I was very close to giving up on this book for the first 50 pages but I continued reading because I had really enjoyed this author's first book (The Writing on my Forehead). I made a list of all of the characters as they appeared in the book so that could connect the families. Once I did that, I couldn't put the book down. I think that this author presents a unique view on the differences of the two cultures - but then lets us see that ultimately we all strive for the same things in our lives no matter where we are from. I highly recommend this book.

The Hobarts are a modern well to do family with all of the latest electronics living in Charlotte NC. Meg Hobart, the mom, questions some of the excesses of her kids lives but is totally enmeshed in their upwardly mobile lives. Due to unfortunate circumstances, their lives are changed dramatically. After spending some time with an Amish family and seeing what life is like without all their modern excesses, the entire family learns a lot of lessons. I thought that the book was very interesting and was a good reminder of what is really important in everyone's lives. Meg learns that it is more important to 'be' real rather than to seem to be something that she is not. I would highly recommend this book!

I thought that the book started slowly and I had a hard time getting involved in the characters. After about 50 pages, I started to really enjoy it. Once I got to that point, the characters became very real to me and I enjoyed getting to know them. I laughed and I cried while reading this book. The part of the story when Lexie knows that she is leaving her son forever and how much she fights to stay brought tears to my eyes. Overall I would say that this is one my top five books read in 2010 and I will highly recommend it to others. I am going to go back and read other books by this author.

This novel by first time author Tatjana Soli was a haunting depiction of the war in Vietnam from several different fronts. We saw the view of the US military, the view of the Vietnamese civilians and the views of the war photographers who were frequently caught in the middle. The main character, Helen Adams, grows in her understanding of the war through out the novel. She starts out as not being sure why she is there or what she is doing and ends up a stronger woman. It was a fantastic book and one that I couldn't put down once I started reading it.

This is the classic story of good vs evil. On the evil side is Serena - she wants to control the environment and nature. She has no remorse for cutting down trees and totally destroying the environment and the people of the NC mountains. Rachel is the good - she understands the land and is in harmony with the environment and can live off the land. One quote from the book sums it all up "Everything in the world has its natural place and if you take something out or put something in that ought not to be out or in, everything gets lopsided and out of sorts."

It was a book that I couldn't put down and I think that this would be a very good book club choice.

During the first few pages of this book, I kept putting it down - I didn't think that I could read it. However, once I learned all of the major characters, I got totally engrossed in it. I didn't want to read it too fast and miss anything. The book is fantastic and would be a great book club reading project....there are so many areas of the book that could be discussed in a group. The book presented a true picture of life in the south during the Depression...but it was more than just a picture of the South. It was a mystery and a deep look into Olivia's life and thoughts. It wasn't a page turner like many mysteries - instead it was a slow immersion into Olivia's thoughts and daily life. It was a fantastic book and I really enjoyed it.

The beginning of this book was confusing -- I would have preferred to get to know the characters better before the horror of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki. However, I kept reading and found the book to be really good. The scope of the book was huge - Japan, India, Pakistan, the US but overall the theme of family unity tied together all of the various pieces and characters of the novel. I would highly recommend this book....and if you get bogged down at the beginning - keep reading -- it is WELL worth it!