Rating: 
Summary: Great
Review: I've had alot of people that are close friends of mine, come to me and tell me that I remind them so much of Amy.
Rating: 
Summary: a great read!
Review: I am incredulous of all the negative reviews! I loved this book! I am very anxious to read another book by Elizabeth Strout.
Rating:
Summary: Too searing not to put down.
Review: It took me a while to read this book, although I loved it. It is insightful, empathic, and sensitive to both characters, and shows a deep understanding of the impact of unhealthy sexual secrets on both a person's own life, and the lives of family members. The book hits squarely on the truth of these matters making it difficult to continue without pausing for thought. It is unclear throughout the book, as secrets unfold, if the characters can survive the turmoil, accept one another and forgive themselves; or disintegrate under the pressure into tragedy. Not only do I recommend this book to friends, but also to victims of sexual abuse, and those who work with those victims.
Rating:
Summary: wow (sorry...thats all I can say!)
Review: If I had the gift of using words the way Elizbeth Strout does, my description of this book would knock everyone's socks off. The visual images are stunning..the simplicity is...is...wow. I want to know more about a person that can write a book like this.
Rating:
Summary: Bittersweet and evocative
Review: If you're looking for a Movie of the Week book, or a Jerry Springer-type mother-daughter turmoil book, look elsewhere. Although there is a disquieting edge of menace in Amy and Isabelle, including a murder and an unethical teacher, it's not an action story and it's not overwrought or overdone.This is a story about the secrets we keep from ourselves and others, about the fictions we create and believe -- sincerely or otherwise -- to protect our images and illusions in others' eyes. In quiet, lucid prose, Strout captures the hesitating, awkward moments of friendship, crushes, life at work and at home. The changes undergone by the characters are mostly subtle, but rewarding. Our book club argued over this book for hours -- but even those who found one of the characters maddening and prim had to admit that the book truly captured the ambivalence of the mother-daughter relationship: those moments when love, embarrassment, fear, anger all exist at once. Ultimately, it's about the freedom and power gained when one finally accepts oneself, one's mistakes and the things we actually did right. Which makes it sound a lot more trite than it is. Read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Two's the limit
Review: I give the author one star for Amy's sexual encounter with Mr. Robertson, which I'm surprised no one else has mentioned. It's sweetly erotic and well-written. The other star is for the scene in which Amy's hair is cut. This moment, though a bit too symbolic for my tastes (overt associations with Rapunzel), is genuinely gripping. The rest, I can't say much for at all. The endless nature descriptions are extraneous. The author has no faith in the reader's ability to discern her message and therefore bangs you over the head with it. No book can succeed when it attempts an over-the-shoulder narration of an entire town's population. Strout's narration of Isabelle attempting to read "Hamlet" is condescending. Finally, Amy's quoting of Edna St. Vincent Millay is not believable. I get the feeling that Strout is a fan of the poet and grafted her appreciation onto a character to whom it absolutely does not belong. Feh.
Rating: 
Summary: Ugh!
Review: I felt absolutely frustrated by this book. The style of writing drove me crazy! Strout's overuse of brackets was unbearably distracting. I kept hoping something interesting would happen in the story but it never did. Most of the characters were typical and the ending was way too contrived. I give the author credit for capturing Amy's teenage personality but not much else. Very disappointing read.
Rating:
Summary: The Ties That Bind
Review: This was a terrific mother/daughter story. I could picture both characters: Tight-lipped Isabelle and Amy hiding behind her voluminous hair. I felt it was quite believable - Isabelle hiding a secret that she doesn't realize isn't nearly as shocking as she has thought, and Amy's fear of the world reflecting her mother's. Amy is just the type of girl who would be easily seduced by an authority figure like a teacher. Although they may not be the most likeable characters in the world, they certainly are interesting. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and look forward to her next outing.
Rating: 
Summary: Not the greatest, but not a total loss either.
Review: This book was off to a slow start and really did not get good until its last quarter when, finally, things started to happen! The author successfully captured the complexities of the mother-daughter relationship here and did a great job developing Amy's character. Overall, it was worth the push to the satisfying last few chapters.
Rating:
Summary: I was hopeful, but alas...
Review: A more appropriate title for this novel would have been "Amy and Her Neurotic Mother Who We Don't Care About." The character of Amy was well done and I would have liked to get more into her head, see her as the storyteller, even. Skipping POV from Amy to Isabelle to the myriad of people in town (was anyone else lost trying to remember who was married to or the lover of whom?) was distracting and left little room to get into Isabelle's character. I really wanted to love this book, and in fact the prose was lovely, but ultimately I didn't like Isabelle at all, and cared little for anything she had to say or think. Having said that, however, I'm willing to try a second novel should one appear, just because I think she has potential as a writer.
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