Rating: 
Summary: Wasn't as thrilled as everyone else
Review: Maybe it is because I read a lot of suspense and thrillers, but I kept waiting for somethng to happen and nothing ever did. I enjoyed the book, well written, and kept me intrigued and reading till the very end, however I felt let down with the ending. I guess I wanted something dramtic to happenand it doesn't. If you can handle that,then the book is worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: North of Intuition
Review: Mysteries and jealousies swirl and simmer in the heat of a south Texas summer. The story twists through the pages like a tumbleweed in a hot Texas wind. The child Kayla comes of age ... and to an awareness that things aren't always as they seem. "Mother used religion as a wifely whip," Kayla observes. Meanwhile, neighbor Lou Jean washes her hands compulsively. Families, betrayals, and friendships are never quite as they appear. Balanced by an inherently nice, although spineless father and a wild and rowdy grandmother, Kayla watches as her family life crumbles and transforms, and begins to see things from a different perspective, while the beautiful neighbor next door spirals out of control. And her mother changes into ... what? Full of unexpected twists and turns, the summer Kayla's family moves from Cameron to Rosalita evolves into an ever changing mosaic of emotion. From her depiction of the sticky juice of a ripe peach on a hot day to the portrait of a night of Texas football, Cindy Eppes gives an amazingly brilliant portrayal of a sense of time and place, betrayer and betrayed, and of the heart and soul of a girl coming of age. An amazing entry in the "first book" category. I highly recommend this.
Rating:
Summary: North of Intuition
Review: Mysteries and jealousies swirl and simmer in the heat of a south Texas summer. The story twists through the pages like a tumbleweed in a hot Texas wind. The child Kayla comes of age ... and to an awareness that things aren't always as they seem. "Mother used religion as a wifely whip," Kayla observes. Meanwhile, neighbor Lou Jean washes her hands compulsively. Families, betrayals, and friendships are never quite as they appear. Balanced by an inherently nice, although spineless father and a wild and rowdy grandmother, Kayla watches as her family life crumbles and transforms, and begins to see things from a different perspective, while the beautiful neighbor next door spirals out of control. And her mother changes into ... what? Full of unexpected twists and turns, the summer Kayla's family moves from Cameron to Rosalita evolves into an ever changing mosaic of emotion. From her depiction of the sticky juice of a ripe peach on a hot day to the portrait of a night of Texas football, Cindy Eppes gives an amazingly brilliant portrayal of a sense of time and place, betrayer and betrayed, and of the heart and soul of a girl coming of age. An amazing entry in the "first book" category. I highly recommend this.
Rating: 
Summary: Too many words -- too little plot
Review: Scintilating similes and superfluous fluff sometimes becloud an
obsure, sometimes non-extant, story line. The author has an excellent writing style, not that of a first time author, but her
weak plot cannot do justice to the entire undertaking. I would like to see her tackle a solid story line -- from the beginning -- and be able to marvel at the masterpiece I think she is capable of creating. This effort falls short of that goal, but is a decent and worthy piece of writing. Her characterizations and descriptions of Cameron, TX are inexact and distorted, but who'd know but a native like me?
Rating:
Summary: Funny, warm South Texas families
Review: South of Reason brings a part of the world not often written about into wonderful reality. The characters are rich, quirky, and endearing. Two weeks after finishing the book, I find them still with me, as silly as it seems, wondering what Kayla is doing or if Lou Jean is in her kitchen canning jelly. Eppes has a way of writing about tough subjects, obsessive compulsive disorder, extramarital affairs, and even abortion without making them heavy and depressing. The whole tone of the book is one of meeting life's adversities with humor and initiative. That's why it stays with me, I think. Read it. Then read it again.
Rating:
Summary: A marvelous book!
Review: South of Reason is a wonderful book. I enjoyed it more than anything I've read in quite a while. The characters are complex and believable and the story is totally engrossing. As in real life, each person had some traits that were admirable and others that were less admirable, and some questions were left unresolved at the end. I hated to finish South of Reason because now I'm going through withdrawal, missing the characters and wanting to know what happened to them next! The book has a few minor errors - for example, a description of a photograph initially states that the photo shows someone from behind, then describes how the person's face looks in the photo. And there are some mix-ups of "it's" and "its." But these are minor quibbles. I had never heard of South of Reason when I happened to come across it at the library; I still have not seen any published reviews of it or any publicity for it. This surprises me. Other books that were highly touted in the media have disappointed me with their implausible plot turns or unbelievable characters (e.g., Bee Season, Blue Diary). South of Reason is a much better book and I hope that it finds the readership it deserves. And I hope that Cindy Eppes writes more books!
Rating:
Summary: A marvelous book!
Review: South of Reason is a wonderful book. I enjoyed it more than anything I've read in quite a while. The characters are complex and believable and the story is totally engrossing. As in real life, each person had some traits that were admirable and others that were less admirable, and some questions were left unresolved at the end. I hated to finish South of Reason because now I'm going through withdrawal, missing the characters and wanting to know what happened to them next! The book has a few minor errors - for example, a description of a photograph initially states that the photo shows someone from behind, then describes how the person's face looks in the photo. And there are some mix-ups of "it's" and "its." But these are minor quibbles. I had never heard of South of Reason when I happened to come across it at the library; I still have not seen any published reviews of it or any publicity for it. This surprises me. Other books that were highly touted in the media have disappointed me with their implausible plot turns or unbelievable characters (e.g., Bee Season, Blue Diary). South of Reason is a much better book and I hope that it finds the readership it deserves. And I hope that Cindy Eppes writes more books!
Rating:
Summary: Good, but could be better.
Review: This book is great. The plot line is fresh and easy to follow. The author definitely has a gift with language. However, some of the writing does not ring true to an adolescent girl (the protagonist). Also, there are some bumps in the plotline that could be smoother. All in all, it is a great first book and I certainly look forward to more novels by Ms. Eppes.
Rating:
Summary: Good, but could be better.
Review: This book is great. The plot line is fresh and easy to follow. The author definitely has a gift with language. However, some of the writing does not ring true to an adolescent girl (the protagonist). Also, there are some bumps in the plotline that could be smoother. All in all, it is a great first book and I certainly look forward to more novels by Ms. Eppes.
Rating:
Summary: South of Reason...
Review: This was a really good book. I only gave it 4 stars because some of it was a bit dragging, but overall it held my interest. It's about the slow deterioration of one south Texan family, and one awful summer for a 12 year old girl, Kayla, and her thirteen year old neighbor Charles Dale. They find out the truth about the secrets their parents have been keeping for 12+ years, and deal with the shattering consequences they bring to both families.
This was a very sad book, but at the same time a pleasant one. Kayla really grows up this particular summer, and even though the ending isn't what most of us would like to see, it was what was best for everyone. And by the end of the novel, Kayla also understands this. I would definitely recommend this book. I didn't think it was a real fast paced gripping tale, I took my time with it, but it was one that I really enjoyed. I'll be looking out for more books by this author.
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