What do readers think of Pieces of Blue by Holly Goldberg Sloan? Write your own review.

An intriguing story about a family overcoming the loss of a father and husband, their previous affluent lifestyle and home...investing in a rundown Hawaiian motel sight unseen and attempting to reopen it. A widow with three kids each having different personalities and needs and then making this idea work...add some romantic interest, a mystery and intrigue and you have a pretty good story...oh, lets not forget a dramatic ending. A very enjoyable and fast read.

I love book with characters I can connect with making choices that intrigue me. I love to see the possibilities of my own life play out in a well-written story. I don't love narratives that bounce from person to person in every chapter. But, you know what? It works here.

Hawaii with all her natural beauty forms the backdrop for this story of a young widow and her three children trying to begin again in Pieces of Blueby Holly Goldberg Sloane. From mountain hikes to roosting chickens, you will be engaged as each character is taught by and grows through nature. Some of their choices will surprise you because this is not a formulaic novel. I think your book club will enjoy discussing the conflicts and victories of each character. I'm hoping for a follow up.

This multi-layered story has hope, courage and lots of love. Every person is dealing with unimaginable grief in their own way, which often catches the reader off-guard.

There is humor, often with wild chickens. Compassion and curiosity from a tight community welcoming newcomers to their "slice of heaven".

The author details the descriptions of unsafe, crumbling and uninhabitable living spaces so clearly that the reader must hope that everything sorts itself out and comes out better than ever.

I found myself caring for every character in this story and wanting them to be okay when it was over. The reader knows more truths than the family towards the end, however, one is left wondering if they had known, would they have done anything differently.

I thoroughly enjoyed 'Pieces of Blue' and appreciated the metaphor that the title conveyed. No matter how much one is suffering, at some future time, the skies will show blue again.

The novel is about Lindsey, a woman whose husband has died in an accident in Oregon. After his startup made them crazy rich, it fell apart and Lindsey and her three children lived very meagerly. Once she received the insurance money from her husband's death, she and her family headed to Hawaii where Lindsey had purchased a motel.

The novel is rich with characterization, Hawaiian culture, and family life. At first I thought this was a beach read but it is so much more. It has depth, great narrative and a page-turning story line.

I'm a sucker for a family story that features one or more precocious kids, and within the first few pages, I knew Sena was going to be my favorite in this group. She's the youngest of three very unique siblings who relocate to Hawaii with their widowed mom to start again after a series of devastating events. There are so many themes and situations to mine for plot lines - widowhood, starting over, being the new family in a small, culturally different town, becoming proprietors of a run down beach motel with absolutely no previous experience, being the new kids in school, not knowing what actually happened to the husband/dad (presumed drowned in a surfing accident), and so very much more that I didn't anticipate AT ALL. I really enjoyed this book and will look for more from this author.

I would recommend Pieces of Blue as a great "beach read". I enjoyed reading it, though it does have a somewhat familiar story - Mom and kids have to start a new life after Dad is gone. But the setting in Hawaii adds a great deal to the story. I learned a bit about Hawaiian geography and culture. I liked the characters a lot, especially the children. Each of the children, Olivia, Carlos (Carl) and Sene have different personalities and it was interesting to see things from their point of view. There was quite a bit of back story so the reader can understand how they came to be where they were. All in all it was a very good read.

Not every book has to read like a Shakespearean masterpiece, and sometimes treasures are found in the least likely of places. This book is way out of my usual genre (historical fiction) but something about the story appealed to me. The BookBrowse blurb reflects exactly what this story is about: a mother and her 3 kids start a new life in a new place after the unexpected death of their husband/father. But this book is more than just a story of starting over in the wake of tragedy. More than once it made me say "what?" out loud as the story took unexpected turns. This book deserves to be longer than a mere 254 pages which, in my estimation, is a short story. Another 100 pages would have expanded the character development and answered a few threads left dangling. Nonetheless, the story was engaging, heartwarming and poignant.