Rating: 
Summary: Great Insight,
Review: I really loved this book, except the last chapter when it turned when it lost it's rich literacy and turned 'cheap'. I won't go into particulars, as to not ruin the ending for you, but you'll know what I mean when you get close to the end. Otherwise, this author is wonderful and provides a depth of feeling of what it was like to grow up Catholic and poor in Ireland. Thanks Frank.
Rating:
Summary: Moving and inspirational
Review: This is the autobiography of an American-born child of Irish immigrants who return to their roots and poverty in Ireland. Young Frankie's father suffers from 'the drink,' while his mother suffers from depression and often neglects her children. They are malnourished and live in squalid conditions. Too proud to accept charity, Frankie's father drinks away what little money he manages to earn. Reading allows the young boy to escape to other worlds. Through books, Frank develops his survival skills and a sense of hope for a better future. This strengthens his determination to earn enough money to return to America one day. McCourt's ability to illustrate the humor in his tragic childhood is very inspirational, albeit bittersweet. This book should be required reading for all teenagers. The McCourt saga continues in the sequal 'Tis.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Book I've Ever Read
Review: Although I read it over a year ago, It was McCourt's "Ashes" that got me to start reading more and more books. I could not put this book down. It was absolutely WONDERFUL! In comparison to the movie......the movie is horrible. Don't even bother. It can't hardly dwelve into the depths of McCourt's mind, which is an endless canyon of heartache, desire, warmth and unsolicited humor. The book, although, is the most wonderful thing i've ever read and is soon to be a treasure in my home. Since then I've read 'Tis, which is just as mesmerizing.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating Memoir
Review: Frank McCourt tells the poignant, touching story of his childhood in Ireland. He was from a poor family and his father was a drunkard. While he did not have an easy childhood, he never let go of the dream to make something better of himself and provide a better life for his mother. McCourt's way of writing is exactly like he's telling a story and I had to get used to reading like I was listening to a storyteller. It takes some getting used to, but once you do, you can practically hear his accent.
Rating:
Summary: A Melody
Review: Who would have thunk that a memoir written in the voice of a 10-year-old Irish lad would win the Pulitzer Prize? Well, it did and the recognition was well-deserved. Yes, it's about desperate poverty, alcoholism, consumption, death, you name it - just one damnable thing after the other that confronts Frankie McCourt, his brothers Malachy and Alphie, and mother Angela. But the beauty of this book is its voice, the voice of the very young and very Irish Frank McCourt. It sings, it dances, it laughs at fear and despair, it's a melody of innocence in the midst of a purgatory-on-earth. Angela's Ashes is timeless, a treasure that is sure to stake its claim as a classic.
Rating:
Summary: A truly great memoir
Review: It took Frank McCourt 20 years to write it, but it only took me two days to read it, and I'll never forget it. I'm not one of those people who give out 5 stars easily but this was truly one of the best books I've ever read. I feel like I really know Mr. McCourt and the Ireland that he knew. I cried with him and I laughed with him. It's a story about family, love, poverty, religion, human nature. I learned so much from reading this book. My husband and I agree that we are going to share this book with our children as soon as they are old enough just so they can see how lucky they are to live in a prosperous time (not that we are rich people - but I know our children have never experienced hunger the way Mr. McCourt and his family have). It's not how much you have, but what you make of it. I have also learned about writing from reading this book. His organization is superb and his writing style is very engaging. Even the saddest parts are written with wit and a sharpness that transcends beyond the emotions to get to the human truth. I cannot praise this book enough. If nothing else, read it and step into a great person's shoes for a while.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow moving downer of a book
Review: Very slow read. I found it hard to get into because the same things kept happening to Frank, (hunger, drunk father, poor home life)but the only thing that changed was his age. Read it in my book club and none of us really liked it. We watched the movie and it was okay, but it skipped a lot of the story and the order of things that occurred in the book were not the same as in the movie. The movie gave the mother more of a voice and made the viewer want to feel sorry for the father-the book did the opposite. My opinion: don't bother with it.
Rating:
Summary: An Eye Opener
Review: This is a bittersweet story about growing up without the things most of us take for granted in our everyday lives. It opened my eyes and made me realize how much worse off my life could be. This book is about a poor family that has to get over their pride and beg for food and coal and other necessities in order to survive. Readers may get a little bored with learning more and more about the terrible life of poverty,but Frank McCourt lightens the load with the humor children can bring.
Rating:
Summary: WONDERFUL!
Review: This book truly is a masterpeice. I loved the way Frank McCourt wrote the way a seven year old would think when he was explaining this life as a seven year old, and his perspective on things really made me think about my life as a whole, and how lucky I really am, I Reccomend this book to all who have the time to read it, and I can't wait to read the sequel.
Rating:
Summary: Magical and Entertaining
Review: I like books that can draw me into other worlds, and this book certainly does that. In this book, author Frank McCourt gives an honest and detailed memoir of his miserable Irish Catholic childhood. I was amazed during most of the book what people will do out of ignorance and poverty and slavish devotion to a religious idea. The style of writing captured my interest from the first page. The horrors of growing up in extreme poverty were vividly portrayed, but it wasn't that much of a downer. In fact, you wish young Frank and his family well. McCourt's ability as a writer is a powerful picture of his creative powers. He weaves a magic spell.
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