Rated of 5
by Lucy B. (Urbana, Ohio) Coming to America
The prologue was about a sixteen-year-old girl coming to America and then not being met by her cousin at the airport. The first chapter was a year or so later and it was hard for me to try to understand how she fit in with the characters at this point. The rest of the story was told well and I felt sorry for how she was treated by her employers.
Rated of 5
by Kathy S. (Danbury, CT) Pass
I so did not like this book. The characters were not well developed and the story line did not hold my attention. Every time the book started to get interesting, the author would drop that story line and begin another. I especially did not like how the book ended ... very abruptly and with many loose ends.
Rated of 5
by Shelby L. (Hamden, CT) Many better books to read
This is a light, better than "beach read" book but the story felt familiar and predictable, as if I already knew the immigrant Nanny experience from what I've read in the news or seen on TV. The characters are real, although stereotypical in many instances, evil Jewish landlord, gangster Island acquaintances, neurotic employer, and on and on. If your reading time is limited try something else.
Rated of 5
by Bea C. (Liberty Lake, WA) There but for the Grace.....
The author, like the main character, Grace, experienced immigrating to the US from Trinidad and working as a nanny, which she calls a "baby sitter". Grace finds employment, but it seems to be a hopeless, go nowhere situation, with no chance of saving enough money to better herself and almost a slave to an unfeeling, power hungry employer. The book touched on the problems of getting a green card, disappointment in what immigrants find in America and homesickness for their homeland while trying to make the U.S. their new home. Not an exciting plot, but interesting enough to keep reading until the end. Anyone who feels discouraged about their own set of circumstances will feel a little luckier about their life after reading what these people go through.
Rated of 5
by Barbara F. (Santa Rosa, CA) Minding Ben
I would recommend this book without reservation. The narrative is compelling and draws the reader into the frustration, unfairness and sometimes the small joys of the illegal immigrant life in New York City. I was often unsure of whether I was reading a memoir or a novel. I think this confusion stems from a lack of story line or plot. It is, at times, an uncomfortable read because the reader does not want to be associated in any way with the thoughtlessness and selfishness the heroine has to deal with. The ending adds to the confusion between memoir and novel but that doesn't spoil the read. It would be a good Book Club read.
Rated of 5
by Beth (USA) Minding Ben
An interesting story with insight into the immigrant experience. Grace was a wholly sympathetic character, and the peek into the world of "playground politics" was fascinating. The problem that I had with the book was the one-dimensional quality to the ogreish family for whom Grace worked, and the absence of a more developed relationship between Grace and her young charge, Ben.
Fearless, gripping, at once darkly funny and tender, spanning three continents and numerous lives, Americanah is a richly told story set in today's globalized world.
The story of an American family, middle class in middle America, ordinary in every way but one. But that exception is the beating heart of this extraordinary novel.
First time novelist Vaddey Ratner captured my heart and senses in this novel based on her childhood in Cambodia. Her story transcends any news story...
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From the first page, I was drawn in by the lyrical writing of the author and mesmerized as the narrator, eight year old Raami, remembered the years...
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Trite but true, all good things must come to an end. I so wanted to keep reading the wonderful prose, the settings that let one think they are part...
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Amazon cuts off 5200 affiliates in Minnesota(Jun 19 2013) With Minnesota's online sales tax law due to take effect July 1, Amazon has played a familiar card by cutting ties with 5,200 members of its Associates...
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of 5
by Lucy B. (Urbana, Ohio) 
of 5
by Kathy S. (Danbury, CT) 
of 5
by Barbara F. (Santa Rosa, CA) 
