Good Hope Road

Rating:
Summary: Look towards the future
Review: A lesson in not focusing on the past so much that one forgets that they can do anything in the future. The past doesn't define a person, no matter how many people believe it does.

Much like other tragic events in our history, a tornado can be one of the worst. The folks who live in Poetry, Missouri learn, after having their town virtually flattened, that people and relationships are much more important than "things".

I love this story. The detail is so interesting. The tale of hope and survival is truly inspirational.

Regardless of what others say, I love Lisa Wingate's way of weaving a tale. She has a gift.


Rating:
Summary: it was not the best book i've read
Review: I haven't finished this book, but I do know that it is not the best I've read. I find it boring because it seems that the same thing repeats over and over. Maybe I should finish it, but I don't know if I want to.

Rating:
Summary: Heart-felt and Inspirational
Review: I just love Lisa Wingate's writing style. She writes as if she's sitting down at a table in an old farmhouse kitchen, writing as if she's going to write a letter just to you. She is very inspirational and very thoughtful. She writes as if she knows her neighbors even if they're down the road quite a ways away. She writes about human nature and how we all struggle to be good. She writes beautifully that makes you stop and think for a moment ~~ yeah, I know exactly what she's talking about.

This one is a relationship between two neighbors. There is Jenilee ~~ one of those "no-good white trash Lanes" that live next door to Euradora Gibson, who used to be best friends with Jenilee's grandma. Jenilee is one of the forgotten children. Born to an abusive father and a sick mother who eventually died of cancer, Jenilee barely scraped by in school, taking care of her mom, her brothers and her dad. Euradora is an elderly woman with lots of regrets in her life. She didn't realize just how bitter she has become till a tornado ripped apart her house. Jenilee rescued her and together, they set off on a journey that leads to many open doors to the future and to many door-shuttings of the past.

It is beautifully written. A must-read for all mothers and daughters, sisters and friends. It's lovely, inspirational and thoughtful. Wingate writes of true things that happens to all of us ~~ in each of us is a lonely, forgotten "Jennilee" or an unhappy "Euradora". I wouldn't hesitate reading any of Wingate's books. We need more writers like her around!

11-24-04

Rating:
Summary: Amazing book--amazing coincidence with the tornadoes here
Review: I was a big fan of her first book, so I purchased this one as soon as it was available. I took it home and devoured it in one night. Good Hope Road is a page turner, the tornado is dramatic, and the aftermath so much like the news footage of the tornadoes in the tri-state area. The hopeful messages here would speak to anyone at any time, but especially now. Lisa Wingate is truly a gifted author, and this book was worth the wait, but it's really unbelievable that the story takes place in SW Missouri and was coming out right when the tornadoes here happened.

Rating:
Summary: Tornadoes can turn more than houses around
Review: In and around the town of Poetry, Missouri, a sudden string of tornadoes have done a great deal of damage. Jenilee Lane ("white trash") and Eudora Gibson ("garden society") find themselves literally thrown together as a result. Though they've been neighbors for many years, the two would normally not be seen in each other's company -- would probably have never spoken to each other again, if not for the unusual circumstances caused by the tornado. Through alternating chapters, these two women reveal what they're seeing and feeling. Their stories and those of the other residents of Poetry make for fascinating reading. The setting and the characters are so real that you feel as though you could drive down the road and find them all in the next town. Lisa Wingate is indeed a gifted writer. _Good Hope Road_ is the best mainstream novel I've read in years.

Rating:
Summary: Tornadoes can turn more than houses around
Review: In and around the town of Poetry, Missouri, a sudden string of tornadoes have done a great deal of damage. Jenilee Lane ("white trash") and Eudora Gibson ("garden society") find themselves literally thrown together as a result. Though they've been neighbors for many years, the two would normally not be seen in each other's company -- would probably have never spoken to each other again, if not for the unusual circumstances caused by the tornado. Through alternating chapters, these two women reveal what they're seeing and feeling. Their stories and those of the other residents of Poetry make for fascinating reading. The setting and the characters are so real that you feel as though you could drive down the road and find them all in the next town. Lisa Wingate is indeed a gifted writer. _Good Hope Road_ is the best mainstream novel I've read in years.

Rating:
Summary: Outstanding!!
Review: Lisa Wingate has a gift for storytelling. She is able to get the reader into the story, feel what the characters feel and see the scenery around them so much it is like being there. I enjoyed Tending Roses and couldn't wait for Good Hope Road to come out. The book is about a tornado that destroys a Missouri town and it is amazing that the book was released during the week of the worst tornado disasters on record in the Tri-State area. I hope it gives some readers the same strength that Jenilee and Mrs. Gibson found. Perhaps it was meant to be released now at this time for this purpose.

Rating:
Summary: Good Hope for Improvement
Review: Lisa Wingate tells the story of a young woman, discovering herself after a devastating tornado rips through her hometown of Poetry, Missouri. A woman named Jenilee Lane goes through the journey of finding her strengths and weaknesses for the first time. Her once sheltered life is turned upside down, forcing her to start over with the grieving townspeople of Poetry. For the first time, she gets to know her neighbors, she previously had avoided. This was especially true when she rescued a woman named Eudora Gibson, who's life, along with her grand-daughter's, was in danger after the distruction of her home. Wingate shows how humans level with their neighbor after surviving life threatening events. Often they will share a sense of be thankful for what they still have, and forget the conflict they had before. At the end of the novel, the reader is encouraged to embrace oneself, having the courage to face any one of life's challenges.
Wingate foreshadows the transformation our main character will go through with the metaphor of a moth shedding it's cocoon. Jenilee realizes something essential for her future journey, which is, "If not for the struggle....it would be a creature without strength, unable to fulfill it's purpose." The main theme of this novel is that with every conflict we encounter, we grow stronger if we want to. Jenilee lives up to her life long pressure of living up to her mother, and does so through her ecounters and events which occur after a tornado hits the small town of Poetry, Missouri.
I stumbled upon this novel, and was surprised by the author's style of writing from the first page. The one thing which kept me interested throughout the whole book is Wingate's simple and to-the-point plot. I have read many books which tend to focus too much on painting the picture for you. In "Good Hope Road," the reader is able to use their own imagination the create the characters and scenery for themselves. Also the plot was easy to understand and follow along, without struggling through meaningless detail. I give "Good Hope Road," written by Lisa Wingate, four stars because of the authors technique of sending a message of self improvement through the story of an ordinary woman named Jenilee Lane.

Rating:
Summary: Good Hope for Improvement
Review: Lisa Wingate tells the story of a young woman, discovering herself after a devastating tornado rips through her hometown of Poetry, Missouri. A woman named Jenilee Lane goes through the journey of finding her strengths and weaknesses for the first time. Her once sheltered life is turned upside down, forcing her to start over with the grieving townspeople of Poetry. For the first time, she gets to know her neighbors, she previously had avoided. This was especially true when she rescued a woman named Eudora Gibson, who's life, along with her grand-daughter's, was in danger after the distruction of her home. Wingate shows how humans level with their neighbor after surviving life threatening events. Often they will share a sense of be thankful for what they still have, and forget the conflict they had before. At the end of the novel, the reader is encouraged to embrace oneself, having the courage to face any one of life's challenges.
Wingate foreshadows the transformation our main character will go through with the metaphor of a moth shedding it's cocoon. Jenilee realizes something essential for her future journey, which is, "If not for the struggle....it would be a creature without strength, unable to fulfill it's purpose." The main theme of this novel is that with every conflict we encounter, we grow stronger if we want to. Jenilee lives up to her life long pressure of living up to her mother, and does so through her ecounters and events which occur after a tornado hits the small town of Poetry, Missouri.
I stumbled upon this novel, and was surprised by the author's style of writing from the first page. The one thing which kept me interested throughout the whole book is Wingate's simple and to-the-point plot. I have read many books which tend to focus too much on painting the picture for you. In "Good Hope Road," the reader is able to use their own imagination the create the characters and scenery for themselves. Also the plot was easy to understand and follow along, without struggling through meaningless detail. I give "Good Hope Road," written by Lisa Wingate, four stars because of the authors technique of sending a message of self improvement through the story of an ordinary woman named Jenilee Lane.

Rating:
Summary: Good Hope for Improvement
Review: Lisa Wingate tells the story of a young woman, discovering herself after a devasting tornado rips through her hometown of Poetry, Missouri. A woman named Jenilee Lane goes through the journey of finding her strengths and weaknesses for the first time. Her once sheltered life is turned upside down, forcing her to start over with the grieving townspeople of Poetry. For the first time, she gets to know her neighbors, she previously had avoided. This was especially true when she rescued a woman named Eudora Gibson, who's life, along with her grand-daughter's, was in danger after the distruction of her home. Wingate shows how humans level with their neighbor after surviving life threatening events. Often they will share a sense of be thankful for what they still have, and forget the conflict they had before. At the end of the novel, the reader is encouraged to embrace oneself, having the courage to face any one of life's chalenges.
Wingate forshadows the transformation our main character will go through with the metaphor of a moth shedding it's cacoon. Jenilee realizes something essential for her future journey, which is, "If not for the struggle....it would be a creature without strength, unable to fulfull it's purpose." The main theme of this novel is that with every conflict we encounter, we grow stronger if we want to. Jenilee lives up to her life long pressure of living up to her mother, and does so through her ecounters and events which occur after a tornado hits the small town of Poetry, Missouri.
I stumbled upon this novel, and was surprised by the author's style of writing from the first page. The one thing which kept me interested throughout the whole book is Wingbate's simple and to-the-point plot. I have read many books which tend to focus too much on painting the picture for you. In "Good Hope Road," the reader is able to use their own imagination the create the characters and scenery for themselves. Also the plot was easy to understand and follow along, without struggling through meaningless detail. I give "Good Hope Road," written by Lisa Wingate, four stars because of the authors technique of sending a message of self improvement through the story of an ordinary woman named Jenilee Lane.