Black and Blue

Rating:
Summary: An eye opener, hard to put down.
Review: Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen was a great book. I was hooked from the first sentance "The first time my husband hit me Iwas nineteen years old." Fran Benedetto tells about her disastourous marriage and running away from her abusive husband with her ten year old son. She and her son start a new life in Florida. They take on totally new identities, they have no connections with anyone in their past and have to re-build their lives from ground zero. As Fran begins to meet new people she begins to have more self-confidence and hope of a better life. Fran still lives in fear of her husband finding them and severly hurting her and her son, Robert, or even kidnapping Robert . Robert, a ten year old boy adjusts well to moving and starting his life over, even though he and Fran have some problems in the beggining. Fran is afraid that Robert will blow their cover by telling a friend or classmate about his past. Fran finally begins to believe that she is safe and has escaped her past and quits living in fear. This book was an easy read for me, it was a book I found hard to put down. It was fairly easy to understand, the begining was slightly confusing but once I got into the book it was easy. It was amazing to read what she had gone through, and what her relationship with her husband was like. It makes you wonder why she waited so long to leave and why she didn't get help. This book shows emotions really well. "I can't find Robert. My voice an octave higher than usual, almost falsetto." This is just one of the many examples that portrayes fear. This book is mixed with many different emotions, every emotion is felt by the reader. Quindlen also uses detail to get emotions across. "...I felt the pain in my molars, the back of my head, the length of my spine. I felt the blood still seeping from between my legs..." It is amazing how detail like this is used to make it so realistic. I think this is such a great book because the reader feels what the characters are feeling. I think a book should be able to connect to the reader, whether they the share same experiances or they can feel with the characters. I would recommend this book because it is a great story, it isn't made up or unrealistic. It shows a sad but true story. It shows a mother-son relationship, re-building a life and over coming fears.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: I have been reading books on Oprah's book club list and have been quite happy with my choices thus far. Black and Blue, I must say, was very disappointing. I couldn't wait to finish it only to be done with it. I was very disappointed with the ending. I thought Beth had an answering machine AND caller i.d.????

Rating:
Summary: good story-poor editing
Review: The story was average, written well, but not nearly as good as the other Oprah books. The high number of typos in this book drove me nuts. I saw at least 10 and probably missed 10 more. Couldn't believe it. I was interested in the story enough to finish the book and find out what happened to the characters. Please find another publisher/editor for your next book.

Rating:
Summary: THIS WRITER IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPRESSIVE I HAVE EVER READ
Review: ANNA QUINDLEN CAPTURES THE HUMAN SPIRIT BETTER THAN ANYONE I HAVE EVER READ. I NEVER FINISH A BOOK WITHOUT SOBBING AND I HAVE READ EVERYTHING SHE HAS WRITTEN.

Rating:
Summary: I liked the book a lot
Review: I was asked to pick a book for my college class and I saw this book on the reading list. When I was reading the review on the inside of the book I know it was it. It was so breath taking about how she(Fran) had to change evrything and pick up her life with Robert and move. It is so sad how even today there are women out there who have to deal with this sort of situation.

Rating:
Summary: I decided to read it inspite of oprah's endorsement
Review: My first impression of books about abuse and aids and other undesirable subjects, is to put them back on the shelf, but some trusted friends told me to pick this one up. They have never been so right. Maybe it's because I am the same age, or just because I am a woman, but this book hit me hard and I was able to be that character. This is not a "downer" book as the subject would indicate. By catching Fran (beth) at the beginning of her detachment from the situation, we always see a bit of sunshine at the end of the tunnel. The way the subject matter was dealt with, I just thought it was fantastic.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Books I have ever read...
Review: I was given this book to read as an assigment to read for my English class in college. I have never heard of the author or anything about the book. I went out and ordered it at Amazon.com and completly feel in love with this book. From the first page till the end I just could not put this book down. I was waiting and waiting to see when Bobby would find her and what he would do. And the ending was so heartbreaking that I cried and I hardly ever cry. I really loved this book. Pick it up and read it, and don't expect anything just read and you will LoVE IT trust me!

Rating:
Summary: Exciting, yet disapointing
Review: I loved the begining of this book. It held your attention and griped your imagination. However, this book began to drag it's feet a little bit. I took this book on the airplane to Boston and thought that it did well in filling the time, but it would not be a book that would keep me hooked if I were reading it in my everyday life. However, if the rest of the book, was as good as the begining it would have gotten me hook line and sinker.

Rating:
Summary: Don't bother!
Review: The only reason I was anxiously turning pages was to get to the end

Rating:
Summary: Expected better
Review: The plot was good and the begining was also good but after the first few chapters the story didn't seem so interesting. Personally I expected better.