Rated of 5
by Jane N. (Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey) A Thread of Sky
Wow, what a great start for this author. There is so much to like about this book on many levels. The themes are universal, growing up, growing old and learning how to deal with all of life's seasons. I identified with the mother and the grandmother the most and I'm sure that anyone who reads this book will also have their favorite characters. The trip through modern China is fascinating ! A good read and a great choice for a book club !
Rated of 5
by Jane H. (Indianola, Iowa) A Thread of Sky
I found it very hard to get interested in A Thread of the Sky. The characters all had emotional problems,carried secrets and could not seem to identify with each other. The one character I felt lived up to my expectations was the grandmother. This is not the China she left. Mao's time has passed, and China was becoming more western- copying the West. She had been a woman who left a legacy behind her. She wished her granddaughters to find legacies for themselves. I enjoyed the families tour through modern China.
Rated of 5
by Patricia W. (Richmond, VA) A Thread of Sky
This is a sweeping story of a complicated family on two simultaneous journeys. One journey is back to their roots in China and the other an emotional journey that has each woman in the novel looking at her life. It is a compelling book with universal themes--growing up and coming of age, aging and coming to grips with the past. While enjoying the book, some details were at times overwhelming and superfluous to the story. Tighter editing might have served the book well but all in all it is an enjoyable, multi-generational, multi-cultural read.
Rated of 5
by Sylvia G. (Scottsdale, AZ) threads not cloth
This story of 3 generations of American-Chinese women taking a trip to China had great possibilities, but ultimately fell short. Every character is unhappy but I couldn't empathize with any of them, in fact finding some of it rather whiny. We have threads of each story but never a whole cloth and that makes it hard to care too much. It was like a depressing and boring literary version of " Joy Luck Club".
Rated of 5
by Ginny P. (Alexandria, Virginia) A Thread of Sky
An outstanding book, especially by a new, published author. The characters are strong and complex without being predictable. The author has developed a wide-range of women characters: a modern-day teenager getting ready to leave her family for college, three women in between with their own unique challenges, and a grandmother at the end of her fascinating life who is re-examining her defining moments. Although this book takes places within the context of an Asian family and backdrop, anyone who enjoys strong characters, family dynamics, and debut novels will appreciate this stunning book.
Rated of 5
by Beth C. (Sioux Falls, SD) Mothers/Daughters and the Sights & Sounds of China
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Deanna Fei's book, "A Thread of the Sky". This novel weaves a marvelous tapestry - both with the relationships of grandmother, sisters, and daughters and the history and perceptions of life that each brings to their two-week vacation trip to China.
I found the characters to be very realistic in their relationships with each other and in their reactions to what they were seeing. Fei does a marvelous job describing the scenes in various Chinese locales and the reactions of the Chinese -American daughers to the food, the shops, the toilet facilities as well as the actual sights.
This would be a great discussion book for book groups.
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of 5
by Jane N. (Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey) 
of 5
by Jane H. (Indianola, Iowa) 
