I felt that this was a very nice book for reading in between books that could be a little heavy. The story was OK but very predictable. The characters were nice, but obvious. I felt that the decision to foster and than adopt Henry could never have been accomplished in such an easy manner, there would have been more legalities especially with that amount of money involved. The fact that everybody got along SO WELL was a little unreal.

It was a very easy read and I read it in one sitting.

I felt that this book was too obvious. The characters in the book, except the abusive husband, were too sweet & nice, you almost new what they were going to say next. People just do not become life friends, inviting them into their home and sharing their whole life story. Possibly Maddie would, because she was a teenager. In my humble opinion this could have been two books. One centered on the transplant, including Hannah and Maddie & family's feelings before & after. Another book on the abusive husband which could be a book in and of itself.

I found this book a very easy read. I enjoyed the characters, the story line and the ending very much. The only reason that I gave this book a 4 rather than a 5 was because some of the escapes from the Nazis were unbelievable. I obviously did not live during that time period of WWII Poland so I don't know exactly how easy or hard some of these situations were, but I just felt that the author simplified in this area. I still would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good historical novel and especially to book clubs.

I just did not care very much about this book. Unlike some of the other readers, I felt the characters in the book weren't real. Anna and Tobias, at first, do not really accept that their new baby is not going to get better, and I would imagine that that part is quite true when a severely disabled child is born. But the other characters in the book seemed unreal to me and more than a little crazy. Their weird neighbors, Anna's mother and Lizzy, the young girl from no where were just untrue to me and just very confusing inserted into a story that was serious. The fact that these people just moved in and out of there house without knowing anything about them just doesn't fit in with real life to me. Maybe people in Europe are just different, but I don't think they could be that different and totally accepting of unknown people in their lives.

The fact that Anna & Tobias had mixed and changing emotions about their severely disabled child, their marriage and life is the only part that rang true to me. Having normal healthy children can put pressure on any marriage, let alone having one as severely disabled as Freya was.

I just did not care for this book, but as I read the other reviews, I guess I am in the minority.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I can not put it on my list of best books I ever read. The story was very nice and had a few small twists in it that weren't expected, but on a whole it was very predictable and maybe a little too nice. This book would go on my 'read in between heavy reading books' list. It was a very easy read and I got a picture in my mind of the two main characters that held true to the end. I would highly recommend this book for a summer or vacation read.

I enjoyed reading about different Jewish traditions and the different perspective of these traditions from the old and young. I really felt that the characters in the book were weak, I couldn't get an image in my mind of who they were and what they looked like. I feel this book could be good for book clubs that enjoy reading about different cultures and traditions. This was a book I could put down and then later have a hard time picking up.

I really enjoy a good historical novel in the mix with my mysteries. This one was perfect, I could hardly put it down. I was a little nervous at first because it did not grip me until the 2nd or 3rd chapter, but then it had me. The characters were believable and interesting and blended well.

I have recommended this book for my book club for later in the year because there are many topic for conversation. Excellent book!

I felt that this book would be a nice summer read at the beach. It flowed easy, there were not too many characters, it had a nice but expected ending. The fact that all the characters except Jason were sooo nice, he was nice too, just a bit of a jerk, was a little unreal. Most people I feel are nice, but not that sappy. I had just read a fairly heavy read and this was a nice next book.

I feel that this is one of the best books that I have written a review for. I was always interested in the way that Victoria responded to life situatiions after having been a fostor child most of her life. I feel that it brought out the insecurities and lack of trust in general that foster kids develop when they become adults. Of course not all foster kids have bad lives, and Victoria did not have a bad life, just not a good one, some of which she brought on herself because of these insecurities.

The book tells a story of one foster child and how not being able to trust in humankind can cause some sad mistakes and also how love can change things. I would recommend this book for just about anyone, it would be a great book for book clubs.

I really enjoyed this book and every time I had to put it down I couldn't wait to pick it up again. The story covered the lives of several very different women and how they came together to become very good friends.

When there is a sudden loss of a child in a family, the grief can take on a life of its own. Everyone grieves differently and for different lengths of time. I felt this part of the story was quite real and told how sometimes you just don't know where to start rebuilding. Words were said and blame given (even if not deserved). That is very hard to take back even if you want to, it is hard to start a conversation and move beyond grief, you feel guilty moving on.

I also want to state that the bread is very good, especially the chocolate brownies.

I was really looking forward to reading this book from the description they gave when I was able to choose it. But I was disappointed. It was't a bad book, it just was't a good book. Tess, the main character was described as a intelligent person, but she didn't act like one. For her to get that obsessed with someone she didn't know and in such a short time just didn't seem real.

This was the most fun I had reading a book since I read "To Kill a Mockingbird" many, many years ago. The story in some places is very sad, and the history is very interesting, but never do you tire of the diverse characters. Just like in Mockingbird, they develop until you just want more. The book is not life changing or deep, it is just fun. I would recommend this book to everyone. I definitely give it a 5 thumbs up, I would give it more, but I can't.

This book was a fairly easy read. The main locations of this story are Boston, Italy and South America. The descriptions of Italy and South America are excellent. I could see these places in my mind easily and since I have never been to either place, this was wonderful. Since it was said that the characters, Erika and her husband Peter were based on a real people, I really did not like either of them. They chose to have a child, they did more than choose, they tried things to conceive a child that were fairly experimental in the era of the book. She wanted to move to Italy to follow a career in opera and her husband traveled extensively with his import business located in Boston. Neither person wanting to give up anything for the sake of a child. This poor child never felt love the way a child should while growing up. We wonder why our children today are so messed up. I felt the ending of the story was the only way it could have ended in real life, not very happy. Although Erika seemed content with her life in the end, I feel she must have been very sad! I felt that the book was trying to make you feel compassion for Erika, but I did not. I only felt compassion for Quentin, the child.

This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Along with some real 60's American history, it is funny, sad and eye opening. All the characters are realistic, colorful and I would love to have met them and talked. Because of Kathryn Stocketts personal history, she had good first hand knowledge of the South in the 60's. The book reads very easy and I hope another is coming soon.

I feel that if there are people in this world (and I am sure that there are) that are this selfish and uncaring about human life, they do not need novels written about them! They not only didn't care about their workers and unknown people, they didn't care about anyone close to them.

The only part of the book that I felt had any merit was if the history was correct about the feud between the lumber barons and mine owners and the people who were instrumental in acquiring land for our National Parks. I am sure there were many people who did not agree with these purchases of land, especially during the great depression and if they took jobs away from people trying to feed their families. For two people with the egos as large as Pemberton and Serena to marry and work harmoniously for the same goals, I don't believe it. The character of Galloway in my opinion, to turn from a somewhat normal person to a completely brainwashed fool was very hard to take. The book read very easily and quickly, which I am very thankful for, because I doubt I would have finished it otherwise. I am very glad I did not spend one nickel on this book, just wasted some time.

When I first started this book, it grabbed me from the start. It is a historical novel taking place during WWI with many actual facts, but not so much to be tedious.

The majority of this book is not from the soldiers point of view, but from the people left behind at home. How life goes on for those who serve behind the lines and for those who have loved ones at the front lines.

A promise is made during the 'Christmas Truce' of 1914 between two enemy soldiers. This promise brought two families together that probably never would have met. The normal stresses that come from love, family, friends and work were heightened by the war. I felt the stresses of family especially were very believable.

The reason that I gave this book a '4-Good' rating is because the end of the story was fairly predictable, although it still threw a little twist that I did not expect. I felt it was a good read.

I really enjoyed this book. With Ethiopia as the setting with all its turbulence, a varied and believable cast of characters this book was an adventure. The main characters did not always react to situations as you would expect. Because this is true in life, people don't do as you expect, it made the book very believable. I found myself picking up this book when I was supposed to be doing other things, just to follow the characters. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, do not let the size scare you.

This was an excellent historic novel. This time in history is very fascinating to me and this book covers a much unknown story of Nazis and Jewish people in Europe during WWII. The characters are very believable, interesting and diverse. This was one of the best books I have read in a long time. I belong to a book club of women and everyone thought that this was an extremely good book and hard to put down once you pick it up.

I enjoyed this book more than I expected to. The characters were very interesting and eventually I felt very familiar with them. It was an easy read and enjoyable. I did not think it was a great book because the plot and ending were very predictable, but a nice story. If you like Nicholas Sparks, I feel that you will like this book. I am in a local book club, I would not recommend it for book club, but I would recommend this for a cold rainy day.