Rating: 
Summary: A Good Relationship Book
Review: This was an easy read and a quite good mother-daughter story, taking place in a Maine mill town in the 60s. The mother's and daughter's stories are told in the context of the lives of other people in the community. The two women come to terms with complex changes and events that jeopardize their relationship and threaten to alter it forever.Strout did a great job of revealing the inner lives of the main characters and allowing the reader to feel empathy for them. Amy was plainly revealed early in the book but it took a while longer to get to *know* Isabelle. I felt that the character portrayal was very realistic and complete, with the exception of Mr. Robertson--I felt that he could have used more development to reveal his motivation. I thought Strout did an especially good job with Avery---he was so unkind and unfeeling, so uncaring about the effect of forgetting he was supposed to go to Isabelle's. My heart just ached as she got the house ready and waited and waited. Sometimes Isabelle's pain, about the way her life has evolved, was almost too much to bear. What a sad and empty life she led with no confidantes and her daughter as her only interest. There were a few loose ends that could certainly have been eliminated, and probably would have made the book flow a little better. Overall, though, it was a good reading experience.
Rating:
Summary: Amy and Isabelle: A Real Teenager's Point of View
Review: In my senior A.P. English class, I was assigned to read a recent fiction novel. I read a million different summaries of books and I finally decided on Amy and Isabelle. What first attracted me to this book was that it was all about a teenage girl and her mother. Obviously, being a teenager myself, I felt I could relate to this. The novel itself was extremely well-written. I would gladly read another Elizabeth Strout book. I rarely enjoy reading, but I did enjoy reading this book. I feel that some aspects of the mother-daughter relationship were depicted too depressingly. Maybe I say this because my mother is my best friend. Although there were a few excerpts that caught me off-guard with their blunt sexuality, I would reccomend this novel to anyone, especially mothers and daughters. Its complex plot unfolds as a beautiful tapestry. I liked the omnmiscient writing style so that I knew exactly what was going on in each character's mind throughout the novel. The best descriptions were not those of places or peoples' appearances, they were of emotions. The emotional aspect of the book was the greatest factor of its quality. I went through the emotions with each character. My heart was broken along with Amy's, I felt isolated with Isabelle, and I was devastated with Dottie. I could especially relate to Amy's feelings. Perhaps the most powerful emotions are experienced during one's teenage years. It's almost as if everything that is felt is magnified by ten. Elizabeth Strout conveys these emotions beautifully, without making Amy look like a hormonal teenager. I think all teens can appreciate that.
I found that the theme of heat was present throughout the novel. This presented a desperate environment, where everything is difficult and each day is a struggle. This parallels life. We are held down by the "heat" each day, but sometimes the weather breaks and we realize what is truly important in life, much like Amy and Isabelle did at the conclusion of the novel. If the novel has a moral to it, it would be that no matter how nad your life is, someone else's is always worse. You just have to hold on because better days will come. And in Amy and Isabelle, they did. I will probably read this book again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: Refreshingly open and forward!
Review: Elizabeth Strout has written a masterpiece here. A friend gave me "Amy and Isabelle" shortly after I was finally able to come to terms with myself, my past and come out about all of it - at 31. My first thought, was "ugh, another mother-daughter story from another well-meaning friend", but Strout managed to present the story of a mother and daughter coming to terms with themselves and each other without developing suffocating tunnel vision or a soapbox. This tale is always open with many interwoven avenues like a road map. The reader gets a broad perspective of the various individuals with whom Amy and Isabelle Goodrow interact on a daily basis, rather than just being limited to Amy and Isabelle themselves like so many other mother/daughter reads tend to do somewhere after page 1. There's Avery, Fat Bev, Dottie Brown, Stacy, Mr. Robertson, and a number of others rounding out the picture. We really get to see the clearest measure of Amy and Isabelle -- of how they measure themselves, how they believe they are measured, and how they are measured in reality -- through these other characters. In fact, what is measured in the end is how we view ourselves as [reader] in light of those with whom we interact. Both Amy and Isabelle find unexpected strength when they each quit trying to be something they are not, and allow themselves to become human, in Shirley Falls, where Isabelle has for many years thought that 'being human' was probably the worst possible thing to do. The characters are all so familiar that one can't help but put themselves into at least one pair of shoes in this book. Strout has achieved a familiar, three dimensional, fast and engaging style that keeps you reading until the book runs out...
Rating:
Summary: An Authentic Exploration of a Mother-Daughter Relationship
Review: "Amy and Isabelle" is the well-crafted story of a single mother Isabelle and her beautiful shy daughter Amy. The story takes place during a sweltering summer in mythical Shirley Falls. (Which reminded me of both Bedford Falls, the setting for "It's a Wonderful Life", and Seneca Falls, the upper New York State town where the first Women's Rights convention was held.) A river passing through Shirley Falls divides it into the "haves" and the "have-nots", and Isabelle has attempted to plant roots on the side with the "haves." After 14 years of trying to fit in, it's time for Isabelle to be honest about herself. Meanwhile, Amy is learning about her sexuality, and her need for love. By the end of the summer when the weather finally breaks, both Isabelle and Amy have had a kind of an awakening. Plenty of other small-town characters, from creepy Mr. Robertson to friendly Fat Bev, Avery Clark and all the church wives, and Amy's pregnant friend Stacy provide color and counterpoint to the main story. If you're a mother or a daughter or both, like me, you will enjoy this book. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful book about mother/daughter relationships
Review: On the surface, the lives of Isabelle and Amy appear mundane. But the author, Elizabeth Strout, makes us care deeply about this mother and daughter as well as many of the other seemingly uninteresting characters who people this small New England mill town. Until the summer in which this story takes place, Isabelle and Amy exist in a world of their own, not really belonging to any social group within their town. But the same incident that causes a traumatic rift in their relationship, finally enables them to connect with these other individuals as well as to truly understand and accept each other for the first time. Strout's ability to climb into her characters' minds, understanding their longings and fears, is just extraordinary. She treats all her characters (her female characters, anyway) with great compassion and understanding. The character of Fat Bev was a particular standout. Run, don't walk, to buy this book!
Rating: 
Summary: Merely O.K.
Review: Another take on the traditional mother-daughter struggle. I'm still waiting for a fresh approach!
Rating:
Summary: Refreshingly open and forward!
Review: Elizabeth Strout has written a masterpiece here. A friend gave me "Amy and Isabelle" shortly after I was finally able to come to terms with myself, my past and come out about all of it - at 31. My first thought, was "ugh, another mother-daughter story from another well-meaning friend", but Strout managed to present the story of a mother and daughter coming to terms with themselves and each other without developing suffocating tunnel vision or a soapbox. This tale is always open with many interwoven avenues like a road map. The reader gets a broad perspective of the various individuals with whom Amy and Isabelle Goodrow interact on a daily basis, rather than just being limited to Amy and Isabelle themselves like so many other mother/daughter reads tend to do somewhere after page 1. There's Avery, Fat Bev, Dottie Brown, Stacy, Mr. Robertson, and a number of others rounding out the picture. We really get to see the clearest measure of Amy and Isabelle -- of how they measure themselves, how they believe they are measured, and how they are measured in reality -- through these other characters. In fact, what is measured in the end is how we view ourselves as [reader] in light of those with whom we interact. Both Amy and Isabelle find unexpected strength when they each quit trying to be something they are not, and allow themselves to become human, in Shirley Falls, where Isabelle has for many years thought that 'being human' was probably the worst possible thing to do. The characters are all so familiar that one can't help but put themselves into at least one pair of shoes in this book. Strout has achieved a familiar, three dimensional, fast and engaging style that keeps you reading until the book runs out...
Rating:
Summary: Searing exploration of the mother/daughter relationship
Review: A remake on an old theme: the outcome of life for a girl who experiences sexual initiation in the arms of a trusted authority figure (a high school teacher) and its impact on her life, her mother's life, and their life together. Isabelle has kept secret from everyone that Amy's birth was illegitimate - one gets the sense that she's almost begun to believe the lie herself. In her hunger for respectability and her attempts to 'protect' herself and her daughter, she has cut herself off from life, emotion, the art of living. A beautifully nuanced novel of understanding, compassion, and hope.
Rating:
Summary: A book for every mother and daughter
Review: I'm a girl in high school and I read this a couple years ago. I have to say, it's amazing. The writing is strong, especially because the setting and character development is written so vividly that, for me at least, everything became very real and palpable. The storyline is heartbreaking, emotional, and yet also very moving. I think every girl in high school would have a hard time NOT relating to this. All I can say is that Elizabeth Strout must have written this from the heart, because it is that real. A great read for mothers and daughters.
Rating:
Summary: Slow to warm up
Review: It took me several days to "warm up" to the characters in the book, but after a while, I could not put it down. I did find myself looking forward to the sections focusing on Amy and Isabelle rather than the other characters such as the office women. I also found my eyes "skimming" over the lengthy paragraphs describing the weather and surroudings. Mr. Robertson's perspective was definetely missing-leaving me curious as to what was true and what was Amy's perception (maybe the point the author was going for). Overall, I did enjoy reading the story and would be interested in seeing the movie.
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