When I picked up 'Alice I have been", I feared I would not be engrossed in the story and would be disappointed. Instead, I found the book immensely readable and I was hooked from page 1! It made me want to read "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" again. Who was Alice? Was she tired of living with the "Alice I have been" or was she always that Alice? Ironically as her life plays on from childhood through her elderly years, you see how her fate was sealed at age 10 and her life then changed forever by her actions and choices. Clearly she is haunted by being "Alice" for the rest of her life and life beyond the rabbit hole was just as fascinating, traumatic and adventuresome as the storybook tale. "Alice I have been" blends fact and fiction in a tale about the "real person" who inspired Lewis Carroll. Who is the REAL Alice is left to the power of human imagination.

In light of our global world and its problems today many hinging on war and its consequences, ALL SHOULD READ THIS! I thought the book was phenomenal - beautifully written, fast paced and most of the time a real page turner. I couldn't put it down and it has haunted me since I finished it. From Nagasaki to Delhi, Pakistan, NYC and Afghanistan it tracks cultural differences so often misunderstood as well as the effect of circumstances of history. It truly shows what brings people together and what also separates us and the unintentional results of our actions. I LOVED this book!

By far the BEST BOOK I have read in 2008. Extremely creative, at times funny, and a good luck at what it takes to be a "successful entrepreneur".
LOVED IT!

This is a great beach read - fast paced and a quick summer read! All baseball fans will love this mystery. The characters are multifaceted and there are good twists and turns not all predictable. I found it to be a very enjoyable page turner, sheer enjoyment not "great literature"! As a Red Sox fan, I loved the familiar players and local places and anyone from Boston especially would love to read it!

This is a riveting, and sometimes harrowing, adventure tale which at times I found to bounce between a love story and a "nail biting thriller". Marika is a gutsy heroic journalist and a fearless survivor who attacks the harsh realities of war zones and untamed jungles. She is a hero to inspire all adventure "junkies - a character you will never forget! This book is all fast paced action and for me was mesmerizing - I definitely felt like I was under a spell and couldn't wait to read the next page. I read the book all in one sitting! It is obvious that Kira Salak as a reporter herself has lived through similar adventures and that is how she can capture the beauty of exotic places like Papa New Guinea at the same time as the violence of war zones and political upheaval. I can't recommend this book enough - I LOVED IT!!!

Preeta Samarasan's debut book is an energizing and colorful painting of a family's complex web of lies and secrets. Personally, the reason I read fiction is to escape and become a part of someone else's reality. Here I found myself so taken in by Malaysia, the place, the people and utterly caught in the "high drama" of the family history of the Rajasekharan's. Her story comes to life in each of the characters with a refreshing sense of humor. I couldn't wait to read each page!