Our club enjoyed reading and discussing this book immensely. It touched each of us in one way or another. Our discussions centered around one of the many book's themes: that one must be true to themselves to be happy, to be loved and to love others.

Enjoyable book - club had mixed feelings, but overall liked it. Lacked substance to analyze the book, but led to many conversations about the Depression, women's roles at that time, the weakness and underlying strength of the dominant female character of the book, symbolism of the sea glass - protection or obsession?
Possibly the differing view points prevented the reader from getting to know any character in depth. Still an enjoyable read.

Good book as it stuck with me days and weeks after reading it. There was an overwhelming sense of sadness and despondency; a permeating loneliness in all the characters including the animals. Questions of animal cruelty, who looks out for the animals - who do not have free will.

I really enjoyed this book! It's so much more than a story about a hermaphrodite! The historical aspect of the novel itself is enough to want to read it, but also the author's master of both the male and female adolescent voice and the lyrical writing style made this one of my favorite books.

This book was beautiful, sad and lovely, but hard to follow. I liked Krauss' characters - Leo has been every fumbling old man I've seen since reading this story! The writing style for each (Leo/Alma) was a unique and enjoyable style. The chapters from the fictional "History" were original and thought provoking. Yet following the history of the tale the way the author laid it out made for a frustrating read.

Heartwarming tale about friendships that seem to endure. Something most girls wish they had and for some they do get to experience such a great bond; even rarer are those ones who make it last into adulthood. Story is very easy to read, sends a sweet simple message about acceptance of others.

Really enjoyed this book. Sometimes I questioned the reality of all that happened to Jeanette, but in a post-Frey memoir publishing world, I feel this memoir would have been researched thoroughly. Reading what she and her siblings went through certainly makes me appreciate my life and the life that my mother gave me. The "traumatic" childhood I thought I experienced seems a lot less traumatic in light of some of Jeanette's experiences!! I find inspiration in Jeanette that she could rise from that upbringing to be successful and could find the path in her life that led her to an acceptance of the life her parents chose for themselves and their children

While this book sparked many conversations about the death penalty, the criminal justice system and prisoners with mental health issues, I felt the writing did not meet up to my expectations of a John Grisham book. The story itself was a heartbreaking account of not one, but many wrongful convictions, but Grisham seemed to have too many facts that he couldn't meld into the book in a way to keep the reader entertained.

An amazing life this young man has led. A difficult book to read simply b/c of the subject matter, but I think a necessary book. The author does a great job of laying out the facts, but not exaggerating the violence (could you possibly??). Still he sees beauty in the world and the imagery of nature is breathtaking.

I'm not a shopper nor a romantic, so nothing about this book appealed to me. If I didn't have to read it for a book club I could go my entire life without reading it or the sequels.

Our members overall liked the book though some thought it was drawn out more than it needed to be in it's descriptions.

I enjoyed this book for a light comedic read, but didn't offer a lot for an indepth book club discussion

Walls has written an entertaining book and Lily is an inspirational character, but she has written it with a very journalistic eye. There is little emotion in the characters, so you never feel attached to any of them, nor do they ever feel attached to each other.

Book garnered a lot of discussion from mother's and daughter's alike. The difficult role of parenting, nature vs. nurture, taking responsibility for one's actions.

The subject of this book is difficult and heart wrenching, but made less so by the lack of information from the author. I never felt connected to the characters or their plight. Worthy of book club simply for the knowledge of atrocities that happen to people of the world to which we belong.

Our club struggled with this book. Some didn't even finish it and most of us found it dragged quite a bit, BUT it did provoke a lot of discussion about scientific/artistic minds, revenge, media, technology, etc.
This may not be a book we would recommend to individuals, but certainly book clubs could explore it in more depth.

While Caleb does cross from Indian culture to the "English", the story is more about Bethia's journey. She is an incredibly strong woman in a time when women were to be seen and not heard.

This book was slow to get into, but once I did it was a bit suspenseful, informative and disturbing (how is a pandemic not disturbing).
Gives one quite a bit to think about in regards to a pandemic (it is a real possibility) and modern day medicine, societal behavior and moral codes of conduct.

Well-written book, that kept the reader's attention. Good book discussions about family, secrets and what would you do in if faced with the situation.

Learning about the Amazon itself was fascinating - it's a place that I never want to go to, as everything there can kill you, apparently!
But Grann's writing was not enjoyable. It was often slow and repetitive. The photos that were mentioned weren't included and those included weren't mentioned. There were many loose ends and unanswered questions (which considering some people never returned, may have been impossible to answer). Might have been more enjoyable if he wrote a historical fiction so he could fill in the blank spots???

Excellent book and even with the extensive research the author did, it still read like a novel, and not a history book. Interesting to read it in an Election year and to see how far we've come, or not come as the case may be.
Garfield was a fascinating character and would have had an interesting Presidency had he been able to serve his entire term. Yet, maybe his legacy was to turn the world's attention to the field of medicine.
Looking forward to hearing Candice Millard speak and will certainly read other books by her.

I am in between liking and disliking the book. Being a poet, the author has some beautiful language in the book, but the plot was lacking any real action, the fake maladies created a distrust in the narrator and the lack of depth in the characters preventing the reader from connecting.
Enjoyed the time period, the comparisons I found to Shakespeare and the attempt at the author to tell the story of a strong woman facing adversity.

WOW! What an amazing book. The author created characters and voices to love and hate and embodied the disturbing reality of political prisoners not only in Burma/Myanmar, but in similar countries the world over.
As dysfunctional as my country's political and prison systems are, I am still incredibly lucky and proud to be an American. We too often take for granted the amazing freedoms that the founding fathers had the foresight to take PEN and PAPER and create the Bill of Rights. Thank you.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

A holocaust book that tells the story on the periphery. Interesting view of the media, especially in comparison to today's pervasive paparazzi. A book that asks the question of what do you do when you learn the horrors of genocide being perpetrated against innocent people.

Family saga with some pretty despicable characters. Interesting to compare banking fails with recent history.

This is an epic tale and while it's not an uplifting book, you do become engrossed with the characters and the story line.

A simpler read, but fun for any book lover.

This is written very journalistic-ally with a lot of facts thrown at you. Personally I would have preferred historical fiction and develop the women more.