Rating: 
Summary: Feel the Pain
Review: This book was so great in detail you felt what Julie felt.The struggles are so real.I was impressed how the author,who is male,could describe so many of the emotions and pain that females face. When Julie goes into labor one almost feel the pain with her.I got so wrapped up in the story i'd forget what era I was living in when I'd take a break from the book.AN EXCELLANT READ!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Like sitting in my great-grandmother's kitchen
Review: More and more, I appreciate the hardships and endurance of my Appalachian ancestors. Reading this book made me yearn to hear my great-grandmother's voice again. It is the story of a marriage. Despite the beating Julie and Hank get from life, they emerge strong, more than two separate people, and ready to face a better life beyond Gap Creek. I've heard stories much like these from my grandparents and great-grandparents. The language rings true and makes me feel sorry I made myself lose my accent to avoid the teasings of my classmates in a northern city.
Rating:
Summary: I loved it.
Review: Life isn't easy or candy coated, and neither is this book. I will recommend it to all my friends.
Rating:
Summary: It brings you to another place!
Review: I really enjoyed this quick read by Robert Morgan. At first I was put off by the characters use of bad english, but after a few chapters I adjusted. It helped place the characters and gave them a face. This novel made me laugh, cry and worry for the characters. I highly recommend it!
Rating:
Summary: Gap Creek
Review: Growing up poor and on a farm was a similar experience for me as a child. Maybe that is why this story struck at my heart. Julie and her family had no choices, they had to make do with what they had. With no money, they had almost no control over the changes in their lives. It was terrifying for me to read the truths of how harsh life really was for my parents and grandparents. I know in my heart, I would not have survived what Julie has been through so far in her young life. But the story ended with me just wanting to probe further into their lives, to find out if Julie's second baby lives and if Hank has matured into a good husband. I found myself surprised to realize the book only covered about a one year span in Julie's life. I want more!
Rating: 
Summary: Gap Creek
Review: For those of us who live in the Appalachian Mountains and can remember our grandmother's stories of life there before WWII- this book really hits home. I very much enjoyed the book and did not want it to end. It is about poverty, survival, greed, love, the weaknesses and strengths of the mountain people. I read the entire book in a day and a half. The only thing I was disappointed about is that it ended too soon with many questions about the characters left unanswered. A sequel would be great!
Rating: 
Summary: Gap Creek: Don't Go There!
Review: Gap Creek! Don't go there! Bad things happen! And, if you go with Julie Richards, expect the worst! Everyone dies: first her brother (while she's carrying him!), then her father, then Mr. Pendergast, then the cow, then the chickens, then HER BABY! Then, there's the filthy house she has to keep for Mr. Pendergast, the grease fire in the kitchen, and the flood which almost claims her and her husband Hank. THEN, there's Hank, fooling around with her no-good younger sister Caroline! Not to mention a high critical mother-in-law who has to have the last word and is deluded that she is behaving in a "Christian" manner! To top it off, there's starvation and a husband who can't/won't get a job! The subtitle says it's the story of a marriage. Oh dear! The convent is looking better and better! As a result of reading this book, I will NEVER complain about cooking or cleaning for the rest of my life! Don't read it!
Rating: 
Summary: Very "Little House On the Praire"
Review: This book was simplistic in its writing (plot), but it was a book that kept my interest. The author's details and story telling were delightful and kept me reading on. The characters are raw and uncultured, ringing true to the lives people lived in the 1800's. This book was a pleasant three day mind break reminiscient of the writing styles of Christina Schwarz (Drowning Ruth) and Susan Fromberg Schaffer (The Madness of a Seduced Woman).
Rating: 
Summary: Tedious
Review: I have read books that deal with human suffering and hardship--Les Miserables, or lately, The Heartsong of Charging Elk--and they inspire me. This one doesn't. In fact, it is tedious in its descriptions of one tragedy after another. What bothered me most is the heroine's inability to do more than work. Yes, hard work is commendable, but so is change, and her character though stoic, is static. She seems to be destined to a life on the level with some animals because her only outlet is to work and then work harder. I think good fiction should give us a glimpse of a better way to live and to respond to the suffering that is life. Julie has one response and never varies from it. Gap Creek has one note to play and pounds it from the first page to the last.
Rating:
Summary: Rich Words...goes no-where
Review: The ability of this author to capture a reader's interest with a fluent beauty of words is impeccable, however I was disapointed with the thin plot of the story. Perhaps I was simply frusterated that the end of the book did not resolve issues that I noticed throughout. To some, these may not even have been issues, therefore they may not feel as if they were left dangling without answers to obvious questions.
| 
