2 member(s) found this review helpful.
This is a very sweet and well written book. The main character,15 year old, Theresa, seems to have the deep wisdom of an old soul. Her uncanny ability to relate to children and animals enables her to draw her shy, fragile cousin, Daisy to emerge from her shell and enjoy the most special summer of her life.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
The writing was fantastic; just drew you in to the little world of Theresa and her family/friends. But, a very disturbing and not-to-be-believed subplot of the 15 year old's romantic interest in the elderly painter. In real life, a healthy 15 year old girl would be repulsed by a 70 year old man (unless she herself had been abused or molested, or some other such thing, which she was not). Just hated the last 1/4th of the book, that gross and unbelievable subplot, the death of the cat, and most of all, the ending (we never find out what was wrong with Daisy, etc.). So, 3 1/2 stars for the wonderful storytelling and writing of the author, but just wish it would have headed in a different direction.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
***SPOILER*** I wanted to finish the book because I wanted to see the ending but I did not like it at all. If you are an animal lover, you will need to skip over the detailed 3 or 4 pages about a cat getting hit by a car and in detail every article of clothing its blood was on. Also, The 15 year old was constantly groped by grown men who she was a babysitter for and this continued the entire book. She did not tell her father or hull off and slap him. The girls' days were very repetitive. Quick book to read
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Wonderous. A gorgeous novel about a young woman coming of age on Long Island.
1 member(s) found this review helpful.
An excellent coming of age novel where the main character truly discovers that she is more together than she thought.
This book was recommended to me via FABIL, and it was a dud. I think it must have been recommended b/c I like ann patchett's writing. Alice McDermott is an Ann Patchett wannabe. The story was distractingly unrealistic, full of awkward metaphors and odd descriptions. I gave it 1.5 stars because it has a racy subplot that involves the unrealistically sweet and capable 15 year old protagonist seducing an elderly, world famous painter (with rotting teeth). When near-miss statuatory rape is the highlight of a book, you know it's time to move on.
The senseless, gruesome deaths of numerous scruffy little animals provide a not particularly subtle foil to the main plot line.
The senseless, gruesome deaths of numerous scruffy little animals provide a not particularly subtle foil to the main plot line.
Loved this book. Innocence, coming of age, adventure... Enjoyable read.
Very good. Interesting!
I got this book off paperbackswap and I liked it.. its easy reading but thought invoking.
beautifully written
Sweet, and thoroughly enjoyable
Fifteen is a year of clarity; you're still one of the kids, but you're finally beginning to unlock the mysteries of adult behavior. In her luminous novel Child of My Heart, Alice McDermott's narrator is a 15-year-old girl who has two qualities that give her access to the secret lives of adults: she's beautiful, and she looks after their children.