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Summary: I wrote this to Joy Fielding after reading 'The First Time'
Review: Hi Joy,I've never written to an author before, I've never felt compelled to do so. That is until now! I've read ALL of your books, which by the way, are ALL GREAT! I have just finished "The First Time" (I read out of order!) and that is why I feel compelled to write to you. Now, I have to tell you that I rarely, IF EVER, cry reading books!
In fact, up till now, there has been only one book I've ever cried over and that was Nicholas Sparks, the Notebook, which I sobbed and sobbed. Your book, The First Time, has taken over spot No. ONE in that department! I cried and cried and cried! It's a good thing the pages are printed in non-runny ink! This book was very moving, it must be to have made me cry so much! I've cried in movies, and that's not too often either. Just so you know what company your book keeps I can only list six movies I've ever cried in. Here's how I rank them in tearfulness:
1) The Champ (Ricky Schroeder)
2) Stolen Hours (Susan Hayward/remake of Dark Victory w/Bette Davis)
3) Madam X (Lana Turner)
4) Stella Dallas (Barbara Stanwyck)
5) Love Story
6) Breakfast At Tiffany's (happy tears)
I didn't even cry in that movie with Shirley Mclain, where the daughter has cancer! Everyone else did. Well anyway, just wanted to tell how much I enjoy your books. It's amazing how you are able to swing between the scary stuff and ,now (after The First Time and Grand Avenue), the relationship stuff! KEEP THOSE BOOKS COMING! You are a VERY TALENTED WRITER!
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Summary: Good one!
Review: I read this book a couple of months ago, but I do remember that I really enjoyed reading it. The characters are well sketched out and very true to life. I will be reading more books by Fielding, for sure. This is a great book that deals with infidelity and how it affects families in various ways. I do remember going through this one very quickly, almost getting sucked in right away. If you're interested, pick it up. It's a great, inspirational story about a couple that manages to change some dysfunctional patterns they are stuck in, and to turn their relationship around.
Rating: 
Summary: A recommendation for euthanasia!
Review: If you want to read a book that romanticizes killing your daughter because she has a terminal illness -- this is probably it! I found the whole premise unsettling and simplistic. There is a lack of moral foundation for the whole story. First, the book focuses on a faithless husband; then it moves on to a child who has her first experience of sex in her own home when her parents are gone. Finally, in a poorly contrived subplot, the "heroine" convinces her mother to kill her when "it's time." The book is written to sell. And it has! So I assume that the author achieved her goals. It is basically a shallow and romanticized portray of euthanasia. I do not recommend this book.
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Summary: Get out the tissues! This book is wonderful!
Review: I definitey recommend this book if you can handle sad books. If you can't, then don't read this one. I cried the whole last 10 or 15 pages. And I don't mean just tears in your eyes, be ready to sob!
You will come to love Mattie as you feel you know her personally. The author gets so intimate and takes you into the book with her that you really feel like you are a part of this story. The whole book is a roller coaster of emotions that will leave you a sobbing mess.
I love an author that can tap into your emotions like that, therefore I loved this book!!
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Summary: SHE JUST WANTED TIME
Review: In 1998-1999, Mattie, then 37 discovers she has Lou Gehrig's disease. The illness is manifested in laughing uncontrollably a propos of nothing, fatigue and muscular degeneration. Once she has a through physical, she copes with the devastating news. Mattie's husband, Jason nicknamed "Jake" is seemingly impersonal and distant. He carries on an affair with a singularly odious woman named Honey who takes her place with Fielding's other despicable literary women such as Kate Sinclair in "Missing Pieces," Gail Walton in "Life Penalty," Elaine, Jill and Nicole in "The Other Woman," Paula in "See Jane Run," Debbie in "Good Intentions" and Jess in "Tell Me No Secrets." Honey wants Jake to divorce Mattie and is delighted to hear of Mattie's illness. I actively disliked Honey and thought she nothing to recommend her. When she barges in on Jake in his office and demands a hug, I wanted him to kick her out the door at worst and have Security not-too-gently eject her from the premises at best. She has the audacity to barge in on Jake and Mattie's "honeymoon" in Paris as well. I wish Jake had gotten a restraining order for her. I thought she was a ruthless, conniving, manipulative character. Mattie and her 16-year-old daughter Kim have long bonded; Jake attempts to bond with her by taking her to the court where he is trying a case. His efforts are singularly rebuffed. A good story about love, loss and repair. Mattie is a delightful, sympathetic character who will tug at many hearts.
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Summary: Just another Sappy Romance!
Review: First of all, let me state that I put this book into the "sappy romance" category. I'm not a fan of sappy romances, but if you are you'll probably like this book a lot more than I did. Having said that, I submit the following review: I read this book because it was chosen for our book club. This is the story of Mattie Hart. In the beginning of the book she is fantasizing about how to kill her husband, Jake, because she has just found out that he has been having an another affair.They decide to separate, and just as she is celebrating having him out of her life, she is diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) and is told she has a year to live. Out of guilt and a sense of responsibility, Jake moves back into the house to take care of her. Complicating the story is that fact that both Jake and Mattie had fathers who cheated and ran out, leaving them to cope with dysfunctional mothers, and their daughter Kim, whose father, Jake, cheated and left then came back and assumed a role that she's not comfortable with. The entire story centers around how Jake and Mattie and Kim work out their problems and learn to love each other in the short year before Mattie finally dies. I will admit that the story was somewhat compelling to read and the ending tugged at my heartstrings--have one or two Kleenex ready. But to me, this was a shallow romance no better than the cheap paperbacks that are all the same formula. I had several problems with the plot. The treatment of Mattie's disease was rather superficial and meaningless. I kept thinking about "Tuesdays with Morrie," a true story about a man dying from the disease. Some of the passages seemed straight out of that book, especially his thoughts about how you lose your dignity when you get to the point where someone else has to help you go to the bathroom and wipe your bottom. I'm convinced that the author used the book as reference material. I felt that the psychological problems of Mattie and Jake were trivialized as well. A person who is as abused and neglected as either of them doesn't just magically heal from those wounds overnight, and certainly not in less than a year. And it is even less likely that two of them together would heal each other without the help of therapy, especially that quickly. The whole premise was very unbelievable, in my opinion. Also the daughter, Kim, began suffering self-esteem issues and was developing anorexia, which seemed to vanish without explanation except that they loved her out of it. I was irritated and offended at the unnecessarily explicit sex scenes. They didn't add anything to the story; quite the reverse--they seemed to emphasize to the lack of depth in the story. An author who struggles with putting love into words always puts in plenty of sex scenes, as if love and sex are the same thing. And to tell the truth, the sex scenes weren't even exciting or compelling. They were rather clinical and dispassionate. Most unbelievable was that her mother helped Mattie die in the end. I had a hard time believing that her mother, who magically changed from an indifferent, dysfunctonal mother to a caring, loving one, would deliberately kill her own child just at the point where they were beginning to have a really good relationship. Even if the child was sick and begged for help doing it. She was chosen by Mattie because she had no trouble putting her dogs to sleep when they were suffering, and somehow we are supposed to think that she would just as easily do the same for Mattie, in spite of the fact that she wasn't the one who actually put the dogs to sleep; she took them to the vet. So even though the ending tugged at my heartstrings and got me to shed a few tears (which I probably needed to shed anyway for personal reasons), I am only giving this book 2 stars.
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Summary: Very touching story, beautifully written.
Review: I throughly enjoyed this book! I usually turn away from
this type of emotionally charged book but this one I couldn't
put down. Mattie Hart is a courageous character and though
you want to hate Jake Hart you really can't. It is a beautiful story about a couple who felt thrown together by lifes circumstances and not finding the true meaning of love until tradgedy strikes. Joy Fielding is one of my favorites!
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Summary: Great if you're into "Lifetime" type stories
Review: Unfortunately, I cannot give this book the same rave review as others have given it. Though it helped to pass the time on a trip, the story wasn't very plausible, the characters were generally not very likable or smart and, in the end, I wasn't really rooting for anyone except the fact that I was finally finished. This is in no way harsh criticism of the author; the writing was more than adequate, it was the story I wasn't too fond of. I think this just isn't my genre. My mom is way into the movies shown on the "Lifetime" network; with a cheating husband, dying wife and bratty, rebelious teenage daughter this story seems tailor-made for the "channel for women".
Rating:
Summary: Very Moving and Real
Review: This book is exceptionally touching because it depicts the evolution of a family from virtual strangers to a close-knit family. The onset of Mattie's disease is the beginning of this metamorphasis. The story reflects how sometimes it takes tragic circumstances to make us realize and appreciate what we have. I also liked the way Fielding created depth in her characters. For example, Mattie's husband, Jake, is not simply a cheating S.O.B. Fielding shows the reader how his personality and behaviors developed, stemming from an extremenly abusive childhood. His willingness to change for the better is believable, since we are able to see right into his thoughts.
The ending is inevitable, but it is not the focus of the story. Therefore the book is not as depressing as it sounds. I found it a source of comfort and hope--an example of how something good may result from even the most horrible of circumstances. I was engrossed from page 1.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Read
Review: I read this book after reading Grand Avenue (which was wonderful). This book was also great. If I could give it 4 1/2 stars, I would. It was very emotional and touching. Fielding has a true talent for displaying deep emotions. I will remember this book for a very long time.
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