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Summary: Another great read by Diane
Review: The Courage Tree is about love, hope and trust---the kind that so few people truly experience. It's about a young girl who has a chronic illness with a very poor prognosis--end stage renal failure. She is on a non-traditional program of medication that only her mother and a friend support----the rest of the family alienated themselves from the mother because of her decision for the medication. The girl's father also is against this method of treatment. He's struggling with his own emotions. When Sophie doesn't return from a weekend camping trip with the Girl Scouts, everyone becomes part of the "discovery"------of her, of themselves, of each other------and there are several surprises along the way. Diane has a magical way of introducing the many players in the "plot" without confusing anyone. She's also able to weave their lives together, adding some mystery, some mystique and unexpected endings------allowing you to get to know all the characters, to feel their pain, to laugh with them, to smile with them and to be happy for them. I hated to see the book end. I wanted to read more. But then I feel that way every time I read one of Diane Chamberlain's books. She's a master at writing about people-----making the reader feel a part of their lives----as if they're real----making you want to meet them in person. And along the way, you are not bored. There's also a sense of drama and adventure. I truly enjoyed this story.
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Summary: An attention-grabbing read!
Review: The Courage Tree is one of my favorite books. I picked it up at a used book store for $1, and let me tell you I was in for a suprise. It's not only easy to read, but you really connect with the characters. Diane Chamberlain is a greatly talented author and she proves that in this novel.
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Summary: Another Page Turner From Diane
Review: The Courage Tree is vintage Diane Chamberlain. Secrets and subplots that are as involving or more so than the main plot. This book has it all. Like other reviewers have noted, Diane has a way of doling out just enough information to make you keep turning the pages long after you're ready to turn in for a good night's sleep.Janine, the mother of critically ill and wise beyond her years Sophie, is constantly battling her parents and ex-husband, Joe over every decision she makes. Janine's parents are hypercritical of her every move and welcome subservient, orphaned Joe into the family as one of their own. After their divorce, Joe still refers to Janine's parents as Mom and Dad. Janine's lover, the mysetrious garderner, Lucas Trowell, accurately describes her parents and ex-husband as the "anti-Jan triad". When Sophie becomes lost in the woods during a camping trip that this "triad" vehementley opposed Jan's decision to allow Sophie to participate in, all hell breaks loose. In a similarily involving subplot, Zoe, an aging movie star, is camped out in the same woods as Sophie is lost in. She's trying to free her daughter from prison, believing that she was unjustly convicted for a crime that she didn't commit. Zoe's realization of her own mistakes as a mother, coupled with her realization that something is very wrong with her daughter, Marti, makes for compelling reading. Diane ties all of these characters together and makes you care for all of them. By the time you've finished the last page, you're hoping for a sequel, not unusual in a Diane Chamberlain novel. Bottom line, highly reccomended and can't wait for the next book! As someone who has lived in Northern Virginia for many years, albeit reluctantly, Diane captures the region perfectly. She writes convincingly of the beauty of the Shenandoahs, the small town feel of some cities within walking distance of Washington DC. She also captures the contempt for women and children rampant in that state, from the caviliar attitude of the police officer on the scene when Sophie and fellow Brownie, Holly, are discovered missing, to the ever present and real threat of having Janine declared incompetent solely for doing what she believed was in the best interest of her child, regardless of what the majority would have done in Janine's shoes. Bravo Diane!!
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Summary: Grabs you and keeps you throughout!
Review: This is my third book by Diane Chamberlain and the one I liked the most. I do believe that all her books are a great stretch of the imagination, but that's fiction for you. This one was really suspenseful and not as predictable as the others. It's one of those books that you just don't want to put down. I highly recommend it for a fast, easy read with a good story.
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Summary: Great family story
Review: This story captures your heart - the characters are portrayed in such fantastic way that you feel they are real people. Diane Chamberlain allows you to feel the emotions Janine and Sophie experience. Being from Virginia myself, I felt like I knew the areas she wrote about. It is a wonderful book that has many unsuspected surprises and twists. This is the first of Diane Chamberlain's books I have read. I look forward to reading the next!
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Summary: Wonderful Family Drama
Review: This story captures your heart - the characters are portrayed in such fantastic way that you feel they are real people. Diane Chamberlain allows you to feel the emotions Janine and Sophie experience. Being from Virginia myself, I felt like I knew the areas she wrote about. It is a wonderful book that has many unsuspected surprises and twists. This is the first of Diane Chamberlain's books I have read. I look forward to reading the next!
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Summary: Great family story
Review: This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it. It has a little suspense, but it's mostly a touching family story. I highly recommend it.
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Summary: Shows Why Diane Chamberlain is one of my favorite authors
Review: With The Courage Tree Diane Chamberlain again proves she is one of the best writers contemporary women's fiction has to offer. Despite misgivings and warnings of her parents and ex-husband, Janine Donohue has allowed her eight-year-old daughter Sophie to go off to camp with her Brownie Troup. This is the first time she's been away from home and everyone's concern is magnified by the fact that Sophie has been seriously ill suffering from renal disease. But recently experimental treatments have improved her condition so that dialysis isn't needed as often as it once was, affording Sophie the opportunity to go away for the weekend at camp. But Sophie doesn't return. The car in which the assistant troup leader and two of the Brownies, including Sophie, were riding, is missing. Janine's ex-husband, Joe and her parents blame Janine. They were not supportive of Sophie going on the trip in the first place. In addition, they are upset that Janine has gone against medical advice to enroll Sophie in the experimental program, despite the fact that it appears to be helping. Lending support to Janine is her friend, Lucas Trowell, a rather mysterious man who is the head gardener at the estate where Janine and her parents live - her parents in the mansion and Janine and Sophie in a small adjacent cottage. Lucas and Janine have become more than friends but have kept their relationship a secret as Janine knows her parents would not approve. In fact, they believe there is somewhat Lucas is hiding. They even think he could be a pedophile since he seems to have such an unusual interest in Sophie. When they find out Janine is actually having a relationship with this man, they become unglued. Joe isn't happy either. He's very close to Janine's parents and side with them in nearly every instance against Janine. He also believes he is still in love with Janine and would like to see them re-marry. Lucas is a mysterious character, that's for sure. Instead of living in his home, he prefers to live in a rather comfortable tree-house adjacent to it. It becomes clear that there is something Lucas is hiding. His comings and goings are rather mysterious, to be sure. One evening when Lucas leaves the search scene to return home, Joe follows. What he discovers only makes him more skeptical. In the woods near the area where young Sophie is missing, another drama is unfolding. Aging movie star Zoe has faked her own death in order to help her daughter Marti escape from prison. She has found a small shanty in the woods and made her own and is waiting for Marti to join her when Sophie appears - dirty, injured, and badly in need of medical treatment. But Zoe is reluctant to get the help she knows Sophie needs, because she needs to protect her own daughter. Diane Chamberlain is a master at creating tense drama and then revealing secrets a little at a time - just enough to keep the reader satisfied while turning the pages at a nearly frantic pace. It was all I could do not to read the end of the book - the tension was so high and I was dying to find out what happened. I am glad I read it in succession like I was supposed to because another secret, one which was very surprising, is revealed near the end of the book - one that will have the reader exclaiming, "Wow!" The characters are so well-drawn. Janine's skeptical and devious mother is one you just want to take and shake some sense into. All the secondary characters feel as real as the main characters. I particularly liked the character of Joe's friend, Paula, who was a stabilizing force in his life. Chamberlain takes the character of Joe and instead of making him into a villain as the ex-husband, shows him as a sympathetic character who really only has the best intentions regarding his ex-wife and daughter. This is a fabulous story, one that kept me reading into the wee hours of the morning. I absolutely could not put it down and highly recommend this story for lovers of compelling and emotional dramas. The Courage Tree is a true masterpiece of modern American fiction.
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