Rating: 
Summary: A Heartwarming End to the Trilogy
Review: A week before reading this book, Adriana Trigiani "visited" one of my book club's meetings via a phone conference. It was an outstanding experience speaking with her about Big Stone Gap. By the time I read Milk Glass Moon, I was sold on her writing.
This book completes the Big Stone Gap trilogy in a warmly satisfying way. According to Adriana, the first book was about asking and answering "Who am I?"; Big Cherry Holler is about asking, "Now that I have some answers, why do I keep making the same mistakes over again?"; and Milk Glass Moon is about the idea of letting go and redefining our lives. The book covers Etta's years from age 12 to 18, a span any parent would find challenging. Naturally, one of the big concerns is Etta and Ave Maria's relationship. Because this is a situation all mothers can identify with, it is easy to see oneself in the book. Etta, like all daughters, grows up whether or not Ave Maria feels she's done enough to guide her, or whether or not Ave agrees with her decisions. As father, Jack Mac is much more objective in accepting that Etta is growing up. Etta, after all, is not Ave, and yet ironically, what she chooses for herself shows that she's quite self-aware. What Ave sees as a contradiction, Etta is able to explain perfectly soundly, if not logically. No character is static in this novel; each has an opportunity to "let go" or to "redefine" his/her life. Iva Lou lets go of what she's always believed is her fundamental self-image when she's stricken ill. Ave faces the sudden letting go of her friend and co-worker Spec Broadwater. Pearl, too, a far different character from the insecure high school girl she was in B.S.G., redefines her life. Even the cantankerous Fleeta Mullins' rough edges soften a bit. Most importantly, Jack and Ave Maria's relationship is cemented in this book, as Ave becomes truly secure in her happiness with him, and he proves to be a risk taker willing to redefine the direction their lives will take now that they are in (yes!) their 50's. It's been heartwarming reading the trilogy. Adriana proves that the big passages in life are universal, happening in the small towns of America such as Big Stone Gap, as well as in those nestled in the Italian Alps. I look forward to more from Adriana Trigiani!
Rating: 
Summary: Note to Adriana
Review: Adriana - I hope you get the time to read these reviews, honey, because you're really on the right track. As your novels have progressed, your writing has become more eloquent, yet remaining grounded and fully accessible. I am impressed with you more now then I was when you came to Prince Books in Norfolk, Virginia, for one of your first book signings. I remain a fan of your ability to see the comic and the endearing in everyday life, and to translate that to the written word. Congratulations, my dear! Keep it up!
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Summary: Ave Maria experiences mother/daughter conflicts
Review: Adriana Trigiani has tackled the basic themes of love, friendship, and marriage in the first 2 books of her Big Stone Gap series. In the third book, she brings back all of our favorite characters and shows us that they are always growing, changing, and evolving. The fact that Ave Maria's daughter Etta is growing into a young woman does not please her very much. She would like to "freeze" Etta into a little-girl mode, but Etta is too much her own person to allow this to happen. Jack seems able to except the changing person who is his daugher, but Etta has a hard time with it. She has envisioned a perfect life for her daugher which includes college, and eventual marriage and family. When Etta decides otherwise, Ave Maria has to accept the fact that her daugher is growing up. This book is the perfect ending to the trilogy, though it's hard to give up the delightful characters that populate these pages. The stories give us gentle laughs, but most of all they touch our hearts.
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Summary: I loved this story and I love this series....
Review: Adriana Trigiani is truly a wonderful and masterful storyteller and I certainly hope this isn't the last visit we have to Big Stone Gap. I have fallen in love with all characters from hip sexpert Iva Lou, to crusty but loveable Fleeta not to mention late-bloomer, Ave Maria and the love of her life, Jack Mac. When I startred this book, I felt like I was taking a walk through Cracker's Neck Holler getting reaquainted with everyone, I felt welcomed back into the fold, that I missed everyone and I was anxious to see what they had been up to. This book tells the story of the struggle between Ave Maria and her her now teenage daughter, Etta. Ave struggles of course with what every mother struggles with and that is letting go. Etta can be rebellious at times and is struggling to find her own way in the world and it is Etta's father, Jack Mac that seems to understand this better than Ave, who, throughout the course of this heartwarming, spirited novel is forced to learn a lesson or two from her daughter and all the people in this close-knit community that love her. This novel, as well as the other two books in this series has something for everyone: The characters are extremely well-drawn and lively, the romance is timeless, one sentence can make you laugh wholeheartedly while the next breaks your heart. And for those who like adventure, Milk Glass Moon transports us from the mountains of Virginia to the Tuscan countryside and the Italian Alps for a visit once again with Ave's family. I am very sad to see this book and the series end, but I look forward to anything else written by Ms. Trigiani. For those who have not yet discovered this talented author, pick up Big Stone Gap, Big Cherry Holler, and Milk Glass Moon and READ THEM!!! they are better than a five star rating can say and should not be missed!
Rating:
Summary: Superb!!
Review: Adriana Trigiani's Milk Glass Moon is a return home for fans of the first two books in the Big Stone Gap trilogy. Ms Trigiani skillfully allows her characters to age and their relationships to develop, leaving the readers to feel as if we have come to know them as friends. Ave Maria , her husband Jack, and her daughter Etta remain the main characters, and we are also able to follow the stories of Pearl, Fleeta, Theodore Tipton, Spec and the rest of the quirky characters who reside in this small town.
An overall theme of the book is growth -- Etta is growing up and Ave is growing comfortable with the choices she has made in her life. Along with growth comes change, and Ave's struggles with the changes in her life are poignantly depicted.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has enjoyed Big Stone Gap and Big Cherry Holler, and if you have not read those yet, you have a treat ahead of you!
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Summary: Another great book!
Review: Another great book from Adriana Trigiani! I always love going back to Big Stone Gap. This book was poignant and showed the reader how it can be so hard to be a mom and watch your little girl grow up. I recommend it to any Big Stone Gap fan!
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable story
Review: As in her previous Big Stone Gap novels, Adriana Trigiani's newest title offers more than just an update on the lives of Ave Maria, Jack Mac and their daughter Etta. It's a chance for us to dip into the lifestyle of small-town America (and Italy) and the sensual landscapes of the southwestern Virginia mountains as well as the Italian Alps. It's encounters with unique and sometimes eccentric individuals who, in spite of their quirks or problems, endear themselves to us when they show they care about the people around them. It's a study of changing relationships between parents and children, between best friends, even between good friends of opposite genders. It's also a search for a personal sense of place: finding the exact spot on Earth where you are supposed to live, what you're supposed to do, and who you're supposed to be doing it with. And the ending leaves the door open for further adventures.
_Milk Glass Moon_ is such an engaging and easy read that, if you've got the time, you can easily finish this book in just one sitting. But that's almost cheating yourself of being able to spend valuable time with these intriguing characters. Perhaps we should savor every moment.
If Ms. Trigiani is scheduled to appear at a book signing near you, don't hesitate to go to see her. She's a fascinating speaker, and you'll find out how much of herself she puts into her books.
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Summary: Life never goes as planned...
Review: as this book is no exception! I think Milk Glass Moon is the best in the triolgy. I love all the characters of this little community and cried several times throughout, but won't give away any details. You won't be sorry in picking up this book!
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Summary: Back to Big Stone Gap
Review: Ave Maria and the gang are back for another story of life in Big Stone Gap. This time things have changed and people have grown up. Ave Maria and Jack have been married for many years and there daughter Etta is growing up faster then Ave Maria wants to accept. With things changing in there family and things changing around Big Stone Ave Maria and her friends have to deal with alot. Ave Maria's best friend Theodore is moving to New York and Ave is going to go visit him, while there she runs into an old friends that makes her wondering if things in her life are how she wants them. Iva Lou is back and she is having to look at things in different light when she gets some bad news. This last book in this series was wonderful, I loved how Ave Maria, Etta, Fleeta, Pearl, Jack and the entire gang grew up and how things changed in Big Stone Gap and many other places. I wish that there would be more books about this family because I really love reading about the good people in Big Stone Gap.
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Summary: The last of the trilogy does not disappoint
Review: Big Stone Gap is populated by a basket full of basket cases, a host of eccentric residents who make for good tales told by story-teller A. Trigiani. In this final installment of her trilogy, it feels at the outset that heroine Ave Maria Mulligan MacChesney is finally on the right track. But if that's the case, there's no story - so of course Ave is wrong, and more adventures lie in wait. This time it's mostly mother/adolescent daughter Etta angst, and we watch as not only Etta matures toward independence, but also Ave, as she "redreams" her future and tentatively heads down yet another path on the map of Life.
Earthy wisdom, wacky characters, and a good story await readers.
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