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The Breakdown Lane
The Breakdown Lane
Author: Jacquelyn Mitchard
Where can a woman turn when her own life threatens to overwhelm her ability to keep her children safe? New York Times bestselling author Jacquelyn Mitchard takes the readers of her newest novel on a wry and moving journey of loss and healing. — Giving advice is what Julieanne does for a living -- every Sunday she doles it out to clueless people s...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780060587246
ISBN-10: 0060587245
Publication Date: 4/1/2005
Pages: 400
Rating:
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 66

3.4 stars, based on 66 ratings
Publisher: HarperCollins
Book Type: Hardcover
Other Versions: Paperback, Audio Cassette, Audio CD
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Breakdown Lane on + 43 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A well-written story about a woman dealing with the unexpected disappearance of her husband only to find her health faltering.
reviewed The Breakdown Lane on + 67 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Great read, a little confusing in the beginning but when it finally came together it was excellent!
reviewed The Breakdown Lane on + 48 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Not my favorite by this author but it was a good book.
HarleyMumof2 avatar reviewed The Breakdown Lane on + 19 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I loved this book. The struggles of this books main character is one that is so touching, that I almost didn't list this book because I might want to read it again. I decided if I do, I will order it again on this site. Mitchard is a great author and this is one of her finer works in my opinion.
reviewed The Breakdown Lane on + 40 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
this book is 382 pages and I am not a speed reader BUT I read it in 2 days
meanwhile doing many other things.

The characters are well defined and I did like Gabe & his description
of the Bellagio & Cirque de Soleil.

Try it -you'll like it
Read All 27 Book Reviews of "The Breakdown Lane"

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reviewed The Breakdown Lane on + 3 more book reviews
Not a light read, but a really good book. A bit depressing at times, but a realistic look at what happens when life spirals out of control.
reviewed The Breakdown Lane on + 68 more book reviews
Reading this novel is like finding out what really happened at your neighbor's house when everything fell apart. The pages literally turned themselves. Mitchard has the ability to depict this family with candor, empathy and wit. When Julieanne's husband of 20 years decides to take a sabbatical from their marriage and 3 children, it soon becomes apparent that he's not coming back. Her sense of betrayal is complicated by her diagnosis of MS. While she is incapacitated, the children must fend for themselves with some help from her best friend. Julieanne is an accomplished Advice Columnist...but now it is her own family problems she somehow has to find the strength to solve.
reviewed The Breakdown Lane on + 113 more book reviews
A light read, not particularly memorable, but an entertaining book.
marika avatar reviewed The Breakdown Lane on + 20 more book reviews
"...I would take out his letters to me, our honeymoon scrapbook, and stare into the faces of those smug, slim, utterly sensual young people and think, Where was the clue? ... His pinch of arrogance? His touch of impatience? I was a dozen times more arrogant and impatient any day of the week, even back then. But I never, not ever, would have slipped through my wedding band and fled." p297

Julie's husband, Leo, unexpectedly leaves her alone and reeling, trying simultaneously to care for their three children and deal with a very scary health diagnosis. Told alternatively through the voice of Julie and that of her son, Gabe, Jacqueline Mitchard explores the families reaction to their difficult circumstances.

I picked up this novel because it was written by Jacquelyn Mitchard who wrote The Deep End of the Ocean. The Deep End of the Ocean is a terrific book. This book is so-so. It took quite a while to get into it and just as it seemed to be gathering steam, it came to a close. Even though Julie's situation in the novel should have invoked my sympathy, I found myself feeling a bit removed from everything that was happening in her life, and my empathy for the characters was disappointingly superficial. Mitchard is a talented writer, but she failed to endear me to her story this time around.

(There is a great poem on pg. 332 of this novel- the most redeeming part of this book, I think! Worth checking out.)
reviewed The Breakdown Lane on + 40 more book reviews
Jacquelyn Mitchard is one of my favorite authors. This was one of my favorite books she has written to date. Real and well written!
reviewed The Breakdown Lane on + 12 more book reviews
To bad she did not bother to research the issue of medication for MS more before she wrote a character who is allegedly impacted by her medications. (The none of the ABCR injectibles used to treat MS are monthly, as she has Julie claim.
reviewed The Breakdown Lane on
This is the Abridged Version

good book, enjoyable listen
marika avatar reviewed The Breakdown Lane on + 20 more book reviews
"...I would take out his letters to me, our honeymoon scrapbook, and stare into the faces of those smug, slim, utterly sensual young people and think, Where was the clue? ... His pinch of arrogance? His touch of impatience? I was a dozen times more arrogant and impatient any day of the week, even back then. But I never, not ever, would have slipped through my wedding band and fled." p297

Julie's husband, Leo, unexpectedly leaves her alone and reeling, trying simultaneously to care for their three children and deal with a very scary health diagnosis. Told alternatively through the voice of Julie and that of her son, Gabe, Jacqueline Mitchard explores the families reaction to their difficult circumstances.

I picked up this novel because it was written by Jacquelyn Mitchard who wrote The Deep End of the Ocean. The Deep End of the Ocean is a terrific book. This book is so-so. It took quite a while to get into it and just as it seemed to be gathering steam, it came to a close. Even though Julie's situation in the novel should have invoked my sympathy, I found myself feeling a bit removed from everything that was happening in her life, and my empathy for the characters was disappointingly superficial. Mitchard is a talented writer, but she failed to endear me to her story this time around.

(There is a great poem on pg. 332 of this novel- the most redeeming part of this book, I think! Worth checking out.)


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