Skyward

Rating:
Summary: Perfect Vacation Book
Review: After reading Mary Alice Monroe's "Beach House" I was taken by her writing style and followed with Skyward. I was thrilled to find that this book was every bit as enjoyable as Beach House, and had many of the same strengths-- beautifully written characters and a story that seamlessly weaved the history and beauty of the place where the story takes place--you truly feel part of the story.

In SKYWARD, Monroe weaves a beautiful tale about love, loss and the strength of the human spirit. I found this book to be a quick and enjoyable read-- the characters were well written and so believable that I felt I knew them. This is the kind of story that you are sad to see come to an end. Wonderful!

Rating:
Summary: Perfect Vacation Book
Review: After reading Mary Alice Monroe's "Beach House" I was taken by her writing style and followed with Skyward. I was thrilled to find that this book was every bit as enjoyable as Beach House, and had many of the same strengths-- beautifully written characters and a story that seamlessly weaved the history and beauty of the place where the story takes place--you truly feel part of the story.

In SKYWARD, Monroe weaves a beautiful tale about love, loss and the strength of the human spirit. I found this book to be a quick and enjoyable read-- the characters were well written and so believable that I felt I knew them. This is the kind of story that you are sad to see come to an end. Wonderful!

Rating:
Summary: Good beach read
Review: Harris Henderson is in shock from the medical report that informs him that his beloved five-year-old daughter Marion suffers from the worst type of juvenile diabetes. Desperate he advertises for a caregiver, hoping to have someone apply to live in his isolated bird sanctuary and rehabilitation center in the wilderness in the South Carolina Low Country. However, he feels lucky when a registered pediatric nurse answers his ad. Weary Ella Majors feels burned out helplessly watching children die after a decade in the ER; she feels the change from Vermont to Carolina will rejuvenate her. The two agree on a one-year contract after a one-month trial period.

Harris soon finds himself surrounded by two-legged prey. Besides his new employee, a teen is sentenced to giving community time at the center for shooting a bird. Marian's druggie mother arrives causing havoc for one all. However, amidst these intruders, Harris and Ella fall in love even while the nurse also loves her patient.

This strong contemporary romance stays above the soap opera level that the plot could have become because the big three members of the cast seems very real as they reach out to one another. The birds and their home provide an atypical background so that the audience will appreciate the way Mary Alice Monroe spins it into the tale. The teen enables the reader to see how much the adults care, but the mother is too pathetic too matter except in adding unnecessary tension to a powerful human drama.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Good beach read
Review: Harris Henderson is in shock from the medical report that informs him that his beloved five-year-old daughter Marion suffers from the worst type of juvenile diabetes. Desperate he advertises for a caregiver, hoping to have someone apply to live in his isolated bird sanctuary and rehabilitation center in the wilderness in the South Carolina Low Country. However, he feels lucky when a registered pediatric nurse answers his ad. Weary Ella Majors feels burned out helplessly watching children die after a decade in the ER; she feels the change from Vermont to Carolina will rejuvenate her. The two agree on a one-year contract after a one-month trial period.

Harris soon finds himself surrounded by two-legged prey. Besides his new employee, a teen is sentenced to giving community time at the center for shooting a bird. Marian's druggie mother arrives causing havoc for one all. However, amidst these intruders, Harris and Ella fall in love even while the nurse also loves her patient.

This strong contemporary romance stays above the soap opera level that the plot could have become because the big three members of the cast seems very real as they reach out to one another. The birds and their home provide an atypical background so that the audience will appreciate the way Mary Alice Monroe spins it into the tale. The teen enables the reader to see how much the adults care, but the mother is too pathetic too matter except in adding unnecessary tension to a powerful human drama.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Enthralling
Review: I found SKYWARD to be a wonderful book... I usually don't pick up less-known titles, but a friend recommended this book to me, and I loved it... I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a beautiful summer read, who enjoys a well-crafted story and believable characters.

Rating:
Summary: Monroe takes you to a beautiful world
Review: I read The Beach House last summer and loved it. This book, however, is much less engaging. The characters, with the exception of Lijah, are dull and formulaic. While some facts about raptors were interesting, overall, the use of that device did not capture my attention as did the use of sea turtles in Beach House. The author did, however, do an excellent job of describing Type 1 diabetes and its management in young children.

Rating:
Summary: Some redeeming features......
Review: I read The Beach House last summer and loved it. This book, however, is much less engaging. The characters, with the exception of Lijah, are dull and formulaic. While some facts about raptors were interesting, overall, the use of that device did not capture my attention as did the use of sea turtles in Beach House. The author did, however, do an excellent job of describing Type 1 diabetes and its management in young children.

Rating:
Summary: Enthralling
Review: I recommend this book to everyone and anyone. After reading her last book The Beach House, I beacame much more aware with the status of our beloved sea turtles. Now after reading Skyward, I have a new appreciation for the birds of prey. Monroe skillfully intertwines the power and beauty of natural elements into her stories. Her novel was so captivating that I didn't even realize how I had come to better understand the low-country area that I'm from. Reading this novel will make you feel like a better person just for reading it. No matter where you are from, this novel will leave you speaking with a Southern drawl. I absolutely loved it.

Rating:
Summary: Monroe will capture your heart
Review: I recommend this book to everyone and anyone. After reading her last book The Beach House, I beacame much more aware with the status of our beloved sea turtles. Now after reading Skyward, I have a new appreciation for the birds of prey. Monroe skillfully intertwines the power and beauty of natural elements into her stories. Her novel was so captivating that I didn't even realize how I had come to better understand the low-country area that I'm from. Reading this novel will make you feel like a better person just for reading it. No matter where you are from, this novel will leave you speaking with a Southern drawl. I absolutely loved it.

Rating:
Summary: Monroe takes you to a beautiful world
Review: Monroe's captivating book takes you to a sanctuary for birds of prey along the coast of South Carolina. Her passion and knowledge of the landscape and wildlife is clear in her vivid descriptions. The characters are carefully drawn, and in the case of the Gullah wise man, Lijah, powerfully compelling. The birds were like characters, too, so vivid were they! I feel I've been taken to a special world in her book and was captivated by her parallels between our human relationships and nature. Inspirational. Highly recommended for readers of all ages.