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There are currently 41 member reviews
for The Same Sky
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Amy W. (Annapolis, MD)
Good quick read
I really enjoyed this book. I could not put it down and read it in one day. I usually do not like books that move back and forth between storylines but this one really worked. I think the short chapters helped keep the pace quick and the reader engaged. I had anticipated a different ending and expected the two stories to intersect much earlier in the book. That being said, once I realized the direction the author was going in I guessed how she would wrap up the book. I like happy endings so I didn't mind the predictable ending.
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Sandra H. (St. Cloud, MN)
A Satisfying Read
Too often an author struggles to make a two-strand plot come together successfully. In "The Same Sky,"
Amanda Eyre Ward avoids that problem in two ways. First, she balances each major character's story by alternating chapters devoted to each so readers can watch them develop equally. Second, it becomes obvious early that their lives will somehow intersect. Thus readers become involved equally in both stories. I liked this way of moving the story even though I knew where Ward was going.
We can believe the details of Carla's life in Honduras because we have read about the US border problems and are familiar with undocumented immigrant issues. Ward uses Carla's story to flesh out those issues. Alice's thread is also one that many readers who struggle with the fertility/infertility issues can identify with her. Both of these characters became real to me.
I would have no trouble recommending this novel to my book club members knowing that the issues it develops would stimulate a lively and worthwhile discussion.
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Cynthia D. (Germantown, TN)
So very different, so much the same
"My mother left when I was 5 years old" -- the first sentence opened my heart to Carla's struggle for life in Honduras. She exhibits intense determination, courage
and love for her little brother, Junior.
But wait-- now the author has shifted to another scenario with Alice and Jake. On the surface, a happily married couple who own a popular barbecue spot in Texas.
Ms Ward teases us with alternate chapters of these two situations: a study in contrasts and yet the same human emotions.
Why? The diverse stories entwine as we turn the pages of this engaging novel.
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Kat F. (Palatine, IL)
Superficial
Once you read the first two chapters you pretty much know how the book is going to end. Having recently been to Austin, I enjoyed remembering the various locations and businesses referenced in the book. Having dealt with infertility and adoption, I expected to be able to understand Alice's point of view. Knowing nothing about an immigrant's journey to this country, I expected to learn more about their experiences and hoped to understand their journey, and I will say I did. Overall though, I felt I read the abridged version. It seems like the author shortchanged Carla, Alice, Evian, and the principal, and four books about their stories might have been better than one. What happened to Carla that led her to Alice? What happened to the principal? What happened with Alice and Evian? Too many unanswered questions and loose ends for me.
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Mary W. (Altadena, CA)
the same sky
The topic of The Same Sky is what caught my interest immediately. It is a story that has been told but needs to be told again and again. The struggles of families in Mexico living in poverty and entering the U.S. in hopes of finding a better life.
However, I could not sympathize with the people depicted in the story from either side of the border. The characters were flat. The language was predictable. The story seemed to be written as a possible script for a TV movie. The metaphors were not inspirational because they did not move my heart to feel the emotions being conveyed. As a reader I was told how to feel. The words used did not allow me to imagine the scenes or emotions portrayed. The story could have been a wonderful story told through the eyes of those who suffer injustice and extreme poverty. It could have made us empathize and want to have life changed for the better for these people. I can't say I would recommend this book to anyone, except someone who wants to carry around a volume of fluff just in case they need something to do while standing in a coffee line.
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Tilli F. (Florence, MA)
two tales in one story
I awaited this book eagerly because I had read several novels about the plight of children escaping from Central and South America and found the stories gripping. At first this book grabbed my attention with the story of Carla, a Honduran child, but that attention dwindled when it came to Alice. Because the tale of Carla was relatively riveting, Alice quickly became an annoying disruption. Although their tales came together in the end, because this was a superficial book it was a disappointing one.
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