Rating: 
Summary: WHAT A BOOK!
Review: I put off reading THE SAVING GRACES until it came out in paperback (I'm one of those readers who will sometimes buy a book in a supermarket, and contrary to what the reveiwer below thinks, we're not all stupid, looking for cliched books). Anyway, I'm sorry I waited--this was a book worth owning in hardcover. These women are very real with very real problems, but the amazing thing about the book is how they relate to one another. I think the most precious thing in life, besides romantic love and family, is friendship. This book made me long for the kind of friendships these women have.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh, please
Review: If you can buy it at the supermarket, chances are you're going to get a pretty standard plot line filled with cliches. Gaffney delivers all that and little else in this very familiar book (been there done that). Yes, breast cancer is a terrible, terrible disease. But its devastating effects have been written about so much better so many other places. You just KNEW that in a group of women, one of them is bound to have breast cancer and deal with it nobly and with grace and without the upclose and horrific aspects of chemotherapy (other than a single night of nausea and some hair loss). I didn't feel anything when this character appeared other than fully manipulated by the author.You also could just guess from the opening pages the defining aspects of each of these characters' lives from issues about children to emotional abuse and failing marriages. There was absolutely nothing new here. In addition, I found little difference between each of the characters' supposed chapters other than the chapter headings. If you liked Beaches and/or if you are a fan of this author, you may fully enjoy this book. But if you're looking for a good read about strong women, you won't find it here.
Rating:
Summary: Ultimate Guidebook on Friendship
Review: When I bought this book, I was actually just picking something up to keep me awake at work. But as soon as I started reading, I could'nt put the damn thing down. Something about it reminded me of the friendships I've had in my lifetime. It's funny, touching, heartwarming, tragic all intense emotions rolled into one. It's quite a reading experience.
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Summary: I laughed, I cried......
Review: I cannot remember the last time a book touched me so deeply that I wept as I read it. This book is absolutely amazing. I think every woman can find some part of themselves in one of the women. Normally this is not the type of book I would buy, and ended up reading it in one day. I literally could not put it down!
Rating:
Summary: The Saving Graces
Review: I bought this book just for something to read on a trip, and wound up reading the first half on the 2 hour plane ride, and the rest as soon as I could! Fabulous imagery and real characters that I cared about kept me going. It just so happens that I was on my way to visit with 4 friends who have been my best buddies for 20 years, and reading this book first just made the trip that much richer. I am buying 4 more copies to send to my friends right now!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I don't typicaly enjoy this type of novel, but I could not put it down. I bought it on a business trip after I'd finished my other book, and I am very glad I did!
Rating:
Summary: Characters so real it is hard to call this 'fiction'.
Review: I defy anyone to read this book and not find it to be the treasure of the year. You will be buying it to give to all those bosom friends and kindred spirits that enrich your life. For my birthday I am wrapping up five separate copies of this book and giving it to my wonderful friends in my bridge group. The one's who have kept me sane, heard all my stories, helped me solve the problems of the world, and occasionally played some cards with me. Patricia, with this book you have invited me in - to be a part of your group. You have shared four friends with me - with all their strengths and weaknesses - not saints or unbelievable heroines - but four very true to life women. I wish I could write and tell a story the way you do. I will be a better mother, sister, and friend because of this book. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Rating:
Summary: The Saving Graces
Review: The Saving Graces is a wonderful work by Patricia Gaffney. As you read, you can feel the pain and struggles of the characters and picture each scene in your mind! I have recommended it to everyone I know!
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Summary: The Emotional Bonds And Strength Among Women
Review: This first mainstream novel by Gaffney concerns four women in suburban Washington, D.C. who are always there for one another emotionally. Although each woman has a man and man problems in her life, along with career and child concerns, the dominant force in their lives is the power of the four of them bound together. They are known as The Saving Graces because they saved a stray dog together on the highway, which they adopted and named Grace. Their mission as a unit is rescuing each other just as they've rescued Grace. If you have had woman friends all of your life, you will identify instantly with the truth of this book. If you haven't had woman friends, you'll realize what you've been missing.
Rating:
Summary: I loved this book!
Review: This is a book about four women who form a group that gets them through all sorts of trials and tribulations. Imagine Beaches and add two more characters and you've got the Saving Graces (the name of the group... it's explained in chapter 1.) Rudy, Isabel, Lee and Emma are the four main characters and each bring problems to the table. The chapters are divided by character, each "Grace" getting a turn as narrator. The author did a great job of keeping the women in character from chapter to chapter. The Graces really come together to rally behind Isabel who faces a battle with cancer. It's Isabel who teaches them, in the end, the wonder of staying friends through the highs and lows of life. Perhaps the story isn't a complex one, but the way the women weave their lives around each other and stay friends through thick and thin is a warm and well-written story.
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