Girls in Trouble : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I'm at a loss to understand why so many reviewers gave this book such high acclaim. I've yet to finish the book, with perhaps 50 or so more pages to go, but doing so has become a huge effort. Having been involved in the field of infertility and adoption, I had anticipated a book with much more depth of reality than this book offers. It is so obviously a work of fiction. When was the last time any teacher in a public high school addressed a student as Miss or Mr. So and So? In this book, they not only do it in the classrooms of the 1980's but in the modern classrooms of today. If the main character, Sarah, is such a budding genius, how could she not figure out one way to find out where the adoptive parents have moved is by contacting the office where the adoptive father maintained a dental practice? He moved out of state, he didn't join the witness protection program! And for such an "enlightened" family, why hadn't anyone suggested the need for psychological counseling prior to and following the adoption? Even egg donors undergo psych exams. And when Sarah finally succeeds in locating her long-lost daughter, she's able to stay in a hotel for weeks at a time? What did her employer offer her - maternity leave with extended benefits? Get real. And this book is anything but.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful book
Review: This book was SO beautiful. Truly gripping. I cried so much reading it. Everyone was sympathetic, though certainly Sara much more so than Eva. Would be wonderful for a book discussion group. I can't wait to read more of this author's work.


Rating:
Summary: Great topic for a book club discussion
Review: The subjects of teenage pregancy and open adoption are sure to push alot of buttons during any group discussion, and the author certainly provides plenty of fodder for conversation. I felt for the character of Sara; young and intellegent with nothing but promise and success maped out in her future, she finds herself deep in the throws of adolescent love with a boy from the "wrong side of the tracks". An unplanned pregnancy results and Sara for all her intellegence childishly chooses to ignore things until too late. She proceeds with an open adoption which of course we know is headed for disaster. I thought the issues of maternal devotion and insecurity(by both the birth and adopted mothers), were accurately portrayed and painfully realistic. The birth father appears to have no interest in the child and although Sara is forced to move on with her life, she is never fully able to let go of the baby she left behind. The book provides a satisfying conclusion (no sugar coating here), on what is a complicated and emotionally laden issue. There are no winners here just a oddly comprised "family" struggling to make a life for themselves. A few of the characters were fairly weak (Sara's parents were paper thin, and Danny's mother was a little sterotypical), but overall a good effort by this author.

Rating:
Summary: A truly wonderful read
Review: I loved this book. I started it and immediatly got sucked in. The story is so raw and beautifully written. I could not stand putting the book down. Caroline Leavitt knows how to write about a touchy issue with great knowledge and care. The characters are so rich and full of depth. There are no winners or losers in the book. It is easy to identify and support each character in the choices that they make, even if the choices are not easy or what would be deemed by some as the right choices to make. "Girls in Trouble" is wonderful, and I wish the story never ended. It is a beautiful read. Flawless.