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Summary: Find Yourself
Review: This novel explores the trials and tribulations a person must go through in order to mature and understand herself. Taylor Greer leaves her home in Kentucky in search of a better life and new experiences. She ends up in Arizona with something she left home to avoid, a child. Through her experiences with her new child and the people she encounters in Tuscon, Taylor grows as a person and begins to have a better understanding of the way life works. The symbolism and prosaic style of writing that Kingsolver utilizes in her novel make it a book that's hard to put down and easy to fall in love with. Her witty characters and realistic situations make her writing easy to relate to, and give the reader a sense of connection with the novel's characters. It is a truly excellent novel about growing up and finding yourself, and accepting what you find.
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Summary: The Bean Trees
Review: Barbara Kingsolver has struck gold in writing this book, The Bean Trees. It is a wonderful story of life, love, and challenges along the way. Taylor Greer is bored of her life in a tiny town in Kentucky. After a man she knows is killed in a tractor accident, Taylor purchases a '55 Volkswagen and drives off down the road. When she stops for a bite to eat, an Indian woman gives her a baby girl. "Just take it," she says, and disappears without an explanation. Taylor names the baby Turtle.Meanwhile, Lou Ann Ruiz sits at home. She worries about many things, but especially her baby's birthday. Her husband lost his leg on Christmas, and she doesn't want the baby to have his birthday on Christmas Day. Angel, her husband, left her on Halloween. A bit further down Taylor's Road of Life, she meets Lou Ann. Together, Lou Ann and Taylor get through a lot of things, whether it's figuring out Turtle's real name, or helping two Guatemalan refugees live safely on a Cherokee reserve. Through babies, vegetables and cars, Taylor's story is a wonderfully real story. It feels very much unlike fiction to read this book, because it could really happen. I recommend this book to anyone ages 12 and older.
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Summary: Don't tell me that it is happening again
Review: When two people from the same town review this book on the same day it can mean one of only two things. Either students are being forced to read the book, or one person is pretending to be two. I have never done that. I only write under the name of Randle-el-3.
Rating: 
Summary: Moving ON
Review: Life doesn't always go the way you plan, especially for Taylor Greer in The Bean Trees. Taylor, a strong, optimistic girl wanting to break free and see if she can survive on her own learns that you have to take what you are given and make the best of it. An unexpected child somehow enters her life and she neutures and takes care of it as if it were her own. Struggling to find a place to live, she lives each day to the fullest and pulls through. This novel will entrigue you, making you want to never take your eyes off the pages to find out what adventure Taylor is going to go through next.
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Summary: Bean Trees and Rhizobia
Review: Barbara Kingsolver writes a touching story about an abandoned and abused Indian girl who finds a mother in a young Kentucky native named Taylor. A tale that descriptively depicts the hardships of a young mother and her struggle to connect with the daughter. The author does an incredible job of piecing together the story with ingenious themes and symbols. It is a novel to remember for its wonderful descriptions and genuine emotion. Through sacrifices and love, Taylor is able to nurture Turtle into a lively child that is like a bean tree with rhizobia. As Taylor says "The wisteria vines on their own would just barely get by, but put them together with rhizobia and they make miracles" (228)
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Summary: It's a good Book
Review: I really did like this novel. The way that, in the beginning, Kingslover had the two main characters separated and then brought them together in an interesting way was very interesting. The way that she had such an interesting character change throughout the book between most of the characters was really good.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't read this book
Review: I'd like to say that I thought this book was horrible. The story has no plot to it and is purely descriptive. Definately a slow read that will put you to sleep and the story is very frustrating. The girl leaves KY so she doesn't end up like the other hick girls but still gets an unexpected baby and works at a mechanic store (that has a religious name - religion being another characteristic of hick towns) Extremely boring - read something else unless you want to experience what hell is like.
Rating:
Summary: something for everyone
Review: The Bean Trees is excellent. It is easy to read, touching and lighthearted despite sad experiences of the characters. The turn of events surprises the reader, and it shows that the most unexpected occurrences can be blessings in disguise. I would highly recommend the novel, especially to those of a rural background.
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Summary: emotions too subtle
Review: I thought this was an entertaining book, but I was disappointed in the lack of emotion expressed by the main character, Taylor. She reiterated throughout the story that she was so determined not to be like the other girls in her high school that got pregnant so young and saddled with children. Yet she readily accepts a young, abused American Indian child that is handed to her at a roadside cafe. I found this a bit of a stretch considering she never discussed the overwhelming feelings she seemed to be experiencing. And the references to the abuse the child had suffered were also downplayed. I understand the author's intended subtlty, but the lack of emotion seemed oddly cold. This was such an emotional story, yet I finished it feeling let down. Excellent story, nonetheless.
Rating:
Summary: The Bean Trees
Review: Wonderful and inspiring book for those women who are caught between a rock and a husband.
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