing it 😉

      Oh, and A Walk to Remember always makes me sob too. I should probably just NOT watch it!

  2. Oh dear. I have been super excited about this one ever since first reading the synopsis. I mean, the title alone… come on, that grabs me. But I’ve yet to see a stellar review. {cue dramatic sigh} When it comes to fiction, I’m willing to give a lot more leeway and accept/encourage what I wouldn’t IRL. In fiction I can get lost in the romance of it all – in real life, yeah, not so much. There are just way too many reasons why it’s a bad idea and highly unlikely to not work.

    • I know, I am sorry 🙁 The thing is, MAYBE I would have gotten lost in it if I actually felt a connection between Tam and Noah? But it was just… sad girl and random dead guy. Which seems heartless, but I can’t help it, I didn’t care about him! Oops?

  3. The synopsis I am all for, but I don’t know how I feel about it after reading your review. Of course, people get married at a young age, but this one just doesn’t seem to make sense. From what I read it makes it seem like she did this because she just wanted to spite her parents and that’s upsetting.

    I would never know what to do if I lost my boyfriend/husband and frankly, I don’t want to think about that. Ugh, I just don’t think this one will work for me 🙁 lovely review though, Shannon!

    • Yes, that is it exactly! It DID seem like it was out of spite. And the fact that the husband was cool with her dropping out of high school and getting married to follow him around like a lost puppy made him even MORE unappealing. And like, wouldn’t her parents have to sign court papers or something? The whole thing confused me!

    • I think in theory, the 2nd relationship would have bothered me more. But it didn’t get too serious, and like, after all Tam had gone through, she had more in common with this guy than kids her own age, so I did kind of get it. I think it could be worth a try for sure!

  4. When I first saw the premise for this book, I really assumed that there must be a REASON for the main character to have gotten married so young. I think the lack of a reason would bug me too. It sounds like an okay book, but I don’t see myself getting past that one. Great review.

  5. Kaitlyn A.

    I really loved this book! I got married very young (18) and I connected with the main character easily. Lovely review!!!

  6. It is pretty sad when the book revolves around her loss of Noah but then it really doesn’t connect you to that character much. The widow support book actually sounds like a great idea for her to come to terms with her feelings and to help her grieve. Thanks for the review Shannon!

    • I agree! I mean, I felt for her pain, because that was very clear, but I didn’t care about this dude AT ALL. And I wasn’t able to figure out why she married him to begin with. I mean, sure, love, but… meh? The widow support group was fabulous though, such a great concept!

  7. This is a great review. I actually want to give this one a try. It seems like a good story. I don’t think I would really mind them marrying so young since for this story, I guess it adds a lot to Tam’s character. I’m glad to know that the romance isn’t weird. Obviously if you are over 25 and you are dating someone is nine years older, it’s not seen as something bad but when you are so young like Tam, it can be very frowned upon. It’s sad to see that Tam’s parents weren’t really there for her but at least she had Noah’s parents and she could have them as parental examples in a way. I’m really intrigued by the whole support group thing so that’s what’s motivating me to read this book 🙂

  8. I have been so excited to read this book since I first heard about it, but I haven’t yet because my TBR list for the next two months is pretty full. It sounded different and full of promise, but I guess I was expecting something else.

    I don’t know how I feel about young marriage…I married my husband when I was 19, and it’s 8 years (and two kids) later and we’re still together, but everyone around me who got married young is divorced already…I think it depends on the people and the relationship they have. Then again, we’re both huge video game/book nerds so I guess it’s a match made in Heaven, lol.

  9. Ah, the summary initially made me think this book wasn’t for me but I think there are definitely aspects of Young Widows Club that I’d enjoy. I’d probably feel the same about Tam giving up her life for Noah and want more detail on that but I also really like the sound of the new relationship that develops. I’ll have to keep an eye on this one… Thanks for the great review!

    Zareena @ The Slanted Bookshelf

Leave a Reply