The Deep End of the Ocean

Rating:
Summary: Hard to get into - I was very disappointed!
Review: I bought this book because it is part of Oprah's Book Club. I have always enjoyed the books Oprah has chosen until this one. This book was very hard to follow. I had a hard time getting into it. Jacquelyn Mitchard's writing leaves a lot to be desired. I don't like her style of writing - it's very hard reading. I read A LOT and have NEVER disliked reading a book as much as this one. This was the first and last book of Jacquelyn Mitchard that I will ever read.

Rating:
Summary: Very gripping but leaves some questions unsolved
Review: The story was awesome and I read the whole novel in one day. I was immeresed in the book. However, the ending was a slight let down and left some questions unanswered.

Rating:
Summary: I loved the book and stayed up until 2AM to finish it.
Review: I was taken with this book right from the beginning. This story was more than a story about a boy who was taken from his family. In fact, I felt it dealt more with the way each of us sees the same situation in a different way. The two main characters in the book are Beth and her son Vincent. We see how the disappearance of Ben affected both characters and how their misunderstanding of each other tore them apart. This book made me think strongly of two things, how quickly something could happen when I am not fully watching my children and how much I do is seen by and affects my children. I am looking forward to the movie starring Michele Pfiffer and Johnathon Jackson, both excellent actors that should do the book justice.

Rating:
Summary: Don't bother.
Review: Deep End of the Ocean was real drudgery. . . the endless introspection and emotional turmoil made for an arduous, unpleasant read. I don't mind emotional turmoil, but one has at least to care about the characters, which I didn't. I could not wait for the book to end! The only reason I did manage the end, is not because that is usually my habit unless the book is just too terrible and not because the book was designated by my book group, which it was, but because it was glowingly recommended by a woman who's intelligence I very much respect and who admire a great deal. I kept on trying to figure what she liked about this awful novel and thought that maybe the next page or the next chapter would reveal it. The book was a real grind and I was very glad to finally reach the end and put it aside!

Rating:
Summary: Well written book with an unbelieveable plot line.
Review: It's a shame such a talented writer uses "dreams" to lead her in developing plots. The "twists" don't make the book; they distract. If I hadn't been reading for a book club I would have never finished it!

Rating:
Summary: I thought this book was excellent.
Review: This book is about a mother of three children, Vincent, Kerry, and Ben. One day at the mall 3 year old ben, the mother's favorite child, gets lost. Days, weeks, months, years go by and even the police officer obsessed with the case gives up. But then, something happens.

Rating:
Summary: True to life
Review: This book is an amazing novel of a kidknapping and the emotions of the family and community. If you ever read "The Face on the Milk Carton" and the seuel "Whatever happened to Janye" It's like the exact opposite side, the family who lived with the lose of their kid...truelly amazing, impossible to put down! You wanna hit the mom most of the time, though.

Rating:
Summary: Can't wait for the movie!
Review: I have to admit this book was hard to put down. The first half of the book dragged a bit because it was so loaded down with depression. (Believe me this mother had a good reason to be depressed.) Many people I've talked to said they couldn't get in to it. If you can get through the first half of the book, you'll be carrying it with you everywhere until it's finished.

Rating:
Summary: Do you have a family? You'll cry for these characters.
Review: DEEP END OF THE OCEAN is the book I have felt most emotionally wrapped up in of all books I've read in my lifetime. At the end, you, too, will feel that you have an emotional stake in the outcome of this novel, which involved so much more than a lost boy, though all the psychological truths revealed here stem from precisely that. As a writer, I feel afraid to be as bold with these truths as Mitchard is here, but her powerful work seems to tell me I should be considering this style as a model. The high quality of Mitchard's art is revealed most clearly by her ability to narrate from multiple points of view--to expose grief, of all tortures, from so many human perspectives. Even if you haven't, you'll believe that you've been there...that you live among this family, that you've been one of them. I recommend the novel to anyone who understands the human heart--or who wants a better grasp of it.

Rating:
Summary: Good Story. Disliked the mother from the start
Review: I enjoyed the book as it was a good story, but I hated the mother from the beginning. It was obvious she felt she was missing out in her relationship with her husband and her children got in her way. I didn't feel sorry for her, although what happened was horrible. Near the end of the book I warmed up to her as she recognized what was right for Ben/Sam.