Rating: 
Summary: Several times..
Review: I felt at home with this book. I wanted a piece of that lemon cake oh so very bad but this book didn't go anywhere and left me feeling like I was missing several pieces to the story. I wanted to hear more about Pearl and Johnnie Mae. I wanted to hear more about her mom and Johnnie Mae. I feel cheated but I am glad I read the story anyway!
Rating: 
Summary: A Slow Simmer
Review: I'll admit that this book moved a little slow to me, but the writer got me caught up in the emotions, so I didn't mind. I often enjoy stories like this where the characters are fully developed and I can experience whatever emotions they are feeling. This one did it for me. Very moving.
Rating:
Summary: No, it isn't action packed
Review: The action is in the emotion and the imagery. The author does an outstanding of job of painting a picture with her words. You can picture Johnnie May's dad standing on the riverbank...in one spot...refusing to move until they find his little girl's body. You can picture and even feel the cool blue of the swimming pool on Volta Place. You can smell the herbs in Ella's home. You can move in and stay while you become a part of the book. I enjoyed it immensely.
I will recommend to my book-lover friends but I will tell my friends that only occasionally pick up a book to try something else...this probably won't satisfy.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the best book to read.
Review: The book starts out slow, and it weaves its way through the past and present, which gets a little annoying. While it does have some feeling to it, and it does give a good insight to what life for african americans was like back then, I was for the most part dreadfully bored with the book. Not something I'd really recommend to people to read.
Rating: 
Summary: A READING IMBUED WITH UNDERSTANDING
Review: This was Oprah's pick and it'll be yours too. Debut novelist Clarke presents an affecting story of a young girl's death by drowning and the impact this has on those still living in a 1925 Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Ten-year-old Johnnie Mae Bynum feels the loss deeply as she was instructed to care for her younger sister. Guilt and confusion reign within her. Thus, we have a remarkable coming of age tale, we experience the family tensions that are the aftermath of such a tragedy, and witness racist feelings in a small community. The author imbues the reading of her work with richness and understanding
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