Rating: 
Summary: Save your time and skip it
Review: I hated this book but I had to finish it to find out what happened with the kids. I found the story inconsistent - Vincent/Reese makes a couple references to a gravy smell which was never resolved. And, wouldn't someone spend more time talking to the child who was there when the other was abducted? Hypnosis or some sort of early counselling might have brought out Vincent so that he wasn't a mess later on, plus they might have had better leads.Additionally, I smelled Cecil as a rat very early on - I knew it from the first introduction when the best friend made a catty remark about her, and then when Cecil called to say she couldn't make it to the group sending out flyers. The interruptions to the main plot were just that - disrupting schlock -- the family restaurant and the re-igniting old flames with the boyfriend. I wished I'd spent the time reading Steinbeck or some real classic. The only reason this got 2 stars was because it made me so mindful of realizing that I must be attentive to my child,and one should never expect that a child can watch another child - even for a minute. They depend on us adults to do the supervision.
Rating: 
Summary: a cherished read for any mother
Review: I found this book enthralling, unable to put it down. I find that alot of people dislike the Beth character. I found her very real, honest, and completely true to life. I have a 3 year old, and two other children. Personally how else would one react. The book was heart warming and emotionally draining at times, but also joyful and wistful. If you read only a few books a year I would truly recommend this be one of them. Your heart and mind will thank you, and you will read it more than once. enjoy....but have your kleenex ready.......
Rating: 
Summary: Write what you know?
Review: Ok, first rule of writing as everyone knows is, WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW! This author should have done some serious research before plunging into this monstrosity she created. Being a part of a child custody case I have been to family court more times than I care to count. The depictions in this book are so far fetched and ridiculous, I was disgusted. Someone should tell Miss Mitchard to check out a legal book or two before making another failed attempt at dramatic writing.
Rating:
Summary: Couldn't wait for it to be over!
Review: What a big dissapointment! I kept on reading the book hoping something interesting would pop up soon.... I skipped pages just to get to the end. Very, very boring... The relationships between the characters were very unrealistic, very untouching. I hate the Beth character, what a horrible, pathetic woman, I can't find myself to like her one bit! Will not be recommending this to anyone!
Rating: 
Summary: Parents, take a deep breath and plunge...it's worth it.
Review: If you have a child, you're not ready for this book...but you will never be sorry you read it. I finished it in 8 emotionally draining hours and came out feeling like I'd just sent my head and my heart through a spin cycle. But I learned about myself and my ability (inability?) to face this issue, without ever being outside the reach of my three sons' wonderful smell and touch. It's fabulous, and should be required reading for adults of all variety -- with or without children.
Rating:
Summary: RIVETING
Review: This book captured the intense grief parents feel in losing a child. Ben, suddenly disappears in the midst of his mother, Beth's high school reunion. The focus was largely on Beth's feelings of guilt, anger and even loathing for all that is not Ben. The other children, the eldest in particular see that their mother has also left. Her daily life becomes a struggle in an effort not to follow her lost child to the unfathomable limbo he has disappeared into. The family is shattered to pieces and their relationships with each other experiences a slow and painful death. When Ben is found, it seems that salvation has presented itself and hope arises. However, reality refuses to erase the past. And again they must come to terms with another form of death. The death of hope that their lives and family may be reconstructed to what it once was before their nightmare began.
Rating:
Summary: never again will I read this author's work
Review: Development of the characters was carried to monotony--made you want to skip pages and get on with the book. This should be this author's first and LAST novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Page turner, but keeps you guessing...
Review: I had mixed feelings about this book. As the mother of a young child, I felt Beth's pain and torture at having lost her baby. Yet I could not bring myself to sympathize completely with her because of her selfishness in her pain. She did not allow her family to support her nor did she give anyone support. Rather, she witheld herself from them and refused to be a good mother to her remaining children. My real sympathy was for Vincent. He carried the wounds for the entire family and harbored the blame for having let go of Ben's hand. What child can live with that? His belief that his mother truly hated him became more and more validated as she distanced herself away from the family. This book was truly a page turner but I found myself skipping over the excess muck to the parts I felt were relevant in keeping with the main thread of the story. The everyday reality was too grueling for me and I only really understood Beth's love for Ben when she gave him up for the second time. The ending just keeps you guessing at whether they will ever be a normal family again. I wish the author would have given us a better sense of closure.
Rating:
Summary: RIVETING
Review: I listened to the audio cassettee and the story/presentation held me spellbound. I was hooked from the class reunion until the return of Ben. Each chapter was excellently portrayed and the characters's dialogues were well written. Each character was given life through the simple dialogue/complex character development. I, especially, enjoy non-fiction and this book/audio rates an A with me.
Rating:
Summary: Loved the characters
Review: The characters in this book were my favorite part. I could feel the pain of all of them. It was also a great story--completely unpredictable.
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