Welcome to the World, Baby Girl

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Summary: You are guaranteed to smile from Page One until The End!
Review: Filled with humor, human drama, and downright southern comfort, the latest book from Fannie Flagg, Harper Lee's soul sister in prose, is a worthy follow-up to her supreme Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. From Post WWII Middle America to 1970s New York City, Flagg covers a lot of ground in the life of Dena Nordstrom, a Jane Pauley-ish, Barbara Walters-ish news reporter who is too ambitious and too career driven for her own good and comes to a crossroad in her personal and professional life. Buy this book and read it. Re-read it if necessary. The only drawback quite honestly is a less-than-thrilling dust jacket. The book deserves better. Be that as it may, the inside of the book is wonderful.

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Summary: waste of time
Review: I was disappointed in the ending of this book even though it was an unexpected ending. I won't give the ending away except to say that it was full of holes, like swiss cheese. There were inconsistencies and no explanations for actions not taken that should've been. If a person went missing from your life wouldn't you call the police? If you were in boarding school in your teens and the support for that boarding school disappeared, how would you continue? The mother had a history of attending to the daughter, then all of a sudden she didn't. I'm trying not to give the ending away but one reviewer said it was as though it was made up along the way and that seems to be true. The whole premise behind the moving from place to place didn't even make sense. Don't waste your time on this one. Read 467 pages of some other good book with a tighter story line.

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Summary: At a loss for an ending?
Review: I enjoy Fannie Flagg's writing, and I love the manner in which she depicts small town life. In this book, some of the characters are lovable, with the exception of the main character, Dena. She seems to have no personality whatsoever. The book held my interest long enough to finish it, but the ending appeared as though Fannie sort of made it up as she went along. All of this mystery and intrigue are built up throughout the book, only to let the reader down in the end.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I'm normally one to stick with a tried and true bestseller like "Da Vinci Code" or "Bark of the Dogwood--Tour of Southern homes," but instead decided to veer off my beaten path. And boy am I glad I did! What a fantastic book! While I had seen the movie Fried Green Tomatoes, I hadn't read the book and therefore didn't realize Flagg's immense talent for putting words on paper. This is one excellent book! Wow!

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Summary: Loved it!!!
Review: This was my first Fannie Flagg book and I really enjoyed it. The story continually switches from the past to the present and I initially found it confusing but came to appreciate the way it was written. I really felt for the main character of Dena. In the beginning I thought she was a bit shallow and selfish with her life spiraling out of control but by the end I found myself cheering her on and appreciating her for what she went through. The book slowly weaves characters in and out of the story and you wonder how the pieces fit together but by the end of the book everything comes together like a tightly wrapped package.

Rating:
Summary: Not her best, but not bad
Review: This was the first book I have read for fun in a long time. As a flat read, the book is alright. I read it for a book club, and the more I thought about it, the less I liked it. The book has a surprise toward the end. I mean it is a surprise...no foreshadowing and only one "kind of" clue to even hint at it. Whenever a surprise is revealed to me, I like to ponder it and say "oh, that's what she meant by such-and-such earlier" but there was none of that - it came completely out of left field. I had to wonder if Flagg herself even knew what the surprise was going to be. I also felt that Flagg was trying to make too many social commentaries and didn't lend enough time to each one. So as not to give the surprise away, I can't tell you what they are... My book club thinks she was just writing a story for story's sake, but I still don't think it really works. The "interview" between Tenessee Williams and the main character was distracting, and unless you are a fan, or know what he went through in the last years of his life, the impact of the whole thing is severely lacking. All-in-all, if you read this book, expect it to be primarily about integrity in journalism and standing up for your ideals...kind of. Don't, however, try to dig deeper, because you won't find much.