Rating: 
Summary: 3 intense nights of reading
Review: I am not merely doing this book justice by writing these petty words. I fell in love with the main character, Harley, and wished I could take on his pain. I finished the book last week and I continue to have dreams, nightmares per se, about his sister, Misty. You'll see why... It is almost eerie how wherever I go, whatever I do, I feel I am still involved in the story, watching this family struggle. Words cannot express how much my jaw fell to the ground when I was shocked to uncover certain events. Agghhhhh!!! I cannot believe what went on in this story. Please, do yourself a favor, if you want to be left forever haunted buy a book, READ THIS ONE!!! It was awesome!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Emotionally Haunting
Review: This is the story of 19 year old Harley ... an average lower-middle class child of parents who married in the seventies because his Mom was pregnant with him. His parents did the "right thing", then had three more children, all girls. They lived their lives as best they could ... with little money, a small tar-paper shack they rented, and lots of abuse.
Fast forward to when Mom ends up in jail for life for the shooting death of Dad and Harley is left to raise his three younger sisters. What a struggle.
I was immediately drawn to the story line as well as the characters in it. I was also very disturbed by it. I have by no means been sheltered, but this story still made my soul hurt.
Many reviewers said it was "funny"... perhaps I don't have a good sense of humor because I didn't find anything about this story funny. I found it very sad, very memorable, and very worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: The themes didn't disturb me, the writing did.
Review: I picked up Back Roads because I am from Western Pennsylvania. At first it looked like it would be a good read. Wrong. I am sure O'Dell struggled Mightily to create this work and for that she should be congratulated. However, I found her protagonist, Harley, to be weakly written. I also think she may have been better served writing in the third person while keeping the flavor of Harley's point of view intact for most of the story. My hunch is she didn't have the guts to attempt third person narrative. We get to know Harley, although he is not quite believable. O'Dell tries to make him an enigma, but he just doesn't seem real. S.E. Hinton dealt with teen turmoil better when she wrote The Outsiders (maybe it was because she was closer to the age of the characters). If you want to read about real sexual confusion, addiction, abuse and loss, read Jim Carroll's Basketball Diaries (but DON'T see the movie!). Carroll's prose is so real it will make you forget attempts like Back Roads. The subjects of abuse, murder and incest didn't bother me. I am a big boy. But I did start to wonder if the stamp on the front of the book was for the Oprah Book Club or the Jerry Springer Book Club.
Rating: 
Summary: Not bad for an Oprah pick.
Review: When I saw that this was an Oprah pick, I almost didn't bother. I figured it was just another down-in-the-dumps, dusty little nowhere town, people struggling-to-get-by book. And I was right. But it also had another element to it. There was just something about Harley, working two jobs to support his three younger sisters after their mother was convicted of murdering their father, and the ensuing events. There's no one thing that held my attention, but I'm glad I took the time to read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Painful & Dark
Review: This book started out pretty fast, and I enjoyed the author's storytelling technique. However the unrelenting bleakness of the story just wore me down. One of the reviews on the cover said : "A page turner, gritty...funny,... sexy,. It was a definite page turner, but it was like watching a train wreck and not being able to turn away. It was gritty enough for me to feel like I needed to bathe after reading it. I do not find anything funny or sexy about murder, sexual and physical abuse, not to mention incest and insanity. If you enjoy reading books that are bleak, sad, sorrowful and with no happy ending in sight, this is the book for you. Although I don't believe every book should have a happy ending, I read mostly for entertainment, and this book was not at all enjoyable for me.
Rating:
Summary: I liked, but did not love
Review: This is a sad book about a family with LOTS of problems. If you are in the mood for that read it! GREAT character developement, but tends to drag in some places. It was not my favorite piece of literature, but pretty good.
Rating:
Summary: Very Shocking!
Review: This book is constantly making you second guess your own opinions. It is always changing and something vital is always surfacing and changing your views about everything! I think it is a wonderful book and I would definately recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing...talented writer....Dark subject
Review: I must admit that I have not been overly fond of Oprah's books picks lately. They have seemed dark and disjointed. This book was no different, except that there are some great scenes that stay with you. Her writing skills are exceptional, now if she could just work on stringing her plot together more tightly readers could enjoy her work. The subject of this book is dark so I would only recommend it to those who are not shocked by incest and the sad things some families must do to get by in the world.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Story
Review: I read this book in less than 2 days because I could not put it down. The author does a spectacular job of forcing the reader to become attached to the characters and truly care about what happens to them. I recomend this book to everyone and I can't wait for Tawni O'Dell to write another book. WOW!!!
Rating:
Summary: Long and Winding Road
Review: "Back Roads" keeps the reader guessing at every next chapter. It winds it's way through the thoughts and actions of Harley Altmyer, a young man who has made the decision to take care of his three younger sisters in lieu of putting them in foster care. His father is dead and his mother is in jail for the crime. You won't believe the twisted thoughts of this "nice" young man...or his actions at times...they will surprise you...and so will the outcome of the book.
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