Rating: 
Summary: Great characters! Great storytelling! A great read!
Review: At last . . . Christian fiction that's WORTH reading! Wright's characters have dimension, and they ALL ring true. I feel I've known the residents of Leeway all my life! Could not put this book down. If you liked this one, you should also read "Grace at Bender Springs" by this author.
Rating:
Summary: read it now
Review: I could see Velma - I could see Leeway - I could smell the cooking. Simply written truth - truth that helped me put my own life onto a straighter path. I even underlined some paragraphs. This is an author who has fought with life and herself - she KNOWS human nature!!! I've recommended this book to several people - some borrowed my copy and then loved the book so much, they bought their own. Now that tells ya' something.
Rating:
Summary: I've Read It, and I'm Buying It!
Review: I got Velma's book from our town library. I read it right through. I made one of the recipes. I'm buying the book today, because I want to have it with me. I think it may make me a better man. My town is much like Leeway. Our people are like Velma's neighbors. Such characters! I could stand on our Main Street and point to Doris, and Sissy, and Howard, and Shellye and even Zeke. The lives in my town work just like the lives in Leeway. Leeway is not a special town. It's just that all of us are like the people of Leeway. Leeway is just a neighborhood with a lot of unpopulated space around it. We are all human beings and we all have a self. That self is so important to us, and so strong, that it blinds us, sometimes. Our self makes it hard for us to recognize how others feel - much less understand them - even when we love them very much. In this book, Velma Brendle learns that God knows that this to be true. He teaches her how to live through it. There is a lot of joy in this book, and a lot of sorrow. Velma makes many people happy and healthy with her wonderful cooking. She also hurts some people because she can't get past her own grief. But it is a very hopeful book. The insights of the "human condition" are worth the book's price. The mystery in Velma's soul makes it intriguing and powerful. The recipes make it a great bargain. Readers like me, who love Garrison Keillor and Jan Karon and John Steinbeck will want to read and own this book. I hope Ms. Wright gives us another one soon.
Rating:
Summary: I've Read It, and I'm Buying It!
Review: I got Velma's book from our town library. I read it right through. I made one of the recipes. I'm buying the book today, because I want to have it with me. I think it may make me a better man. My town is much like Leeway. Our people are like Velma's neighbors. Such characters! I could stand on our Main Street and point to Doris, and Sissy, and Howard, and Shellye and even Zeke. The lives in my town work just like the lives in Leeway. Leeway is not a special town. It's just that all of us are like the people of Leeway. Leeway is just a neighborhood with a lot of unpopulated space around it. We are all human beings and we all have a self. That self is so important to us, and so strong, that it blinds us, sometimes. Our self makes it hard for us to recognize how others feel - much less understand them - even when we love them very much. In this book, Velma Brendle learns that God knows that this to be true. He teaches her how to live through it. There is a lot of joy in this book, and a lot of sorrow. Velma makes many people happy and healthy with her wonderful cooking. She also hurts some people because she can't get past her own grief. But it is a very hopeful book. The insights of the "human condition" are worth the book's price. The mystery in Velma's soul makes it intriguing and powerful. The recipes make it a great bargain. Readers like me, who love Garrison Keillor and Jan Karon and John Steinbeck will want to read and own this book. I hope Ms. Wright gives us another one soon.
Rating:
Summary: AN exceptional read
Review: I just got through reading this book, and I must express that it is good. Velma was good,honest, and creative. Folks came to her when in trouble and in good times. I don't know about you but I smelled that Grady a mile off,just like Velma did,but, I was truly hoping that I was wrong on my instincts. But, I wasn't. The book kept me captivated. I wanted to find out how it ended. I was so happy about Howard, but so sad for Doris and Shellye. Great and exceptional read.
Rating:
Summary: Is Vinita still cooking?
Review: I want to meet Velma. I want to sit and talk to her, trade recipes and share troubles. I'm sure she's a real person, that's how well written this book is. This book is truly a treasure. A story that gently pulls you in without you even realizing it. A book full of wisdom and caring and the realities of life. I couldn't stop reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than I expected.
Review: I wasn't sure I'd like this book since I'm not really a great fan of Christian fiction. Though it started a bit slow for me, it picked up quickly enough to heighten and then keep my interest. A look at the theme of forgiveness without getting preachy (refreshing). Good character development that rings more true than what I've often found in Christian fiction (again, refreshing). I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed it enough to give contemporary Christian fiction another chance.
Rating:
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable
Review: I'll start by confessing that I read this book because I was curious to see if Broadman & Holman would put out a quality piece of fiction (of course, my view of "quality" may not correspond to any objective reality). They did. Wright's book quickly drew me into the lives of her characters, despite the fact that they led completely commonplace lives. In fact, that seems to be the point of the book--that things of ultimate importance are found in the obscure and ordinary: small towns, small interactions, small choices. I'm already reading Wright's earlier novel "Grace at Bender Springs" and look forward to seeing more from this author.
Rating:
Summary: I Promise You Will Like This Book
Review: I'll start by confessing that I read this book because I was curious to see if Broadman & Holman would put out a quality piece of fiction (of course, my view of "quality" may not correspond to any objective reality). They did. Wright's book quickly drew me into the lives of her characters, despite the fact that they led completely commonplace lives. In fact, that seems to be the point of the book--that things of ultimate importance are found in the obscure and ordinary: small towns, small interactions, small choices. I'm already reading Wright's earlier novel "Grace at Bender Springs" and look forward to seeing more from this author.
Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: Like the other reviewer, I checked this out of the library and I want my own copy. This is a wonderful book, full of real people. It is really something for an author to take ordinary characters, write about their day to day lives and create a compelling book.
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