I couldn't put down this book. It is, by FAR, the best book I've read on love. Lois Smith-Brady is a beautiful writer who will keep you captivated throughout her twelve stories on real life love. These stories (along with her wonderful interpretations) will make you understand (like you never have before) what love really is. Read it, Read it, Read it!!!!!

This book was excellent! Lois Smith Brady is really a treat to read. I would highly recommend the book as a gift for newly engaged couples or for married couples. Inspiring stories for singles - many hopeful stories about finding love in the most unusual places. All of the stories are funny, insightful and touching in some way!

I love this book! I just recieved it as a gift from my husband and look forward to reading another story every evening. The people that Lois Smith-Brady features are REAL, and each story of how they found love is different. It is a positive affirmation that there is love out there, and there is a soul mate for you. Read it!

I found myself entirely caught up in this book, watching Sophie negotiate experience and curiosity, skepticism and hope, adolescent guardedness and the pull of love. Freymann-Weyr tells a story that resonates as keenly for adults as for Sophie's own age group. She offers a down-to-earth young heroine wise enough to make brains and an everyday bravery her touchstones. Both Sophie and Freymann-Weyr left me wanting more. This is an exceptionally strong story for teenage girls and their parents, and a wonderful read for adults of any age.

Sophie Merdinger has accomplished the impossible: she made me wish I could be fifteen again- something I've spent a lot of time being happy I could never be forced to do. Sophie did not inspire this bizarre wish because her life looks like a walk in the park- quite the contrary. With tremendous humor, insight, and respect for the process people go through to become themselves, the author has captured all the really hard stuff that we find ourselves suddenly growing into around Sophie's age. For me, the magic in this book comes from the author's sense of balance. Freymann-Weyr conveys the very serious side of being Sophie: she is dealing with all the complicated relationships which can be brushed under the word "family," learning to live with a deep loss without losing her past or future self, and exploring the risks of liking a guy while trying to make sure she doesn't turn into a brain-dead girlfriend. Nevertheless, I found myself howling with laughter through much of the book. So much that happens, even right in the middle of a miserable moment, is hilarious because what Sophie says and thinks is wry, true, and honestly aware of her own and other's foibles. I loved reading this book and am planning to send a copy to a couple of friends who survived being fifteen with me.

Garret Freymann-Weyr gives us a fascinating and complex young lady in the character of Sophie. Sophie's insights and lack of them are both humorous and sad. She is wise beyond her fifteen years and yet often she is much younger. I could not put this book down as I was immediately enraptured by Sophie and the wonderful cast of characters who round out her life.

When I Was Older is certainly not limited to the young adult reader. Freymann-Weyr's smart and funny style will apeal to all ages.

Never have I read a book that so effectively portrays the lessons of growing up. There is a deep selection of "coming-of-age" books on bookstore shelves, but none of them captures maturation as Creel does in this gem.

During World War II, Olivia, a young woman from busy Denver finds herself pregnant and is shipped away to marry a lonely farmer in rural Southern Colorado. Seeking companionship, she befriends two Japanase-American sisters interned at a nearby internment camp. To give away more of the plot, ruins the excellent storyline.

Author Creel beautifully weaves a tapestry of Olivia's loss of childhood, her friends'loss of freedom and the loss of life created by war. She wonderfully depicts the limits that choices made in passion place upon those who act before considering all the consequences. She most effectively shows that facing life's challenges and learning from them brings about love and maturity.

The characters in Magic are not perfect but are truly noble. This is a true love story for men and women. It bears lessons for young adults and adult alike. It's message is one that we all need to read in this age of instant gratification.

Read this book!

I originally purchased this book as a present for my wife; she couldn't stop talking about it so I read it for myself. Set in rural Colorado in 1944, the main story revolves around an educated, progressive woman forced into an arranged marriage to a farmer due to the result of a fling with a soldier leaving for the war in 1944. As the main character, Livvy, tries to cope with the disappointment and loneliness of her situation, a great love story unfolds as she begins to really know the man she married. This was my wife's favorite portion of the book, and I have to admit it was done extremely well. The spice in the story comes in a sub- plot which has Livvy befriend girls in a Japanese- American interment camp who become involved with German POWs assigned to work on the local farms. What I belived to be a great piece of fiction turned out to be based on actual events as recorded in the Denver Post in 1944. Livvy must make some difficult decisions and the result is my favorite part of the book. Well written and paced just right, the novel is balanced, informative and thought provoking. A great read.

The book opens with Olivia Dunne, a twenty- four year old with big dreams, being forced into an arranged marriage after succumbing to the advances of a handsome solder in 1944. It turns out her husband is a good man, but Olivia has nothing in common with the farmers that now surround her, and she befriends two girls, Japanese- Americans who were interned in a camp nearby. Their story culminates in a politically charged incident, based on actual events, involving the girls and German POWs from another camp. Olivia eventually begins to love her new home and even her husband, as she learns to make the best of what life has given her. Through Livvy's eyes, we feel the camp and the isolation of rural life only to discover an unexpected enchantment. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially the sweet, often heart- wrenching dialogue between Livvy and Ray, and the vivid description of life on a farm in Colorado in 1944. As I read I felt I was there; the author creates a strong sense of "place." The incident between the Japanese- American girls and the German POW's is a bonus and made me turn the pages even faster. From a historical perspective, I learned of Japanese internment camps and German prisoner of war camps in Colorado and the impact they had on the people there.

This book was an amazing read! I lost my father a few years ago and a friend suggested that I read this book. It took a while for me to get around to it, and I'm so glad that I did. The only FACT that I knew about my father was that he was a career military man. That's it. Everything else was stories and tales of his martial prowess and sexual conquests. It is amazing how men mythologize other men (especially their fathers) according to their wants and hopes for themselves.
This book was a near-perfect deconstruction of this myth, and in getting to know his father, William provides us with a nice view into the construction of masculinity.

The tone of this book reminded me of that Coen Bros. film "O Brother Where Art Thou". Not quite Southern Gothic, but enough folklore/folk belief thrown in that you get a great sense of the mentality of that part of the country during a specific moment in time. Highly recommended.

I started and finished this little book on Sunday morning, and I've thought about it all day. This is an interesting story that is sure to get you thinking about your relationship with your own dad, whether or not he's still living. Short snippets of the father's life are recalled by his son, intertwined with fun chapters that show dad's insistence that he tell jokes to his dying day. These will draw you in and propel you forward. And there's one scene which is cleverly brought back a few times throughout the book and fine-tuned until the end. The final chapters are wonderful and will fill you up with emotion. What a nice book to read in one sitting...but I recommed you leave time for reflection about your own life with your dad as well.

BIG FISH is fantastic. I read it a few weeks ago, and it has totally stayed with me. I can't get it out of my mind, and keep picking it up and start rereading it at random, just to be back in its magical world. It's funny, witty, sad, and in the end incredibly moving. It's about learning to come to terms with your parents, with a son writing about his father as myth, a superhuman who seemed like he would live forever (and in a way, he does), and it's really remarkable that so short and light a book could be so incredibly powerful. BIG FISH should become a classic. Whatever you do, don't miss it.

If you enjoyed Charlotte Sometimes, you may want to read Emma in Winter, which is about Charlotte's younger sister. There is another book about the two girls, written before Charlotte leaves for boarding school, but I have forgotten the name. It may have been called the Summer Birds. At any rate, check it out!

Like several people who wrote reviews of this book, I borrowed it because of my fondness for the Cure song of the same name. For you Cure fans out there, from the very first sentence you can see Farmer's influence on the lyrics and the dark mood of the song, which is a great bonus for people who love the song. And the story also stands on its own merits. It is a wonderful story about a young girl who finds herself losing her identity when she switches places with another girl. I highly recommend it to people of all ages.

The local library by my house has just about all of Penelope Farmer's books, and I plan on checking out and reading all of them. I'm still also on a quest to find a copy of Charlotte Sometimes to own myself.

I actually read this book when I was a young teen and I have to admit I was only reading it because there was nothing else to read in the house and the telly was on the blink. I absolutely loved it from beginning to end. This is a time-travel story with a bit of a twist.

Charlotte Makepeace is a new girl at an old boarding school. On her first night she goes to sleep in her bed and in the morning she wakes up as Clare Moby, a schoolgirl from over forty years ago. Of course Charlotte is confused, even more so when people don't realise that she is not Clare, not even Clare's younger sister Emily. Somehow she struggles through her first day as Clare but to add to her confusion she finds herself back in her own time the following day and no one has missed her! Charlotte soon realises that Clare is taking her place in her time and she is taking Clare's. The two girls muddle through by communicating through Clare's diary, leaving each other notes and messages in order for them to survive in their swap-over worlds.

However it's not long before Clare's younger sister Emily realises that something is wrong and Charlotte is forced to tell her the truth. With Emily as an ally, Charlotte's time in the past is a little easier but there is a dark cloud on the horizon. Clare and Emily are going into lodgings outside the school and the children have worked out that the time travelling that they are experiencing has something to do with the bed they sleep in and the tree outside the window which exists only in Clare's time.

This is an exciting story that moves at a fair pace, even more so when Charlotte is trapped in the past, forced to become a day pupil and temporarily forfeit her real life in the future. Charlotte's identity is soon in question even to herself. Is she Charlotte or is she Clare? Only Emily constant nagging about trying to get the real Clare back keeps the young girl aware of whom she really is.

Charlotte experiences life in England during the First World War. What once was history for her becomes the present, and she suffers with her new friends, as they loose loved ones to foreign battlefields, and face the terror of air raids in the middle of the night.

Charlotte's eventual permanent return to the future is not without its own problems but luckily Clare had her own ally in the form of Elizabeth, a dorm mate who like Emily realised that Clare was not Charlotte and helped her as best she could.

Charlotte's return to the future is not with out a tragic price. Clare, Charlotte finds out died not long after her return to the past, from flu and for a while Charlotte is grief stricken. However redemption comes in the form of a parcel of memories from a now grown up Emily who has waited many years to contact her sister's fellow time traveller in the future.

"Charlotte Sometimes" is a surprisingly dark children's novel with flashes colour and inspiration as two young girls live lives that are not their own. It is a poignant story about the loss of those we love and how we have to carry on no matter what. A surprisingly mature book that can be read by both older children and young adults alike.

Here is my reaction to one of the best books I have ever read. The book is "Gabriel's Story" by David Anthony Durham. The action takes place in the 1870's. The protagonist is Gabriel, an African-American youth who has just turned 16. The other characters are his brother Ben, just turned 14; his step-father, Solomon; his mother, and his uncle. Gabriel's parents were freed slaves. After their freedom, they lived in Baltimore, where Gabriel enjoyed the big city life. Then his father dies, and his mother decides to go west to Kansas to join and marry her first love, Solomon. The two were separated by slavery. Gabriel doesn't realize that they were in love before this time. Gabriel resents his mother's remarriage and the hard life homesteading on the Kansas prairie. He has all of a teenager's resentment of everything with something real to pin them on. He makes a friend, an African-American orphan his age whose name is James. Together the boys decide to join a group of cowboys and help them drive some horses west to Texas. What the boys don't realize is that these are very bad men they have fallen in with -- the very worst men there could be. As the trip begins, Gabriel and James gradually discover what these men really are, and now their greatest desire is to get away from them. The rest of the novel contains their picaresque travels with the men, trying to leave the men, and trying to return to Kansas. The author has done a marvelous job with this book. The plot is exciting and adventurous, with many twists and turns. The characters and their relationships are complex. The description is wonderful. I felt I was with Gabriel every step of the way on his journey. On Sunday I read in a frenzy from 2 to 6 because I couldn't stop until I finished this book. At times my heart was pounding and I almost stopped breathing as I said aloud, "Oh, no!" I was so involved in this. In addition, the author's writing is beautiful and eloquent. I wouldn't have predicted that I would fall in love with a book one might call a "Western," but this novel defies categorization. The aspect of African Americans homesteading is unusual and interesting. I immediately wrote to the author to thank him for this book, and I hope other people will enjoy it as well. It might be a good one to recommend to teens.

I picked up this book after reading the USA Today review, which was essentially an unconditional rave. I decided to give it a try, but figured I'd probably be disappointed, as few books live up to the praise heaped on them. But GABRIEL'S STORY was a pleasant surprise. It begins with vivid homesteading scenes - all the toil and the poverty of it. Makes me glad I wasn't a homesteader, and it made it reasonable that Gabriel would want to run away from it. The journey that he sets off on is truly engrossing, well-plotted, with beautiful language and great descriptions of the Western landscape.

It looks like the novel is being compared to Cormac McCarthy's work. There are some similarities, but GABRIEL'S STORY is a bit more hopeful than McCarthy's work. The world is still harsh and dangerous, but Durham seems to have more faith in humanity, in family and friends. Also, I thought it was interesting that the reviewer in USA Today said that he was a city-dwelling white guy that still got into this book about a black boy in another century out on the plains. I felt the same way. Yes, the main characters are black, but their racial identity is only part of the whole world of the story. They're black like James Joyce's characters are Irish or Faulkner's are Southern - it matters, but it doesn't change the fact that anybody can connect with them. Altogether a really good novel.

Pretty much all the reviewers so far have loved this book. There's just one guy who dissented, but I guess there's always gonna be one that doesn't catch on. For my part, I'd like to join in the chorus of enthusiasm for this novel. It works, and it works on many levels. At the simplest level it's an adventure story. Woven into that is a coming of age tale. Layered on that is a dialogue between good and evil, between the best and worst in men's natures. Add the back and forth between the life of homesteaders and that of cowboys, two dual and sometimes dueling aspects of the American frontier experience. There's a young black man discovering the natural world and relating to it in a way I've never seen in African-American literature. There's the turmoil of a mother watching her young sons become men, for better and worse. There's the anguish of a man who's family has died tragically. There's the strange legacy of slavery as manifest through two characters who don't even understand how they fit into that tragedy.

All this and more can be found in this exceptional novel. I guess not everyone will engage with it so completely, but if any of these themes sound interesting to you I encourage you to delve into this book. It's all there, and an attentive reader will be well rewarded.

Of the thousands of books I have read, I would have to rate this book #1 (with Night Train to Memphis a close 2nd). The tongue-in-cheek humor along with the appealing characters and an interesting plot remain fresh even after many re-readings. Vicky Bliss is who I would be in my wildest dreams! Reading this book is like treating yourself to a box of chocolates without the calories.

I love the Vicky Bliss Mysteries. Trojan Gold was great fun. I don't often laugh out loud while reading a book, but this one had me laughing a number of times. Herr Dr. Schmidt is just wonderful as her helpful boss. He just cracks me up. I wish I had someone like him around to drive me crazy like that - well not all of the time.

Vicky's wit and intelligence are wonderful and she always gets the last word - and the cat and the dog and maybe even the mysterious John Smythe. I wish I could have one of him around, too.

I'm about to start Night Train to Memphis, and I'm already dreading the end of it. When will there be another Vicky Bliss Mystery???? Elizabeth Peters must write more of them.

This book was such a satisfaction to read and reread. I've grown so attached to Peabody and Vicky Bliss, not to mention their fellow characters, that waiting for Barbera Mertz to write more books about them is torture. I hope Ms. Mertz lives to an active old age for the selfish reason that I want her to keep pumping these books out as long as possible.

In Trojan Gold she really delivers the good stuff. John and Shmidt's personalities get a good filling out, reading it is like eating Godiva chocolates, only better. Words can't say enough. In her previous Bliss mystery, Sihloette in Scarlet, the plot seemed weak, but the follow up made up for it. Apologies for misspellings.

This is without a doubt one of the best romance novels that I have ever read. It starts out just a little slow, but quickly picks up pace and from then on you won't be able to put it down.

You will sympathize with Bryony as you learn of how she lost her baby, was separated from her daughter, and unjustly convicted of murdering her "dead" husband. As soon as Hayden comes into the picture, you will instantly fall in love with him. Although he appears a little rough around the edges, you learn that he is a kind, thoughtful person as his character is further developed in the story. The sexual tension between the couple is enjoyable to read.

Night in Eden is a novel that I find myself reading over and over again. The setting in historical Australia was unique and interesting. The characters are likable, and the story is well written. Someone commented on the grammar in an earlier review, however it was written like that on purpose to show the area's dialect.

All in all, if you enjoy a good romance story, with lots of passion and intrigue, then you will enjoy this book. It's definitely a keeper by a talented author. The story of Bryony and Hayden is beautiful and unforgettable.

Night in Eden is a truly beautiful and touching story of passion, struggle, and survival. It's so rich and complex in characterization and historical detail that it stands above the best of the rest in the historical romance genre.

The journey of two like souls (Bryony and Hayden) coming together under tragic circumstances in brutal conditions was so compelling I read it through in a single sitting and will re-read it soon. I've rarely ever been so immersed in a book.

As soon as I finished it I ordered all the rest of Candice Proctor's books. I can hardly wait to read them.

Bryony Wentworth, once a wealthy, privileged English landowner, is convicted of murdering her cheating husband. For her crime, she is transported to a penal colony in New South Wales, Australia while pregnant with her son, and after having her daughter ripped from her arms. Bryony gives birth to her child, then loses it to fever at five months. Captain Hayden St. John takes her from the prison to become a wet nurse for his infant son who's mother died in child birth. Hayden is bitter and untrusting. Bryony, as well as bitter and untrusting is also fearful and angry at the hand that fate has dealt her, but despite how much she resents Hayden she findsthat her heart has left her no choice but to love his child. It isn't but a short time and both Bryony and Hayden find themselves fighting attraction, and the eventually loose the battle to keep themselves apart from one another. It seems that all will work out perfectly for Bryony until Bryony's past comes back to haunt her.

Ms. Proctor has an undeniable talent for romance. She weaves a tale that is surprising in every way. She aims to please and rarely dissapoints.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in entering a medical profession. This book will give the reader an intimate view into the reality of working in a hospital where life and death decisions are made. I'm in nursing school, and reading this book has affirmed my decision to become a nurse.

Her style is a bit melodramatic, and she does tend to romanticize certain events. Such as the boy who comes in to say good-bye to his grandfather--she describes how much he looked up to him, etc, when in reality she knows nothing of their relationship, or even what the man was like in life. But it's easy to overlook these (if you want!), because the meat of the book is about what it's like to take care of people in crisis. I look forward to reading more of her books.

This book is funny, sad, frightening, and at times unbelievable. As a nurse (and I also read it the first time while in nursing school) I know that every story in this book is absolutely true. I think anyone wanting an inside look into hospitals will find this enjoyable and informative. It proves that in medicine, truth is much stranger--and far more interesting--than fiction. Of the many authors whose books I have enjoyed, Echo Heron is the one I would most like to meet. From the intimate look she gives us into her life, it is easy to tell that this is a bright, funny, and incredibly caring woman.

This book is excellent. I happened across it in Barnes & Noble and decided to get it along with Critical Care Nurse. It brought back such fresh memories of nursing school. The stories in here to some may sound made up, but believe me it is the real world. I don't think I have ever laughed so hard while reading a book and I couldn't put it down until the end. You just don't understand it unless you're a nurse but all will enjoy the laughter and heartache of hospital work. The only thing I didn't like was the strong language. She could have toned it down a bit. Otherwise, a must read for all nurses. I look forward to reading the rest of her work.

I love cooking shows and often read cookbooks for pleasure, picking up tips from each author and pondering what recipes I'd like t try, but I have to admit that I've never been a part of the cooking cult that worships Julia Child. I do remember watching her shows as a child, with my mother, and know she pioneered the genre, but the meals she made rarely appealed to me--too time consuming, too "fussy" and just too "strange" for every day taste. (If I have to visit eight different shops and peruse three mail order catalogs to make a dish, I'm probably not going to try it.)

Recently, I picked up "Julia's Kitchen Wisdom" at the library and was quickly sold. I am now ordering a copy to keep. The book is filled with useful basic recipes and techniques, as well as lots of helpful time-saving tips that Child has picked up over the years. It's not really a recipe book per se, though tried-and-true formulas for things like Hollandaise sauce and pastry dough do appear, it's more of a kitchen guide. It's full of ingredient substitutions, serving suggestions and definitions of terms you may come across. More useful to experienced cooks, it's also a helpful guide for the best technique, according to Child, for things like braising, searing, roasting and folding. Child's years in the kitchen have made here at master and I was pleasantly surprised to find many time-saving techniques and places were Child says the "easy" way is actually better.

This slim volume really packs a wallop of cooking information and I think it would make a nice addition to any cook's bookshelf.

This brilliant little book distills all of Julia Child's years of experience into just over 100 pages. But instead of scratching the surface of cooking and its techniques, Ms. Child tells you everything you need to know. Whether you're an expert in the kitchen or a beginner with only three favorite recipes, this book will help you expand your repertoire. Its quick reference structure makes it a snap to check the best way to cook, say, a pork chop, or how to make your vegetables tastier than ever. And interspersed among the chapters are Julia's "Master Recipes" for those classic dishes that never go out of style. A real gem.

This book works well for both the more advanced cook as well as the beginning cook. This book is well layed out with attractive easy to read pages. This book has techniques as well as many recipes. The techniques here range from the very basic to more advanced cooking. Julia Child writes in a language that is easy to read, and best of all easy to understand. I am sure if you are like me, you soon be experiencing some improvements in your cooking with the helpful hints that this book will provide for you.