What do readers think of Losing Clementine by Ashley Ream? Write your own review.

Did not care for this book. I was not entertained or amused, I just wanted it to end. The ending held what little hope if found.

Not many could take the subject of impending suicide and come up with a "page turner", but that's exactly what this first time author has done. The plot thickens, the witty dialogue sparkles, the pithy descriptions are such fun. I really liked the pace of the novel and the clever idea of using one chapter for every day in the protagonist's last month of life. I'd categorize this as a "chick-book" and caution readers not to look for too much in the way of symbolism or universal insights. It's fun reading in the style of a Janet Evanovich novel.

I loved Clementine from the very first page. I had been a little apprehensive knowing that this charming girl was sick enough to commit suicide. Initially I did think it was her illness that was prompting her to wrap up the loose ends of her life. While she made me laugh as she got rid of that tea set, deliberately punished the driver who left his car in the way and dumped her meds (I cheered at that) but I was so entranced, was so much a part of this woman’s life that I wept as she had to find a new home for her cat. I truly forgot that I was reading fiction so skillfully was I taken from laughter to an aching sympathy and to tears .I think Clementine is one of those literary personalities I will never forget and I have been reading and meeting characters for over 70 years. This is a very special piece of work to fit into that category.

Ashley Ream's Clementine in her novel LOSING CLEMENTINE does what every woman wants to do at one time in her life: she eats everything she wants without guilt, dumps her kitchen ware out the window, and, in her despondency over a failed marriage, almost whispers goodbye to life on schedule, in thirty days to be exact in her case.. Her wry sense of dark humor aimed at her own weaknesses offers the reader plenty of food for thought. The novel is not "literature," but it's great reading.

When you first start reading Losing Clementine, you don't know what to think. Is this story going to be sad, uncomfortable, or satisfying. It's a little bit of all three. Clementine is a very honest character who isn't afraid of expressing herself. I liked that, but I don't think she will linger in mind long after reading her story.

I confess that I tend to be character driven in my choice of books, and it took me some time before I could relate to Clementine or allow myself to get caught up in her story. Maybe I wasn't given enough about her background early on, or maybe I don't have enough experience with depression. At the beginning of the story, all the reader knows about Clementine is that she is an artist, suffers from depression, and is carrying out a methodical plan to commit suicide. As the story progresses, you learn that she is actually very talented and has a thoroughly messed up history when it comes to keeping love and loved ones in her life. At this point I began to care about her and her plans for suicide.
Clementine as a person is complicated, conflicted, and at times hilariously funny. Her neat and tidy plan to end her life turns out to have unexpected twists and turns. It is in dealing with these events that she discovers that she really isn't ready to walk away from life, as messy and unresolved as it is. If the reader can stay with her through a somewhat confusing beginning, it is worth the trip to join her on her road to self-discovery by way of suicide.

How can a book about the narrator's impending suicide make you laugh? Ashley Ream pulls it off with her sharp wit and incredible voice. There are life lessons here, but so much humor, you don't really realize it 'til the end. What a great read!

This book lacked the humanity that would have anchored such an uncomfortable topic in something less self obsessed. While other books like Veronica Decides to Die or A Long Way Down make suicide secondary to the vibrancy and or humor of their character, if was as if Clementine was overshadowed by the topic. It lacked the sardonic satire that makes it utterly comical and human at the same time, and lacked the connection and vulnerability necessary to really care about the main character.