Best Novel I've Read in Years...
A book you can fall in love with, The Homecoming of Samuel Lake was the best novel I've read in years. It had a similar feel to Leif Enger's Peace Like a River, which I would rank among my top five ever. You'll wince at some of the atrociously cruel scenes in this book, and laugh aloud at the funny ones. You'll fall under the spell of Swan Lake. (Yes, that's a poor kid's name. The meanings of all the unusual names will give you something to talk about in your book clubs.) You'll admire her mother & grandmother, be impressed by her father, sympathize with her uncle; you'll hate her aunt. But you'll DESPISE Ras Ballenger, as much as you've ever loathed any other book character in your life - he is unfathomably evil. The ending isn't exactly happy. But it rings true, clear and strong. Well done, Jenny Wingfield. Well done.
Rated of 5
by Barbie R. (Jamestown, PA)
A True Homecoming
The author had my complete attention after the first sentence and she never lost it. I laughed, I cried, I even read lines out loud to friends. This is a story of a family. Quirky, sarcastic, sometimes dysfunctional, and always honest family. I stayed awake to finish this book in a day because I couldn't bear the thought of putting it down, and when I reached the end, I wished I could be at the Moses's. This is my favorite book I've read this year. Two thumbs up. Great book for christian book clubs or any book club at all!
Rated of 5
by Jean O. (DePere, WI)
The Homecoming of Samuel Lake
I read this book in record time - could not put it down! The characters left the pages and took residence in my head. The story is compelling. There is humor and fun, tragedy and sadness and all the things in between the make life interesting- - and all the interesting bits of life that make excellent novels. I hope that Jenny Wingfield keeps writing and we can look forward to more novels written by her.
Rated of 5
by Helen S. (Palm Desert, California)
The Homecoming of Samuel Lake
This book was a page turner and so difficult o put down when necessary. Jenny Wingfield did a marvelous job of "story telling" and kept my interest. The story was unusual. The payers in the story each had their own identity and purpose to the plot of the book. It was so easy to pick my favorite characters and stay with their intent in the plot. During some parts I found I held my breath and in other parts it was all "feel good" reading, I highly recommend this took to book clubs and personal reading.
Rated of 5
by Shirley S. (Batavia, IL)
Homecoming
Homecoming coaxes you into the ark of this family from the first page. It reads like a family member relating a history you were too young to experience but yet long to know. The serious elements can be difficult to read but as life is sometimes difficult, it portrays these incidents as they happened, not sugar coating it for the hearing of it. The people are genuine and become endearing because of the way it is written. When one is sad to leave the characters in a book behind, its the sign of a well written book and this is one of them. A very good read from start to finish.
Rated of 5
by Madeline Mora-Summonte (FL)
A Homecoming for the Reader
This book has it all. A quick, sharp writing style that's softened by the down home voices of the characters. Laugh out loud lines. A character named Swan Lake. It's a got a little boy who will break your heart and a group of people who will put it back together again. Oh, and a villain who'll you want to take care of with your own two hands. Don't miss this book!
Rated of 5
by Sue P. (Richardson, TX)
An Instant Classic!
This book was, quite simply, one of the most beautiful things I have ever read. The characters are so rich, the descriptions so evocative, the events so spellbinding that for the time it took me to read it, I WAS in 1950s Arkansas breathing the air, tasting the food and smelling the same scents as the Moses and Lake families. I didn't just read this book - I inhaled it - devoured it.
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Kenn Nesbitt is new Children's Poet Laureate(Jun 12 2013) Kenn Nesbitt has been named the new Children's Poet Laureate: Consultant in Children's Poetry to the Poetry Foundation, which noted that the two-year position...
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of 5
by Amber B. (East Sparta, OH)
