A story of family...the Osborne's...two sisters and a brother united by family ties but split apart by different dreams.

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In her compelling new novel, TREASURES, Belva Plain takes us once again intot he intimate lives of an unforgettable family and into the very heart of the conflicts that beset our troubled times.
Where did it all go wrong? The Osbournes began at the bottom and achieved stellar heights. They were determined to make their mark. Their mother might have kept the family going to simply spit and sprirt, but Connie and Eddy -- bright, ambitious, eager -- couldn't wait to shed their shabby beginnings and seize everything life could offer.
Connie -- a vibrant innocent beauty -- set our for Texas in the booming '70s. Her marraige to the scion of a comfortable Houston family seemed a triumph, but it ended in shattering dillusion. The wealth and power of her second husband swept her into the most dazzling circles of New York society.
On Wall Street, Eddy's uncanny knack for clever, lucrative deals sent his personal stock soaring. His boyish good looks and enthusiasm won entry and acceptance everywhere. He would become a connoiseur and impassioned collector of all things, elegant and expensive. And when he finally decided to marry a beautiful blue blood, his lack of social credentials would be no obstacle.
Only Lara, who had helped raise them, remained in the little Ohion town where they'd all been born. Married to her highschool sweetheart, a gifted inventor, her longing for children went unfulfilled until the adoption of six-year-old Sue was followed by the birth of little Peggy, and it seemed that she, too, had achieved her dream.
Where had it all gone wrong? Suddently everything Connie possessed stood between her and the deep, passionate love she craved. Fate and her deep commitment to family had contrived to put everything Lara cherished at peril. Addicted to risk at the highest level, Eddy had commited reckless acts with chilling consequences that now threatened to destroy them all. They had gone from exuberant innocence to the brink of despair in a decade driven by the forces of unbridled ambition. Now, as they approach the '90s, they must choose to stand alone and watch their dreams die or work together to savage what they alone can treasure.

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A lovely lesson about the things that are really most important in live.

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Sweeping from a small midwestern town in Ohio to Manhattan's Wall Street; all the way from elegant Fifth Avenue to a starkly cramped prison cell...Treasures is the story of a simple family - united by blood but torn apart by vastly different dreams. The Osborne family had always been incredibly close, yet with the deaths of Vernon and Peg Osborne; their grief-stricken children - Lara, Connie and Eddy - soon decide to go their separate ways. However, while their dreams of success, and the separation of time and distance may very well take its toll - will the strength of their family bonds ultimately keep the Osborne siblings together?

The eldest child is twenty-eight-year-old Lara, the self-styled 'mother hen' of her family. Having cared for her siblings from a relatively young age, Lara has become something of a homebody - happily married and still living in her childhood hometown. Although Lara is ostensibly a contented young wife, married to a loving and successful husband, she still holds a secret longing deep within her heart: she dreams of having a family of her own one day; a child to ultimately make her feel complete - a child that will make herself and her husband's life together wholly worthwhile.

Vernon Edward Osborne, Jr. is the financial wizard of the family. While the twenty-five-year-old middle child of the family may prefer to be called Eddy by his friends and family - he soon begins to realize that when it comes to the business of making money, personal preferences matter very little. Eddy is bright and ambitious, and is dedicated to making a name for himself as the rising star of Wall Street. Yet even though Eddy is ready to seize all that life has to offer, does Wall Street's own 'wonder boy' ultimately have the qualities that he needs in order to make millions - or the ruthlessness to use his family and friends to become successful in life.

The youngest child is twenty-year-old Connie, a wild and lovely young woman whose vibrant personality is much closer in temperament to her brother Eddy, rather than her sister Lara. Connie's dreams may be similar to those of her sister, yet she doesn't feel that she can be as patient as Lara when it comes to achieving those dreams: she is ultimately looking for wealth - either to make it for herself or to marry into it. However, will Connie's choices in love and life make her truly happy?

Theirs is a family ultimately caught up in the tides of scandal; alternately rocked by waves of infedelity, betrayal, shame and prison. Although they are torn between conflicting loyalties and devotion to their loved ones - the Osbornes will finally discover what is truly important to themselves and those they love most, as they are all swept toward a fate where dreams must inevitably end or be reborn anew.

Despite already having a copy of this book somewhere on my bookshelf, I seem to have lost track of it, so Mareena recently requested a second copy for me to read. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. In my opinion, Belva Plain is such a fabulous author; she is so creative and capable of developing such believable characters, as well as remarkably thoughtful and poignant stories. I would give this book a definite A+!

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A great author - Belva Plain...many books in print. this one is no exception to her great writing style - this book takes you from the riches of 5th Avenue to a prison cell, from a samll midwestern town to Wall street - family, marriage, taking chances - this book has it all. Always a good plot in Plains books...worth the read.

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A really good cant put down book******

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A story of family... the Osbornes -- two sisters and a brother -- united by family ties but split apart by different dreams. Lara, the happy young wife, longs for the family that will make her life whole. Connie, wild and lovely, is more like her brother Eddy -- bright, ambitious, and ready to seize all that life has to offer. A story of choices... Connie is looking for wealth -- to make or to marry. Lara, staying behind in a small Ohio town, finds everything she cherishes threatened by fate and by her own blind commitment. And Eddy, as Wall Street's "wonder boy," can make millions... if he ruthlessly uses his family and friends. A story of marriages... Lara's held together by devotion, Connie's shattered by infidelity and betrayal, and Eddy's rocked by shame and prison. Torn by conflicting loyalties, they are a family caught in the tides of scandal... and swept toward a fate where dreams may end or be born again...

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An excellent book about families and interactions

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This is a compelling novel that takes you into the intimate lives of an unforgettable family and into the very heart of its conflicts that beset their troubled times. Where did it all go wrong? You will enjoy the journey with the Osbornes and their struggles in their family life.

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