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Summary: An engaging tribute to friendship
Review: I was intrigued from the start, captured by the opposing point of views of Libby and Anne. What fun! I expected something catty to evolve. Instead it took me into something much more fulfilling. I experienced the joy shared between two women in a way I never knew possible. As a male, I never considered the element of depth in women's friendships, and just assumed they were all the same. If you've seen one female friendship, you've seen them all. It never occurred to me how much more was going on, and that women may long for friendships they don't have. This story took me into a world that I never knew existed, and I'm a better person for it. The book's main audience may be women, but it inspired me as well. The characters were extremely real, so human, flawed and in need of God's love. Evelyn touched a nerve, and I hated her for being so selfish and shallow. Anne taught me a little about life and God's love. When I put down the book, I wished Anne had been my friend too.Plotting was superb, with all the right surprises and twists that should be there. Everything falls together so perfectly. If you add or delete one phrase it would lessen the book's quality. The only time I sensed it was a woman's book was when the characters went shopping. But friendship always drove the story, a universal theme that even men can understand! That's why any man can enjoy this book. Henke's insights into human psychology made the characters the most real I've encountered in a novel, yet deeply interesting. Anne and Libby are rich with flaws and never bigger than life, and are fascinating to read about. Libby's struggle to understand God was the most honest and realistic I've seen in a novel. I rooted for Libby and Anne. Now I want to root for "After Anne." This deeply inspiring tale ought to be in the hands of a lot of people.
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Summary: A New Kind of Writing
Review: If you have ever wanted to be a better friend, this is a must read.
Roxanne Henke skillfully weaves the view points of two women into one strong story. Not only does After Anne focus on relationships with friends, family, and the Lord, but it also reminds us all of the horrible truth of cancer. Cancer knows no age boundaries, so I appreciated Anne being such a young, healthy woman. Hopefully, after reading this book, each reader will conduct a self-exam for breast cancer.
Make sure to read Becoming Olivia to learn the rest of the story.
Rating:
Summary: An engaging read
Review: Ms. Henke's first novel was engaging from the very first page. She did a wonderful job of bringing these two characters to life, with all their virtues and their shortcomings. Ms. Henke has that enviable storyteller's talent for including particular details that make the characters, the setting, and the situations universal. She uses humor to balance tragedy, thus we never feel sorry for her characters Anne and Libby (neither would tolerate pity). Rather, we identify and empathize with them. Well done!
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Summary: A Close Friendship Well Told
Review: My sweet wife read After Anne and told me about it. The story describes the friendship of Olivia and Anne, both in their thirties, who meet during a high school football game. Olivia instantly dislikes Anne, but Anne is attracted to Olivia, whom she calls Libby despite Olivia's attempts to dissuade her. Because Anne's husband travels and they are new to the town, Anne prays for a friend. She hopes she has found that friend in Libby. Opportunity for building acquaintance comes when Olivia's daughter Emily wants to learn the piano and Anne is the only piano teacher in Brewster, North Dakota. Olivia gives Anne as much distance as she can, but Anne's friendliness and generosity eventually win her over, and they become friends as close as sisters. My wife says the book is set up in a weird way, jumping first person viewpoints between the two main characters; but that doesn't disrupt the story. Henke writes well, keeping my wife's interest more than she thought she would. Sarah was with me in having a low opinion of Christian fiction. After Anne depicts that kind of friendship every woman craves. Henke reveals her character's deep emotions without caricature. "The emotion doesn't seem fake," my wife said. It rings true and penetrates emotional calluses a reader may have raised through suspicion of the genre (that being contemporary Christian). But "it's a woman's book. A man would not appreciate or enjoy it." Well, we'll see about that when I get around to reading it myself.
Rating:
Summary: After Anne
Review: This book is one of the most honest books about people and how we relate to one another in not always such postive ways.
I may be too real for some and hit a nerve. But I found it to be a perfect book for a womens book club.
Women of all ages will gain insight about themselves and their realtionships with others. Discussion questions at the back of the book are a great discussion starter.
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Summary: A story of real friendship.
Review: This Christian based novel is the story of Olivia Marsden and her best friend Anne Abbott. When they first meet, Olivia takes an instant disliking to Anne, but eventually overcomes her first impression to forge a strong and loving friendship with her. Anne has a strong faith and forces Olivia to take a hard look at herself and her relationships with her family and other friends. While Anne is pregnant with her first child, she finds a lump in her breast and this discovery will deepen the bonds between the women as they struggle together for hope and healing. An excellent subplot (though it's a little too easily resolved) involves Olivia's son and drug use. The story is told in the alternating voices of Olivia and Anne, so though the book looks long, the chapters are short...however, it was by no means an "easy" read as it is such an emotional story. You will not expect the ending to this book and I won't give anything away except to say, cherish those you love now before you no longer have the chance.
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Summary: After Anne
Review: This is a wonderful story of two 'at odds' women & their friendship. I liked the very short chapters that had the women telling about the same incident from their perception. Very well written. One really feels a part of their lives & 'lives' through it all with them.
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Summary: Thought Provoking
Review: This is the most thought provoking book I have ever read. A friend loaned me this book and told me I would need a box of tissue to go with it. I was expecting a tear jerking story about two friends. What I didn't expect was to spend so much time thinking about my relationships with my family, my friends and my God. I think there is a message for everyone in this book, no matter where you are in your relationships or in your faith journey.
Rating:
Summary: Inspiring Story of Friendship
Review: We all love and long for that rare book that we can't put down until the very end. After Anne falls in that category! Being a reader that is sometimes overly "touched" by sad story lines, I was somewhat hesistant as to where this "inspirational" story would take me. But from the moment I started the book, I was engrossed by this once-in-a-lifetime friendship between Anne and Olivia as they are forced to face lifes most difficult obstacles. Author Roxanne Henke walks the reader through a faith based journey that shows the true depths that freindship can reach. Have your kleenex handy--you will never be the same "friend" to anyone again!!
Rating:
Summary: An enthralling page-turner from beginning to end!
Review: When I started to read After Anne, I didn't expect to care so much about the characters or get so caught up in the story. But from the first lines, I was hooked. This is a powerful tale about two women who form a bond that is tried by fire. In the end, friendship comes out the victor and is worth the price paid. Roxanne Henke's first novel is written with honesty, humor and bravery. It is purely fiction, but the premise of the book is based on the author's real-life experience of losing her dearest friend to breast cancer. I can only imagine what it took to revisit those tender times in order to give the reader the details and insights that blanket the story in reality. It's no wonder I felt as if I had read a biography rather than a novel - it seemed so real. This wonderful book is the first in the Coming Home to Brewster series and it is SO good, I cannot wait for the next one! If you want a really gripping read, I recommend After Anne. You'll look far to find a better one. Happy reading, everybody.
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