Rating: 
Summary: Not really that great
Review: The book was alright, but it's nothing I would pass along to my friends with whom I share good books. I'm afraid I am not well versed in literary critique, so I'll just tell you what I thought of the book...The characters were not very believable. Take Candace for example. Anyone who desperately wants to have children wouldn't have waited until being pregnant to start asking friends and family what it would be like to have a child and raise it. Nor would she believe that using cocaine during pregnancy would not affect her child in some way. Candace is supposed to be a college student in the internet age - surely she had access to better information and guidance! If nothing else, if the main satisfaction of having a child were to prove you could do a better job as a parent than your mother, wouldn't you be a nut about being healthy and prepared for the child?? The whole birth situation may have had poetry and deeper meaning - but I'm reading the story for entertainment, and can only suspend my disbelief so many times during the book! I also didn't understand why she didn't have hard feelings toward her father. He didn't act as her main caregiver in her mother's absence despite getting re-married and having two other children (who are only mentioned briefly in the book and don't seem to effect the father in any way). We also find out through her mother's diaries that he played a big part in keeping her mother from going back and taking Candace with her to California. If the point is that no one can replace a mother - fine - but in real life his disinterest would have had consequences in his relationship with Candace. The role of father takes quite a beating in this book. The men are periphery which serves to let me know the author doesn't find them necessary or doesn't want them spotlighted for this book. This tactic may be literarily important, but again, just takes away from the readability of the story. It's a distraction. Candace's revelation that a conversation with her grandfather was the heart of her distrust of her mother also rang hollow. First off, after a couple of years of good parenting by her mother, wouldn't she have re-assessed her opinion? Secondly, just acknowledging the conversation with a doctor wouldn't have been a "cure" to her feelings. And in their long history of arguing, it never came up before? I'm rolling my eyes here. I won't even go into her post-pregnancy behavior and breakdown - Ricci could have gained my respect had "tough love" from Candace's family come into play, but it did not. After re-reading my review, I probably shouldn't have given the book 3 stars... Obviously the themes of mother-daughter relationships, motherhood, family, etc. that are broached in this book would be better served by more believable characters and situations. I didn't care about the characters because they didn't seem realistic, so it was hard to finish the book. I would suggest buying The Red Tent or Poisonwood Bible instead of this one...those were the last really good books I've read....
Rating: 
Summary: Finally discovered...Dreaming Maples!
Review: This is an amazing exploration of motherhood, child development, and family relationships. This novel uses the lives of three completely different women with different circumstances to expose the realities of motherhood and growing up. While i am not a mother myself or planning on being one, this novel gave me a great insight on the feelings and events that can occur while being pregnant and becoming a mother.
I feel that this novel has been long in the making and interests me because it doesnt run on the same old stories that we always read. I also like that the novel made me feel comfortable looking in on someone's life where it was so personal. My connection to these characters made not want the book to end so that I could ultimately see what would indefinately happen to all of them.
I thank the author for representing men in a favorable way because not all women are used to seeing men in a positive way, especially when it has to do with raising children or announcing an unexpected pregancy...Mark and Rusty are my heroes! :)
Rating: 
Summary: Compelling story
Review: This is not a book I would normally have chosen to read. It's not my usual style. A friend slid a copy across the table and said "Read it - you'll be glad you did." I did and I am. I read all the other reviews I could find to try and pinpoint why it had so much meaning for me but I'm still searching for the right words. If you are a woman - you must read this book. For those who find some of this story "unbelievable" - believe. If you have never seen mental illness up close - this is what it might look like. Knowing that drugs are harmful and using them to escape - normal stuff. Alienation because of some "words" that a grandfather (or someone else) said. Absolutely possible. I am a grandmother who remembers being an adolescent - only yesterday - and swearing "I will do it better." I didn't. I have one daughter who may never have children but if she chooses to - I'll be the one to tell her she will hopefully "do it better." I have close friends who have never been able to fully describe to me the particular exultations and hurts, power and vulnerability of being a gay woman. This is a book that allowed me to share all the familiar and some of the unknown pieces of being a woman. Read it - you'll be glad you did.
Rating:
Summary: A Book of Grace
Review: While reading this book I ran through the gamut of emotions. I felt: depressed, hopeful, angry, sad, relieved, comforted and truimphant. The book felt like a good friend that I could keep close and return to for visits often. I found myself reading it slowly and not wanting it to end. Claudia Ricci writes in such a way that you can relate to each of her characters and, in spite of any shortcomings they may have, find compassion for them. She takes you on wild journeys through the psyche and then returns you safely to a familiar ground. I find myself craving a sequel. Her talents as a writer are right up there amongst my favorite contemporary authors: Gloria Naylor, Toni Morrison, Robert James Waller, Rebecca Wells and Richard Bach. I bought the book for all of my female friends and to date every one of them has thanked me enthusiastically. I recommend reading it with a group of females you love, you won't regret it! --Kellie Meisl
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