Rating: 
Summary: Inspiring
Review: "The Russian Word for Snow" is one couple's experience with the Russian orphanage system. It is honest, touching, and inspiring.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Writer + Bitter Woman = Disservice to Adoption
Review: As an adoptive father of a Russian boy, I had mixed feelings about this book. Ms. Newman has a wonderful way of painting scenes with words; some of those scenes truly touched me and brought back memories of my wife's and my own adoption experience.However, if you're looking for a "how to" book on Russian adoption, or even a reason to support same, don't look here. Ms. Newman's lack of homework, her obvious disdain for Russia and its people, and her eagerness to leave the country left a very bitter taste in my mouth. I was horrified to see the crass way in which she refers to the many people she met on her journey. I almost wonder why she bothered to write the book. My 3-star rating = 4 for her writing style, - 1 for the disservice her book (and the attention it has received) does to Russian adoption.
Rating:
Summary: loved it! loved it! loved it!
Review: As you can tell I loved this book I thought it was a little strange that on the cover it said a nail bitting adoption saga, I thought no book could ever be that exciting,BUT IT WAS I couldnt put it down, It really made me greatful for the adoption agency(F.T.I.A) That we are using they are so much help and I would suggest them to any one especially after reading this wonderful book! I suggest everyone read it before considering adoption so you research it thoroughly!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: I commend the author for being honest...
Review: but I can't say that I learned too much from this book other than how not to proceed with an international adoption. She seemed to have approached the adoption from a purely emotional standpoint, with very little objectivity. She and her husband were the worst guests in a foreign country that I've read about in awhile, and I truly hope that their son is not suffering the effects of his parents' self-centeredness. All of that said, I give this book three stars for its great writing style; it really was a good read. Also, this is one of the only books on the market dealing specifically with Russian adoption, and I appreciate the author's attempt to fill some of that void. If you are interested in reading one of the best books I've read on contemporary Russia, post-Soviet era, read The Fire Escape is Locked for Your Safety by Molly Baier. It's an American lawyer's account of her trip across Russia, from the Ukraine to Vladivostok, and includes some hilarious interviews with different Russians.
Rating:
Summary: I commend the author for being honest...
Review: but I can't say that I learned too much from this book other than how not to proceed with an international adoption. She seemed to have approached the adoption from a purely emotional standpoint, with very little objectivity. She and her husband were the worst guests in a foreign country that I've read about in awhile, and I truly hope that their son is not suffering the effects of his parents' self-centeredness. All of that said, I give this book three stars for its great writing style; it really was a good read. Also, this is one of the only books on the market dealing specifically with Russian adoption, and I appreciate the author's attempt to fill some of that void. If you are interested in reading one of the best books I've read on contemporary Russia, post-Soviet era, read The Fire Escape is Locked for Your Safety by Molly Baier. It's an American lawyer's account of her trip across Russia, from the Ukraine to Vladivostok, and includes some hilarious interviews with different Russians.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent and reassuring memoir
Review: Having read every word of The Russian Word for Snow, I want to thank the author for putting her journey as an adoptive parent into words. It is one of the few books by an adoptive parent whose quest for a child led her to Russia, the birthplace of hundreds of thousands of children who need homes, and also the place where we found our own son. Ms. Newman offers her personal story from making the decision to adopt, to bringing her son home and beginning the attachment process. She should be commended for her honest and sincere efforts to tell us how she felt at every step of the way. As an adoptive mother of a child who came home with us at approximately the same age as Ms. Newman's son, I found her memoir reassuring. She offers adoptive parents a glimpse into the future they hope for by showing us how the attachment between her and her son developed, despite the harrowing circumstances they all endured to bring him home and become a family. Reviewers who don't appreciate this wonderful book ought to have their heads examined.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyed it!
Review: I am an adoptive mother of a son from Russia. Even though my experience wasn't exactly like the author's it evoked emotions and experiences that I had in Russia. Her descriptions of places and things were exactly like I remember them. I would recommend this book to anyone that is going through a Russian adoption. We all know that it is a leap of faith and some are bigger leaps than others.
Rating:
Summary: A great read!
Review: I bought this book because Janis, the author, was my writing teacher. Once I started I couldn't put it down! It was great! She does of a wonderful job of putting the ups and downs of the adoption of her son onto paper. It will take you to the busy world of russia and into the place she can't wait to take her son from. It also deals with her honest fears of motherhood and her capability of raising that little boy she knew only from a photograph. I totally recommend it for a wonderful read that will leave you longing for more.
Rating:
Summary: An honest story of one couple's Russian adoption experience
Review: I just had to comment on this book, not only because I loved it, but because it has been so widely criticized by other adoptive parents of Russian orphans. I, too, adopted a boy from Russia, and I could relate so well to most of what Ms. Newman wrote here. We entered Russia during a rather tumultuous time for international adoptions. When the Minister of Education failed to show up for our court hearing, I went through the heart wrenching anxiety that we would be sent back home without our baby - another failure after 3 years of trying to conceive. Tensions mounted between my husband and I and feelings of anger and frustration arose against the Russian people who didn't seem to care that we spent our last dime to adopt a child they didn't want. Of course we had a happy ending, and our little boy is the absolute joy of our lives. We are planning our second adoption from Russia this year and are anticipating returning to Russia to take in more of their culture and history. I think people who scorn this book fail to see that Ms. Newman and her husband persevered when most people would have given up so they could have THIS boy. They also forget the anxiety the couple must have felt that they may never have the boy that they loved, especially with political unrest brewing in the background. To Janis Cooke Newman, I say Bravo for your candor and honesty! I think you and your husband are heroes for "sticking it out" in what seemed like a hopeless situation. Your love for your son is immense.
Rating:
Summary: completely loved this book
Review: I read this book in two days then passed it on to a friend who finished it in one.
I love how this author writes - her story just gripped me.
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