To Be the Best

Rating:
Summary: BARBARA...WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??
Review: I READ THIS BOOK ALTHOUGH I HADN'T READ THE ONES PRECEDING IT. AND TO BE TRUTHFUL I'M GLAD I DIDN'T. IT WAS ALITTLE "JUMPY" GOING FROM ENGLAND,NEW YORK, AUSTRALIA AND I THOUGHT THEREWAS ENOUGH SADNESS IN FAMILY WITH THERETARDED SON OF PAULA AND THE LEUKEMIADEATH OF ALEXANDER BUT IT WENT TO SOAPOPERA LEVEL WHEN PHILIP'S WIFE MADDYSUCCUMBED TO A BRAIN HEMMORAGE. I COULDNOT BELEIVE SHE HAD HER DIE. BARBARA,WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

Rating:
Summary: BARBARA...WHAT WERE YOU THINKING??
Review: I READ THIS BOOK ALTHOUGH I HADN'T READ THE ONES PRECEDING IT. AND TO BE TRUTHFUL I'M GLAD I DIDN'T. IT WAS ALITTLE "JUMPY" GOING FROM ENGLAND,NEW YORK, AUSTRALIA AND I THOUGHT THEREWAS ENOUGH SADNESS IN FAMILY WITH THERETARDED SON OF PAULA AND THE LEUKEMIADEATH OF ALEXANDER BUT IT WENT TO SOAPOPERA LEVEL WHEN PHILIP'S WIFE MADDYSUCCUMBED TO A BRAIN HEMMORAGE. I COULDNOT BELEIVE SHE HAD HER DIE. BARBARA,WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?

Rating:
Summary: Should be titled Had Had To Be The Best
Review: The story was continously jumping ahead so it could be toldin the past tense. The word "had" appeared in most sentences one or two times except in the Epilogue. A low estimate, I would guess the word was used 1200 times. Very annoying.

Rating:
Summary: Another great Harte family read
Review: To Be The Best is the third book in the Emma Harte saga. This book focuses on the grandchildren of the late Emma Harte. The grandchildren are all grown up and trying to live their lives the best way possible to please the memory of their beloved grandmother Emma. This book dedicates time to each of the more prominent grandchildren: Paula, Phillip, Emily, Alexander, Anthony, and Jonathan. This book doesn't have much about Emma's children in it except for her daughter Daisy.

I found this book very interesting and was glad I didn't pass it by due to the other two reviews that were written about it. This book does jump from place to place but that is because Emma's grandchildren live in different places and travel because of their careers. Some of the past is relived but this is so someone who hasn't read the two previous books will understand a little bit better what is going on and why it is happening. There is sadness in this book but life isn't always happy and this book is written to reflect the lives in a most true (if somewhat exaggerated) sense.

This book was a wonderful read for anyone that has read the two previous books in the trilogy. It updates you on the lives of the Hartes, O'Neill's, and Kallinski's. I think this was an easy book to read and was well written. It has all the characters I had grown to like and some I'd grown to dislike from the earlier books and also some new characters to keep the book fresh and interesting.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has read A Woman of Substance and Hold the Dream. I would suggest that anyone wanting to read To Be The Best read the other books first to get a feeling for the characters and their lives. This is most definitely a five star read!