Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down.
Review: I loved Jennifers book. I truly couldn't put it down. (And I am really not a big reader) The story stays with you even after you finish the book. I highly recommend it. I can't wait for the next one!
Rating: 
Summary: one of the saddest books ever
Review: Blackbird is an emotionally gripping, riveting, well-written story by a woman who remembers her childhood from preschool age, when her mother was dying of cancer, to age eleven. In those few years, Jennifer experienced death of both parents, alienation from remaining family, cruelty from a stepmother, abandonment, and numerous other traumatic experiences, only one of which would scar most people for life. The fact that Jennifer came through this awful childhood to become the young woman that she is and write this gripping memoir is amazing, to say the very least. This tale was so very sad, depressing, grim, and even horrifying in places that it was hard to believe that it really happened. Realizing that Jennifer really did go through all of these things in her lifetime made the book that much more grim and dismal to think about. I admire Jennifer's writing style and her ability to survive. Most children would not survive this horrible, horrid, humiliating childhood.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful & Moving
Review: I enjoy reading great stories written through the eyes of a child, such as To Kill a Mockingbird (another one of my all-time favorites). Blackbird is a heart-rending story that moved me to tears. It was sad but not so depressing where I felt emotionally drained at the end. The main character possesses an inner strength and innocence lost that kept me riveted to the pages. I totally recommend reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: READS LIKE A NOVEL - BUT IT'S TRUE!
Review: I saw Ms. Lauck on Oprah and was inspired by her true story - I went out the next day & purchased her book & read it in less than one week (for me that's fast!!!!). The story is told by Jennifer, but through her eyes as a child. It reads like a novel - you often forget you are reading the true story of the author's childhood. It is both heartbreaking & inspiritional - I anxiously await Jennifer's sequel to see how she overcame this childhood and how she survived her teenage years (the most difficult of all for an adolescent) and went on to become a successful, loving wife, mother & author. Thank you so much - I can't tell you last time I enjoyed a book as much!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Blackbird: A Childhood Lost and Found
Review: What a story!! This book reads like a novel! I too saw the author on Oprah and went out to purchase it. I read the entire book in one day, I just couldn't put it down. I found myself thinking about myself at her age and would I have been able to take care of myself as she did. I am waiting for the sequel I can't wait to find out what happened in her life to bring these memories to paper. Jennifer your parents would be proud of the woman you became!!
Rating:
Summary: Everyone needs love in order to survive
Review: I completed Jennifer's book in one day. I have been moved by her book and I admire her strength. I do not understand how she could have survived some parts of her childhood. She is very talented and I admire the way she doesn't take the role of "victim." She certainly is one to admire. I think too often things happend to us in life and some do not seem to let go and get unstuck so to speak. I am glad her book was published and I would make it required reading for many young and old. Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: I bought this book to read on my vacation next month. I picked it up to read a paragraph and could not put it down until I had read it from cover to cover. I did not want it to end. What a fantastic story, fantastic life ... fantastic woman. I can't wait for the sequel to see what happened next.
Rating:
Summary: Sad story great book.
Review: This was a sad story. I felt so bad that this little girl had so much happen to her in her young life that she did not ever get a chance to be a little girl. She was a little girl dealing with adult problems. She is a strong child who is able to find the good in all of her situations. I am anxious to read the sequel to this book because I would like to know how she turned out as an adult. How all of her experiences as a young child has effected her.
Rating:
Summary: Addictive and Compelling
Review: I have never taken the time to review a book before, which says something right there. How the author is not "damaged", after a childhood the likes of hers,is a testament to her inner strenth and beauty. It was difficult reading this book without tears in my eyes or moans coming from my mouth. My husband thought I was really suffering each time I picked the book up. The author does such a magnificient job,I can't wait until the sequel. I am agonizing over the next part of her life. When I see the lovely face on the jacket of the book and realize that Ms. Lauck has been successful it makes my heart sing.
Rating:
Summary: Unflinchingly honest and heartbreakingly beautiful
Review: Spanning a scant six years of Jennifer Lauck's life, Blackbird is a emotionally compelling memoir. Young Jennifer's world is controlled by her young mother's terminal illness and her father's workaholic tendenancies. Trying to seize any control that a six year old can grab, Jennifer strives to be the catetaker of her mother and the daughter her father wants. Her only friend is a childless woman who notices the lonely child and invites her in and befriends her. Her brother B.J. is also struggling to keep his head above water, his coping skills are marked by anger and cruelty towards his sister. The passages in which Jennifer describes her mother and father are so tender and descriptive that you feel the child's longing to please. After her mother's death, Jennifer's father moves in with Deb (who he had been seeing for some time) and her children. There is an uneasy alliance among the children,and Jennifer retreats. Her father is less and less available, trying to please a demanding (and slightly unstable) Deb, and trying to keep up with increasing expectations and debt. The 70's are in full bloom in Southern California and there are many changes to cope with, and no one to talk to. Soon, Jennifer's life is ripped apart again, and what follows is the two and a half year oddesy of a child in the grip of forces that she cannot escape. There are those along the way who nuture the child, and who try to help, but Jennifer is forced to develop coping skills far beyond her young age. I had to keep reminding myself as I read, that this was just a child. The book ends with Jennifer and her brother being rescued by relatives when she is just 11. The people who reached out to nuture the lonely child, and the angry, yet bright resiliance of Jennifer are the saving grace of this part of her life. The story will grab you and you will be hard pressed to lay this book aside. One of the very best books of the recent years.
|
