Rating: 
Summary: Good Summer reading
Review: "Last Summer at Barebones" is a perfect Summer book. I enjoyed the story and was rooting for Dee.
I do agree that the ending kind of stunk. It seemed too rushed. Other than that, great book.
Rating:
Summary: Good Summer reading
Review: "Last Summer at Barebones" is a perfect Summer book. I enjoyed the story and was rooting for Dee.
I do agree that the ending kind of stunk. It seemed too rushed. Other than that, great book.
Rating:
Summary: Good Summer reading
Review: Barebones (to me anyway) was about family -- how family members fit and relate, their perceptions of each other, their misperceptions about themselves. It's also a great growing up story. Characters were individuals with foibles and eccentricities. Mason made them lively and interesting (and sometimes silly) but even while she was poking fun at them, you could feel that she cared about them and respected them -- that's a neat trick.And I had no problem with the ending -- it was plausible and it fit the characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't have been better
Review: Barebones (to me anyway) was about family -- how family members fit and relate, their perceptions of each other, their misperceptions about themselves. It's also a great growing up story. Characters were individuals with foibles and eccentricities. Mason made them lively and interesting (and sometimes silly) but even while she was poking fun at them, you could feel that she cared about them and respected them -- that's a neat trick. And I had no problem with the ending -- it was plausible and it fit the characters.
Rating: 
Summary: Horrible ending
Review: Books that are hard to put down are sadly few and far between, but this one is definitely in the select few that make it to that list.
I was most impressed with the author's capturing of the 60's and 70's era which was both wonderful and from what I remember, very accurate. Not only did it bring back memories, but the realization that although we at the time thought things were moving along so quickly in terms of changes to societies values and morals, we had only just begun. The friend who recommended this book compared it to Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone" and I do agree, though with less of a "surreal" quality that seemed to develop as Mr. Lamb's storyline seemed to progress.
A great story of families, friendships, growing up different and
just plain "growing".
Rating:
Summary: Great Retrospect As Well As Storyline
Review: Books that are hard to put down are sadly few and far between, but this one is definitely in the select few that make it to that list.
I was most impressed with the author's capturing of the 60's and 70's era which was both wonderful and from what I remember, very accurate. Not only did it bring back memories, but the realization that although we at the time thought things were moving along so quickly in terms of changes to societies values and morals, we had only just begun. The friend who recommended this book compared it to Wally Lamb's "She's Come Undone" and I do agree, though with less of a "surreal" quality that seemed to develop as Mr. Lamb's storyline seemed to progress.
A great story of families, friendships, growing up different and
just plain "growing".
Rating:
Summary: Horrible ending
Review: I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone who is still reading the book, but all I can say is that this is the most horrible ending to any novel I've ever read. I honestly wanted to chuck the book across the room and scream in frustration. Diane Baker Mason did an amazing job of making me care about her characters. I just wished she'd delivered a less horrible ending.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing book can be hard to read
Review: This book takes you right back to the 60's and 70's as quick as a time machine. But it's hard to read at times, because it's so gruellingly honest. Fortunately it's also extremely funny. The ending is a double whammy. Just when you think it's over she hits you again, in a different way. It's a really important book to read, especially for anyone who still feels bad because they were or are picked on for being fat. I couldn't put it down!
Rating:
Summary: Last Summer at Barebones
Review: This was a great book. Although it took me about 35 pages to get into it, it turned out to be one of my favorites. You really felt what the characters were going through. Most of us can relate to being teenagers and feeling left out or seeing what it was like for my parents to raise us in that time. I couldn't put the book down and would love to read more by Diane Baker Mason. Her writing reminds me of Wally Lamb.
Rating:
Summary: Last Summer at Barebones
Review: To anyone who likes to laugh and cry all in one sitting I reccommend this book to you. A great novel; Diane Baker Mason really knows how to pull you into her characters and become attached to their unique personalities. A fantastic read from beginning to end......GO DEE
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