Rating: 
Summary: Drowning Ruth
Review: I personally loved this book. I love trying to figure out why people do the things that they do and this book gave me plenty of food for thought. The multitudinous layers of familial dysfuntion were tantalizing. And the mystery surrounding the actual events of Maddie's death...well lets just say that I thought I had it figured out and I did, except for The Big Question for Ruth, which shall remain unmentioned inorder not to give any of the book away to those who have not had the pleasure of reading it. What I found fascinating about her question was that Ruth herself assumed a negative motivation. More food for thought. Her entire family was a study in dysfunction. No one really communicated. I don't think that Maddie and Amanda's parents had any true inkling of who their partner really was. So many tragic choices. So many things never spoken. I also believe that Amanda was not all there, of course I think that Amanda was untimately a reflection of her parents vastly different view and treatment of the two sisters. Amanda's extreme possessiveness of her sister beginning when she herself was a little girl, I found that very disturbing. And later her relationship with her sister and later her sister's child...well it is really very difficult to discuss this book at any length without giving anything away. Let's just say that it was intriguing and fascinating and if you like trying to understand character actions and motivations, this book is magnificent. I can't recommend it highly enough, it was fast paced and well written and I finally had to stay up until early morning because I couldn't stand not knowing the answer to Ruth's question.
Rating: 
Summary: good book!
Review: I enjoyed reading this book and finding out the secrets. I thought the ending left me a little bit hanging though. I would recommend this book to others.
Rating:
Summary: Drowning Ruth Is definatly a great novel!
Review: I LOVED THIS BOOK! It cultivated so many emotions. The book seemed to read backwards, almost like a mystery. You began to feel genuinly for the characters and If you like any of Oprah's book club books, this is definatly a great pick.
Rating:
Summary: Debut novel, and she could get better.
Review: First off, I love to read debut novels. While this novel was well written I was left feeling that we didn't need to read the entire novel to wait for the ending. Still, I felt all the emotions in this novel, I enjoyed Ruth, I was angry with Amanda although I understood her. This wasn't one of the best Oprah picks, and if this were out of ten starts I would give it seven. But, I give to many 5 out of 5 stars, and 10 out of 10!
Rating:
Summary: A good read and a fine first novel.
Review: I enjoyed this book. I know it may have been predictable for some, but I was happy to let Christina Schwartz take me on the ride to the end of the novel. The Ruth and Amanda points of view, coupled with the touch of going back and forth in time engaged me in the story from Chapter one. Family secrets, plot twists, memories that don't quite come together for Ruth--I loved it. This is an excellent first novel, and I look forward to Christina Schwartz's next piece.
Rating: 
Summary: What a terrible book!!!
Review: Depressing things happenning to depressing people. Do you want to see the story of a life that is misery after torment after trauma? Do you want characters you cannot like? I cannot imagine any reason to read this book, unless you have had a terrible life, and you want to read a book about someone whose life was worse that yours. I read this book for my book club, and that is the only reason I finished it. I can think of only one book in my entire life that I liked less than this one, but still finished.
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL BOOK
Review: IF YOU LIKE OPRAH'S BOOK CLUB, THEN THIS BOOK IS FOR YOU! THE STORY IS VERY GOOD. CAN'T PUT DOWN!
Rating: 
Summary: Okay but slow
Review: This book describes the guilt and pain of Amanda and how those emotions affected her entire family and even those within her community. Although the book starts well, I almost quit reading half way through it. The plot lines move slowly, and there are sudden jumps in time. You'll be reading along in one chapter, you run across a break, and the next thing you know several years have passed. However, you don't even know that for several paragraphs, so it's too easy to get distracted and confused. I also think too many sub-plots and the recollections of the characters were not always expanded upon enough, either. I did think that Amanda, Mathilda and Ruth are well developed characters, and you do feel sympathy for them all. However, I would have liked to see Ruth's father, Carl, and Imogene, Ruth's friend (and something else to the story...) more developed. Imogene especially- I felt like I didn't really know here.
Rating:
Summary: Ultimately a disappointment
Review: Christina Schwarz is obviously a gifted writer. Her lucid prose delivered the sounds, taste, and smells of that farm on the water right to my senses. Not many writers have that magic touch. Unfortunately, such beautiful writing led to a terribly disappointing and anti-climatic ending. It was almost like the author suddenly realised that she needed to come up with an ending and couldn't quite figure out what to do. Or maybe she just got tired and "stopped." The other minor problem was with the throwaway storyline involving Clement Owens. But it is the ending that caused the biggest disappointment in this otherwise lovely book.
Rating:
Summary: Great thriller!
Review: I really enjoyed this story. The author pulls you into the lives of Aunt Mandy, you can't help loving and disliking her at the same time. Ruth is the main character, the story takes you through her childhood friendships and her revelation of what happened the night she almost drowned. I could not put it down once I started.
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