Rating: 
Summary: subtle and true
Review: I thought this book was wonderful. The author relays her slow climb out of grief with beautiful language, and her words come across as honest. For me, "The Lovely Bones," interesting as it was, viewed the death of a young person through rose colored glasses: the loved one isn't *really* gone, and she doesn't *really* have her future, and all the experiences she would have had, taken from her. It was comforting, but Smith's book, I think, rings more true. The narrator's brother is just gone, and she has to accept it. But I wouldn't call this book a downer at all - as heartbroken as she is, the narrator leaves herself open to real happiness, and because she's brave and honest with herself, she finds it. I'm not Catholic or even religious, but I found her descriptions of nuns at her private school very moving and evenhanded.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: Like an earlier reviewer, I too read this book in one sitting. Unlike that reviewer, I found the writing remarkable. Readers will want to keep picking it up, not so much because the book is "gripping", but because it is inviting - you will just want to spend more time with her. The book is a moving memoir that reads like a novel. Ms. Smith has seamlessly woven together pieces of her story in a manner reminiscent of a new friend describing her family to you over a period of time - memories that may seem disjointed and out of focus at first begin to take shape until, in the end, the reader realizes a relationship has been formed. Yes, religion is the backbone of this young girl's family but readers are not beaten over the head with it, it simply is. "Hot button" issues are treated with the subtlety of adolesence and thankfully, never labeled. They too are just part of growing up. I don't think this book was ever meant to address how to deal with the painful aftermath of the death of a sibling. Rather it is a tribute to childhood and growing up in spite of it all. Recommendation? Read it and decide for yourself!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful
Review: Like an earlier reviewer, I too read this book in one sitting. Unlike that reviewer, I found the writing remarkable. Readers will want to keep picking it up, not so much because the book is "gripping", but because it is inviting - you will just want to spend more time with her. The book is a moving memoir that reads like a novel. Ms. Smith has seamlessly woven together pieces of her story in a manner reminiscent of a new friend describing her family to you over a period of time - memories that may seem disjointed and out of focus at first begin to take shape until, in the end, the reader realizes a relationship has been formed. Yes, religion is the backbone of this young girl's family but readers are not beaten over the head with it, it simply is. "Hot button" issues are treated with the subtlety of adolesence and thankfully, never labeled. They too are just part of growing up. I don't think this book was ever meant to address how to deal with the painful aftermath of the death of a sibling. Rather it is a tribute to childhood and growing up in spite of it all. Recommendation? Read it and decide for yourself!
Rating:
Summary: A touching memoir
Review: Name all the Animals will likely draw comparisons to The Lovely Bones--as it should--but Name is grounded in reality, which makes it all the more effective. Smith is a wonderful, lyrical writer, but also an incredibly accessible one. She doesn't use huge words or odd symbols to communicate her grief--she just emotes pain as any teenage girl would. You will not be able to put down this book. It's heartbreaking, very funny, very touching, and it has the power to change you.
Rating: 
Summary: I think the author forgot something...
Review: The premise was interesting and the beginning of the book was better than the rest of it was. Somewhere along the line the author left out a huge part of this story - where was the recovery process? We are never told why the mother obsessed about recreating the van or what became of it, any details of recovery/therapy/healing that occurred during the years that were left out. We never really find out if the author discovers her true sexual nature (not that it's our business but it was part of the plot) and how the parents deal with that. We never discover anything about how the father deals with stopping the process of blessing "Baby" every day. What went on in the parents' minds? How in the world could someone live in such a protected shell in the 20th century? If it was MY brother, you bet your biscuits I'd have my hands on that article. I just felt like so much was left out.
This was like driving from NY to CA and passing out and missing the middle of the journey. I'm very happy for the family that they were eventually able to move on with their lives, but there was an awful lot of the story that was left out. What is the point of showing the family before and after without showing the process? Perhaps it was to respect the parents and protect their wishes NOT to have that process revealed publicly, which is understandable, but still leaves the reader up in the air. One would think the editor would have had something entered into that black hole.
But let's give credit where credit was due... it took guts for the author to step forward and tell her story. Let's hope the next effort from this author is a little more complete.
Rating:
Summary: Set you free
Review: The Truth shall set you free in this tell all honest look into the life in a dysfunctional enviroment. The book delves into the mind and of the pain that they have had to live with similar to that of the reality based/courageous "NIGHTMARES ECHO",has poignant,at times a bit of humor like that of "RUNNING WITH SCISSORS", and a bit sorrowful like that of "BEAUTY FOR ASHES".
This is a MUST read book
Rating:
Summary: Attention fiction readers, you will LOVE this!!
Review: This is a true story, which is why it's described as a memoir. But it could just as easily have been published as a novel. It has all the character development, suspense, narrative arc, and beautiful writing of the best literary fiction. So don't dismiss it if you're not a big memoir fan. It should appeal to fiction and nonfiction readers equally.
But regardless of how it's categorized, I could NOT put this book down. I read it every second I could and couldn't bear to be away from it when I was at work. The grief made my heart break, but the love story, and Alison's success in figuring out who she is, just made my heart swell. It's such a gorgeous, moving portrait of a family, both in grief and in love. It's told through the 15-year-old eyes of the author, and she just GETS adolescence. I was sent spiralling back to my own memories of high school, and the unique, electric, unforgettable experience of first love. It's one of those unforgettable books that only come along every so often. I highly recommend it to readers everywhere.
Rating: 
Summary: Review by Alison's classmate
Review: This was a touching memoir about the struggles Alison faced as she grew up, suddenly an only child in her very religious family. It was difficult to put this one down. I found it incredibly frustrating, however to read the countless inaccuracies about Mercy High School - from the school name to the alleged secrets, the punishments (push-ups never happened!!!) I couldn't understand why Alison chose to call this a true story, yet fabricate in a way that depicted the school so negatively.
Rating:
Summary: set you free
Review: Tina Damon,
The Truth shall set you free in this tell all honest look into the life in a dysfunctional enviroment. The book delves into the mind and of the pain that they have had to live with similar to that of the reality based/courageous 'NIGHTMARES ECHO',has poignant,at times a bit of humor like that of 'RUNNING WITH SCISSORS', and a bit sorrowful like that of 'BEAUTY FOR ASHES'
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