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Summary: Delightful mother-duaghter tale
Review: To most people, Amy nad Isabelle Goodrow are your typical mother-daughter pair: they love each other, they hate each other, they can't live without each other. And in their small town of Shirley Falls, everything goes normal exactly how it should. We all know it'll mever last. First, Amy falls in love with her math teacher and fails to tell anyone about it. When she finds out, a vengeful Isabelle destroys her daughters beauty and sentences her to the house for the summer. Now in full fledged hate with each other, the two live together, eat together, watch TV together, and even work side by side together without exchanging much more than a word. But this is not Amy and Isabelle's book entirely. We get to know the trials of Fat Bev, Isabelles boss Avery, Peg Dunlap, Dotty Brown, Barbary Rawley, Amy's pregnent friend Stacey Burrows and her boyfried Paul Bellows all in one seamless narrative. We also mildly participate in the murder investigation of Debbie Kay Dorn, a missing 12 year old gilr kidnapped from her home. But the main storyline is how a teenage girls sexual awakenings and a mothers confrontal of her bitter past. Elizabeth Strout has written a stunning, heartbreaking novel. She is one of those writers you watch out for her second, her third, or even her fourth. Any fan of mother/daughter novels will love this book.
Rating: 
Summary: If you can get into it...
Review: you may wane in and out of liking this book. It took me a couple times of trying before I finally got hooked. Turns out there is enough going on to keep your attention. Unfortunately, Strout spends much time use "big" words, and not enough time just letting the story unfold.
Rating: 
Summary: Heartrending and truthful.
Review: I have never read a more accurate description of the interactions between a mother and daughter. This book was poignant and thoughtful, a very rewarding read. I had seen snatches of the film on TV and just had to read the book. The boys might find it a bit wishy-washy, but it's excellent for women of all ages.
Rating:
Summary: nothing spectacular...
Review: I bought this book a few years ago, and finally read it when I heard Oprah had made a movie of it. I love Oprah, so I figured it had to be pretty good. I was 17 when I read the book, and did not think it was really that great. While I related to Amy's character, I did not relate to the mother-daughter relationship at all. I found the book very boring at parts, and the film even more so. It does, however, have a very good ending. It proves that Elizabeth Strout can indeed write.
Rating:
Summary: Great writing, okay story...
Review: After having this novel sit on my bookshelf for 2 ½ years, I thought it was time to finally read it. And while I can't say I was totally mesmerized by this book, I did enjoy it. However, it isn't the storyline that cinched it for me -- in this case, Elizabeth's Strout exceptional writing talent made Amy and Isabelle a 4-star book. Sixteen-year-old Amy is disenchanted with high school. Spending her classes in a fog and smoking cigarettes with her pregnant friend, Stacy, during lunch seems about as good as it will get. But when Amy's old math teacher is replaced mid-year with Mr. Robertson, things start to perk up. And when Mr. Robertson starts paying special attention to Amy, the rest of the school year, and ultimately her life, changes forever. Into this mix is Amy's mother, Isabelle, who craves acceptance from her daughter, her boss, and her co-workers at the shoe mill office. And once Amy's secret about Mr. Robertson is out in the open, Isabelle questions herself, her parenting, and her own secrets from her past. I will admit that the storyline did not grab me like I had hoped. The tone of the story was very mundane, unhappy, and drained of color. However, in some strange way, I ended up liking the book, and I will have to attribute that in part to Elizabeth Strout's excellent writing skills. I would definitely read another book by this author with hopes for storytelling/writing equality.
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Summary: Mother - Daughter Relationship
Review: AMY AND ISABELLE by Elizabeth Strout AMY AND ISABELLE is the story of a mother and daughter, their relationship, and the coming to terms with one's past. On the surface, it appears to be a story about Amy, the teenage daughter that is prone to boredom and feels nothing but contempt for her mother. Amy yearns for a closer relationship with her, but it seems that everything her mother does only irritates Amy further. However, the story is more than just that. The stormy relationship between Isabelle and Amy reveals a typical relationship between mother and teenage daughter, but besides the problem of Amy and the relationship with her mother, the secondary story line belongs to Isabelle, and why she behaves the way she does. What is the secret of her past? It is obvious to the reader that she is hiding a past that she is ashamed of, and it is this reason that Isabelle isolates herself unintentionally from the rest of the world. Isabelle is a single parent, a hard working executive secretary in a factory mill. She's been at the same job for many years, but despite this fact, Isabelle does not seem to have any friends at work, nor does she have any friends outside of the office. She goes through life as if on automatic, day dreaming about being the wife her boss Avery should have, thinking she "belongs". She feels she's above the social status of her co-workers, and feels that if she tried, the upper class women in this small town, such as Avery's wife Emma would accept her as one of their own. The fantasies that Isabelle has during all hours of the day and night is almost ludicrous, as the reader knows that Isabelle does not seem capable to see life as it really is. She does not seem to have a grasp on reality. She also tries too hard to make friends, which often causes her embarrassment. Amy doesn't have many friends either, except for Stacy, who along with Amy, acts out as the rebel teenager, skipping classes, smoking where no one can see them, and sharing stories of their miserable lives. Early on in the story, we find Amy dwelling on her fantasy relationship with her teacher, Mr. Robertson, and soon a real relationship blossoms. It is this relationship that causes the greatest problems between Amy and Isabelle. As the novel progresses, we begin to learn about Isabelle's past. It is this knowledge that moves the rest of the book forward, and it culminates at the end of the book with the revelation of what happened to Isabelle in the distant past. I greatly enjoyed this novel by Elizabeth Strout. She has a wonderful way with words, making the scenes so vivid that I could imagine myself walking amongst the fall leaves with Amy. I also enjoyed the story line and I know that I will be reading more of her in the future.
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Summary: COMING OF AGE
Review: Very seldom do novels portray the complexities of a mother and daughter relationship with such power and beauty. Amy and Isabelle is an excellent view into the internal ups and downs of a relationship that appears on the brink of disaster. Filled with secrets, mistrust and guilt both mother and daughter try to come to terms with themselves. On the surface Amy Goodrow is your typical teenager going through the usual teenage rebellion. Isabelle, her mother, is clueless as to what is going on in her daughter's life and even in her own. Her aloofness, vain fantasies and blindness to her daughter's emotional and sexual awakening foreshadows the explosion that is to come. Mother and daughter find themselves in a battle against one another. This is a battle of wills, a conflict of power and a need for both women to come of age in their emotional and sexual development if they are ever to survive. What a wonder and beautifully told story of a situation in which at some level all mothers have felt with their daughters. Amy and Isabelle is a story of renewing one's trust, allowing one's daughter to grow up and finally freeing yourself from the ghosts of the past. Amy and Isabelle unravel threads of their lives that have caused the two anguish. This is a novel that every mother and daughter should read as they go through the cycle of a girl's young womanhood and an adult's reclaimation of her lost girlhood.
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Summary: Outstanding Debut Novel
Review: Elizabeth Strout has found the words to capture the essence of the complex relationship between and mother and daughter and put them into her first novel "Amy and Isabelle." The descriptions were so well written that I could almost feel the heat from those hot summer days in the office of the mill. I loved the way the author provided us with little updates of the people in Shirley Falls and inserted them here and there throughout the book. The supporting character were strong and believable especially Fat Bev and Stacy. The UFO's and Debby's murder was unnecessary, but Isabelle reading Hamlet was extremely funny and the haircutting scene was very poignant. Ms. Strout has shown a lot of promise with her debut novel and I am eagerly waiting her second.
Rating:
Summary: Well worth reading . . .
Review: While it's possible to pick holes in this novel, it is both well written and believable. The relationship between an over-focused mother and her repressed teenage daughter is well constructed and makes for powerful reading. The author exhibits a deep and genuine understanding of the vulnerability of new-born sexuality, and reminds us all of the seriousness with which adolescent emotions ought to be treated. I am eagerly looking for Strout's next book.
Rating:
Summary: Heartbreaking yet heart warming . . .
Review: Amy and Isabelle is the story of a mother (Isabelle) and a daughter (Amy) who deal with all the problems that come their way. They seem like typical mother and daughter who have their problems and their enjoyments. They struggle to make ends meet and they deal with their problems as they come along. As Amy gets older she is more annoyed by her mother. The way she moves, the way she talks . . . everything about her annoys Amy to no end. As the book goes on, Amy pulls away from Isabelle and goes in search of friends and other people to love her. Amy finds herself falling more and more in lust with Mr. Robertson, her teacher. He, too, seems to have a special feeling for her. Soon, they are spending time along discussing poems and talking about life in general. Isabelle is unaware of because Amy hides her meetings from her. Eventually, Amy and Mr. Robertson have a sexual encounter. But, Isabelle's boss happens to see them and Isabelle finds out. From then on, the story of a heartbroken mother and a tearful, guilty, apoletic daughter takes over. The mother and daughter try to heal their wounds and do what needs to be done. The book focuses on other parts of their lives including the workplace and Amy's friend Stacy and her problems. The book jumps around from one setting to another which is frustrating when you want to know what happens to a certain person or situation. Overall, the book was very good and it is defintely something every mother and daugther should read.
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