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Summary: A book - and protagonist - you won't forget for a long time
Review: 20 year old Harley, just arrested, bares the skeletons in his family's closet in this gritty tell-all. On the cusp of manhood and forced to grow up too soon, Harley juggles two jobs, a shrink, a married woman, and his 3 younger sisters. Eventually, a ball has to drop. O'Dell has written a tense and exciting novel filled with gruesome and exquisite sensory details of sex, violence, art, lust and crime. Not for the faint of heart! The most remarkable thing about the novel is Harley's voice -- honest, real, and true. Readers will empathesize with this young man who is bitter, loving, wise, resigned and innocent.
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Summary: Interesting but not there...
Review: I am really confused after reading this book twice. I think I think it's a good book, because i did want to keep reading it, but i just didn't get it! Who killed Dad? What was going on with Misty and the Dad? And Amber and Harley? Did Harley get arrested? Is the mom innocent? WHAT IS GOING ON! There were a lot of unanswered questions, the writer makes this a sketchy-imagine-it-yourself kinda book. There were a lot of hallucinations and dreams, so i couldn't tell what was real or not! It didn't have any meaning or satisfaction in it. But it was just...interesting. Read it, but you won't cherish it.
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Summary: A disappointment!
Review: When Oprah announced this selection on her show and offered a brief description, I was intrigued by the theme - a teenage boy caring for his sisters after a family tragedy. I really wanted to like this book. How disappointed I was! Although compelling for about the first half, it seemed like the author just didn't know where else to take it. The incest theme seemed to be thrown in as almost an afterthought,and yet was supposed to be central to the actions of those involved. Very disappointing! Not at all like many of Oprah's other selections.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent read!
Review: I am shocked to read negative reviews of this book. I am guessing the people who did not like it are sheltered and fearful and probably found it difficult to read something so REAL. Harley's character is complex and intricate, which makes you love him and hate him at the same time. He is truly a product of his environment. This was the best book I have read in years. I couldn't put it down and hope to reread it again because there are so many interpretations and aspects of the characters that are easy to miss the first time when you are caught up in such a fast moving plot. Take a risk and read something worthwhile...a story that tells the truth about abused children.
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Summary: Waste of Money
Review: I rushed out to get this book for my holiday. I managed to finish it, but it did not relax or enlighten me. I was surprised that Oprah selected this book. The story line was just too much, although I did enjoy Jody, the youngest sibling very much. I looked for her in every page. I felt for this family but it was too disturbing to be an enjoyable read.
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Summary: A must read
Review: I just finished this book. I found it to be interesting and thought provoking. It really brings to light child abuse ang its effects on children. I highly urge you to read this novel!
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Summary: It will leave you breathless!
Review: Reading this book is like slowly driving by a horrific traffic accident. With all of your might you want to look away...but the raw animal part of you wins over with it's desire to see all the gruesome details. That is Back Roads...it is the ugly aspects of life. Reading about Harley, Amber, Misty, Jody, and Esme's Mom will make you blush and gasp more than once. Your stomach will turn and you'll wonder what kind of person thinks of things such as these. And you will not want to put it down..and you will not want it to end. I am so glad I read Back Roads, and I am eager for Tawni O'Dell's next offering to the literary world. But in all honesty, I'm glad that most books aren't like this one because it exhausted me...and left me wanting more!
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Summary: Oprah Trash
Review: The author writes well and can create strong images and convey powerful emotions. But, the good news ends here. It is no accident that Oprah selected this book. It contains the familiar message of the abuse culture: everything evil we do is really the responsibility of someone else who has treated us badly. Murder is OK, if someone (not necessarily even the murder victim) beat you. This is just dressed up talk show trash. It gives you a jolt when you read it - but it's cheaper to go stick your hand in a light socket.
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Summary: The art of a strategically placed "F" word
Review: is foreign to O'Dell in Back Roads. If one could get through the verbal rubbish, the basic story line would be unbelieveable and unrealistic, but "alright print for the tabloids.." The book was an insult to the female spirit. The main character, Harley, ping/pongs between masterbation, work and sex without ever showering. One gets the image of this stinky cheese boy with greasy hair, dirt (and stuff) caked under his fingernails, hotdog & mac cheese breath... but still manages, through O'Dell, to be feaverishly desirable to a classy/showered married woman. The spirit of this woman's character is whithering in discust. Beside being overpowered with the fact that Harley never showered or brushed his teeth, where was Social Services/Welfare and the Sanitation Department? and how did six year old Jody manage to catch her school bus on time every morning? ...not to mention groceries purchased for four on a bag boys income. I realize I'm going against the grain of previous reviews ~ and to each his own ~ but, I don't know where Oprah was going with this one. Not recommended for someone in search of a believeable escape. ...and forget it if you are in search of broading your intellectial horizon. Sorry, the only thing you can expect from reading this book, is the desire to compulsively shower.
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Summary: Wonderfully Disturbing
Review: I finished this book 2 days ago, and then lent it to a friend...I'm already itching to get it back so I can read it again!I feel like I need to go back to the beginning and catch up with all the wild twists and turns.I'm afraid the only drawback to me reading this book at the beginning of my summer, is that NONE of my other summer reading will even come close to the quality of this novel. The characters are still with me, and I think they will be for a very long time. Harley is of those characters that you either want to give a hug, or smack and that's an awesome combination! He's a young man in an utterly impossible situation and all you want is for things to get better for him....but they never do, and it leaves you with an ache that's both profound and heartbreaking. I only wish that I could make every person that's ever abused their child read this book. Maybe if people could see what it does to their children and the possible ramifications, they wouldn't be so damned heartless.
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