see above. all in all i loved this book. my review is in the summary. the only part about this book is i felt it had an unrealistic ending. although a happy ending i thought. but, having the whole rest of the book taking a real and hard look into the life of a circus traveler and what he sees day to day and what his life turns out to be i think the author wanted to do something nice for the character at the end which made me happy. but, about an hour later you sort of go, "wait a minute, that was so thrown in at the last minute because the author wanted to give the main character a second chance happy ending, but it was so unrealistic!" but, it sould not stop you from reading this book. it was thoroughly entertaining and fascinating. i would very much recommend it to a book lover. there are lots of surprises and jaw droping events to keep you turning the pages.

Well, it's very hard to explain this book. AT first it's very hard to understand this book. But once the author engages you and helps you to understand how the puzzle all fits together you feel like you know and love these two people. I've read this book twice. It's one of the most imaginitive books i've ever read. The story takes you to a place you never thought your mind could go. By the end you almost believe that this has really happened and that these people are real. I would love a sequel. I have been looking for a sequel for years! I was so excited when my book club finally picked it. Beware, it is not for the light read bookclub. It's a somewhat longer book that forces you to open your mind and heart to things you never thought about before. The author literally takes you to a different place. By the end you are rooting for this couple like you were for Rhett and Scarlett. The story cannot be explained. It just has to be read. It's an experience that you will thank whoever suggested the book the book to you for a long time.....

we loved this book! the women were all strong through some of the worst adversity faced in american history. written beautifully by a real decendant of these women. the story is page turning perfection. we felt that we knew these women and learned something from each of their stories. our favorite after discussion seemed to be philomene. she was a woman that any woman of any race at any time in history can relate to in some way. i definately learned much from her.

i think anyone who has ever been married or lost a parent or had a child move away can relate to some part of this book. i dog earred a page that actually helped me to change my way of thinking. this is not a "deep discussion" book but very relateable. our club enjoyed it but the book discussion was short. it did however lead to other discussions that helped us to learn more about eachother. good read!