Helpful Score: 5
I was excited to pick up this book, mostly because of the hype about Water for Elephants. I have to admit that I started skimming about 2/3 of the way through. The protagonist, Annemarie, is often more despicable than sympathetic, and the book was making me cringe. She is utterly incompetent in her personal and professional life. Although, naturally, she finds her way in the end, it was difficult as a reader to struggle along with her. I'll read/skim the sequel, but only because I got both books at once and it's already on my shelf.
Helpful Score: 5
really good book! if you love horses and a book that you cant put down than this is the book for you!
Helpful Score: 3
This book held my interest to the point where I gobbled it up in a day! Also, have read the sequel, Flying Changes, and enjoyed that one also. It was an easy read and the characters were interesting.
Helpful Score: 3
There is no doubt about it: Sara Gruen can write. I read this first book in the series after I read the second one, Flying Changes, and I was impressed with both of them. It's a touching story of a woman finding her way through a life turned upside down - again - and doing her best to make the right choices. She's like anyone else who has ever been uncertain or felt like they were flying blind, so I could relate to everything she went through. I love that Sara Gruen's characters are so real, they could be your neighbor, your best friend, your sister, your mother...there is something for everyone to relate to here. I was sorry when it was over, and I hope there is a third book in the series.
Helpful Score: 2
Annemarie Zimmer is a whining, self-centered woman. After the first 50 pages, I just wanted to grab her and shake her. But I kept reading, hoping she would ultimately change. She didn't. When I finished the book, I wondered why I had wasted my time reading about a character who refused to learn, change or grow up. A waste...
