Back Roads

Rating:
Summary: Back Roads
Review: This was one of the worst books I've ever read. I kept waiting for something to happen. I wadded through the problems and woes. It was depressing to say the least. I never saw anything "funny" in this book. It was so sad and depressing and the conclusion just hung in mid air. I was so disappointed. I picked it up four times before I finally finished it. I would not recommend this book to anyone. When I read a good book I don't want it to end. I wanted this book to end many times while I was reading it. d

Rating:
Summary: Backroads Review
Review: I found this book extremely interesting. I couldn't wait to share it with my husband. He loves it too. A very insightful story into human passions gone beyond control. I sympathized with the protagonist and his sisters, victims and perpetrators. I couldn't put this book down.

Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down!
Review: I, too, grew up in an old mining town in West Central Pennsylvania. It brought me back to my childhood and the vivid descriptions remind me of my hometown...in the back roads of PA. Now I'm grown up and live in New York, but I loved the book and encourage other to read it as well. The character descriptions were excellent. Just a fine piece of writing. O'Dell is an excellent writer. I couldn't put "Back Roads" down once I started reading it! I can't wait until her next book come out!

Rating:
Summary: Page Turner
Review: This book was great. I read it quickly and I thought about it for days afterwards. I think O'Dell got the thought process of the character down and the plot was very intriguing. I had only one complaint, it was hard to believe Harley was a male. He included WAY to many details about "girl stuff" , granted, he grew up with 3 sisters, but there were many times I thought that there was no way a guy would take note of these things. I think it can be forgiven because the rest of the book is so good,not to mention the fact that most of the readers of this book are probably female due to the Oprah endorsement. maybe I was just spoiled by the believablity of Wally Lamb's "she's come undone".

Rating:
Summary: quick read
Review: a heady exploration into the origins of domestic abuse and oedipal lustings. the vicious cycle of violence and incest unfolds in lucid detail. the narrative portrays middle-lower class as hopelessly trapped and yet fails to offer hope for breaking out (which i believe there is). the dialogue is fairly routine and i failed to get a vivid picture of the geographic region. could've taken place in "anytown" usa, perhaps intentional, (but then why mention western penn. several times?) overall though, a good read that doesn't get bogged down with needless verbiage.

Rating:
Summary: Good'n'Bad.
Review: This story is confusing. It's good and interesting, but very sad. I didn't like the way Harley think, always aggressive. The beautiful things turns to ugliness. The end wasn't enough, I want to know about Harley till he die. So, read it but don't finish it.

Rating:
Summary: Loved it!
Review: This is my favorite Oprahs Book Club book so far. I loved it! The characters became almost real in my mind. The understanding it gave me to look beyond peoples actions, and the way it moved me. I cried the entire last chapter. Its a book I cant even part with or lend to someone, its special to me. Tawni excellent job!

Rating:
Summary: Part of a Letter to a Friend
Review: I just read one of "Oprah's Books" that blew me away. It's possible you will hate it. It is not ultimately bleak, but it is bleak; about a nineteen-year-old, a boy raising three sisters because their mother is in prison, serving a life sentence for killing their father. Without being deaf or a girl, I am writing a novel about a girl who is deaf. My best moments come when I think--mostly hope--I'm getting it right, but I am in a position to know whether Tawni O'Dell got it right. She is frighteningly good. "How can she know this?" I kept wondering as I read. It was a story I immediately started over to see if I could figure out how she did it. --Jim Latimer, St. Paul author

Rating:
Summary: Oprah does it again
Review: I picked up this book because of the Oprah seal on it. I have yet to be disappointed by one of the books from here club. I found this book very different from the books I would normally pick up. The book keeps you guessing at every twist and turn. If you are faint of heart this is not a book for you. You must keep an open mind when reading this book.

Rating:
Summary: Unpredictable....
Review: I had to complete this novel in one day. Harley stayed with me, I wanted to understand him, his outward self so conflicted with his thoughts. I am usually pretty good at predicting the end of a book but I did not predict this one. The scenerios I came up with in my head were no where close to where Ms. O'Dell took the story. The book was a little disturbing and I felt that Callie's motivations could have been explored more, but otherwise, this book was a great read.