Back Roads

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: I loved this book. Yea Oprah! One problem, on the back of the book it was written that it was funny. I did not find it funny. There are probably a lot of kids out there with this same problem. A young man forced to be an adult and raise his sisters, with no help from "the system". I bet it happens more than we know. I got the book on a Friday and finished it on Monday. I could not put it down. I wanted to know what really happened and I was surprised at the end to find out. I would and will recommend this book to everyone.

Rating:
Summary: Love this book!
Review: This was everything a good book should be. I didn't want to go to bed because I wanted to keep reading, laughed out loud, reread passages because they were so unique, and found it very fulfilling overall. Don't pass this one by.

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Summary: AN ABSOLUTE TRAGEDY
Review: Always fearful that the next Oprah pick might be the best one, I try to read them as soon as they're announced. Back Roads is once again Oprah's typical survival against all odds type of book but I'm not sure I could call any of these characters survivors. They are all tragic in their own right -- even the poor dog Elvis. O'Dell is certainly a gifted writer challenging the reader to dare to stop reading her book and consequently taking the chance of never knowing how it ended. While it was dysfunctional at best it was also riveting. I would have given it 5 stars if I would have liked the subject matter a little more. I found so much of it disturbing but I kept on reading and have to admit, I'm glad I did.

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Summary: Very moving and touching book
Review: This book truly touched me. Not only were the characters very thoughtfully developed, but the entire story was very real.

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Summary: It's like I was there
Review: My husband grew up in the same town as the author. The descriptive language she uses in this book describes all too accurately the scenery and climate of the depressed town where this novel takes place. On a recent visit, I found myself looking for all of the places mentioned in this book. It felt real to me...

Rating:
Summary: Back Roads Revies
Review: Strange but compelling, I thought the main character was twisted at the beginning but by the end of the bok you realize he was probably the sainest of his whole family. He was stuck in a situation he didn't know how to get out of.

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Summary: Hidden from the world on the Back Roads
Review: I finished this novel in two days.I simply could not put it down.I needed to know what was going to happen to Harley next. Harley's like other teens,except he has too much responibility too soon. With his father dead, his mother in prison, and three sisters to take care of,one may wonder where he finds the time and energy for everything else that happens. I didn't care, all I wanted was what would happen with the next page. He may be a low class Holden Caufield, but this novel reminds me more of the Bean family in Carolyn Chute's wonderful The Beans Of Egypt Maine. If you don't know that novel, read them both. Be prepared not to put them down until you are finished. Anyone who is interested feel free to e-mail me about books,music,etc. Enjoy! [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: This book deserves a 10! Absolutely Wonderful!
Review: "Back Roads" has to be one of the best books I ever read! (And I read a lot of books! ) Harley is thrown into manhood much too early in this debut novel by Tawni O'Dell. If losing his father too early by murder wasn't hard enough, he has to deal with raising his three younger sisters after his mother goes to jail. Each girl has her own distinctive personality, and it's a wonder they didn't kill each other living in that house together. Harley finds out the truth about his father's death and his whole world goes downhill fast. He falls for a young mother of two and things start to go really wrong after his sister finds out about them. Harley wonders about from day to day, drinking beer and not sleeping. This is a book you need to start on a Friday night so you can stay up all weekend reading it! I thought it was awesome and I eagerly await a sequel or something else from Tawni.

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Summary: Sometimes life isn't a bowl of cherries, but the pits...
Review: Tawni O'Dell has written a tale of The Great American Nightmare. Undoubtedly, the story is a tragedy and, just as an occasional person might not appreciate Shakespeare's tragedies, this work may lose a sensitive reader. But the realism of the work with descriptions that are PERTINENT, makes the reader feel, smell, hear, and taste becoming one with the book. Harley is a victim of circumstance. His family has splintered from the whole of society with the death of his father and he becomes burdened as an individual to bear premature responsibilities. The story becomes a tale of children with misdirected passions brought into a harsh, cruel world too soon. And sadly enough, the work stings of believability. After reading this novel, one begins to ponder the workings of our society upon those who merely seek to just survive. Ms. O'Dell has done an outstanding job on her first book. And until Tawni O'Dell has her next novel in print, I will simply keep rereading this one.

Rating:
Summary: GREAT BOOK!
Review: As a college student who doesn't have the time or energy to read for pleasure, I didn't expect to finish this book. However, when I picked it up on a Friday, I couldn't put it down and had it finished by Sunday! I was disappointed to know that this was Tawni O'Dell's only novel - I can't wait to read the next one. There's never a dull moment in this one and I may just read it again. I laughed out loud and cried at the end!