Finny

by Justin Kramon

Justin Kramon’s debut novel, Finny , is a sweeping, enchanting voyage, an insightful story about a young woman’s complicated path to adulthood.
 
We meet Finny Short as an observant, defiant fourteen-year-old who can’t make sense of her family’s unusual Her mother offers guidance appropriate for a forty-year-old socialite; her father quotes Nietzsche over pancakes. Finny figures she’s stuck with this lonely lot until she meets Earl Henckel, a boy who comes from an even stranger place than she does. Unhappy with Finny’s budding romance with Earl, her parents ship her off to Thorndon boarding school. But mischief follows Finny as she befriends New York heiress Judith Turngate, a girl whose charm belies a disquieting reckless streak.

Finny’s relationships with Earl and Judith open her up to dizzying possibilities of love and loss and propel her into a remarkable adventure spanning twenty years and two continents. Justin Kramon has given us a wickedly funny odyssey with a moving and original love story at its core. Finny introduces us to an unforgettable heroine, a charmingly intricate world, and an uncommonly entertaining and gifted young novelist.

Genres: Fiction, Book Club, Young Adult, Coming Of Age, Romance, Friendship, Adolescence

366 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Justin Kramon is the author of the novel Finny, published by Random House in July, 2010.

A graduate of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, he has published stories in Glimmer Train, Story Quarterly, Boulevard, Fence, TriQuarterly, and others. He has received honors from the Michener-Copernicus Society of America, Best American Short Stories, the Hawthornden International Writers’ Fellowship, and the Bogliasco Foundation. He teaches at Gotham Writers’ Workshop in New York City and at the Iowa Young Writers’ Workshop.

Justin's website is http://www.justinkramon.com

Reviews

[Kristen · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm done. No, I didn't finish the book but I'm done all the same. I just keep looking over at my nightstand with my nearly neglected Nabokov, that history book I've been reading for months now and my Maugham I mean to start momentarily and I keep thinking 'why am I forcing myself to read this?' So I'm not. I'm done. Sorry Mr. Kramon but your book is just too poorly written to continue with and as much as I'd like to help a new author like yourself, I can't in good conscience give you that extra star I may have promised you.
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I'm well over half way through and I suppose I'll finish it up in the next day or two. The author is a decent storyteller but somehow an awful writer. This book feels like a rough draft, it might contain the heart of a good story but the whole thing needs a rewrite from top to bottom. The fact that I'm interested enough even to finish it might just win this book an extra star in the end, for a grand total of two. Plus I feel like I'm supposed to be extra generous because the book was free and it is this guy's first book, I mean, he's trying, poor fellow . . . an A of effort I say . . . well perhaps not an A, but a C+ for effort, all the same.

Also I think I'll delete and rewrite this entire review once I've completed the book. I noticed my review is now the very first one on GRs and imagine going to all the trouble of writing a book just to have some asshole like me trashing it and then going on about weed and other stupid shit.

Oh, and I guess that character is not a midget, I'm sort of disappointed, maybe he should be, that would jazz the story up a bit, I think.
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Started on this the other day when I came home so stoned I couldn't even mange Martin Amis. Since that is the only way this book is remotely tolerable, my plan is to only read it when I'm high . . . which shouldn't be a problem since I'm stoned more often than Muslim women.

The writing is just horrendous. You see each plot twist coming from a mile away. I'm still not sure if the main character's love interest is a midget. The book is written as if the main character were 8 years old, but apparently she's 15. The chapters are only 3 to 4 pages long and yet the author for some reason titled each one, which is weird. I'm not even sure who the audience of this book is supposed to be, I would guess young-adults but then why the lesbian undertones and references to masturbating with vegetables? Perhaps that's common in today's YA fiction, I wouldn't know.

I feel pretty bad writing such harsh criticism because (unlike every other book review I've written) I'm afraid the author might read this and I don't want to hurt his feelings. So, sorry Mr. Kramon, I'm sure you're a nice person . . . and if it's any consolation, you're certainly a better writer than me.


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I was so determined to get a first-reads book that I must have entered to win at least 100 books in two days and man was I excited when I received an email saying that I had won this book. Then I looked the book up on Amazon and read the first chapter and was far less excited. I just received the book today and it's pretty awful. I'm not sure why I would have tried to win it, maybe I liked the picture on the cover, I don't know. I don't know why I do most of the things that I do.

I'll try to read it with an open mind because goodreads says I should write a review or my chances of winning in the future will decrease. Does this count as a review I wonder?

[BookMarc · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are times I read a novel and muse upon whether I should try and become an author myself as what was served up to me as sure fire literary goodness turned out to be yesterdays leftovers. Then there are times that I just have to hold my hands up in submission and face the fact that I could never write a novel as wonderful as the one I just digested. 'Finny' falls into the latter category and is an absolute treat that will leave your literary craving well and truly satisfied.
I have to admit that I was a little worried about receiving this novel as the book cover wasn't exactly calling my name, the book synopsis wasn't beyond the ordinary and I envisioned myself slating this novel as a waste of paper and effort. However, I need not have worried as 'Finny' is story telling at its finest with a captivating main character who will live long in the memory.
The actual narrative in this novel reminded me very much of Stephen King in those novels/novellas he based in the past such as 'The Body', 'Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption' and 'The Green Mile'. It just had that certain charm and innocence, that King also portrayed, which immediately drew me in and wouldn't let me go.
I do believe this is Justin Kramon's first novel and inside the book he is described as, "...a talented and excitingly original new literary voice." If 'Finny' is anything to go by then I really couldn't agree more.

*I received this book free through Goodreads First Reads. Please don't think that this influences a review of mine in any way. If I dislike a novel I will give it the bashing it deserves and if I enjoy it I will likewise give it the praise it deserves.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

From My book review blog (Rundpinne):[return]Through bizarre circumstances, eccentric characters, and extraordinary events lies an undercurrent of deep sadness in Justin Kramon’s debut novel Finny. The novel chronicles Finny Short’s life beginning at age 14, and for the next 20 years, the story is told in a straightforward manner and the reader may easily be taken aback at first by Finny. Finny is not an average 14 year old and the events surrounding her life are anything but dull. I will admit I did not enjoy the first section and a half of the novel, for reference the novel is written in three sections, but I am glad I read the novel through to its completion. Finny, at first glance, is a 14-year-old brat and her boarding school experience did not make me care for her more, but as I mentioned, the novel picked up for me and by the end I truly was glad I chose to finish it. Why? I cannot say without spoilers, however, Finny is a beautifully crafted novel of a unique girl who learns how to become a woman. I believe Kramon has the potential to become a name in the literary field, as his approach to his characters is refreshing and decidedly not dull and he writes brilliantly. I recommend Finny to anyone looking for a completely different type of literary story filled with humour, wit, an eccentric cast of characters and profound sadness and love. Finny is a book that will stay with the reader long after the story has ended. I highly recommend Finny to book discussion groups.

[Marisolera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Se merecía un final bien distinto.

La primera parte es entretenida y discurre ligera, luego se hace lento, pero el final, la verdad, se nota escrito por un hombre. Es un final muy básico.

[Jessica (thebluestocking) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free from the publisher. All content and opinions are my own.

We first meet Finny as a pert 14-year-old who feels misunderstood by her peacemaker mother, pompous father, and people-pleaser brother, Sylvan. Running away from home one day, Finny meets Earl, whose easygoing personality and unconventional household speak to Finny. When her parents find out about her relationship with Earl, they pack her off to boarding school. We follow along as Finny grows into adulthood, as she tries to find herself, and as she interacts with Earl.

I have to be frank here and say that Finny ended up not being the right book fit for me. But it has a lot going for it. It’s a little quirky. Finny is a pretty interesting heroine. Boarding school is always a nice setting for a coming of age story. The minor characters are well-drawn and add to the story. And I really liked the sibling relationship between Finny and Sylvan.

But there’s a bit of a “but” here. I always felt removed from Finny. I don’t know if it’s the third person narration that put a space between us or what. But I never could quite feel like I understood her. Also, because this is a saga that spans twenty years, every portion of the story felt rushed to me. This is especially true of the beginning. I didn’t feel like I got to know 14-year-old Finny well enough to understand how lost (or not lost) she became in her late teens and early twenties. And I was just beginning to be interested in the boarding school portion of things when it ended. I felt similar distance from Earl. We never get to know him, except as Finny sees him, and I still can’t decide whether she was reliable in her descriptions of him. Finally, there is some random bawdiness here that seemed to detract from the story instead of add to it. And it is this bawdiness in particular that would make me reluctant to recommend this as a book club selection.

Still, I think Justin Kramon is a good writer. There is a lot of whimsy here balanced with realistic life situations. I was compelled enough by the story that I finished Finny in just a couple of days – a real feat for me these days. And the minor characters kind of stole the show in many scenes. I’ll definitely be watching for more work from Kramon.

[Jason Pettus · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

It's easy to see as you're reading Finny, the debut novel of the academically-trained Justin Kramon (an alum of the Iowa Writers' Workshop whose short work has appeared in Glimmer Train among others), that he means for this to be a quirky-cute multigenerational character-based dramedy, and that he most likely has a real fondness for an author like John Irving who created the blueprint for such a story with his World According to Garp. And that's what makes this book so frustrating, in that he gets this cocktail of elements almost exactly right in the first half, essentially the tale of an obstinate, charming teenage girl surrounded by bizarre intellectuals and freakish-looking boys with kind hearts, who has a series of adventures that take her from the rural countryside to a New England boarding school, delivering enough folksy yet smart quirk along the way to make even Fannie Flagg proud; but then Kramon almost entirely drops the strange twists and details in the second half, as our cast of characters all reach young adulthood and start living much more blase lives, full of the same kinds of ho-hum ups and downs that beset any urban creative-classer in their twenties. The attempt to paint the story on such a wide canvas is commendable for sure, and this is a much more competently written debut than a lot of other first novels out there, which is why it's getting as high a score as it is; but Finny still ultimately falls flat by the end, as if the short-format veteran Kramon had literally run out of things to say, an A for effort but C for execution which I suppose we'll average into a B today. I'm absolutely looking forward to the more complex and mature novels I'm sure Kramon has in store for us, but today's book gets only a limited recommendation, and is suggested mostly for existing fans of Amalie and other cute character-based tales.

Out of 10: 8.2

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was selected for one of the real-life book clubs I'm in and the author is coming to talk to us as a group - always great to meet other authors and hear what went into their writing etc.

I wish Good Reads would allow partial stars - I would definitely give this a 3.5 or maybe even a 3.75 - but I'm a "tough critic". 4's are hard for me to pass out and 5's almost unheard of - so take that into consideration - a 3 on this site means "I liked it" and I did.

My biggest problem was I had a hard time "getting into" this book - I didn't think Finny, Earl or her family was "quirky" enough for me. I didn't "buy" the instant attraction between Finny and Earl and I totally did not understand the Judith character and why Finny still liked her after she set her up as she did. I would have thought that would have ended their relationship.

But...as the story went along - mainly from the "Book 2 and Book 3" I was very invested and wanted to see where the book was going to go and by the end I was really rooting for Finny and Earl to come together and felt they would be good for each other.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

From author

As I wandered aimlessly through the crowd at the Book Blogger Convention Reception in NYC back in May, collecting business cards and finally putting faces to the names of bloggers I had been interacting with for months, I had the pleasure of meeting Justin Kramon - debut author of Finny.

It was that sort of bumbling, awkward I-turned-around-and-he-turned-around-and-now-we-are-facing-one-another moments in the middle of the conference room, those moments that are more common than not in those types of social networking scenes. Within minutes, the stilted "hi! you're an author? what did you write?" uncomfortableness transformed into a friendly "who is your favorite author? what do you think of this place?" conversation between two book lovers. Unknown to us, as we chatted away about the publishing process and release date of Finny, his near-obsessive love for John Irving, and my bookwhoredom for Jose Saramago and Cormac McCarthy, the BBCR crowd had thinned out greatly. When we parted ways, it was with a promise from him to send me a copy of his novel and from me to read it and review it for my blog.

Finny, the lead character in Kramon's novel, begins most of her interactions with people in the same bumbling, awkward way. It's an endearing, and sometimes even frustrating, quality that follows Finny throughout the entire life of the book.

When we first meet Finny, she is a painfully proud tomboy who enjoys tormenting her prim-and-proper mother and instigating her great-men-quoting father. Kramon describes her as "a tough, rascally kid...who avoided baths". In a moment of anger, Finny runs away from her family home and encounters Earl, a young man with a "mix and match body...a man's top half on a child's legs".

Here is where the story really begins. We see a change in Finny almost instantly. This fearless, aggressive young lady finds herself smitten with Earl, unable to stop thinking about him, devising ways to be able to spend time with him, and eventually they cultivate this unbreakable bond that even time cannot weaken.

Kramon's epic tale encompasses 20 years of Finny's life, in which we stumble along behind her numerous hello's and goodbye's to friends, family, and Earl. Because for Finny Short, there is only ever just Earl.

Connecting to this novel was not a hard thing to do. I lived a similar life to Finny in many ways. Having relocated 4 separate times throughout my middle and high school years, I made and lost many friends during that period of my life. Boys came and went, best friends were discovered and then discarded. But there were always a few constants, no matter where I was. Those people that are just naturally engrained into your life. Close friends that, no matter how much time passed between phone calls or visits, always remained your closest friends. Missed opportunities always had this uncanny way of reappearing, an unmistakeable second chance.

All of this can be found within the pages of Finny. It's a coming of age story that emphasizes many moments of Finny's life, weaving in and out of focus, rushing around the corners to spotlight specific turning points of her life.

Weighing in at a little over 350 pages, I found that Kramon managed to get a lot of story into such a small book. At times, perhaps due to the lower page count, there were sections of the story that felt unnecessarily rushed, though it did not take anything away from the overall novel.

As I read the book, which is told in third person omniscient, I often wondered what it would have been like to experience it in the first person - from Finny's point of view. Third person places an outside observer into a story, which can cause some of the human feelings and emotions to become diluted or lost. The narrator of the third person POV is not experiencing the story first hand, rather he is recording what is going on and filtering what he is seeing in order to pass it on to us, the reader.

Would Finny have packed a bigger punch had it been narrated in first person? Would that have turned this into the next best book for me?

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Justin Kramon delivers an amazing and all-encompassing story in Finny.

One of the things that I noticed, from the first sentence, was the delightful prose and smooth writing style of the author. The main character of Finny is a delightfully engaging and a marvelously captivating character that readers will easily and quickly be drawn to. This is the story of a young girl, Finny, who is a bit of a misfit, especially within her family's world. Not obsessed with social presence like her mother, nor having a deep seeded desire to constantly quote "great men" like her father, Finny is her own person. She is unsure of where she fits in in the world and feels a bit like an outcast.

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Finny spent the afternoon in her bedroom, trying not to cry, then giving herself over to it in short, maudlin bursts. She stuffed her face into her pillow and howled, shook with tears. The thought of it, of how she looked, made her sick. If one of her parents or her brother had walked in during these brief concessions to grief, Finny probably would have hopped out the window, or pretended she was trying to suffocate herself. Anything to not be seen like this, so vulnerable, so compromised. She thought of herself like the white birch tree in her parents' yard, which grew far away from all the other trees because it would wither in their shade. On its own, though, it flourished. She wanted to be like that, so odd and lonely and strong.

She thought of things she could do to get them. She could stick a knife in her shirt and spill some ketchup on it, so it would look like she'd stabbed herself. Or she could take one of her mom's earrings and hide it and pretend Raskal ate it. Or stick pictures of women inside her dad's great men books. But all these ideas seemed silly, a little clumsy. She could see them shaking their heads at her, like she'd tripped over her shoelace, or accidentally put her underwear on over her pants. She was hopeless, they'd think, a bum toaster or a wobbly table, something they'd just have to live with because they'd already shelled out the cash.

So she did the only thing that made sense to her. She ran away.

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*The above is an excerpt taken from page 13. It is also one of my favorite scenes from the story, simply because it seems to describe Finny's innermost torment and it is so thought provokingly written, in my opinion.

Then one evening after deciding to run away from home, she meets a very unique boy, Earl. Earl and his father are like no other people Finny has met and she feels a wonderful bond with them. It is shortly after this that her parents discover Finny has been seeing this boy and has even shared a kiss with him. Enraged, they send her to boarding school in Boston, hoping to put an end to this "silliness" that Finny has so far made of her life. What her parents had not planned on, however, was Finny's roommate, Judith Turngate, who is not only a New York heiress, but also an incredibly mischievous girl. The girls become quick friends and life is never quite the same for Finny.

The novel Finny follows this lovely and quirky young girl through her early years. Beginning with the tumultuous tween years, on to college and then into early adulthood, the reader is truly able to develop a bond with Finny. With laughter and twinges of the heart, the reader will fall in love with the characters and follow along with Finny as she figures out just who she is and her place in the world. I truly loved this story and applaud Justin Kramon for his amazing talent, which shines through in this debut novel. I honestly feel that his is a talent to keep a very close eye on, as he is sure to become one of those author's names that thousands will quickly recognize.

Finny by Justin Kramon has quickly found a place in my heart and is at the top of my favorite books of 2010. I enthusiastically encourage everyone to pick up a copy and delve into the life of Finny.

[Kari · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a really good and rare thing when you read the teaser of a book and think, "This will be amazing!" and then it actually lives up to the hype in your head and actually is amazing. That's what happened with Justin Kramon's debut novel, Finny.

Delphine "Finny" Short is a quirky, smart-alecky fourteen-year-old. And when I read in the teaser paragraph that this novel was going to follow this precocious character for twenty years of her life as she meets all kinds of eccentric, interesting characters, I said, "Ooooh, yes please!" because I love novels that follow a long period in a character's life. As a teen, Finny gets a kick out of inciting a rise from her parents—a father who constantly quotes philosophers, writers, artists, and various other "Great Men," and a mother who is super concerned with the public image of the Short family.

One day, Finny "runs away" but doesn't get very far because she meets Earl, a boy who kind of ends up being a catalyst to the rest of Finny's story. Once she meets Earl and his narcoleptic musician father, one event leads to another, introducing Finny to some interesting people and taking her far outside her rural Pennsylvanian town.

When you start reading a book that has just such an awesome premise and completely lovable, imperfect characters, you want to keep reading it forever. My go-to book with this description is Keith Maillard's Gloria, a little-known masterpiece about a young woman navigating college and convention in the 1950s. And I love love love that book because it doesn't matter what Gloria does—I still love her and sympathize with her and want to follow this character's story until the day she dies. And Finny was kinda like this for me.

To make a great novel, though, there needs to be more than just an intriguing main character. Beyond this person, there needs to be a world that keeps both the character active, growing, and developing and keeps the reader entertained. The author built that for Finny, because as her world expanded, so did the reader's. As Finny began boarding school and met her germaphobe dorm mother, Poplan, and her New York riche roommate, Judith, there was suddenly so much more potential to the story. Not that there wasn't before—I just mean that as Kramon added characters and relationships, it just added layer upon layer of potential in the direction that Finny's life would take. And as I'm already sucked into her world as she's experiencing and questioning and developing as a person, that's exactly what I want as a reader—to have no idea where this character is going to end up, but to love the journey so much that I don't really care.

Kramon writes with purpose. From the succinct chapter titles that resemble elementary Reader titles ("Finny Meets a Boy", "A Trip to the Principal's Office") to his poetic descriptions of inconsiderable emotions and moments, Kramon writes to paint a whole picture, to have you react to each supporting character as much as to Finny—good or bad, as long as you care. You get the impression from Kramon's lovely descriptions that he really cares about this character he has created. And even if you don't want it to end, or know how it will end, or, really, care how it all ends, you trust that he'll let Finny end up okay.

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

The thing that I like best about reading fiction is that it transports me away from reality - things are sharper, clearer, more colorful, and definitely more meaningful than real life. The more chances I get to experience different lives, the better, which is why I appreciated getting this advance copy from the publisher.

Unfortunately, Kramon tells a story that could have happened to any of us, and he tells it in a way that is not terribly original. The thing that sets it apart from being boring (like most of our lives are when told to someone else) are the few really original characters. Kramon creates some odd folks to spice up the text, like Earl's dad and Finny's dorm mother. The rest of the characters are all mostly interesting, if sometimes one-dimensional. Kramon picks two or three to really beef up, but the rest can come across as caricatures. Of course the gay man gets AIDS, and of course the spoiled, rich brats end up unhappy. Things like this frustrated me in an otherwise believable cast.

The first several chapters in each of the three "books" have decent plot development, but the last chapter in each section has a tendency to read like someone catching up with an old friend after a long time apart, or like watching previews for a movie. I can see why Kramon would have thought this was a useful device for moving the reader on to something better, but what is the point of a life? The journey, or the destination? Apparently for Finny, it is the end.

Happily, the book is worth finishing, even if it lacks staying power. I didn't really understand Finny's behavior at the beginning, and while there was some conclusion about this at the end, I needed more motives for her actions. But if you aren't looking for the "seminal novel of our time" it's overall an enjoyable read. For a first novel, it's something to be proud of.

[Lydia Presley · Rating 3 out of 5]

FINNY is the story of Finny Short - an unfortunate name for a girl who has quite the unfortunate life, all told.

At first I thought this was going to be a coming-of-age story. The first section of the book had all of the markings of it. Young girl in a strange family, boy next door (who I got the impression was some kind of a dwarf? but he wasn't or something - still confused on that). Each family member had their own little quirks, their ways of being different.

Then young Finny gets sent off to boarding school because her prim and proper mother finds out she's been kissing the boy next door. Here we kind of go into some murky waters, testing the whole lesbian thing and, I don't know if it was intended, but I really was thinking that Judith and her roommate might be moving into some territory here that.. really did not give me the best of feelings, considering the background and the story up to this point.

Time moves on and Finny's life continues through its ups and downs. Now.. there were parts of the book that I loved and hated at the same time. Justin Kramon wrote with this sort of detached emotion through the book; he matter-of-factly laid out details about Finny's life and the lives of those around her. It was an odd feeling; feeling so outside of Finny's world but being so close to Finny - because she really was that engaging and compelling of a character.

Was this book a worthwhile read? I'd say yes, and I'm very glad I was a last minute addition to this tour. I would never have picked up this book otherwise and, when all is said and done, there were moments that this book took me back to my own experiences in life through the emotions and struggles Finny had to deal with.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finny is a wonderful novel about a young girl named Finny Short. We first meet her as a smart-alecky 14 year old. She has a pretty typical life with an overbearing mother who is obsessed with manners and what other people think and a father who doesn't talk as much as he walks around spouting off not-so-famous quotes. Overall, she seems pretty bored with her life.

Then she meets some neighbors Earl Henckel and and his eccentric father, a piano teacher. She and Earl fall in love and she spends more and more time with Mr. Henckel as well. He becomes a father figure to Finny. Then, just as quickly as it began, her relationship with Earl is torn apart. Finny is sent to boarding school in Boston. Finny gets paired with a outgoing, popular girl named Judith. They become quick friends and get into all sorts of mischief together.

The novel follows Finny and her relationships with all of these people and more over the next 20 years. I found it to be very real, and I related to Finny in many ways. I actually found myself crying at some parts and laughing out loud at others.

I'm having a hard time recapping it all and putting everything into words. It's really a fantastic novel, I definitely recommend it!

I won an advance copy of this book from Good Reads--thanks!

[Neon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finny!! A 14 year old girl who is socially awkward. She is a girl who has her own opnion about… hmm… stuff!!! The writing was good. But the whole book didn’t make an impresson on me. She was "kind" of cute, “Kind” of awkward, Kind of attension seeking who has a father who lectures a lot and a mother who is what I understood as a “society mother” and a brother who is normal!!! (am doing a bad job trying to explain).
I dint understand whats was so special about Finny. There was nothing unique about her. Not her life or her character or her career. Her life was quite normal. Maybe thats why he wrote. She had a normal childhood with normal teenage issues though her parents especially her mom reacted very abnormally. Her boy wonder was also quite a odd case. Or thats how he was described in the begining and then he becomes fine after he grows up.
The book was good but it didnt make any sense. Not that I read many books which makes sense. I actually love nonsensical books. But this was different kind of ”not making sense”. It was bland and Finny’s life was boring. Apart from some convinient situations. grrrrr OK AM STOPPING NOW

[Diane Ferbrache · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. I found myself smiling and thinking "WOW! What a great sentence!" many times. The author had me crying and then laughing on the same page. I love that!

Finny (short for Delphine) Short is 14 when we first meet her. She lives with her father who loves to spout quotes from notable people, her mother and brother. One day, she meets a boy. Earl lives in a small brown house up the road. They take a walk and fall in love -- a love that spans a number of years (we're not quite sure how many) through high school, college, and careers. Along the way, they meet a variety of people -- male & female, gay & straight.

I was completely enthralled, and I don't really know why. I was sucked into Finny's life and came to really care what happened next. If you're looking for an action packed story, this is NOT it, but that's OK. Once I got started, I couldn't put it down. Kramon has created an unforgettable ensemble of characters with real experiences and real emotions in a touching story. Highly recommended!

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

In general, I liked this book, but I do think it has issues. The central cast of the characters are interesting and (mostly) charming, and I liked them, but the rest of the characters are bizarre bundles of aggressive in-your-face quirkiness, in a very unpalatable way (funeral home scene, I'm looking at you. Or Prince's sister.). The book rambles and meanders a bit - I can't decide if that's supposed to be a slice-of-life this-is-how-the-real-world-is thing, or if it's just unfocused and needs an editor. (Come to think of it, some good editing would probably make that question clearer, so I wouldn't need to wonder. So maybe it really is some of both.) There are some great lines in there, and I really wanted to know what would happen next. So I liked it, despite its problems.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this book on first reads giveaway! I love having this pre-release book, it make me feel like I'm in on some secret : ) This is a good, solid book. It covers an interesting portion of Finny's life as she grows into herself. The characters are relatable, I think most every girl has had a friend "Judith" in their lives, especially in middle/high school. I love Mr. Henckel and his "smile frowns"!

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found Finny to be an enjoyable easy read. I kept wondering thru the whole book how a male author was able to follow a young girls life thru 20 years. This is one of the things that kept me so interested in reading more of the story.
I did find myself laughing out loud at some of the antics of the characters. The story settings varied widely and I never found myself bored during the entire book.

[Kelsey Baguinat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not quite sure why this book received so many negative reviews. I loved it and I couldn't put it down. Rarely does a novel come along without one single boring character. Every one of the characters in this book (even the minor characters) had their own little quirks, and I felt like I connected with them all. Lovely!

[Cat. · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely little book! There's not a lot of major plot here: we meet and follow Finny Short through her childhood and teenage years and watch as she grows into her 30s. The people around her are regular people. She has a great deal of heartache, but is generally a kindhearted, serious person who pulls no punches and has a sassy wit about her.

[Marisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

i got the chance to read this book and meet Justin when he came to visit a book club I was in. First of all, Justin you are great.

I loved this book. while there were sometimes that i felt it dragged a bit I was generally enjoying reading everything. I connected with all the characters.

I enjoyed this and have reread it many times

[Gretchen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had a really hard time with this book -- the voice alternately felt hyper-real and patently false. I kept at it, but was ultimately let down. Some images and characters are sticking with me, though. A tough one to recommend.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely adore this book. It's so beautifully written and is such a lovely story. I fell in love with every character and all of the attention to detail. I didn't want Finny's story to end! I highly recommend this book. Simply wonderful.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea. I didn't think it was wonderfully executed for my taste.

[Franziska · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like Finny. Lovely told. I enjoyed reading it.

[Marilyn F · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given 3.5 stars if I could, not quite a 4 but there was some good writing in there that was more than a 3 :-).

A worthwhile book I think, an enjoyable read.

[Jaka Kun · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finny es el nombre de una niña de cabello rizado y pelirrojo que se siente muy cómoda rompiendo el molde de su conservadora y sencilla familia. Durante los primeros años de su vida, rompe los esquemas que su madre tanto se esfuerza en inculcarle, buscando la libertad, la expresión y la felicidad. El libro narra la vida de Finny desde esos días de travesuras y regaños, ideologías y sueños hasta la mitad de sus treinta años; es una historia sobre los cambios, las pérdidas, sobre adaptarse y tomar decisiones. También es un libro sobre la amistad, el amor y las oportunidades y todo eso, lo hace ser un libro con el que cualquier persona puede identificarse.

Es un libro sencillo, con un lenguaje simple, una historia lejos de ser extraordinaria pero que en ello encuentra su valor. Me habló profundamente la historia de Earl y Mona sobre la depresión y la dependencia; tocó fibras en mí la manera en que los papás de Finny llevan su relación con ella y cómo Finny al final de todo lleva su relación con ambos.

Es un libro que disfruté leer y que se me fue rápido, un libro al que buscaba regresar y concluir.

[Yorch Robles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finny es una niña pelirroja muy rebelde y divertida desde sus catorce años. Se la vive molestando a su padre, que vive obsesionado citando frases de escritores o compositores ilustres, cuestionándole todo. Y a su madre, alejándose de las etiquetas formales que le impone diario. Compartiendo familia con un hermano que la entiende pero le deja su espacio y un perro al que alimenta a escondidas por debajo de la mesa.

Finny se busca problemas a diario. Contesta sarcásticamente en la mesa. Ignora los consejos de su madre. Pasea por el campo cerca de su casa perdiendo el tiempo buscando algo que le llene de aventura la vida. Y entonces conoce a Earl.

La novela es una vida. La novela es magia mientras aprendemos con Finny el valor de la familia, del primero amor, del círculo íntimo de amistad. Nos rompe el corazón y lo junta pedazo a pedazo mientras acompañamos a Finny por las etapas más importantes del desarrollo humano.

Este libro sin duda ha sido una grata sorpresa que duró solo una semana debido a lo ágil y adictiva que es su literatura. Los caminos que recorre, al igual que Finny, son una sorpresa tras otra. Realmente lo recomiendo.

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

funny coming of age story
some parts were written in that beautiful lovely way that genuinely reflects something you've personally also experienced as deeply true

really liked it :)
the falling in love part felt so real/honest
read it in one day

1 star off because the difference in thinking/maturity at different ages didn't seem super significant. there were definitely events of growth but at 14 she seemed younger - more like ~11. and at 34 she didn't seem much different from end of college, 22.

[Sharonrose · Rating 4 out of 5]

delightfully odd with an interesting style of narration. it took me awhile to get into this one, but then the pages flew by. I just closed this book with a smile on my face. it was an honest portrayal of people, as individuals, flaws and all.