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Summary: Secrets
Review: This being the first of Alice Hoffman's books that I was able to get through I didn't think I would be so impressed. But I was with this book. From the often lyrical writing style she has to the story itself Blue Diary is a great book. The town of Monroe Mass is a haven to the people that live there and they never would have dreamed that a man like Ethan would have such a terrible secret from his past that would not only come knocking on his front door but also all the people in town. The themes in this book from devotion, guilt, betrayel and then utimately maybe not forgiveness but the ability to move on is infected in all the people in this book. From his wife Josie to the girl Kat who first learned of the secret and turns Ethan in they are all taken down a path that none of them could have ever forseen in their future. Hoffman's often almost lyrical prose made this book an enjoyable and fast read.
Rating:
Summary: Blue Diary
Review: Alice Hoffman again has a winner with Blue Diary. She has the most interesting characters of any author I have read recently. As each chapter is told from the point of view of a diverse range of characters the reader sees the effects that one lie can have on many people. It indeed shows how interconnected our lives are with others. As always, Alice mixes in a little magic to make this book a delight to read. I highly recommend it to lovers of Alice Hoffman's work.
Rating: 
Summary: Well-Written, But Has Some Major Flaws....
Review: I bought Alice Hoffman's newest book upon the recommendation of a friend who is a high school English teacher...she thought so highly of this book, that I found myself devouring it over the course of the next few days. Ms. Hoffman has a wonderful, descriptive style displayed in this book, but there are just too many times that she asks us to suspend belief in order to swallow what happens to the characters in this book. Some of these have been alluded to in a previous customer review, such as the maturity level of "Kat" - I think Ms. Hoffman made a major mistake in writing Kat's character in first person perspective - it just wasn't believable that a 12-year old girl would have such wisdom and perception. I also found the character of Ethan stretching credibility - she never adequately explained how such a low-life criminal could become a highly respected husband, father, and community member overnight! I wish she had written more about that character's view of his "transformation". That said, I did very much admire the way Ms. Hoffman led us her overall theme - which is that people are very rarely all that they appear to be, and the notion that the path to forgiveness (if taken at all) is different for everyone.
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Summary: What a wonderful book!!!!
Review: I truly loved this book!!!!! I read it in 2 days and I must say...Alice Hoffman is truly gifted. I loved Kat and Collie and have to wonder if Alice Hoffman is an animal lover!!!! What happpened to Ethan was unfortunate...however...he did make his bed...so now he has to lie in it.
Rating:
Summary: A Thought Provoking Concept
Review: Blue Diary was an interesting read. It was full of vivid descriptions and well developed characters. Although the narrative was drawn out, I felt compelled to finish the novel. Blue Diary asks the question, can someone commit an unspeakable act and then completely change themselves for the better? This is what the main character, Ethan Ford has done. What will the outcome bring? Set admist a small town, Ethan was well known; the devoted and loving husband and father; the always available community volunteer; the one that would always sacrifice himself for the greater good. Imagine the surprise when this small town is shaken with Ethan's arrest. The community will no longer be the same. Alice Hoffman's concept of Blue Diary was excellent and thought provoking ~ can a person change, and if they do, are they responsible for past acts of the person they are no longer? I would recommend giving Blue Diary a try.
Rating: 
Summary: excellent
Review: I have read most of Alice Hoffmans books. This one by far is one of the best. You can just feel the anguish of this wife. All of the characters touched me. I felt sorrow, anger, sympathy and so much for these people. This book really gives insight to how a community can be taken in by someone or something and then the betrayal when it all falls apart. It is frightening on some levels. Couldn't put it down.
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Summary: Thank you, Alice Hoffman!
Review: Alice Hoffman's latest work, BLUE DIARY, is haunting. The plot centers around Jorie Ford, wife of the nearly perfect Ethan Ford, and her life in a small town in Massachusetts. When the flaw in Ethan's past is exposed, everything changes for everyone. I read this fast... I didn't want to, but it was so compelling... Hoffman is an excellent writer, and the stories she tells in this novel ring with truth and honesty.
Rating: 
Summary: I didn't like it
Review: This is my first book by Alice Hoffman and I just wasn't that crazy about it. I thought that it moved rather slowly at times and I really would have liked to have read more about Ethan's thoughts along with more dialog exchanged between him and Jorie. I thought that Jorie's character was a weak one and I didn't like the character of Kat at all. A disappointing read for me.
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Summary: Sad, yet beautiful and uplifting story
Review: When Ethan Ford is arrested for rape and murder, the sleepy town of Monroe, Massachusetts is in a state of shock. He is the ultimate Mr. Good Guy, good neighbor, town hero, model father, and adoring husband. Yet, as the story evolves, it seems that Ethan Ford was someone entirely different. In the hands of any other author, this could have been a trite murder mystery-soap drama. However, this author combines consummate writing skills and vivid imagery with an understanding of the human heart that will keep you turning the pages. Fine writing doesn't get much better than this. I can't believe it has taken me this long to read anything by Alice Hoffman, but I have already run to the library to get more of her books!
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Summary: What is a good life?
Review: In somewhat of a departure from her more mystical and whimsical books, Hoffman has written a novel of love, courage, and the nature of allegiance. We are left to ponder the question of how well we really know the people whom we love; how well we really know anyone. The author causes the reader to explore the origin, nature, quality, and depth of forgiveness and to question what really constitutes, morally and ethically, a "good life". The book opens on a scene from the good and perfect life of the Fords, Ethan and Jorie. We know it is just too good to last. The make-believe life, the fairy tale, is about to end. Happily-ever-after does not really exist. When the unthinkable happens and Jorie's husband Ethan is arrested for a long-ago and vicious crime, Jorie must face not only her own fears, but those of their son, Collie. She goes through all the stages associated usually associated with a death: grief, denial, despair, and then hope. For she has experienced a death: the death of all her dreams. Jorie endures the pity of the townspeople and then the transference of her husband's guilt to her. Never one to question herself, she now questions everything. Despite the allegiance and love of her friends, especially Charlotte, recently diagnosed with breast cancer, Jorie must ultimately face her husband's betrayal on her own. For "night after night, she has slept with a shadow, an imposter formed out of ashes...." Ethan has lived for years with a terrible secret, but he now knows that "The past stays with a man, sticking to his heels like glue, invisible and heartbreaking and unavoidable, threaded to the future just as surely as day is sewn to night." For he can never escape this past, and no matter how much he has changed, no matter how different he now is, he cannot avoid the consequences of his long-ago actions nor be forgiven for them. Sometimes repentance is just not enough, and having lived a good life does not make atonement for the evil that one has perpetuated in the past. "Blue" is a word sprinkled throughout the book to describe many things, but the blue diary of the title is an unfinished journal left behind by a murdered girl. Hoffman describes it like this: "The diary is a book of hope that has never been finished, a list of dreams left undone." This book is lovingly crafted and polished to a fine patina. It is a joy to read a book which shows that so much care was taken to make each and every word important and relevant to the story as a whole.
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