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Summary: What one would do for love.
Review: As I continued to read, each page brought a different reaction as to how I felt about each of the characters. Especially toward the end.I started out accepting what the outsiders had to say, then I realized that there were many family secrets which changed how I felt about the father, and the mother. The middle children were driven by jealousy of the rest of the family, and parental love was not enough to save what was needed to keep the family unit together.
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Summary: watch this writer
Review: While I was disappointed in the ending, this is an enjoyable, compelling read. O'Dell has written characters with some depth, that one can't help but care for. I look forward to her next book.
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Summary: Back Roads offers a unique prospective
Review: I highly recomment this novel for a quick, disturbing yet oddly entertaining read. With a normal, busy, hectic, fulfilling, life it has been some time since I bought a book then kept it within arms reach to dip into it day and night. Ms. O'Dell introduces characters that are believable and though outside my world, real. Yet her story shows how we all have basic similarities. I "felt" for each character. Whether what I "felt" was sympathy, contempt, impatience, or passion changed from scene to scene. This was only enhanced by a story line that did not waste my time keeping me guessing but hit me with surprise at varied turns. Congratulations on the first novel. I will surely purchase your next effort.
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Summary: Can't wait for Tawni O'Dell's next work!
Review: I thought this was a great story, although very sad. I was hoping for a happier ending! I couldn't help but have hope for Harley. Even though you might think all of this couldn't possibly happen to one family, I can't help but wonder if were based on an actual case. I especially the enjoyed the mention of "Rollong Rock Beer," Black Lick, along with Callie's husband's trip to Latrobe. Since I live not far from those places, it perked up my interest. I am looking forward to Ms. O'Dell's future work.
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Summary: A Dark yet Riveting Read
Review: This author is a very good writer. The book contained wonderful, thoughtful, and provoking phrases that I wanted to write down. At the same time, it contained witty conversation and dry sarcasm that would make one laugh. I feel the writing was excellent, especially for such a difficult story line and subject matter. The author showed the reader how the effects of abuse whether physical, emotional, or just plain denied have far reaching ramifications on this family. The book leaves you feeling badly for the characters and hoping their lives will heal in the future. The book is graphic, but it has to be in order for the reader to understand the emotional workings of this family.
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Summary: It started out great and then unravelled......
Review: This book was so GOOD at the beginning! And then it unravelled into a mire of child abuse, incest, adultery.....I had a hard time finishing it. The epilogue was the only thing that "saved" it for me.
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Summary: One of a kind writer!-- well worth the cost of hardcover!
Review: I am an avid reader and this writer is a tremendous find! She has an incredible way of describing the feelings and thoughts of the main character, and his view on his relationship with others. She mixes in a great deal of humor through her writing, even though it's a very sad story. I have read almost all of Oprah's Picks and this is among my favorites. I read it in only a few days! You get to know the thoughts of the main character in terrifying detail, so that you even read of his thoughts to kill or punch a face, yet you grow to love him and admire him for surviving in a terribly cruel family and way of life. You will put the book down and wonder about Harley and how you could possibly have helped him overcome all the horror in his life. Well worth the cost of a hardcover!
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Summary: gritty and edgy and easily one of the best Oprah picks'
Review: You can't help falling for Harley. He's modern literature's great anti-hero; a post modern young man whose wry observations and astute cynicism provide for a remarkably entertaining and moving romp. For an Oprah selection this novel certainly packs a punch and I admire Oprah for choosing such and edgy, gritty and urbanly realistic novel for her Book Club. This is a riveting portrait of a dysfunctional family gone even more awry when the mother is put in prison after killing their father. Harley tries desperately to keep it together and we applaud his efforts to stop the remaining threads of his family life unravelling. Teenage angst, dead end lives', domestic violence, incestuous couplings and murder are all played out around a veneer of humour and compassion. Harley is such a lovable character, beautifully realised and startlingly portrayed. You just want to keep reading long after the novel ends - I couldn't put it down! You know though that with an astute and intelligent boy like Harley things WILL get better. Life is a struggle for the Altmyer family and there is so much anger but as readers' will discover they manage to transcend this and find that their true loyalties are to each other. A truly remarkable story from a remarkable writer. Tawni O'Dell is going to be a real voice on the current literary landscape.
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Summary: You Won't Believe The Ending!
Review: Whoa Nellie.......what an impact this book had on me. Like another reader said "It was like watching an unbelievable wreck!", I, also, couldn't look away. I will often think about Harley, as a teenager who enters a horrible adult life too soon. Jodi's misspelled notes also had an impact on me that will not be forgotten along with her favorite dinasaur and paper umbrellas that ornament those fancy cocktails. Yes, the scenes are graphic and rough, but Oprah warned us. This book was definitely a page turner and well worth the read for me.
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Summary: I could not put this book down
Review: I couldn't put this book down until I finished it. This book grabs your attention in the first chapter and never lets go. Harley and his sisters are victims of child abuse and neglect. Harley is thrust with the responsibility with raising his younger sisters after his mother goes to prison for killing his father. Harley eventually learns the truth about his father's death from his mother and that is the biggest surprise of all. Harley's sister's Misty and Amber both crave love and attention from him. They seem innocent but they are nothing but that. The pressure of keeping his family together is overwhelming for Harley and he finds solace in his lover Calliie and his shrink Betty. Back Roads is a very suspenseful novel with many twists and turns
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