This book pulls you in from the first paragraph. Not only the story, which is hard to put down once you start, but also the language. What a beautifully written book. I highly recommend it!

If you or anyone you know has gone through a situation with an alcoholic spouse, I recommend this book as a look into their experiences. I have a dear friend who was married to an alcoholic and who suffered with her husband through multiple rehabs and finally, after years and years of trying to help someone who couldn’t help himself, got a divorce. Just last year her ex-husband passed away from alcoholism (he was only 41). I admit I could never completely understand what she was going through, and don’t claim to completely understand now, but I do have a better idea after reading this book.

I highly recommend it.

I “read” the audio version of this book which is read by J.A. Jance herself.

I’m also not someone who read a lot of poetry, but I’m SO glad I came across this book and gave it a try!

I am a big fan of children’s literature and have always love Beverly Cleary’s books from the time I was a young child, so it was fun to read about her life and how it came about that she wrote children’s books and where she found many of her ideas for her stories. An added dimension was the fact that she was working to educate herself during the depression and with the added burden of a mother who wasn’t exactly supportive of her efforts in education or her social life.

Funny enough I was reading this at the same time as reading Roald Dahl’s autobiography (actually both of them wrote 2 autobiographies each, one of their childhoods and one of their young adulthoods), another children’s literature author and who lived during the same time as Beverly Cleary. It was interesting to read how each of them experienced the same time frame but from two different parts of the world. Both authors and all 4 books were wonderfully written and very engaging. I highly recommend them all!

The title pretty much sums it up. Roald Dahl is such a wonderful writer and story teller. Although this was written for children, as an adult I enjoyed it thoroughly. Fascinating and I laughed out loud a number of times. I highly recommend it to readers of all ages.

I’m currently reading the next installation of this autobiography called “Flying Solo” and recommend it highly as well!

...because I’m sure it would have been a favorite of mine if I had. Even as an adult, I enjoyed it and look forward to reading the sequels. Definitely one to put on my list to read to my children when they are old enough. Then again, I do love “classic” children’s literature and I would count this book as one to place in that catagory.

I enjoyed “The Shop on Blossom Street” better although the main character was the same. I didn’t feel as though it was a story that drew me in as much as the first book. It still was an enjoyable read, but maybe because I’ve read more of this author’s books now, I found it a little TOO predictable.

Still, I enjoyed it and it was a nice “gentle fiction” read.

I was a bit disappointed when I finished this book. Don’t get me wrong, it was still a good book and it had me on the edge of my seat a few times, but it just didn’t seem as good as his first novels that I read. Perhaps it seemed a little more predictable for a mystery, or maybe the characters just didn’t draw me in like others have in the past.

I guess I’d still recommend this book, but would definitely encourage other to read some of his earlier books which I liked better.

I loved this book and couldn’t put it down. Then again, it also brought up a lot of emotions and feelings that aren’t as close to the surface as they used to be and brought it all back and brought me to tears. I would warn someone who has gone through infertility that this is a “triggering” book. I don’t know if I could have read it had I not had two children of my own now. I think it would have been too heart-wrenching and too hard to read had I still been going through the infertility rollercoaster. I wonder if it wouldn’t have some of the same effects on someone who has given a child up for adoption or even came close to doing so.

Still, I couldn’t put this book down. I felt like the characters were real people and with with few exceptions the story and the people seemed believable.

I would definitely recommend this book and look forward to reading more books by this author.

I cannot remember the last time I couldn’t put a book down, but this book was like that for me. I stayed up way too late and sobbed, but had to finish this book.

This book made me cry and laugh, best of all, I loved that it was from the perspective of a father and how he grows to become a real parent to his son out of love and necessity. You wan tto the book to have a happy ending and in a sense it does, but it’s not the “romance novel” happy ending.

Definitely 5 out of 5 stars in my book.

I didn’t care too much for this book at the beginning, but then quite enjoyed it as I got more into the story and the characters. It reminded me a lot of Maeve Binchy novels. Would recommend.