Rating: 
Summary: Readable
Review: This is a hard book to review. On one hand, it is a very readable story- it is easy to while away a snowy afternoon turning the pages and absorbing yourself in this book. However, there are SO many faults with the plot. THe story is way too contrived- woman almost never leaves the house, does not speak to anyone over the phone except to place work orders, sees a little girl in her backyard, and within 8 days she is transformed. She's called old friends, made new ones, got a new job... And all because of a too precocious 9 year old girl! It has to be fiction. Never has there been such a neat, happy, ending, where all things are as they should be. Near the end of th book, Lucinda is remarking that she can't beleive it's only been a month...well, neither can we. It's totally impossible to beleive that this could happen to anyone.But plausibility aside, the book has its moments. The language is simple, and for anyone who does not wish to see a bad ending, this is perfect.
Rating:
Summary: Readable
Review: This is a hard book to review. On one hand, it is a very readable story- it is easy to while away a snowy afternoon turning the pages and absorbing yourself in this book. However, there are SO many faults with the plot. THe story is way too contrived- woman almost never leaves the house, does not speak to anyone over the phone except to place work orders, sees a little girl in her backyard, and within 8 days she is transformed. She's called old friends, made new ones, got a new job... And all because of a too precocious 9 year old girl! It has to be fiction. Never has there been such a neat, happy, ending, where all things are as they should be. Near the end of th book, Lucinda is remarking that she can't beleive it's only been a month...well, neither can we. It's totally impossible to beleive that this could happen to anyone. But plausibility aside, the book has its moments. The language is simple, and for anyone who does not wish to see a bad ending, this is perfect.
Rating: 
Summary: Implausible, yes. Immensely engaging fairytale, YES!
Review: This story is completely transparent, sometimes contived in its name-dropping-for-authenticity-sake style, but it is nevertheless an enjoyable read that focuses on interior issues rather than suspenseful plot-driven drama. Too much surface, not enough substance with regard to agoraphobia and its limitations, as well as the tired romanticized plotline could cause realists to disregard its character-clarity. However, the omnivorous reader will find much to like in the self-ruminations of these individuals, implausibility, aside. I was looking for a light-hearted story without the "Nora Roberts" formula. The sequel, however, simply screams ROMANCE NOVEL. As much as I liked being in this flawed character's head, the author lost me at the end while she was setting up the sequel.
Rating: 
Summary: Thoughtful and profound
Review: Vale Allen never goes for the obvious in her books. She always reaches for something deeper, something truer. In this case, we have a woman whose discovery of the truth of her origins robs her of her former youthful certainty--with the end result that she becomes a near-recluse, rarely able to leave her house. Lucinda is a beautifully drawn character, good-hearted, fear-bound, and isolated. When Katanya Taylor, an almost ten-year-old on her first trip away from Manhattan (courtesy of The Fresh Air Fund) wanders into Lucinda's garden and waves to the woman inside, signaling to her to come out, what ensues is a genuinely touching tale of how two people--one young, one middle-aged--alter each other's lives in quietly profound ways. Without ever being manipulative, the author allows the characters to take center stage and it's impossible not to care about them. I'm always taken by the depth of Vale Allen's insights and the essential optimism that is central to each of her (very different) novels. A visit to her site states that a sequel is underway. That is grounds for celebration because these characters merit another visit.
This is a wonderful, wonderful book.
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