Rating: 
Summary: Another 5 star novel for Lorna Landvik
Review: I laughed. I cried. I got up in the middle of the night because I had to finish reading it. It wasn't that the book was full of surprises.It's simply a good story. Landvik makes you care about her characters. The common thread to her novels is that she writes about people in a way that makes you want to keep finding out more about them.I look forward to more books by Landvik.
Rating: 
Summary: Very uplifting
Review: I liked this book. I've been on a quest to read fiction related to Down Syndrome and have found a wide range of books, some of which I liked, others that I did not.Geneva is the main character who (unwillingly) takes on the role of caregiver for 13 y.o nephew Rich, when his parents take a month long trip. As the parent of a child with Down Syndrome, I started the book with the usual misgivings that Rich, the central character who has Down Syndrome, might be cast in a stereotypical, outdated manner. However, I'm pleased to say that the author has obviously done her research and was able to capture the character of Rich in way that was not only accurate and appropriate, but warm, compassionate, realistic, with all the subtle nuances that make up an individual. For Rich is truly an indivudual, and much more than the Down Syndrome which defines him in Geneva's eyes before she gets to know him. I thought the author also handled Geneva's self-doubt and mental struggles with how she felt about Rich in a sensitive and realistic manner. While some of these questions were not "pretty" and forced Geneva to delve in to some parts of her personality that were not so attractive, I truly believe that these things need to be talked about...it's only by recognizing that we are all human and all have a need to grow and learn that we can actually do so. I recommend this book to any adult looking for a good summer read. And don't be afraid to ask yourself some of the hard questions that Geneva asked herself - the world will be a better place if everyone did so.
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat disappointed
Review: I remember when I picked up Lorna Landvik's "Patty Jane's House of curl" on a whim some years ago. I thought it was great! So, when "Your oasis on Flame Lake" came out, I snapped it up right away. I liked that one a lot as well. Then came "Tall Pine Polka", and things changed for me. I didn't like it nearly as much as the two previuos ones, and lost interest about halfway through. I finished it, but not with much enthusiasm. I just finished reading "Welcome to the Great Mysterious" yesterday, and once again I was disappointed. Once again, I lost interest about halfway through. It seems Landvik has lost some of what made the two first books so great.
Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Read
Review: In her newest book, Lorna Landvik explores relationships. The love between twin sisters, lovers old and new and the most touching of all, between two disabled teens who show everyone the meaning of unconditional love. Geneva finds the true meaning of life in an old trunk where she discovers a childhood memory book, The Great Mysterious. Through the eyes of her nephew Rich she rediscovers what is important in her life. Though at times predictable I enjoy the way this book evokes emotion, humor and sadness, totally an easy and enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Don't pick it up...you can't put it down
Review: Just finished another marathon session with Lorna Landvik. Once I start reading one of her books, it's tough to stop! Yes, perhaps Geneva Jordan is a bit stereotypical (most people are in one way or another, aren't we?), but Landvik's interplay of characters, how they speak with and interact with one another, takes the story beyond obvious stereotypes. Her ability to draw on seemingly small moments in the lives of ordinary people and make them memorable is something I admire. I think "Patty Jane's House of Curl" is her best--so many surprises!--but I enjoyed this one greatly, too.
Rating:
Summary: Another Landvik Winner!
Review: Lorna Landvik has impressed me yet again with her thoughtful and enjoyable writing. In her fourth novel, Welcome to the Great Mysterious, she treats us with loveable characters and an addictive storyline. Geneva, a Broadway star, is dumped by her co-star boyfriend, Trevor, and travels to Minnesota to babysit her nephew, while his parents take a much needed vacation to Italy. At first, we watch Geneva acclimate herself to the more down-to-earth setting in wintry Minnesota and to her nephew, Rich, who has Down Syndrome. Of course, Geneva then finds the possibility of love and eventually has to decide who she wants: the unreliable boyfriend, Trevor, or the stable postman James. Although the plot is somewhat predictable, it doesn't take away from the intense feelings that the book stirs up, remembrances of family and friends and past love experiences. I highly recommend the Great Mysterious and all of Lorna's novels!
Rating:
Summary: If you weren't human, what would you like to be?
Review: Stayed in bed until noon this morning reading another book by my new favorite author, Lorna Landvik. This one is called "Welcome to the Great Mysterious" and is about a famous broadway actress who agrees to babysit her 13 year old Downs symdrome nephew for a month while her sister and dh take a trip to Italy. She finds an old project she and her twin had started when they were 11 years old and stuck in a summer retreat during bad weather. Each page of the scrapbook had one of the big questions of life on it and a pocket into which all the relatives stuck in the cabin would place an answer over the next day or two. In the book, the nephew, Rich, says that he'd rather not have Down's Syndrome but something he an his friend with cerebral palsy have invented: Up Syndrome. If you had Up Symdrome, you'd be so very perfect that everyone else you'd meet would totally wish that they had it too! If you like theater, are a twin or a special needs child, are of scandinavian or Minnesota roots, you will probably get a big kick out of this book. Great for reading while lolling in a hammock! the author's characters just reach out and move right into your heart. Ann Zeise
A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling...
Rating:
Summary: Just what I needed
Review: The thing about Lorna Landvik's writing, is that it's not necessarily GREAT literature... but when I read it, I get done and think, that's just what I needed. Her characters become like friends, and the sometimes soap operatic plots are like the soap operas of everyday life. Welcome to the Great Mysterious has this great friendship at its core.... Conrad and Rich's. Their simple love of each other is enviable. It's what holds this book together. Landvik writes about the great mysteries of life - love, death, friendship, family, snow on Halloween... that make me look at my life a tiny bit differently...With a little more awe at all that is there.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Sweetener
Review: This book could be described as adding sweetener on top of cream. It is a ??feel-good?? book, where nothing could ever go wrong. The story revolved round Geneva, a well-known actress on the Broadway. Baby-sitting for a nephew with down syndrome in a laid back town was the last thing you would thingk she would do. However, she surprised herself (and the reader too) by taking on the task cheerfully (after her initial whining was defeated by her conscience) and successfully, and in the process, discovered that being ordinary did not mean a less colourful life. I like the story for its optimism and the cheerful characters who seemed to have answers to everything, even to what seemed to be hopeless situations. Of course, in reality, things would not be as simple and straightforward, but once in a while, it is good to come across a story which earn the reader??s tears of happiness, rather than sadness.
Rating:
Summary: A Real Sweetener
Review: This book could be described as adding sweetener on top of cream. It is a ¡¥feel-good¡¦ book, where nothing could ever go wrong. The story revolved round Geneva, a well-known actress on the Broadway. Baby-sitting for a nephew with down syndrome in a laid back town was the last thing you would thingk she would do. However, she surprised herself (and the reader too) by taking on the task cheerfully (after her initial whining was defeated by her conscience) and successfully, and in the process, discovered that being ordinary did not mean a less colourful life. I like the story for its optimism and the cheerful characters who seemed to have answers to everything, even to what seemed to be hopeless situations. Of course, in reality, things would not be as simple and straightforward, but once in a while, it is good to come across a story which earn the reader¡¦s tears of happiness, rather than sadness.
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