Rating: 
Summary: A very good read.
Review: Although there were some things that didn't ring true in this story, it is typical Kingsolver. A good read. I highly recommend it to anyone wanting a new twist on life.
Rating:
Summary: Animals dream about the things they do in the daytime...
Review: This book was so descriptive. It's the first book I've ever read by Barbara Kingsolver, but I plan on reading some more. Her characters are so thought out and well defined. You feel like you know them.
Rating: 
Summary: Haunting and Real
Review: At the core of this novel is the natural world that Barbara Kingsolver loves, and living in it are authentic characters complete with hope and dreams and demons. Codi is an especially full character whose needs and fears are tangible; she is haunted by the catastrophes of life and love. So is the reader, through prose that is richly detailed as Kingsolver smoothly blends flashbacks and dreams into the perceptive, wide-awake voice.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Detailed Story!
Review: This story is really very beautiful. It Just talks
about love, about how Codi Noline has had a void
in the sphere of love for so many years and needs
some one who is caring in her life
that will pay attention to the
details she has to say. The story takes place in
Grace Arizona. Animal Dreams reminds me of Children
of the Desert which was written Rudolfo Anaya. The
author of Animal Dreams i assume knows
and speaks the language
of Spanish because this book contains alot of wordsblended in with English. One has to think in a higher
level, that this is not some type of harlequin romance
novel, but a story that deals with love.
Rating:
Summary: Good read
Review: Good fast read - fun book. I enjoyed The Bean Trees and Pigs in Heaven more, but this book was a close second.
Rating:
Summary: Not exactly my tastes, but ...
Review: ... I enjoyed it anyway. I was presented with a large list of books that we could read before the beginning of the school year, this one included. Barbara Kingsolver was a name I remembered on a friend's mom's book shelf, so I choose it, (obscure connection, justified?). The tragedy is almost predictable ... what kind of book would it be if it didn't include death? We have the problem, even if it is midway through the book, and now Codi has to overcome her obstacles. Can this lost and confused woman do it? I'm sure you can guess, and it makes for a heartwarming ending of a realization of acceptance and an actual home. But what I did like about the novel was Codi's openness. The reader feels a very close connection to her because she says everything on her mind. I love the way she'll say one thing, and think another; or sometimes she'll say one thing, and then say, "no, I know that's not true," as if separate parts of her mind are combating. She's incredibly lifelike in this respect. Even though her life is unusually marred by tragedy, she makes for a woman we can all understand. Living in the southwest, I think I've had enough southwest culture not to need to read about it too, so I tend to veer away from this kind of stuff, but I found Animal Dreams to be acceptable. Four, maybe three a half stars, (I'm trying not to let personal taste interfere with my rating). It had me turning pages, and I read it in a couple days, so surely you can do the same ... give it a try. Adios!
Rating:
Summary: My favorite of Kingsolver's many good books
Review: Codi's sister is in Nicaragua fighting for justice. Codi returns to the mining town in Arizona where she grew up and find herself fighting demons from her past and present. A beautiful book that probes the psyche of a complex woman. A story of love, politics, ethics, environmental issues and committment.
Read it and weep.
Rating:
Summary: Never Give Up
Review: Barbara Kingsolver has the amazing ability to have her stories appeal to women on such a personal level, and use such descriptive diction to really make the reader get a mental picture. It then makes the reader feel even closer to the characters. In "Animal Dreams" you really got to feel for Codi as she went through tough times. When the book first starts out it is quite slow but after a short while it becomes so hard to put down. It is one of the few books I can actually read without being forced. Throughout the story Codi goes through many relationships, several jobs, different feelings about herself, and relationship toward her family. Her father confided in her about his brain tumor and she and her father were never close. She feels sorry for him and returns home to the town she grew up in Grace, Arizona to take care of him. She has a tough life and tries to overcome her past problems throughout the book. If you enjoy Barbara Kingsolver, this is definitely her best. I would highly recommend it to women, especially those with sisters and people who can relate. It is a very modern story of strife and overcoming social barriers.
Rating:
Summary: A place to belong
Review: Barbara Kingsolver is one of my absolute favorite authors. She writes about characters like Codi, a woman that hasn't yet found her place in life. Codi returns "home" to Arizona and we learn about her father and sister Hallie. Codi struggles for come into her own and find a place where she belongs. In contrast to some of Kingsolver's other novels, Animal Dreams is short and easy to read. The plot is unique and the characters are interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Soul Food
Review: Kingsolver's books are nourishing in the best sense - they enrich while providing pleasure. My favorite thing about this books is its tender, unsentimental look at the community of women in the small town. ...Of course I also appreciate her illumination of difficult ecological issues and their effects of human life and culture. ...and there's always the groundbreaking way she writes a romance from the perspective of a woman who is neither a conquest nor a manipulator.
OK, it's all my favorite. She'll never outdo Poisonwood Bible, but for something light that isn't junk food, this is the best of her.
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