Rating: 
Summary: A Page-Turner
Review: I read this book in two sittings over the course of one day. I seem to have read several books of this type in the past year, with the theme of women's friendships and their bonds with each other."Grand Avenue" was not the best of this sub-genre, nor was it the worst. If available, I would give it 3.5 stars. While the story was compelling and kept me reading all day, there were some flaws too. First of all, I really do not like the foreshadowing device used by Fielding (and many others). In this book, the reader is told in the introduction that by the end, two of the four "grand dames" will be dead (one in a particularly terrible way) and one will betray another. Another flaw, to me, was that the end of the book seemed awkward, as if the author did not quite know how to bring it to a conclusion. On the other hand, the characters were interesting and very different from each other, and their lives kept me interested in knowing about them. I think Fielding did a decent job of character development of the women and of their daughters, although Tracey's motivation for what she did was vague at best. A good book for a few hours of reading pleasure.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: I am only about 1/2 way through the novel, but I CAN'T PUT IT DOWN! I think it's her best to date!
Rating:
Summary: Compelling story!
Review: The book focuses on the lives of four female characters Vicki, Barbara, Susan and Chris who are all neighbors on Grand Avenue in Cincinnati. This is a compelling story that follows their friendship, relationships, families and careers. The book is well written and the reader easily becomes involved with each character as the story slowly unravels. The finale was unpredictable though rather abrupt.
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to her usual intrigue and depth
Review: Joy Fielding's books have usually featured women who face significantly difficult challenges--serious illness, divorce, abuse, amnesia--and in each of her previous books, the characters have a depth and detail that make it easy for the reader to be involved in the story. Unfortunately, Grand Avenue does not live up to Ms. Fielding's previous books. The book follows the lives of four neighbors, and as the (initially) unnamed narrator lets you know, by the end of the story, two of the neighbors will be dead, and one will betray the others. One woman is a former beauty queen who is obsessed with maintaining her looks, one is a go-getter career woman, one is abused by her husband, and one is a housewife trying to balance her needs with her family's. The characters never develop much beyond the previous description, even though the book follows them over the years. The power of Joy Fielding's books has been in watching her previous characters develop, mature and become strong enough to face their greatest fears. The women in Grand Avenue didn't mature or change in a believable way. (In fact, the most interesting characters weren't the adults but their daughters.) In addition to the characters, the book felt very much like a formula --a-four friends' passage through time-- book. The disclosure of the last death seemed forced, and the last scene seemed out of place. If you're at the airport and need a book to pass the time, this one will do. If, however, you're looking for the absorption and soul satisfaction of a standard Joy Fielding book, you'll be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: A good relationship drama
Review: The "Grand Dames have lived on GRAND AVENUE in Mariemont, an upscale Cincinnati superb, for two decades. They actually met when each on escorted their own small child to a nearby playground with three swings. The last one to arrive always was stuck in the sandbox and mom knew how degrading that was. Susan, Vicki, Barbara, and Chris became close friends and stayed as pals over the subsequent years of raising their respective child
However, the idyllic life shown on tape has gone sour for at least of the quartet. She slowly looks at the past to try to learn what went wrong. She thought she found love with her spouse and with her three close friends, but now all she seeks is justice.
GRAND AVENUE is a grand relationship drama that focuses on the lives of four women. Readers see how each one forges a relationship with the other three, their respective husbands and children. The secondary characters add depth to the lead cast. However, the "need" for justice subplot actually lends an engaging twist, but that spins away from the powerful prime plot of four women seeking an identity of their own rather than precariously living through the life of a loved one. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Great Way To Escape From Our Own Lives------------
Review: I picked up, by chance, an earlier novel of Fielding's: "The First Time". Really enjoyed it! So glad I read this, too. I really like her suspenseful twist she stirs into her plots.
Saw others review it as a great beach or vacation read, and I must agree. You become swept up in the characters' lives & find yourself thinking about them while you're not reading.
There's a mix of things in this novel: compassion, enduring friendships, betrayal, suspense, and ohhh.... mystery!
I also would recommend "Whispers & Lies", as it has similar twists like this one. (Also by Fielding.)
Rating:
Summary: Grand Avenue
Review: Grand Avenue is one of the best books I've read this year. Joy Fielding created three dimensional characters that were easy to get accquainted with and care about. I had a very difficult time putting this book down right from the start.
Rating:
Summary: Grand Avenue is Awesome!!
Review: This book had me up till 5AM! I had no idea what I was getting into that afternoon when I sat down to read this. This is a great story of friendship, love, and and grief. A bit dark and depressing at times, it's still a very entertaining read.
The basis of the book is four 'Grand Dames' as they call themselves. Each have problems of their own...one's abused, one's a cheater, one's the cheated, and two end up dead (you learn that in the first 5 pages, I'm not giving anything away!). The characters become people you feel you've known forever.
There were only a couple things I didn't really like. One being that you CANNOT read one page without someones 'eyes welling up', crying, sobbing, or feeling 'tears at the corners of their eyes'. Everything was so dramatic (some things really were, and crying was called for, but every little thing? C'mon). Also I don't think the whole court room scene was very plausible. I honestly don't think the verdict would have been what it was. But hey, that's just me.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The pages fly right by, and you continue to think about these women long after you've read the last page. A great book for women that I would recommend to my friends.
Rating:
Summary: Great Vacation Book
Review: I picked this book up so that I would have something to read during my vacation. Little did I know that this book would become a vacation in itself. I couldn't put it down once I started and was sorry to come to the end. That, for me, is the mark of a real good book. I tend to get real involved in the storyline and with the characters when I read. I enjoy a book that spans time and especially appreciate a story about older women. Fielding addresses some issues that are all too familiar to today's woman - spousal abuse, obsession with aging, sexual identity and career vs. marriage. But mostly she is looking at friendships and setting boundaries. I envy these women their history together. The only reason this book did not get top rating from me was because I felt that the murder and ensuing trial was just a little bit contrived. I think the book could have been just as strong without this particular plotline and would have been a bit more credible. I suppose this was a convenient way to address other issues but still. It didn't really seem to fit with the flow of the rest of the novel. I look forward to Ms. Fielding's next book.
Rating:
Summary: Page turning and moving
Review: I wanted a good summer read -- little did I know I'd pick this book up and finish it in just a few days -- it was impossible to put down. I'm a first-time Fielding reader and will be back for more after this one. The four female characters are richly developed, their lives spanning more than two decades where we are taken on an emotional rollercoaster filled with family drama, career angst, personal turmoil and ultimately a horrifying twist and subsequent resolution. There is no way you will put this one down. Chris, Barbara, Vicki and Susan will jump off the pages and if you are like me and enjoy unexpected story twists, you'll find yourself shocked and even crying before it's over. A must read!
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