Rating: 
Summary: I liked this book
Review: This book was very good. Not great, but very good. At times it became too driven by the conflicts instead of character, but for a summer read, you could do a lot worse...
Rating: 
Summary: Can't Wait For the Sequel
Review: Hard to put this book down. Julie Harmon was so strong and determined. I found myself thinking of her during my everyday routine! I hope there is a part 2 to her story. Oh, by the way, I bought my first box of grits at the store while reading this book! Very different taste!
Rating: 
Summary: There are better books ...
Review: GAP CREEK is a pretty disappointing novel. All plot and little development of character or setting.If you liked GAP CREEK or think you'd like to read a similar book, try FAIR AND TENDER LADIES by Lee Smith. The voice, character, setting, and plot are so much more alive than in GAP CREEK. I wish Oprah would "discover" Lee Smith.
Rating:
Summary: Just Kind of ... Dull
Review: Like many others here, I read this because it was an "Oprah book." I'll give the author credit for detailed descriptions of what the characters had to do to survive ... killing hogs, giving birth unassisted, tending burns and laying out the dead, etc. ... but this book is strongly lacking in any emotional connection to its characters. Not to sound like an acting coach, but "where is the motivation?" If Morgan's intent was to show Julie to be a simple, hard-working, salt-of-the-earth young woman, he succeeded (for me) in portraying only the "simple" part of that equation. She was nothing more than an automaton, getting through each day by moving from one chore to the next. Where was her heart through all this, where was her soul? Vivid descriptions, one-dimensional characters, weak dialogue. I can only give this book 2 stars.
Rating:
Summary: not as good as I thought
Review: This novel was not as good as I thought it would be. It's stuck between literature and commercial fiction. It's entertaining, but did not move me in any real way. For rural settings and hardscrabble lives, I prefer Cormac McCarthy, Larry Brown, or Eric Rickstad's REAP. No more Oprah for me, thanks!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read
Review: If all the trials faced by turn-of-the-century Julie Richards were laid end to end . . . well, her life would never be over. Another author might have made Julie's story read as a 'one step forward, five steps backward' pitiful saga, but Morgan gives Julie humility, depth and a gentle but fierce strength that guides her through virtually insurmountable crises. He does this in a way that makes her not superior but clearly one whose forebearance is greater than the average folk. This is a raw, heart-rendng and heartbreaking story of survival and perseverence. It is also a compelling read.
Rating:
Summary: Story doesn't seem to be ended...
Review: This book would be good for young people to read who have never thought about hard life once was for a man or woman or child. It probably accurately describes where items were stored and how food was kept during that period. Privies, which most young people have never experienced, are covered. Cooking, the danger of fires, hog-killing are discussed and beneficial. Some parts of the book, however, are useless, such as the implied sexual attraction between Hank and Carolyn. The relationship, if there was one, was never completed in the story and I read through to the end thinking something else had to happen. In summary, the book was somewhat interesting but didn't fully complete the story insofar as I was concerned.
Rating: 
Summary: Gap Creek
Review: This book may have been written at the turn of the century from the 19th to the 20th, but it relates to all people across time. I am in my 2nd year of marriage and I haven't faced the natural disasters that Julie faced, but I have seen some of the same trials. I have a mother-in-law, I gave birth in my first year of marriage and I have had some hard times. All this is to say that I can relate to this book very well and Robert Morgan did an excellent job writing it. It was very easy to read and it was easy to understand Julie. A couple of situations were left unresolved for me, but the way the book was written, I can imagine how they turned out. Job well done and I am glad it got noticed on the Oprah show.
Rating:
Summary: the worst 'Oprah' pick yet
Review: This novel describes a series of events in the life of a turn-of-the-century woman, but does so very disjointedly and without purpose. The lack of depth of the characters leave the reader unmoved by the struggles encountered. If you are looking for an 'Oprah' pick, I recommend 'The Book of Ruth' or 'White Oleander'.
Rating:
Summary: A tragic story that has high highs and low lows.
Review: I found this story to be completely uplifting and exhilerating at times but I also found that it had needless discriptions and too much tradegy. The cover jacket claims that this novel is the "story of a marriage". However the main characters, Julie and Hank have only been married a few months throughout the majority of the book. Also, Hank hardly talked enough for the reader to see what kind of relationship him and Julie really had. This book has its defining moments but overall it lacked in defining its characters and the relationships they had with one another.
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