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Summary: WISH YOU WELL
Review: LOVED THIS BOOK. I AM A NATIVE VIRGINIAN AND IT TOOK ME BACK IN TIME AND SPACE. LOVED HIS CHARACTERS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE VIRGINIA MOUNTAIN COUNTRY. HIS STYLE OF WRITING IS EXCITING.
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Summary: Wish You Well by David Baldacci
Review: While reading Wish You Well, by David Baldacci, I found that it is a great book for pre-teens and teenagers. It has a style of writing that is not challenging yet gets the story across in an interesting and exciting way. This book is told through the eyes of a twelve-year-old girl and her younger brother. Lou and Oz face some major problems in their childhood years. When both of their parents are unable to take care of them anymore, the children have to move from a hectic life in New York, to a much slower paced, but harder life in the Blue Ridge mountains of Virginia. The only way Lou can survive is by writing just like her dad did. Oz's only way of feeling comfortable with himself is being with his teddy bear, which he gives up for his mom when she is in need of help. He is also a very good baseball pitcher too. Other than that, he just hides behind his sister and lets her take charge. Wish You Well is also a good book for older people to read. It shows the emotions of a family falling apart, but none the less shows a family reuniting. It is a fairly easy read and has a message to it that everyone can relate to. I would recommend it to anyone who likes an enjoyable book.
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Summary: WOW!
Review: I really loved this book! Though there is great foreshadowing that leads you through, it's beautifully woven together in a surprising journey. I really enjoyed it--even my husband, "who hates fiction", got into it!
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Summary: Beutifully read
Review: Norma Lana's masterful reading of Wish You Well adds depth to the characters and story. I highly recommend this unabridged audiobook, and will search out other books narrated by her. The story itself is a dramatic departure from the usual David Baldacci thriller but, unlike Patricia Cornwell's disasterous foray, this is a well crafted book with a moving (if not surprising) story line.
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Summary: Baldacci's enjoyable departure
Review: David Baldacci has scored with a different kind of story than we're used to from him in "Wish You Well". He has set aside the fast-paced thrills and delved into a tragic yet heartwarming story about two NYC kids who overcome a terrible tragedy and learn to live a dramatically different kind of life in 1940 Appalachian Virginia with their earthy great-grandmother.After a devastating car crash kills their father and leaves their mother in a catatonic state, Lou (short for Louisa Mae) Cardinal, the tomboy and Oz, her teddy bear-clutching baby brother, are sent with their semi-comatose mother to live with their only living relative, their great-grandmother (also named Louisa Mae). Their father was an award-winning writer who gained accolades but not a lot of money for his work, so they go to Appalachia and learn to live off the land with their great-grandmother in a most rural and isolated location where their late father grew up and which was the inspiration for much of his work. Lou idolized her dad and blames her mom for the accident that took him from them. She has little patience for any attempt to revive the mother from her semi-conscious state but appreciates the beauty of the land that so inspired her dad. Oz, on the other hand, resorts to wishing wells and magic spells in attempts to bring his mother back from her slumber. Meanwhile, they adjust to harsh farm life and explore their surroundings with a local kid called Diamond. I enjoyed "Wish You Well" despite some unusual aspects of the novel. A wannabe writer who's actually a lawyer, named Cotton Longfellow, pops up to read to the unconscious mother and help out the kids and their great-grandmother when he is needed. I wasn't really sure if he was there because of his friendship with Louisa Mae or some bizarre obsession with the dead husband (whom he idolized) of the comatose woman he visits. Nevertheless, the Cardinals wind up needing a lawyer (surprise) when a natural gas company wants to buy up Louisa Mae's property. I thought the courtroom portion of the story was unnecessary and the ending was so perfectly timed that it was somewhat unbelievable, but I really enjoyed the book despite that. I also liked the fact that Mr. Baldacci included a chapter at the end that gave us a brief glimpse of what subsequently happened to the characters. Because I read "Wish You Well" within a couple of weeks of reading John Grisham's "A Painted House" and both are stories centered around children in rural surroundings, written outside each author's usual domain, I cannot help but compare the two. While I enjoyed "A Painted House" much more than I've enjoyed John Grisham's other recent books, I still really like David Baldacci's thrillers, so while "Wish You Well" was an enjoyable change of pace, it's not my favorite Baldacci book. This probably says more about my disappointment in John Grisham's usual lawyer-filled books of late than any dislike of "Wish You Well", since I enjoyed it about as much as I enjoyed "A Painted House".
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Summary: What Life Can Bring
Review: I read the book quickly because it was so good. The story takes a few unexpected turns but flows very well. I found it easy to read and to follow the plot. It was an enjoyable read. Buy the book.
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Summary: I wanted to like it...
Review: A friend recommended this book to me, knowing that I love to read books that evoke nostalgic feelings and that I absolutely love the Appalachian area. Unfortunately, this book, though I tried to love it, was not as good as I wished it would have been.
The story is formulaic, with plot twists a reader knows are coming long before they do. I knew what the ending would be long before I got to it. And the reviewer who likened Jimmy to Huckleberry Finn without as much humor took the words right out of my mouth.
If you want to read a book about Appalachia that will truly move you, read "Christy" by Catherine Marshall.
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Summary: Wish You Well
Review: I have enjoyed David Baldacci's other books, but this one is really special. It will also be a terrific read for my 14-year old, an avid reader for whom I have trouble finding appropriate books. As I was at that age, she is ready for adult books, but so many include sex scenes and other inappropriate material for her age. Parents, you can feel comfortable with allowing your young teenager to read this book. Themes include loyalty to and love of family, stewardship of the Earth, and the fight against prejudice ... ideas that we all need to be reminded of now and then!
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Summary: SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
Review: A wonderful story about 12 yr. old Lou and her 7 yr. old brother. Oz who in 1940 are forced to go live with their mysterious great grandmother, Louisa May Cardinal in the coal mining mountains of Virginia..... Times are very hard here and the children find it so different from their lives in New York city. Their well known writer Father, Jack was killed in a car accident which also left their mother, Amanda in a coma..... They have no family other than Louisa.Lou and Oz learn to work on this self-sufficient farm where they learn many things about this magical land from a friend, Diamond.... Diamond had no formal education. School is a one room school house where half the class is always absent because they must work on farms especially during planting and harvesting times....Lou helps Louisa to care for her comatose mother and slowly the children's hearts are filled with healing and they begin to believe in miracles again in this land filled with myths and mysteries.It is a constant struggle just to make ends in these beautiful mountains............Read this book and it will make you feel all warm inside for a long time as you keep remembering these wonderful people.....Loved this book so much.
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Summary: Excellent Read!
Review: A wonderful slice of old Americana. The characters were real. The scenes were vivid. I'll read more from this author.
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