The Edge of the Sky

Rating:
Summary: A glorious read!
Review: "This Edge of the Sky" is, quite simply, one of the best books I've ever read. It's the kind of book you can't stop reading and don't want to end. I buzzed through the book in two days, stopping only to put ice on my poor, strained eyes, then I HAD to go back and read again. Dru Campbell made her characters so real that I wanted to call her main protagonist, Lana, and ask her out for coffee to see how her girls were doing. The book takes place in and around San Diego. I've lived there for over seventeen years and recognized all the places the characters visited. Dru's descriptions and figurative language make the book sing. I could smell the flowers in her garden and hear the wind chimes, feel the hot Santa Ana winds scoring my skin, and smell rough fur of her old dog when she knelt to kiss his graying muzzle. I usually read a book and then pass it on to a friend to enjoy, but this one is a keeper and I know I'll read it again and again. Anyone who has daughters, sisters, mothers or good friends has to read this book. It's wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific, real-world novel about one family
Review: I don't have much, if anything to say about this book. My attention wandered while reading it and I all but skimmed about the last 100 pages. This book REMINDED me of something Joy Fielding would write, but that's about it. Joy Fielding is a much better writer and she writes a much better family drama than this woman could ever hope to write!

I kept with this book thinking something was bound to happen and it never did. For me, the book would have been better had the author spent more time on the relationship between Lana and her husband, Jack instead of having jack die right away. (I.m not giving anything away here since jack's death is alluded to on the back cover synopsis of the book and he dies in the first chapter. So, pretty much if you read the back of the book, you've read the whole book, but if you still must read it, pick it up at the library!!

Rating:
Summary: Powerful writing
Review: I've been reading Drusilla Campbell since way back when she wrote historical romances and this is definitely her best book ever. The writing is fresh and smooth, I loved the suspense and and all the family details struck me as just so real I felt like I really knew the Porter family. I cried at the end. You'd have to be a stone heart not to. For anyone who has ever tried to raise kids alone, The Edge of the Sky is the perfect book. I loved watching Lana grow up right along with her girls.

Rating:
Summary: Biblioholic Binge
Review: The Edge of the Sky had me on the edge of my seat for two days wondering what would happen next. I can only imagine what it would be like to be in Lana's shoes. No thanks! It is difficult enough to raise two teenaged girls. Add to the mix of that challenge, a husband and father dying suddenly. Also included is having the biological dad of your adopted daughter enter the picture. His return then causes your biological daughter to be resentful because now she doesn't have a dad. For Lana to shoulder all of the girls' grief and baggage, as well as her own grief, on top of the day to day responsibilities, created a real sense of empathy in me for her. How would I handle the difficulties she faced?
The Edge of the Sky was especially interesting to me experiencing Lana navigating her way through my hometown. Not many books out there are set in San Diego.That was a visual bonus for me. Thanks Dru.
The Edge of the Sky is a book that this unabashed biblioholic will keep on her bookshelf for friends and family to enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: A terrific, real-world novel about one family
Review: This is one of those terrific novels that show how real people -- people we all can relate to -- deal with life's ups and downs. Lana loves her family -- husband and two teenage daughters -- but questions her parenting abilities and interest. When tragedy strikes, she faces challenges as simple as getting out of bed in the morning and as complex as dealing with one daughter's psychological problems. Oh, yes, and there's her own narcissitic mother, her seemingly helpless younger sister and a somewhat overbearing older sister. The psychology in this book rings true, from Lana's insecurities as an adoptive mother to the teenagers' often irrational thought patterns. The payoff, in the end, is what every truly satisfying novel has: characters who have grown and changed, right before your eyes. I couldn't put this one down.