Circumstances and internal fears cause the apparent breakdown of childhood love and promises between cousins. The conflict ripples across both families and spreads to others including the law. Liz Rosenberg presents carefully developed characters and a challenging dilemma that occupied my heart and my mind long after the end of the book.

Very good writing...perfect book for those who only read a chapter or two a day. Though the story covers a period of time in which I lived, on the surface the story reflects a class of people and experiences foreign to my youth. The emotions portrayed, certainly not on the surface are universal. I don't consider myself a literary expert, but I keep thinking of the writing of Joyce Carol Oates. Amber Dermont is likely to bring us an extremely interesting set of characters over the next several years.

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, by Heidi W. Durrow, is a very uncommon story. I found the book easy to read in the sense that the prose is comfortable and natural. On the other hand, it was difficult for me to capture the characters and their relationship with each other during the first 50 pages. After that, I became awed by the struggle that occurred as daily events to the young protagonist, Rachel. While reading the book, both the “tragedy” and the “reality of Rachel” seemed to me to be fabricated. Much to my surprise (after hearing an interview with Ms. Durrow on NPR All Things Considered on March 2, 2010) I learned that both of these aspects of the book are based on true experiences. The story of the tragedy (which is unveiled gradually throughout the chapters) and its aftermath was interesting to me from a philosophical perspective and is based on a true story. The story of Rachel’s youth was otherwise and was actually autobiographical. In my opinion and more importantly than it being based on reality, the story of Rachel, herself, is what caused my compulsion to complete the book. How often are we told that people are people even if they are of different races or from different cultures? Yet, how seldom do we have the opportunity to learn about the inner experiences of a soul who is in fact bi-racial? In summary, I want to give Ms. Durrow the highest of praise…she made me look inside myself.

Few books that I have read cause me as much ambivalence   as this one did. On the positive side, it is very well written without excessive verbosity or hysteria. The characters are very believable, but not always likable. The message…I am not sure that there is “one”. This is the kind of book that will probably resonate uniquely for each reader. All of that probably makes this book at least a four star, if not five.

On the other hand, the circumstances and situations described are often heart rendering and painfully sad. Ms. Garner has created two very genuine women; people I wish I might have known before this experience. I suspect that Ms. Garner, herself, lived through a similar even. If she did not, she is a genius in her imagination and creation of the emotions that are presented.

Fairstein's sophisticated writing and plot line land this one in the super good category. She is not only tremendously knowledgeable about trials and DA stuff, but in this book brings in some fascinating history (mid-1800's) and geography on Rosevelt and other islands around NYC. If you have read her other books, this is a must, as Alex plays her role out in the streets. If you have not read Fairstein, this would be a good start.