Rating: 
Summary: This book SHINES!!!
Review: This book has the most interesting storyline concept that I have read in a long time. Having read literally thousands of books, I am always delighted with a fresh, new idea. Narrated by one of the two central characters, Leeann Norris, the much younger sister of Beth Ann Norris, this story tells many tales, all interwoven, which speak volumes about the complexity of human relationships. Mary Beth Norris is a "song reader". She is able to help the people in her small town work out their problems by making charts of the songs that they listen to, the songs that stick in their minds, and remind them of both good times and bad. She and her younger sister Leeann live alone, having lost both of their parents through very different circumstances. Leeann looks up to her sister and is in awe of her "gift". Her character expresses all of the difficulties of growing up in a small town, and being just a little different from other people. She has lots of questions about her father, her mother and her early years, but somehow the reader gets the feeling that she is not ready for the answers in the beginning of the novel. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone, but Leeann is forced to take on a grown up level of responsibility when Mary Beth is suddenly unable to, and this is when many of her questions begin to be answered. She struggles with her family history: the mysteries for which there are no answers, and the lies she has been told "out of love." This novel is an excellent example of very well fleshed out characters who deal with adversity in the best way they know how and don't always make the right choices. The book also touches on mental illness in the most respectful way I have seen in a fiction novel. It's a wonderful novel.... a must read.... I finished it in one day!!! Once you read the first page you will be hooked! I see the possiblity of a sequel, which would be nice, but I'm also really excited to read Ms. Tucker's next novel when it is finished. I suspect we'll be hearing a lot from her in the future!
Rating:
Summary: The Song Reader must be read!!!
Review: This book is fantastic! It's a page-turner and an incredible character study of two sisters and their troubled family. It's a love story, too, and Leeann & Mike are one of the most touching teenage couples I've ever read about. Add in Mary Beth & Ben to the mix, another love story. Juanita & Henry, broken people, finding each other. This is one of the many truths in The Song Reader: that no matter how damaged we are, we can still open up our hearts and find people who will understand what we've been through.What a beautiful book. I picked it up on a whim, because I like music, but I wasn't prepared for how deeply it would move me. Like a haunting melody, The Song Reader will stay with you forever.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't put it down!
Review: This book is riveting! I started reading it because a friend recommended it. I didn't expect to like it that much because I'm not that into music. I was amazed. Lee Ann has one of the most original, sympathetic, TRUE voices I have ever read. From almost the first page, I was rooting for her and Mary Beth. These girls/women seem so real, so courageous, so interesting. I don't think any of the other reviews talk about how funny Lee Ann is. I would love to have a sister like her. I stayed up late into the night because I just couldn't stop reading. I found myself dying to see what happens but feeling sad because I didn't want it to end. The Song reader is the best book I have read in years!
Rating:
Summary: The author is a born story teller.
Review: This is a touching, honest tale, simply written and starkly lyrical. Lisa Tucker is a born story teller. Once I picked up The Song Reader I couldn't put it down because I was mesmerized by the narrator's young voice. When the novel ended I wanted to keep following Leeann into her future.
The best part of the book is the essential generosity of spirit. Toward the end Leann thinks "I want to be a kid who didn't know that damn near everybody's secret was the same: that their life had been full of heartbreak." This quote is actually a signal of the hopefulness at the heart of this story. Yes, terrible things happen. Yes, people sometimes hurt those they love, but we go on. Everyone I've recommended The Song Reader to has thanked me.
Rating:
Summary: A Moving and Inspiring Novel
Review: This is such a touching book. It shows the true depth of the human heart, and how delicate we are. Lisa Tucker intricately weaves a story that leaves the reader with a true compassion, true love for her characters. This is one of the best books that I have ever read, and I strongly recommend it to anyone with a song in their soul.
Rating:
Summary: Wow.
Review: What a wonderful book. It is that rare combination of a good read and a book that proped underneath things. The author did a great job of describing a complicated situation through the eyes and mind of a growing girl. We KNEW something was up without ever being told too much. And some parts of it were so delicate.
I have to say, I truly hated to see it end. And I still wonder how those sisters are doing.
Rating: 
Summary: A disappointment
Review: Who wrote all the reviews posted here -- the author's family and friends? If this book was specifically for young readers, I would have given it three stars, but as a book for adults it deserves only one. It was simplistic, overly dramatic, and the characters weren't believable. Even though I grew up in the 80s, and loved many of the songs mentioned, I did not connect with this book at all. There are so many other good reads out there (The Time Travelers' Wife, Life of Pi, Three Junes, The Kite Runner, etc.) -- don't waste your time on this one.
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