Rating: 
Summary: Eye opening
Review: I read Deep End of the Ocean by Ms Mitchard and absolutely loved it! So when I heard about this book, I picked it up without knowing too much about it. It is a wonderful read! The story is so real and the characters fascinating. I am recommending it to my sister-in-law who is an adopted child and to friends who recently adopted. If you are adopted, adopting or thinking about adoption, it is a MUST read!
Rating:
Summary: Interesting story too much detail
Review: I really liked the "Deep End of the Ocean" by Jacquelyn Mitchard so when this book came out I was really excited to read it. I am very interested in stories about adoption - my own sister was adopted. I found that the author went into too much details about other topics instead of focusing on the main story line. This book had alot of potential. It really made you think about what would happen if this were a true story. The whole idea that an adopted relative does not carry as much weight as a blood relative seemed so preposterous to me. All in all, I still enjoyed the book and it did have some surprise twists to it.
Rating: 
Summary: What Makes a REAL Family?
Review: Is it nature, or is it nurture that makes a family? Mitchard brings the timeless question into crystal-clear focus in this tale of a child whose parents die tragically and whose future will likely have to be decided in the court system. The fierce love young Keefer Nye instills in her grandparents, her uncle, her cousins, and her community transcends all artificially constructed boundaries. The author captures with aching clarity the emotions of adults who stand to lose the most beloved thing in their lives. We are drawn irrevocably into this complex story, and we CARE about its outcome. While it is true that events are definitely amplified for dramatic effect, Mitchard skillfully manages to avoid gushy sentimentality and emotional manipulation, leaving our hearts warmed but our dignity as intelligent, discerning readers intact.
Rating: 
Summary: Story - Good; Delivery - Not So Good
Review: Jacquelyn Mitchard's newest novel brings us into the world of the McKennas who have lost their daughter Georgia in an accident and may now lose their daughter's only child, Keefer, simply because their daughter was adopted. The concept of the story is excellent. Does adoption lessen the degree of importance in family ties? Should an adopted sibling have fewer rights than a blood sibling/relative? Where is King Solomon when we need him? The only problem is that the story tends to get lost in the explanation. Too many characters who are not developed in a way that connects with the reader makes this a trying and not so enjoyable read. I would read a name and have to stop and try to figure out who the person was (one of the attorneys? the guardian ad litem? a relative?). Or I would read a name and it was the wrong name due to poor editing. Pages would go by where we were forced to follow the thought patterns of Georgia's brother Gordon. These thoughts often stifled the flow of the story. There were moving moments in this book, but they were fragmented and misplaced. Often I would expect things to pick up only to be let down again, like a car that won't start that suddenly catches, giving you hope before it dies again. I'm glad I read this book only because it will make me think twice before I read Mitchard's next book.
Rating:
Summary: ANOTHER BESTSELLER FOR MITCHARD!
Review: Jacquelyn Mitchard, the Oprah anointed author of "The Deep End Of The Ocean," opens her third novel with a sure grabber: "They died instantly." Once again using family tragedy as a springboard Ms. Mitchard has created an emotionally charged work filled with very real characters who are compelled to reassess their long held beliefs in love and forgiveness. Gordon McKenna, a handsome 24-year-old bon vivant, has cared for his niece, one-year-old Keefer, as his sister, Georgia, battles breast cancer. The unthinkable occurs when Georgia and her husband , Ray Nye, are killed in an auto accident. Gordon and his parents quite naturally assume that they will be Keefer's guardians. However, Ray's parents believe otherwise. There is little time for each family to mourn their losses before an ugly and protracted custody battle ensues. The suit is muddied by the fact that Georgia and Gordon were both adopted, thus, by state law are not blood relatives. Ms. Mitchard who has adopted five children and was once involved in a custody battle draws on personal experience to craft this heart wrenching tale. It's a two hanky read, and undoubtedly another bestseller for this author.
Rating:
Summary: Good to the bitter end
Review: The bitter custody battle of little Keefer whose parents are killed(possibly by suicide)in a car accident is the main subject of this book. The deeper side of the story is the love between mother and child, or in this case, uncle and niece. The question of whether a child belongs with a blood related family member simply because they share DNA, or should that child go where he is truly loved? Mitchard did an excellent job presenting both sides of the arguement. Nothing like a battle well fought and even more rewarding was how the battle was won. I loved Deep End of the Ocean, and was luke warm on the ones in between. Theory of Relativity is handsdown the best work of J. Mitchard.
Rating: 
Summary: Great premise, poor execution
Review: The premise of the books is a good one - a young child is orphaned when her parents are killed in an automobile crash and both sides of her family (granparents and aunts/uncles) want to raise her. What could have been a wonderfully tense and moving story was in fact, so muddled that I forced myself to keep reading. It was hard to get a sense of any of the characters (they all blurred so badly I stopped trying to keep them straight) or a feel for the emotional upheaval they were going through. Two-thirds of the book was consumed with wallowing and floundering (and a few overly dull courtroom scenes), and the last third hinged on major coincidence and manipulation. There were many thought-provoking issues the book could have addressed, but to the extent it covered them at all, it brushed past. Sadly.
Rating:
Summary: Thought-provoking book...
Review: This book (which was excellently read by Juliette Parker on audito cassettes)goes so far beyond the premise of exploring the unfortunate and far-reaching fall-out from the deaths of a young mother and father in an unfortunate motor vehicle accident. As the mother of a much loved adult adopted son, this book made me think about the facets of family, relationships, adoptions, fairness, and love in ways that I had never considered previously. I would recommend the book for any reader who enjoys a good story with in-depth characters and interesting prediciments. However, I would especially recommend it for any individual who loves an adopted child, is an adopted child, or is interested in adoption. This novel makes for good reading and provides ideas to ponder in depth if you care to do so.
Rating:
Summary: HEART ENGAGING
Review: THIS BOOK HAD ME HOOKED FROM THE BEGINNING. Even though I sort of predicted the ending I couldn't put it down. There were times that I found myself in tears as I read it. GREAT BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: depressing
Review: This book is entirly to sad. I really enjoyed the style of writing, also the plot, story line, character development. But it is entirely to depressing. I want gritty reality, but I don't want to have to take prozac afterward. When I started crying on the treadmill, I knew it was time to quit.
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