Rating: 
Summary: Best book I've read in a long time.
Review: This book was fantastic. Once I started it, I could not put it down. The story is dark and at times heartbreaking but at other times, quite funny. Just like real life. I was deeply touched by this book and didn't want it to end.
Rating: 
Summary: Gross Misrepresentation
Review: This may be a great book for people who like disturbing, dark and depressing stories which chronicle how bad life can get and how awful people can behave toward one another. However, I bought the book because it was advertised as funny, heartwarming, etc. No such adjectives apply. If you read this book, prepare to be extremely disturbed.
Rating:
Summary: A MUST READ
Review: If you read one book this year please indulge yourself in this novel.This is definately one of the best books in Oprahs collection. I read this book in 2 days, and hated to set it down.
Rating:
Summary: Mesmerizing
Review: My goodness! Finally a well-written book with some depth and meaning. Most of the novels I read are self-indulgent attempts of authors trying to prove to themselves they can write. This book is moving, yet flows. It operates on the multiple levels of Harley's personality. Expressing his views of the world without truly understanding what influences are working on him. I never once felt the presence of the author, only the narrator. Fabulous book that is moving yet does not clobber your emotions to death. The author should be commended for not following the literary crowd.
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Summary: too disfunctional
Review: I found this book written well, but too depressing and disfunctional.
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Summary: If I could give it more stars I would!
Review: This is the finest book I've read in years. It's the tale of a young man whose mom is in jail for his father's murder leaving him to raise three younger sisters. The twists and turns as you discover what really happened to Harley's family- and the things that happen to Harley in the the course of the book- will leave you reeling.
Rating: 
Summary: Buyer Beware
Review: Backroads may be an o.k. book but buyer beware! Shrouded inOprah's stamp of approval, one thinks ones in for what the cover © advertise. By calling the book "hilarious","sexy" and "funny" this author is done such adisservice. I thought it would be the dysfunctional lovable bumblingof an Anne Tyler or the complex country flavor of a Carsen McCullers,like one is lead to believe. In truth, its the intensifying of someSpringer characters with the polish of seriousness, smartly decryingone's parents and dallying with an ever-radiating incest. Doessemi-incestuous content automatically get catapulted to literaturethese days? Book isn't so bad but so misadvertised and hyped I wasangry enough to write this review. I feel I just got had at the usedcar dealership. While the main character is familiar and sympatheticin his desparate grind, I am not passing this book on to anyone I knowto read. It is not funny, sexy or hilarious.
Rating: 
Summary: Farfetched & Depressing ... but REALLY Good
Review: I had to laugh when one of the other reveiwers wrote, "... ignore Oprah's abused-protagonist-of-the-month-club." All the books I've read on her list are exactly that! While it is true I've never read so many heart wrenching books before refering to her list, I've also never read so many well written books. Backroads is shocking. It is hard to put down. Sure it is depressing, but it is great reading!
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Summary: In a reading rut? Try this one.
Review: This book is a masterpiece. Tawni O'Dell has created the darkest, most disturbing, yet insanely fascinating story I may have ever read. Now that the father is dead and the mother is in prison for killing him, 19-year-old Harley finds himself with too much on his plate. He's suddenly thrown into a new home life where he is the boss, moneymaker, bill-payer and legal guardian of his three younger sisters. Such a big responsibility for someone who can't get a grip on reality. Ms. O'Dell takes us into the mind of a teenager who has had to grow up too fast. She writes with fury and ease, making Harley both frightening and loveable. Back Roads is an incredible story with lots of twists and turns that leave you breathless, anxious and sick to your stomach. Tawni O'Dell creates scenes that are horrific and terrifying, but something about the flow in which she writes keeps you going, poised on the edge of your seat, until the very end. Very witty and funny for such a sad, depressing book. Must read.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Please write more books, Ms. O'Dell. And HURRY!
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