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Summary: A story about the important things in life.
Review: The First Time is a story about betrayal, loyalty, love, and illness. It is the story of a family pulled apart by infidelities, and then brought together by personal tragedy, and ultimately, love. Mattie is a woman completely fed up with her husband's infidelities. After separating, she discovers she has a terminal illness, Lou Gehrig's disease. She can no longer live alone, and her only child, Kim, is not old enough to burden the responsibility of caring for her dying mother. Mattie's husband, Jake, must finally decide to do the responsible thing and care for his wife. What begins as a loveless marriage ends as a marriage full of love and trust. Also surrounding this story are the stories of Mattie and Jake's abused childhoods and how their pasts have formed who they are as adults. They both must make peace with the child in them before they can truly move into adulthood. These characters are richly drawn by the author and feel like dear friends by the end of the story.
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Summary: A Bittersweet Love Story
Review: Mattie and Jake Hart married young when they found they were expecting a child, and though they have remained married 16 years, Mattie is aware of Jake's many infidelities and believes that he has never really loved her. Their daughter, Kim, is also aware of the tension between her parents, and has a distant relationship with her often absent father. Mattie is considering having an affair of her own to "get even", but can't really bring herself to confront Jake. Jake chooses to leave Mattie to live with his mistress, but then they Mattie is diagnosed with ALS, a fatal disease that could end her life in as little as one year. This situation causes great stress on all of the family members, and Jake eventually decides that the right thing to do is return home to live with Mattie and care for her as long as she needs him. What he hadn't counted on is falling in love with her. Mattie, Jake and Kim struggle with their emotions and their feelings for each other, and Kim acts out by punishing her father in any way she can, while trying to deal with all the other pressures of being 15 years old. The emotions described in the novel are real, and the primary characters are well developed. The story is compelling, and the reader develops great empathy towards the Harts and their predicament. I so wanted this book to have a happy ending, and in a way it does, although you know from the outset that there's no cure for ALS. The First Time is a sad, but somehow uplifting story with a real message that in the end all we have to give to others is love.
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Summary: Fools rush in; and find love in the end
Review: Mattie and Jason Hart got married for all the reason. The both felt that they were doing the right thing because a child was involved. But being in a loveless marriage for sixteen years was almost at it's breaking point until an Mattie becomes sick and told she is dying. The marriage metaphor between Mattie and her daughter Kim truly sums the relationship to two women have since Jason becomes totally out of the picture due to his work and his infidelity. In the end, Jason finds out during a trip to Paris with Mattie that he did have love for her deep down. Plus tries to save the realtionship with his daughter before her life spins out of control.
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Summary: So Moving I couldn't put it down!
Review: This book was a wonderful book. It's the first time I ever just bought a book without any idea of whether it was good or bad. I wasn't expecting much, but when I started I couldn't put it down. Nothing was typical about it. It was moving. It showed that if you acted "as if", things really could come true for you. Also, when you do the right thing your actions can make something positive happen. It was so good I'm going to make it a point to read everything Joy has written before and after. What I don't understand is that this book was not on the best sellers list!
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Summary: Amazing
Review: I started this book and was unable to put it down. This book will have you hooked from the being. You will laugh and cry with this family. This is the first book I have read by Joy Fielding and loved it! Make sure you have a whole box of tissue with you when reading! What an excellent book!!!
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Summary: the best time
Review: Never have I been so involved in a book before. The story line had me hooked from the first page to the last. After the first few chapters Joy's story had me waking up at night worrying about Mattie. Pure fear set in! What an experience to be afraid to go on but know you can't stop reading. Anyone with a heart will feel so much emotion it will drain you. You will appreciate life like never before. The last chapter should be read at home on a quiet afternoon with a box of tissue close by.
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Summary: Rather mindless drivel
Review: I really wanted to like this book. The characters were conflicted and angst ridden and complex, just the sort of meaty characters to sink your teeth into. The author describes everyday scenes well and weaves a fascinating situation. Alas, however, I just can't suspend my disbelief quite that much. I just didn't find the outcome of the book to be realistic. I like a tear jerker as much as the next person but there is a point at which it has to make some amount of sense. I would recommend this as a good rainy Sunday read, but only for those with a hearty imagination.
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Summary: pathetic
Review: I read all the glowing reviews after I read the book. And I too read the book in one sitting. So why not 5 starts like everyone else? Mattie and Jake married when they were in college after dating 2 months or so because Mattie was pregnant. She tells Jake she is pregnant just after he tells her he wants to cool it. After 16 years of marriage and a daughter, Kim, she once again discovers he has been cheating. Apparently throughout the 16 years he has been cheating. And she always ignore it. Always. She gets into a car accident and he practically brings her home from the hospital, battered and bruised and then telsl her he is leaving her for another woman. What a schmuck! And her friend the doctor, Lisa? Lisa calls Jake in, knowing he left Mattie for another woman, when she needs to give Mattie the deadly diagnosis of Lou Gehrig's disease. I did not like that. Lisa had no right to do that to Mattie. So, Jake decides to leave his lover and come home to be with Mattie not because he loves her but because he thinks it is the right thing to do. Throughout his marriage, he avoided her and his daughter. When he comes home, he does the same so finally Mattie says to leave as she does not want to spend the remaining months of her life with someone who does not love her. Then she says, he can stay if he can pretend to love her. Geeze, that was awful. To have so little self love that you would ask that was awful. Ask someone to pretend to love you? I would never want that for my daugher. Or anyone of my family. Yes, I can hear all those women who game it 5 stars saying that he did fall in love with her in the end. I guess. My pity was for Mattie. I would bet the house Jake would go back to Honey when Mattie died. He was a creep and Mattie deserved more.
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Summary: Magnificent -- But Keep the Hankies Handy!!!
Review: Mattie and Jake Hart have been married for 16 rather tumultuous years. Married because Mattie was pregnant, they have remained together mainly for their daughter's sake. A handsome, high-profile defense attorney, Jake has been unfaithful throughout their marriage and Mattie has just about had enough. Before she's able to confront him, Jake tells her that he's moving out. Mattie had been having some bizarre physical symptoms and is finally convinced by her friend Lisa, a physician, to undergo tests. The results are devastating to the entire family. Mattie tries to deny her diagnosis and goes merrily on with life - almost too merrily, buying a new Corvette despite the fact she's been warned she shouldn't be driving, expensive new clothing, and even a first-class airplane ticket to Paris. She spurns assistance from anyone-especially Jake. Also a huge character in this story is Jake and Mattie's teenage daughter Kim. Kim has been her mother's defender for years -- during all her parents arguments, she was there rushing to take her mother's side. When she's told of Mattie's illness, Kim is willing to be there for her as well. Soon, circumstances cause Jake to move back home. He knows he should care for Mattie so why not just pretend? It will make her last days more meaningful - but what he doesn't plan on is to fall in love with his wife - for THE FIRST TIME. Joy Fielding has written a highly entertaining, emotional story which is difficult to put down once started. However, this is not a story for those wanting a story which is sugar-coated and where miracles occur. It simply isn't that kind of a book. Although this book has been marketed toward a new audience for Ms. Fielding who has formerly written suspenseful novels, I'm not sure many romance readers are going to care for it. That said, readers who like romantic stories will absolutely love it. Readers who enjoyed books like Barbara Delinsky's THREE WISHES should enjoy this story as well. The quality of Fielding's writing is outstanding. Rich characterization, poetic prose, and the ability to bring the emotional climax to a rising crescendo all combines for one of the best books of this - or any other year. ---Maudeen Wachsmith, Charter Member Review International Organization (RIO)
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Summary: The Fight of Her Life
Review: In "The First Time", the main character, Mattie, has many battles on her hands: she must try to save her marriage, she must face the fact that she will die very soon from recently diagnosed ALS, and she must deal with all of the problems associated with having a 15-year-old daughter. Mattie, Jake, and Kim must all come to terms with the way their lives are changing and this change is the main theme of the book. Fielding adeptly takes the reader into their heads and hearts as each of them struggles with the knowledge of what is ahead and how they will handle it. This author is able to give the reader a good interior view of all the characters and what motivates them to act the way they do, especially their childhoods. The secondary characters are not as well fleshed out, in my opinion-- Mattie's mother and Honey Novak, in particular. Somehow this book did not have the flow that her previous works have had, but it was still a good read. Having had a friend who died from ALS, I would say that her research on this awful disease was fairly good. One thing that bothered me was the use of expensive brand names (this is a particular sore spot for me).Do we really need to know that Mattie's sofa was Ultrasuede or that she drank Evian water? On the whole, however, this was a fairly good read, but not nearly as affirming a book about a disease as was "Traveling Light" by Katrina Kittle.
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