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.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth waiting for!
Review: Lisa Wingate's new book GOOD HOPE ROAD was absolutely fantastic. After enjoying TENDING ROSES, I just couldn't wait till this book came out and I loved it! It was so sad and so sweet. She combines all of the right elements for heartwarming storytelling.
I devoured it in just one night...Lisa we want more!
Rating:
Summary: For fans of THE LOVELY BONES - Deserves more than 5 Stars!!!
Review: Remember the last time you read a book so wonderful you wanted to tell everyone you knew about it? One such book is GOOD HOPE ROAD which takes place in the aftermath of a tornado. The book is told in alternating first person POV by Jenilee Lane, a 21 year-old woman whose family has been called the "worst white trash" of the small town of Poetry, Missouri and of Eudora Gibson, the 78-year-old woman Jenilee saves when her house is destroyed by the tornado The author has done a fabulous job with these characters and in telling this fabulous, fabulous story. Jenilee is stunned but unhurt as she watches a powerful tornado pass near her rural home. As stunned as she is, she knows she has to check on her neighbors including elderly Eudora Gibson. Jenilee�s father and brother have taken their truck and gone to a cattle auction so she takes the only transportation available � a tractor and stops at the Gibson farm. What she sees shocks her � the stately old home is completely gone. Calling for Mrs. Gibson, she finally hears noises from a nearby cellar -- the door of which is blocked by a large tree limb. She uses the tractor to remove the tree limb and saves the life of not only Mrs. Gibson but of little Lacy, Mrs. Gibson�s six-year-old granddaughter. The next day Jenilee heads out for town but on the way she picks up fragments of the lives of many of the townspeople � photographs, mementos, and letters � things she is sure someone will miss. On her way to town she comes upon a high school classmate and the two of them make their way to the devastation that was once the town of Poetry. Even though her only medical experience has been assisting the local veterinarian, Jenilee bravely steps in and does what she needs to aide both the physically wounded and the emotionally wounded residents at the armory that has become a makeshift hospital. Many of the people she helps have known all her life but who always thought of her as �white trash� and the victim of who-knows-what-abuse at the hands of her alcoholic father. One by one, the townspeople see that they have been wrong about Jenilee. After she has done all she can helping the wounded, Jenilee remembers her bag of photos. She posts them on the walls of the armory � and in seeing pieces of the things they thought they had lost, the townspeople begin to have hope for the future. It�s a story of hope and of second chances �for a 21-year-old woman and the elderly woman who becomes her unlikely friend, a middle-aged doctor who has lost the will to care, an elderly man who has harbored a big secret for nearly six decades, and a young couple who has become victim of the baggage the man brought into their relationship. It's a quick read and so uplifting I needed to wipe the tears from my eyes several times. I loved it so much I am off to order this author�s first book, TENDING ROSES.
Rating:
Summary: For fans of THE LOVELY BONES - Deserves more than 5 Stars!!!
Review: Remember the last time you read a book so wonderful you wanted to tell everyone you knew about it? One such book is GOOD HOPE ROAD which takes place in the aftermath of a tornado. The book is told in alternating first person POV by Jenilee Lane, a 21 year-old woman whose family has been called the "worst white trash" of the small town of Poetry, Missouri and of Eudora Gibson, the 78-year-old woman Jenilee saves when her house is destroyed by the tornado The author has done a fabulous job with these characters and in telling this fabulous, fabulous story. Jenilee is stunned but unhurt as she watches a powerful tornado pass near her rural home. As stunned as she is, she knows she has to check on her neighbors including elderly Eudora Gibson. Jenilee's father and brother have taken their truck and gone to a cattle auction so she takes the only transportation available ' a tractor and stops at the Gibson farm. What she sees shocks her ' the stately old home is completely gone. Calling for Mrs. Gibson, she finally hears noises from a nearby cellar -- the door of which is blocked by a large tree limb. She uses the tractor to remove the tree limb and saves the life of not only Mrs. Gibson but of little Lacy, Mrs. Gibson's six-year-old granddaughter. The next day Jenilee heads out for town but on the way she picks up fragments of the lives of many of the townspeople ' photographs, mementos, and letters ' things she is sure someone will miss. On her way to town she comes upon a high school classmate and the two of them make their way to the devastation that was once the town of Poetry. Even though her only medical experience has been assisting the local veterinarian, Jenilee bravely steps in and does what she needs to aide both the physically wounded and the emotionally wounded residents at the armory that has become a makeshift hospital. Many of the people she helps have known all her life but who always thought of her as 'white trash' and the victim of who-knows-what-abuse at the hands of her alcoholic father. One by one, the townspeople see that they have been wrong about Jenilee. After she has done all she can helping the wounded, Jenilee remembers her bag of photos. She posts them on the walls of the armory ' and in seeing pieces of the things they thought they had lost, the townspeople begin to have hope for the future. It's a story of hope and of second chances 'for a 21-year-old woman and the elderly woman who becomes her unlikely friend, a middle-aged doctor who has lost the will to care, an elderly man who has harbored a big secret for nearly six decades, and a young couple who has become victim of the baggage the man brought into their relationship. It's a quick read and so uplifting I needed to wipe the tears from my eyes several times. I loved it so much I am off to order this author's first book, TENDING ROSES.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This is the best book I have ever read. I don't believe anyone could read "Good Hope Road" without learning a lesson about life. Read this now- you'll be glad you did!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: This is the best book I have ever read. I don't believe anyone could read "Good Hope Road" without learning a lesson about life. Read this now- you'll be glad you did!
Rating:
Summary: The title fits this terrific book!
Review: What a blessing to have had GOOD HOPE ROAD picked for our Virtues & Vices Book Club! Lisa Wingate has crafted a beautiful story filled with hope and forgiveness. Others have mentioned God's timing of the release with the recent tornadoes, so let me focus instead on the characters and theme.
Her three-dimensional characters have the same struggles that we all do--negative thoughts, a tendency toward gossip, fear of the future, and painful family relationships. However, they move through life with a certain hope buoyed by their faith. She captures the essence of small town life--both the good and the bad--as the residents of Poetry, MO work to make some sense out of a tragedy and search for miracles in the devastation. None of her characters are perfect but that is what endears them to her readers.
I gave her first novel, TENDING ROSES, to all of my children's teachers for Christmas last year (and they all loved it). I will buy GOOD HOPE ROAD for birthday presents for friends this year. Lisa, we love what you're doing here. Keep it up!
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