Helpful Score: 3
compelling, emotional, disturbing & redemptive read - characters you care about and feel frustrated with. Great discussion at our book group!
Helpful Score: 3
I am not sure if I liked this book or not. It had a similar disappointing and thin ending as her other book, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits. Similar to that book as well, there are two story lines going on that don't meld as well as they could. Sure, the stories are compelling but is this a book about getting caught up in the war on drugs or is it a book about mother-daughter relationships? I just didn't see why the entire plot line of the drug bust existed other than to make the last twenty pages of the book happen. Many of the elements of this story seemed rather far fetched to me.
Helpful Score: 2
This was a wonderful, beautifully-written book. The relationship between mother and daughter was one of the most amazing aspects of it, as it was written so incredibly true to life. The author's talent with description really made me feel like I understood the relationship from the very first page, and I was able to see the similarities between Olivia and her mother and between me and my mother. There was also a lot of interesting legal information in this book that I probably never would have learned elsewhere. Definitely a fantastic pick and I'm anxious to read some of her other work.
Helpful Score: 1
Great book, compelling story and characters so true that you can hardly believe it is fiction.
Helpful Score: 1
Story was predictable. I did learn a great deal about the Federal Drug Prosecution system.
Helpful Score: 1
This is such a wonderfully written book. The emotion that pours from the pages is just amazing.
Helpful Score: 1
About a mother and daughter's relationship which is tested when the daughter is brought up on drug charges stemming from her boyfriend's new "career". This was very different from Ayelet Waldman's Juliet Applebaum mommy detective series but I liked it.
Helpful Score: 1
This was a great book. The story was compelling. It was well written and enjoyable.
Of particular interest to me, this is a local story that took place in Berkeley, CA, around a local pharmacy with an ice cream story. I pass that place every day.
Great book.
Of particular interest to me, this is a local story that took place in Berkeley, CA, around a local pharmacy with an ice cream story. I pass that place every day.
Great book.
Wow! I'd never even heard of this author until I ordered this book on a whim. I'm really glad I did... great book with a plot that involves current issues and characters that are well developed.
Excellent book, it will grab your heartstrings and not let go until the last page.
Both funny and powerful. Interesting characters.
This was much better than _Love & Other Impossible Pursuits_. It was emotional - though entirely predictable. I enjoyed it, though it was definitely a Lifetime-movie type of book.
A huge fan of Waldman's mysteries, I initially found this book a bit slow at reeling me in, but eventually the plight of the characters made it hard for me to put down. Olivia Goodman, finds herself accused of a federal drug conspiracy charges after she takes a phone message for her newbie drug dealing boyfriend and winds up on trial. It's also a story about mother daughter relationships and the choices we make.
Great story on what a mother is willing to do for her daughter.
A totally compelling story that made me think about what I would do if my child found himself in a similar situation. How much would I sacrifice for him? I was captivated by how naive the daughter was and how distant the mother seemed but when push came to shove how she realized what was important to her. I also found myself discussing this story with my teenage son so that he might understand just how easy it is to find yourself in the wrong situation and be swept up in someone else's agenda. I would recommend this book to anyone with children just as food for thought.
Excellent, excellent story of family, love and second chances! Loved it!
I didnt read it
