"Girls" was an interesting book full of girls who had reached their goals. It was fun to read, and made me think about who I really want to be. It was inspiring, but some of the storys were a little boring. It was really a great book, though, and I reccomend it!

This makes a great gift and terrific coffee table book, which is where I have it displayed. Three sisters take a two year journey across America and interview all kinds of girls across the land. Girls who succeed in inspirational ways, girls who succeed against the odds, girls who succeed just becasue of the kind of girls they are. You meet prodigies, you meet artists, activists, poets, basically you meet ordinary girls with extraordinary goals and aspirations. This book not only looks at WHAT these girls do, but WHY they do what they do - what motivates them? Accompanying these wonderful short studies are incredible photographs. An enchanting book that will appeal to every generation.

This books makes me teary-eyed at times I think it is so amazing. I would have LOVED having this as a teenager and would have gained such inspiration and friendship from the girls portrayed. The title decrsibes the book so well -- these are ordinary girls who do some one thing extraordinarily. I think that's really important because the readers will not be intimidated or feel that this kind of success is unattainable for them. Instead, I think they'll feel that they could be like these girls - and there are so many girls out there who are already amazing like the ones in the book. I bought this book for my 4 year old daughter and so look forward to her gaining encouragement, and inspiration, and joy from GIRLS.

When I saw this book I recognized the name and wondered if Martha McPhee is related to John McPhee (whose writtings I enjoy reading). The setting certainly seemed John McPHee like, and being trained as a geologist I was intrigued by the Grand Canyon reference. I later learned Martha is John's daughter. It was only a few pages before I got to know and care about the characters. That is perhaps the best and worst of "Bright Angel Time". Once all the characters are introduced the novel goes nowhere. And since we are viewing the action through the eyes and mind of an 8 year old girl the novel goes nowhere in a way that an eight year old would go. The story slowly became tedious to read since the characters remain the same throughout their experiences. I didn't find any of the characters to be likable or redeming in any way. The mother is weak, the father is too uptight, and Anton is too contradictory. But I loved the fact that an eight year old could quote geology! Ms. McPhee does a great job expressing the freedom of the 1960's. I am certainly enviable of those who can live their lives on the road. I found it interesting to look at the comparison of a free spirit against an uptight planner, but with little or no interest in the characters the comparison fall flat. I look forward to more from Martha McPhee. She takes her father's style further into the realm of imagination.

I loved the rhythm of this novel and the voice of the narrator, a child's experience as told by the adult. It begins with one of the most eloquent paragraph's that I've ever encountered. Unfortunately, I felt that certain themes in the book could have been more fully expanded and characters seemed to swim just out of reach. This novel was brilliant at times and at others, it left me wanting and needing further explanation. What happened to Julia with the stranger and the car? Why do some characters seem to vanish every other chapter? The plot runs a strange course of moving forward and backward in time. It is as though the narrator has a lapse of memory or does not know how to tell the story from beginning to end. The haphazard journeys through time produce the sense that you are not fully hearing "either" (ie the pre-Anton or post-Anton) story. On the other hand, the story is told with a candor that makes one feel as though a trusted friend is explaining the bizarre nature of her childhood.
I will read more of this author's works. I know that as she becomes more comfortable crafting books, there will be more depth and cohesiveness to them. With that said, I will eagerly begin reading "Gorgeous Lies" tomorrow. :-)

Bright Angel Time, is without a doubt, one of the best American novels that I have ever read. I could not put it down. Never in all my reading have I felt so strongly about a young author. It is extraordinary how a first novelist could deliver such a gripping story and have such a true real, tragic message. Make sure you have a block of time before you start it because you will not want to stop turning the pages once you have reached the back cover.

Katie is 8 years old. Her parents soupposedly have a perfect marriage until one day her father leaves her, her mother, and her two younger sisters. For several tense months she and her family try to go on with their lives.

Until her mother starts going to therapy with Anton.

Anton is a therapist. He was a Jesuit priest, but is now married to a nun. Kate, her mother and her sisters fall in love with him. He propses, and they move into a camper with his 5 children and they begin a trip across the country. But however, things don't turn out so well.

I loved this book. I wish it could have won many awards and stayed at the top of the bestseller lists like some books that don't deserve or need the praise. I feel this book a must read, and will try my best for it to get the recogniton it deserves.

The POV remains a question and where the title came from is a mystery. Why would a girl kill her father if she loved him dearly? How can one man have that many afairs in a single lifetime? How can one man have that many children from different women in a single lifetime? How can that many women justify having a lustrious afair with a man who slept with more women than Hugh Hefner? The book was strange and it didn't have an exact ending. Nothing was accomplished and it bored me, frankly. Skip this one and move onto All The Finest Girls.

I had no idea that this book was a sequel and I thought it held together very well. I'll probably go back and read the first book but I didn't feel I'd missed anything.
Anton is dying of pancreatic cancer and his life flashes before him and before his wives and children.
The various voices in the novel were sometimes confusing at first but they lent themselves to a real picture of Anton and his life and death.
I found the religious thoughts of Anton fascinating and I also found him disgusting much of the time. Family relationships are always difficult and McPhee writes of each member well.
There were many lies in this story and we don't always know who is telling the truth. We do get a good picture of a man's life and how control can be lost or won.