Rating: 
Summary: Not worth it
Review: This book was clearly written by a 14 year-old girl. The characters, mother-and-daughter relationship, and story were underdeveloped. Find another book to read.
Rating: 
Summary: Promising start that does not deliver
Review: While the first part of this novel appeared to hold great promise, I admit to being disappointed overall. Although I know I was supposed to feel great empathy for the main characters, I never got there. Much of the character development was woefully lacking, and the vast jumps in time (practically just pages between the childhood and adulthood of Sophie for example), did not make getting to know these people any easier. This novel needed to be considerably longer, with much more detail as to the motivations for the characters actions. The ending felt hurried to me; a plethora of social ills dumped again into a few short pages. All this said, I believe the author does possess talent and as I understand this is her first novel perhaps that skill will emerge more clearly as she matures as a writer.
Rating: 
Summary: Can you feel it?
Review: The intense feelings in this book are crazy. I didn't know whether to cry or roll into a ball. I don't think any book has touched me with its beautiful writing.
Rating: 
Summary: fascinating
Review: This was a great book to read, it took me back to some of the practices of my native country. we have certainly come a long way. I admire women, specially the women of Haiti, who are as strong as a guayacan tree.
Rating:
Summary: I breathe, I see, I remember
Review: Danticat is our sage, but I felt uncomfortable as I was reading some parts of this book. It was as though she was revealing things about our community that should remain private. By the end of the book, I was of a different mind. This book is not just about the Haitian experience, this is a book about people, in particular a mother and a daughter, who have to come to terms with the way a cruel world has impacted their relationship. That is everywoman's story, everyman's.
Rating:
Summary: Breath, Eyes, Memory...
Review: Hhhmm...an interesting story. Some of it was hard to follow.
But over-all told a compelling story with a great ending.
Rating:
Summary: An insightful story.
Review: I enjoyed this book and the depth to which the author delves in order to allow us to have a glimpse into the life of a Haitian woman. Sophie is at the heart of this novel and we see her growing up with her aunt, in Haiti, while her mother lives in the U.S. Suddenly, Sophie is called for, by her mother, and she must go to a country that is foreign to her and live with a woman she doesn't know. Sophie then learns the truth about her birth and the trauma that her mother has endured for years while at the same time learning to become a woman in her own right.The only flaw I can find in this book is that more character development was needed. I wanted to learn more about the aunt that raised her and the relationship between Sophie and her mother was never fully examined. The writing however was beautiful and I enjoyed that aspect of it immensely. Danticat makes each of us realize that family can give us much strength but we need to make the change within ourself in order to become a stronger person. Sometimes a cycle within a family needs to be broken. Thankfully Sophie realizes this power and seizes it. Definitely a novel worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: exhaling, seeing, reminiscing
Review: Great read overall -- a nicely written and well delivered story that keeps the reader in the life of the main character. I wanted to toss this off as another mushy, formulaic, written-just-to-make-the-Oprah list kind of book, but this piece was good writing, good art, and good emotion. The author made the unthinkable almost justifable, made us understand the crazy, and provided hope along the way. I don't have any daughters or sisters, but being a brotha who LOVES himself some sistahs (real love not that in the moment love...which has its own place) I found this increased my appreciation for the many paths that a woman has to consider, travel down, and veer from. This is a great one to read after Paule Marshal's "Brown Girl, Brownstones".
Rating:
Summary: A simple good read
Review: Breath, Eyes, Memory, is told through the eyes of Sophie. Sophie is a young girl growing up in Haiti, by her aunt, not knowing why her mom left and went to the US. Suddenly her mom sends for her to come to New York where she is staying, so Sophie leaves everything she know to go stay with a mother she never knew. Sophie find's out the horrible act that sent her mother from her homeland. All the women in Sophie's family have to go through a check by their mom every night to make sure they are still virgins, which Sophie hates. Sophie ends up marrying a much older guy, to her mother's disapointment. I throught this book had strong family values, but it also was very sad with what the women went through. You don't want to miss this one, it is the best in my opinion that Oprah has picked.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful Look into the Life of a Hatian Woman
Review: To be completely honest, I was not sure how much I would enjoy reading this book. I found it to be very insightful in looking into the Hatian culture and the effect that culture has on its women. I found the theme of the story to be about how your blood line is the greatest power of strenght that a woman has, however that same family also has the possibility to be our greatest psychological enemy. The book teaches about empowering yourself to change harmful family patterns to healthy new traditions. Excellent book that is beautifully written.
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