Women Books

Michael Troyan has a gift for biography. I hope he can collaborate with Turner Classic Movies to produce a video on the life of Greer Garson.
This book makes me wish I could have known Greer Garson. She loved and respected her mother, she loved her husband, she loved children and orphans and the disabled and disadvantaged. She loved her dogs, ranching in New Mexico, history, and she loved Texas...makes me love her even though I never met her. Good job, Mr. Troyan.

Michael Troyan has done a wonderful job of putting together an informative and enjoyable biography on a fascinating subject. In fact, I found the book so delightful as to find it to be one of the best biographies I've ever read.

While there is no doubt that the charming personality of Greer Garson herself that radiates throughout the book has helped in the formation of my favorable opinion, I give much-deserved kudos to Mr. Troyan for being able to present his subject to the audience in such a friendly manner. By that I mean that throughout the pages, I could feel the presence of Greer Garson, and after having finished the book, felt as if I had just finished reading a letter from a long-time friend.

The first half of the book, which deals with Greer's childhood, life in Britain as a stage actress, and the later move to Hollywood, is generally a smooth and easy read. The toll of the grinding studio system and the competition involved for the popular actresses of the time are keenly felt and one can get a very good idea of the kind of position the actress was in at the time. Eventually though, talent perseveres and success follows. Detailed and interesting accounts of each of Greer's films are available and are a joy to read.

The latter half of the book is a particularly refreshing read because of the relatively vast amount of information about Greer's later life outside of Hollywood. Personally, I had not previously been aware of her various activities and hobbies and learned a great deal more about Greer Garson than when I first started out. A sign of a good biography is new information, and this one certainly has its fair share.

Now, all other traits aside, the most notable accomplishment of this work is that it does not read as a stiff, dull and fact-driven thesis paper, which is a pitfall that so many biographies of this kind can fall into. Rather, it is an intimate yet respectfully distant portrait of a lovely human being who was also a remarkable artist in her own right.

This book on Greer Garson I highly recommend. It's very balances and tells of the good and bad times in her life about her career andher fmaily. Though i must admit I wished it had mentioned more about her interests and personal life off screem. But overall it's really well written and interesting book about alovely screen actress. Greer Garson really had class
and a wnderful grace about her in all of her films

Modern actors and actresses don't seem to have the charisma, style and elegance of yesteryear's stars. Maybe that's because most of today's actors are really nothing but pitiful celebrities striving to be what once was, when Hollywood was golden.

I long for yesterday when it comes to film stars: Betty Davis, Myrna Loy, Katherine Hepburn Ginger Rogers, and so many more. Oh, yes, and that includes Greer Garson. The beautiful and talented woman we thought was born in Ireland in 1908, was really born in London in 1904.

Author Michael Troyan delves into Greer Garson's life, as much as anyone could, given that she was an extremely private woman. He carries you through her intense desire to succeed as an actress, her `discovery' and career struggles to resist being typecast, all the way through her marriages, and to her death on April 5, 1996 at Dallas Presbyterian Hospital with Van Cliburn at her bedside.

I'd always thought of Ms. Garson as a brilliant actress who could get any part she wanted. I had no idea of her struggles with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. One of my favorite films is the record-breaking "Mrs. Miniver." I get chills thinking about her Academy Award-winning performance.

And while it felt a bit like voyeurism looking in on her life, I'm glad I visited it through Troyan's eyes. It was a satisfying trip. And the author did a marvelous job showing us a small part of the woman who was Greer Garson.

For a compelling look at one of the best actresses to ever grace the stage, big or small screen, read A Rose for Mrs. Miniver: The Life of Greer Garson.

Armchair Interviews says: This is a wonderful slice of our American film history.

An excellent read if you're into details. For me, the details got a little overwhelming, but I so much wanted to learn more about this actress that I admire greatly. Sadly, as the author himself stated, it was difficult to write a biography because Greer Garson was a very private person and did not give many interviews or express many personal opinions in public. However, he richly details her movies, her public service, and others' opinions of her (and a good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold). I have always enjoyed watching her many films and am tracking down as many of them as I can on DVD so this made for a fine addition to my collection of her work. I enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading and loves any of her many films.

Excellet recount of experience and most enjoyable, written with inteligence and sense of humor. This book gave me a sheer sense of living "vicariously" through the author's varied experiences. I found it to be full of anectdotes and an honest retelling of a very rich and rewarding personal story. It is sure to please people of all ages and backgrounds.

This well written memoir is a must read. It is frank, funny and filled with amazing insights into the life of a middle-aged woman. I did question her reasons for staying in an Arab country but in the end was happy she remained. The author catches hold of your interest from page one and leaves you wanting a sequel at the end of her story. It is a quick read and guaranteed to hold your interest. I highly recommend it.

This grandmother sees a Morocco that few other interlopers experience. The story is honestly related in a personal tone that makes the reader feel he/she is co-traveler with Ms. Marchick. Her experience with culture shock is classic while her survival is admirable. This is a must read for anyone who finds a good read a good companion. Don't buy one. Buy two and give your best friend a treat.

"Shalom in my heart, salaam on my lips" - dieses Buch ist ein wirklich sagenhafter Reisebericht. Es ist das Erlebnis einer sehr bewundernswerten Frau, die ein großes Abenteuer gewagt hat. Gloria beschreibt sehr genau wie sie sich in der Zeit, in der sie in Marokko lebte, fühlte und lädt so den Leser dazu ein, sich in die einzelnen Situationen zu denken. Durch Glorias Art zu Schreiben, fühlt man sich mitten im Geschehen. Es macht großen Spaß, sich mit Gloria auf die Reise zu begehen. Erst wenn diese abgeschlossen ist, kann man das Buch zur Seite legen. Wer das Buch nicht liest, ist selber Schuld.

This is a powerful and moving work which portrays a fascinating view into the life of a woman "d'un certain age" confronting cultural, religious and social problems of the ages with courage and humor, insight and empathy. It is an easy to read book, yet it is totally compelling, each chapter drawing the reader onward into the next. I recommend it highly.

Marilyn's book is not just for Brazen Hussies, though it helps if you are one! GREAT marketing book for anyone in business. I would highly recommend it. She gives examples and real life situations to help you with your marketing. I would highly recommend this book.
Michelle Dunn

Don't be deterred by the title and subtitle, nor by the sometimes overheated diction. (Initially, I was.) This book provides an abundance of practical strategies, tactics, and suggestions which can be of invaluable assistance to males as well as to females, to corporate marketing executives as well as to entrepreneurs. Without apologies, Ross has an in-your-face style. She wastes neither her time nor her reader's in getting to the point, nailing it, and then moving on to another point.

She organizes the material within six Parts:

I. Empowering Marketing Maneuvers

II. Illuminating Publicity Techniques for Femme Fatales and Grande Dames

Note: As I previously suggested, ignore the overheated diction.

III. "Out of the Box" Thinking -- Nontraditional Marketing

IV. Mission Possible -- Unstoppable Direct Marketing

V. Maximize Your Strengths -- More Gutsy Strategies for Wonder Women

NOTE: See previous "Note."

VI. Sources & Resources Packed With More Power Than a Protein Bar

She also includes a "Recommended Reading" section. Because other excellent books have been published since 2000, I presume to suggest several at the conclusion of this review.

Ross obviously favors a tone and diction in her writing which could perhaps (just perhaps) distract some readers from the fundamentally sound material she provides. She may seem playful at time but she is nonetheless quite serious about the importance of combining prudent speed with relentless determination to achieve what Jim Collins calls a BEHAG: a Big Hairy Audacious Goal. Only in recent years have women somehow overcome formidable barriers to achieve success in the business world, most of which were installed and then sustained by men. Today, at least 80% (and probably more) of the growth our nation's GNP has been achieved by companies with 20 or fewer employees and a substantial majority of those companies are owned by women.

This book will be of substantial benefit to those women but also to other women who need both encouragement and guidance, either to join the ranks of company owners or to expedite the progress of their careers within other organizations. I am also convinced that this book will be of substantial benefit to other entrepreneurs, male or female, who also need such encouragement and guidance. I urge those who share my high regard for this book to check out the Customer Reviews of the works identified by Ross in the "Recommended Reading" section.

Here are other works which should also be seriously considered: Beemer's Predatory Marketing, Catalyst's Advancing Women in Business, Jennings and Haughton's It's Not the Big That Eat the Small...It Is the Fast That Eat the Slow, Glaser and Smalley's Swim with the Dolphins, Kawasaki's Selling the Dream, Landrum's Profiles of Female Genius, Morgan's Eating the Big Fish, Breaking the Glass Ceiling co-edited by Morrison, White, and Van Elsor, Swiss's Women Breaking Through, Taylor and Archer's Up Against the Wal-Marts, and Wymard's Conversations with Uncommon Women. Amazon.com features Customer Reviews of these works also.

Great book. I never write reviews, but it was so good I was compelled to write this. Great ideas, not too advanced, not too simplistic.

This book is a gold mine of useful strategies and resources. While it ia targeted at women, as a man I find it packed with ways to market more effectively. I find the web resources cited very useful. I recommend this book to all marketers who want to penetrate their markets more deeply and more profitably.

Absolutely necessary book for anyone who wants to market and promote their product. This book was soooo helpful to me that I recommend it to everyone I come across who is wishing to find fabulous websites, helpful hints and tips to save time and money, and absolutely necessary ideas for marketing. There just isn't another book as complete, except maybe Marilyn's other title, "The Complete Guide to Book Publishing"

Some people may shy away from this book because they think its about basketball. Wrong -- it's about life, about a person who happens to play basketball.

I think every girl should read this book, because it deals with Cooper's issues with self-esteem and confidence, overcoming poverty, and her pursuit of excellence. I also think every mother should read it, because the book shows how effective a role model Cooper's mother was to her. Maybe mothers and daughters should read this book together, and have discussions about it.

This is not an overtly Christian book, but Cooper is a Christian and does not hide her faith. It is not really an evangelistic book, though one can say it is pre-evangelistic.

This autobiography is one of the best, if not the best, that I've read. It's amazing how Cynthia Cooper writes her own story to motivate and make readers have more confidence. She's a real example of a true athlete hero, someone that can be a role model to all. Thanks to her and her success in the WNBA, she's given Women's Basketball a new meaning. Her determination and motivation to become successful is admirable. This book is really an inspiration to those who lack self-esteem and self-confidence. I enjoyed reading this book and I would recommend it to anyone because is really interesting and inspirational. I'm proud of Cynthia Cooper because she's a real good representative of Women's basketball and a great example of determination and success. She also proved that with God's help, anything is possible.

Cynthia Cooper could be a role model for anyone. She knows how to play the game of life as well as basketball: when to hold, when to fold, and a whole lot more.
What impressed me most? Signed to play in Italy, Cynthia didn't hang around being homesick. She took the opportunity to learn and grow.
My favorite scenes:

(1) New to Italy, she'd never even heard of famous cathedrals that someone asked her about. Later, she could have discussed the architectural history and features -- in Italian.

(2) She asked Ford to give her a marketing internship -- and she felt right at home with the men. I use this example a lot when I talk to parents who are concerned that their daughters are more interested in sports than school.

(3) She takes us behind the scenes of the championship Comets.

Hard to put down, well-written, honest -- the perfect gift for any WNBA fan or any young woman looking to her future, in or out of basketball.

Cooper's book has made me relieze that nothing can turninto something. Also Cooper provides a positive role model for anyonewho wants to better themselves and improve their way of life. This is a book that can be enjoyed by all. There was problems growing up, college, overseas (work) love, and death of loved ones. This tells the reader that everyone faces problems at many different stages of life. Also how they could be overcome with the correct outlook. END

This book is about the story and life of a great know person and athletic. It has its good times and bad times. It tells you what happened in her life till the time she published the book. It tells you from her first time she touched a basketball until she became the leauges MVP. If you want to read a great story about a player and her good times and bad times this is the book you should read. It is for sure the best book I've read about a great person and a life she lived. You should get this book no doubt.

This is a beautiful, fascinating book revealing the author's discoveries about a personal path to healing available to anyone, found within one's own dreams and imagination. The body believes in images and if the healing images are personal and come from the self, via dreams, they have more power to heal. Wanda tells use her story and inspires us to pay attention to our own story. She provides healing images we can borrow and make our own, and gives us guidelines on how to work with our dreams. I will give this book to anyone I know who faces a health challenge.

Wonderful book.
For those of us who have very active dream times... this book is so informative and for those who may not be heavy dreamers but are interested in the wisdom that our dreams can bring us, it is a must read. V

Dreaming is healing. Our bodies speak to us in dreams, giving us early warning of symptoms we might develop, showing us what they need to stay well. Dreams give us fresh and powerful images for self-healing. Dreams are also the language of the soul; they put us in touch with wells of memory and sources of creativity and energy far beyond the clutter and confusion of the little everyday mind. Beyond this, dreams are experiences of the soul, and can take us - sleeping or hyper-awake - into realms where we can have direct access to sacred healers and teachers.

These themes and possibilities come vividly alive in Wanda Burch's brave and beautiful book She Who Dreams, which is both the narrative of a personal journey into healing through dreaming and an incitement to bring the gifts of active dreaming into our everyday lives.

I have been sharing dreams with Wanda since early in 1987, and I know the depth of experience and the deeps of dreaming from which this book flows. Her dreams diagnosed a life-threatening illness (breast cancer) a year before the doctors found symptoms. Her dreams guided her choice of treatment, gave her powerful imagery for self-healing and recovery, enabled her to grow a creative relationship with her physicians and awakened her to a deeper life and a vital engagement with the world as a dreambringer - one of those who creates a safe space for others to open to the gifts of dreaming, and can bring a dream to someone in need of a dream.

Her personal story is quite fascinating. Her first dream mentor was her Irish-American grandmother, a "wise woman" of the Alabama hill country. Later she met the dreamers of the Iroquois, one of whom appeared at her back door in the form of a white wolf.

But it is the story of everyday trials, more than the extraordinary elements in this book, that will touch the hearts of many readers and bring them practical guidance that is urgently needed. Wanda shows how dreams can get us through. One of her most valuable contributions to the literature of healing and recovery is to show us how we can use the self-healing tools that flow from dreamwork to support conventional medical treatments, smoothing the process and reducing adverse side-effects. For this alone, She Who Dreams is an invaluable resource for healthcare professionals, therapists, healers and caregivers.

SHE WHO DREAMS is a powerful book. Wanda Easter Burch gives us a beautiful portrait of a life lived on many levels - as we all live - and, by offering the harrowing and hopeful details of her life, inspires us to look at our own lives with the same degree of curiosity and compassion.

With the quality of pacing and skillful foreshadowing that a seasoned novelist would offer, the author lays out her personal story. On one level it follows her roots in the American South to travels in Africa, important interactions with the Mohawk tribe and her home in a rural New York hamlet. We follow her struggle with cancer including her mastectomy, the emotional despair her chemotherapy induces and, ultimately, her path as one who heals. On another level it follows the story of her dreams. Her childhood is guided by a grandmother who understood the power of dreams to foretell and bring healing. Her adult life is blessed with the incomparable friendship of well-known author and dream explorer, Robert Moss - whom she first met in a childhood dream. The author's dreams insistently foretell of a cancer her doctors repeatedly ignore. As insistently, her dreams predict her death at age 43.

By actively following guidance her dreams provide, the author is led - and leads us - through a healing process that proves, beyond a shadow of doubt, the power of the spirit and the mind. And, even more profound, it leads to a rewriting of a life contract that, in its extension, offers us a writer whose unfolding talents provide unique inspiration that inside each of us lies the ability for our dreams to reveal our own infinite wisdom. Reading SHE WHO DREAMS may well change your life.

I confess that I came to this book as something of a skeptic. To my rational, scientific mind, the idea that one's dreams can affect or predict the future seemed pretty iffy. Yet it is hard to deny the truth of personal experience. Wanda Burch has a fascinating story to tell, and I was drawn in by it. She describes her life-and-death experiences in vivid detail, with honesty and insight that leap out from the page. The author is more than a survivor; she is clearly a woman of extraordinary courage.

For anyone who has struggled with special health challenges, or anyone who has wondered what their dreams mean, or for that matter anyone who just enjoys a good original biography, I highly recommend this book.

I picked up this book based on a recommendation from a friend and once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. I finished it in one day. It's was well-written and witty and just an all-around fun book to read. You don't have to be a teenager to enjoy this book. If you are looking for something light-hearted and entertaining this is it.

Title: She's So Money

Author: Cherry Cheva

Rating: 4.5/5

Good:

This book was extremely good. I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't this... I knew it'd be funny, but that was basically the extent of my knowledge.

I was extremely pleased to see that this book had even more going for it than hilarity.

Let's start with the main character. Maya was extremely believable, extremely flawed, and extremely real. She's the type of person I could probably meet walking down the street, or in a bookstore, or just anywhere. She's someone I could imagine having a conversation with. Which just makes her so easy to relate to.

And then there's the plot. What a crazy, wild scheme that Maya comes up with! And Cherry Cheva found a way to make it believable! I couldn't imagine something like this happening in my school, and yet somehow reading this book it seemed entirely plausible.

Finally, you have the ending. Semi-cheesy, but still entirely perfect for this book. Things didn't necessarily end how I expected them to, but that's only because I wasn't sure what to expect. This book was so crazy and fun, I never knew what would happen.

I am really really looking forward to reading Cherry's next book.


Bad:

The only bad thing I can think of was the cheesiness. Because, I'll admit, there was a lot of cheese. But for this book, it just worked. So I'm not going to complain.

High school senior Maya is a good girl. She works in her family's Thai restaurant after school every day and on weekends. She takes several AP courses, tutors and prays daily that she gets her acceptance to Stanford. She knows she's a straight arrow, and she likes it that way.

Things begin to change, however, when she is asked to tutor Camden King, a popular hottie and super-obnoxious wealthy senior. Their first meeting does not go well, as he leaves after a cell phone call and she throws away the backpack he forgot to take with him. He even offered her lots of cash to do his homework!

One weekend Maya's parents leave her and her brother in charge of the restaurant while they go to a wedding. Finally she is treated like the adult she knows she is. But she loses her cool when she encounters a set of miserable customers. They leave among threats, and she and her brother are too tired and crabby to clean up properly, vowing to do it the next day. The patrons follow through on their threats, and the Health Inspector leaves notice of violations and fines for Maya totaling $10,000! She is given only three weeks to pay the full amount.

Maya knows her family doesn't have that kind of money, so she takes Camden up on his potentially lucrative offer. He also has her do homework for a few friends, but not too well, so teachers won't be suspicious. She doesn't need sleep, right? Between spending time at the restaurant and doing her and others' homework, Maya is reaching the end of her rope.

Then Camden kisses Maya! It's her first, and now she's really confused. She won't make her deadline, so he proposes that she line up more tutors to join in and they will take a cut. Maya almost makes it, but of course someone figures out what's going on and threatens her. She needs more money, so they pull in students from another school. She thinks she's Camden's girlfriend now, but when she sees him with other girls, doubts creep in. In fact, Maya isn't sure of anything anymore.

Cherry Cheva, a writer for "Family Guy," brings readers a cast of realistic characters who make a few bad choices that spiral out of control. While the magnitude of this cheating operation seems crazy, it's easy to see how nice girl Maya gets sucked in. SHE'S SO MONEY will have readers turning pages quickly to find out what happens next and if Maya will be able to pull herself out of this mess.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio

SHE'S SO MONEY
CHERRY CHEVA

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

Maya could never imagine a little freedom could cause so much trouble. When her parents leave her in charge of the family restaurant and her younger brother, Nat, she never thought the restaurant would end up with a hefty fine thanks to two bitchy customers. But in order to keep the 10K fine a secret from her over-controlling parents, she needs to pay it off before they can find out about it. And that's where Camden King comes in.

Camden King needs help with his homework. His first encounter with Maya as his tutor doesn't go well at all, especially when he comes across as a bit of a jerk. In fact, she quits when he offers to pay her to do his homework. But Camden is anything but easily deterred.

I have to admit I thought the first chapter or two of the book felt a little slow to me. It wasn't until Maya was left on her own that the story began to pick up. One of the scenes that stuck with me takes place fairly early in the book. Maya and Camden are talking in the school hallway, having just come to an agreement about the `homework' issue. He starts asking her about having a boyfriend and she says she hasn't had one and when she says she hasn't been kissed, Camden leans over and kisses her. I absolutely loved Maya's reaction to the kiss!

Cherry Cheva is originally from Ann Arbor, Michigan and currently lives in Los Angeles where she writes for the animated series, Family Guy. SHE'S SO MONEY is her first novel. Visit her online at http://www.myspace.com/cherrycheva

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
June 2008

Although I had quite a few issues with this book, I couldn't help but feel myself reeled in. I stayed up reading it really late and even though I wasn't satisfied with all of the aspects of the book, I think it was a very good read. Now about those things that I had issues with...I think that the characters weren't developed enough and that the plot was a little too predictable. Don't get me wrong, I like me some nice, fluffy, and predictable books every now and then, but I definitely think that Cherry Cheva could've have worked to throw a few more twists into it than she did. And I also would've loved to be able to get to know the characters better. I think that that aspect of the book was rushed and not filled in very well. Also, the ending came a little too fast for my preference. It was very sudden and it just kind of ended. All that stuff probably makes this seem like a horrible book, but it really wasn't. One of the things that I liked was the unique plot. It might not have had many surprises, but it was a new and unexplored concept which was neat. I also liked how the side characters got to shine along with the main ones and we got to see the alternate sides of many of the "popular" characters in the book. And overall, I think that Cherry Cheva did a great job writing She's So Money. Even with all of the faults that I found with it, I really couldn't stop reading it. She just has the kind of writing style that leaves you wanting more and I am completely satisfied with this book and I would highly recommend it as a very fun and light read. Perfect for summer! Which, by the way, has arrived without me even noticing. I swear, I woke up last week and I was like; woah-there are only two weeks of school left! When did that happen? And since then I've been in a huge fog because of lack of sleep from studying for finals. I'm amazed that I'm having time to read at all. I probably shouldn't be reading...but oh well. Can't pull a girl away from her obsession, can you? And enough with my rambling already. :D Go read She's So Money!

In any break-up, especially one precipitted by deception, one would excuse any level of bitterness. Yet, Finnamore manages the difficult balance of anger, humor, hurt and bewilderment. She gives hope to those in the same unfortunate situation.

Plus, I loved imagining the second wife's realization that she snagged a man who will never seemingly stop cheating.

As a divorced parent myself, I was struck by the subtitle of this book ("A Memoir of Divorce"). Even though (or perhaps just because) the book is written from a woman's perspective, I decided to pick this up.

In "Split: A Memoir of Divorce" (255 pages), author Suzanne Finnamore gives us her perspectives on how her husband (who is named "N" in the book) leaves her and their small son (named "A" in the book), and leaves her blindsided. The book is divided in 5 parts that are supposed to reflect the grieving-and-healing process (Denial/Anger/Bargaining/Grief/Acceptance). I was surprised how long the author seemingly clung to the notion that somehow she'd gain N back, even though it is clear it will not happen. But when the realization comes, grief sets in. Writes Finnamore: "Much like trains in India, grief is a circular, irrational process with no discernible rhythm or timetable. Here it comes, there is goes." Towards the end of the 'bargaining" phase, when all that is left to do is to figure out go gets what, and other legalities are taken care of, Finnamore is better adjusted. She observes dryly: "'How could you ever forgive me?' N asks, plaintive. I have no answer. Pass. Then I don't hear from him for a week."

I enjoyed Finnamore's writing style. She has a sharp pen, and clear observations. Yet I had trouble connecting emotionally with the book, and with the story. Maybe it is because this is written from a female perspective. I realize that every divorce is unique in a sense, and the divorce described in "Split" certainly very different from what I went through. "Split" is not a bad book, but neither is it the memorable, once-in-a-lifetime read on what it's like going through a divorce.

I left my husband 25 years ago this month, at his request. The child we shared was biologically only his, so I felt he needed to keep the house - and the law figured he needed to keep our daughter. This book - oh, my, it nails it! Every emotion, all the way! I, too, have been blessed - the child was 11 at the time, and my ex allowed me to have joint custody. Today we share a pleasant friendship, chatting occasionally by phone and enjoying family events together. But all those other chapters - I remember them well, and Finnamore couldn't have described them better!

Which, by the way, is another beauty of this book - her great writing style!

If you've been there, if you're there now...if you want to understand what someone you care about is going through - Split is perfect!

I loved this book. I am in the middle of a VERY similar situation in my own life, so this came at the perfect time. I felt validated in my feelings while I read. I want to thank the author personally for the friend she became as I read along. I will keep this book forever to show that we can all recover from a hard situation, regardless of what is thrown at us. And... so will our children. I say... buy this book, you will love it.

I have read every book on this subject (divorce). Although it came out a bit late in the day (decade) for me - or rather for my own divorce - it still provided still needed succor. Funny and beautifully written and studded with sentences you will want to write down. Highly recommended.

The Spy Wore Red is one of three books written by Aline Griffith Romanos who worked as an undercover spy during WW II. I discovered this book in a used book store in 25 years ago, read it several times, bought her other two books, The Spy Wore Silk and The Spy Went Dancing, gave them to my family to read; then went out and purchased them in again! I have read them more times than I can count over the years, and they are definitely in my top ten list of favorite books. This is not a book that will take you days to read, and, one you will recommend to your friends!

I don't buy any of it, not for a minute. But, this is a much more enjoyable read than several of the so-called "thrillers" I've read recently. Just suspend your disbelief, dive right in, and be swept away!

Aline, Countess of Romanos has written a spectacular book. I had to keep reminding myself that I was reading an autobiography and not a work of fiction. Aline is an agent for the OSS during World War II. She blends into Spanish high society and manages to complete her mission and introduce the reader to the thrills and chills of being an undercover agent. She also gives us a glimpse of Spanish Aristocracy, bull fighting and the inner workings of a nineteen year olds dilemma of befriending people who may be targets of her investigation. I have read all of her books but like this one the best. It is full of action, drama, and even a touch of romance. I have recommended it to all of my friends.

I have purchased 4 books by Aline Romanos. I absolutely love them. The fact that there is truth behind the story and that she really was an upper-class lady as well as a spy excites me. I find myself wishing I lived an adventurous life. She has a talent when it comes to recreating her life and exploits. I could not put it down!

The most respected historian in the field of espionage, Nigel West, studied all of Aline's spy books marketed as nonfiction and concluded "...all four of Aline's books should be regarded as fiction, and nothing more..." Read "Counterfeit Spies, Chapter 3, by Nigel West, 1998.

I grew up with Melinda's maternal and paternal family, even though the author was a tadpole when last I saw her. As an author myself and a retired English teacher, I find Melinda's talent with her craft endearing, stimulating, hilarious, and very sensory. So many of her adventures were (and are) my own, even though we're a generation apart; she makes me see, hear, smell, and taste my own childhood in that small Alabama town.

Melinda reminds many of us that we're not only "GRITS" (Girls Raised in the South) but also "SWAGs" (Southern Women Aging Gracefully) and damn proud of it!!!

I have laughed and cried (from laughing) through this book! I feel like this is the story of my life sometimes. Great read...especially for 40-somethings and up! Or mothers of any age...I'll be reading more by this author.

I purchased this book as a Christmas gift for my sister. I enjoyed the book when I read it. I am still waiting to hear if she enjoyed it as well.

Everything about this book was great. So TRUE! If you are a woman in the South, you will really dig this book!

Though I am from a different region of the South than the author, the truisms smack you in the face like the humidty on a hot Southern summer's day. She has captured the essence of all of us who were reared in the South. And it is true, that most of us over a "certain" age prefer red lipstick. After all, Revlon wouldn't lie to us, would they?
I vary between gales of laughter and nodding in agreement while reading and wish someone were here so I could read it aloud to them.
She has captured our little customs, the SOP of our daily lives in a way no Yankee could ever do, but still it is an inspiration to those women who grew up North of the Mason-Dixon line and want to understand the mystique of Southern women. Men should read this as well. It is full of insights on how to survive with a Southern woman in a close personal relationship.
G Hileman, Middle TN and now FL

jenny and cameron were all they had in each others lives. they were both outcasts in school, and both had bad families. cameron had an abusive father and jenny's mom was never home. then one day cameron leaves without telling jenny, making her believe he died. jenny moved on with her life, going to a new school and changing her appearance. until one day, 8 years later cameron returns.

i never had friendship the way these two had. their unconditional love for each other is so pure and amazing, making me question all my friends. my only disappointment was the ending. i couldnt stop crying. i had such high expectations about them both, i was rooting for them to be together. i hope that there could be a sequel to this book, maybe 15 years later. i want to see if they will end up together. i would really want to read it, if there was a sequel.

i love all the characters, and i really love this book. the ending is sad but its worth reading.

SWEETHEARTS
SARA ZARR


Rating: 4 Enchantments

Jennifer Harris' life has undergone a serious transformation since the last time she saw her childhood best friend Cameron Quick. Gone is the shy, chubby outcast Jennifer and in her place is Jenna Harris, a teenager who is popular, happy and dating one of the most hottest guys in school. She is in fact everything that `Jenna' knows Jennifer never could be. But when her long lost friend Cameron suddenly reappears in her life, a friend she thought dead, both are faced with the stinging memories of the past that no transformation can truly leave behind.

Confronted by her past and the truth about Cameron's disappearance, Jenna struggles to come to terms with who she was then and who she is now, all while rebuilding one of the most important relationships of her life.

Full of emotion, SWEETHEARTS is a beautifully written story about the power of friendship and its ability to transform. Anyone who's struggled to fit in will be able to sympathize with Jennifer's desire to transform herself into someone else.

This is Ms. Zarr's second young adult novel.

Reviewed by Lisa
YA Director
Enchanting Reviews
February 2008

As a child, Jennifer Harris was a social outcast. She was nicknamed the Fattifier, because she was chubby, and made fun of for her lisp. Her only friend was another outcast named Cameron Quirk. They were always there for each other, and Cameron made everything bearable for Jennifer. And when he suddenly leaves without even saying goodbye, Jennifer is devastated. She thinks that he is dead, and no one tells her otherwise.

Now Jennifer Harris is Jenna Vaughn. Her mom got married and Jennifer changed her name and her personality. She's got friends, a first boyfriend, and a loving family, all that she could ever want. But she can never forget Cameron, and memories of him haunt her constantly. So when Cameron just shows up one day at school, everything is changed for her.

Throughout the story, Jenna has flashbacks to when she was Jennifer. And Jenna is not quite sure if she likes who she is now, and not sure if she wants to become Jennifer again. When Cameron was her best friend, she could be anyone she wanted to be, but as Jenna, her whole life seems to be a lie.

Sweethearts was a beautiful story about how the strongest bonds of friendship can span any distance or amount of time. It was one of the saddest and most romantic books I have read in a long time, and it made me cry. It was filled with such raw emotion that I felt I was inside Jenna's head, living her life with her. And while the ending isn't perfect, it is filled with contentment and hope.

I highly recommend Sweethearts to everyone, especially girls who can't let go of their childhood sweethearts. It was a beautiful story, and I am glad I took the time to read this incredible story. I hope all of you get to read it too.

[...]

This is an excellent growing-up novel for any teen. Jenna Vaughn is a senior at a small charter school in Utah who, on the outside, has it all - friends, a boyfriend, a great body etc.

What Jenna's friends don't know is her rocky childhood or the one boy who helped ease her loneliness.

Peppered throughout the book are memories, little things that Jenna remembers about Cameron Quick and her own childhood. She remembers the day he snuck a ring and a note into her lunchbox saying that he loved her. She remembers being teased by the popular kids and being called Fattifer. She remembers the week Cameron spent at her house and how hyped on sugar he got after eating chocolate chip pancakes. She remembers the dollhouse he built for her birthday and escaping from his father. She remembers compulsively stealing food.

One day Cameron doesn't come to school and then he's just not there for a few months. When Jennifer finally gets her courage to ask the teacher says that he's moved away and the kids at school tell her he has died. Either way Cameron is gone and he didn't even say goodbye. Eight years later on Jenna's birthday Cameron shows up again to place a birthday card and a cheap plastic ring in her mailbox.

Jenna is thrilled Cameron is alive and hurt that he never contacted her before this. She's never forgotten what he meant to her but she's not sure how to incorporate him into the new life she's built for herself.

There are aspects of the book I really related to and I really felt some heart-tugs for Jenna and Cameron. The book was well-written in almost a journal style with randomly interspersed memories and completely from Jenna's point of view. The reader only knows what Jenna knows and sometimes this is helpful and sometimes it hinders the whole Cameron picture since it's based on her childhood information.

I felt the end was unfinished but even that felt right after I thought about it. Jenna's mother said she always felt there was something unfinished about Jenna and Cameron and Jenna reflects later that that unfinished something was love. The book felt unfinished because their love is unfinished and that made me feel infinitely better about the ending and not really KNOWING how the two of them end up and if it all works out.

All in all an excellent book.

What attracted me to this book initially was the cover (I saw it at the Little Brown stand in Bologna) - doesn't that frosted cookie look yummy? I also liked the jacket copy: "Sweethearts is about the power of memory, the bond of friendship, and the quiet resilience of our childhood hearts." So yeah, not exactly high concept, but I like to read "quieter" books every now and then too. And this one was just lovely.

High School Senior Jenna Vaughn has a cute boyfriend Ethan, tons of friends and seems to have it all together. But she still carries the scars of a solitary childhood - one in which her harried single mother didn't seem to have time for her and she only had one friend - fellow outcast and first love Cameron Quick who disappears one day without explanation.

When Cameron suddenly reappears years later, Jenna must come to terms with a traumatizing event in her past, confront her mother about her abandonment issues, and figure out what place Cameron, Ethan, and her new friends have in her life.

I found the story and Jenna's character arc to be very authentic. I have to admit, my first instinct was to scoff when I found out how relatively tame the "traumatic event" was - I mean it is very far from Cupcake Brown's childhood as she describes in her memoir A Piece of Cake (I urge you to check it for a great true story of triumph over adversity). Upon further reflection, I realized that within Jenna's scope of experience and from her narrow point of view, this one event was in fact earth-shattering.

The writing is top notch throughout and I'd be hard pressed to come up with a last chapter that is more beautifully expressed than this one. This book really makes you think about how certain people have touched your life and left a lasting mark in your heart.