This is one of those books I read years ago, but the characters are still lingering about in my head. It's the 1960s and Rose finds herself unhappily married and unhappily pregnant. She flees her husband, mother, and life and arrives at St. Elizabeth's home for unwed mothers, where she plans to give birth and leave, but probably not to return to her husband, who doesn't even know she's pregnant.

The nuns and other expectant mothers at St. Elizabeth's turn out to provide healing that Rose didn't even realize she was seeking. She finds herself questioning her decisions and as she gets closer and closer to her due date, she's not sure what she'll do.

The baby is born and the book takes a not entirely unexpected turn, but it's one that works and doesn't feel like a convenient plot device. As the story continued, I found myself really puzzling over the characters and the decisions they had made and wondering where Patchett was going to eventually lead us all.

The ending was amazingly satisfying in that it left many things hanging dangerously and I found myself writing the next few chapters in my mind, each time with different results. Patchett carefully crafts a story that needs to end with a giant question mark and force the reader to decide what will happen after the final sentence. It's brilliant, although readers who like all lose ends tied up might feel cheated.

I love when an author creates a character that I believe is living and has walked in reality. Patchett does it with not only the main character, but the others in the book. I believed in them and understood their decisions, confusion, and fear. Some books you read; this one I devoured.

This story revolves around the girls and the help at a home for unwed mothers. I really liked the characters and the way the author presented them with care and dignity.

Very compelling read--I love the way her characters are so well-rounded and two people can read the same book and have a very different reactions to the characters.

From Library Journal
Unanticipated pregnancy makes liars out of young women, this thoughtful first novel shows, as they try to rationalize, explain, and accept what is happening to them. When she arrives at St. Elizabeth's, a home for pregnant girls in Habit, Kentucky, Rose Clinton seems as evasive and deceptive as the other unwed mothers. But Rose is different: she has a husband whom she has deserted. Unlike most St. Elizabeth's visitors, she neither gives up her baby nor leaves the home, staying on as cook while her daughter grows up among expectant mothers fantasizing that they, too, might keep their infants. The reader learns from Rose how she came to St. Elizabeth's, but it is her doting husband and rebellious daughter who reveal her motives and helpless need for freedom. Together, the three create a complex character study of a woman driven by forces she can neither understand nor control.

I fully enjoyed this book. The characters are very well-developed. Patchett authors from three points of view, magically. I definitely recommend this book.

Patchett's writing grabs you write away. I races through this book and loved it from start to finish.

I really enjoyed this book. An interesting story -- an unusual situation. Great character development -- heartbreaking, at times.

This book made me even happier that I discovered Ann Patchett as an author. Loved it!

I will be reading the rest of her books. This one is lovely.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book...about a woman who ends up in a home for unwed mothers...while trying to run from herself and her past.
I had a hard time putting the book down.

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This story is told by three different narrators, Rose, Son, and Cecilia. Patchett divided it into three sections so that each period of the characters' lives was told by a different narrator, giving the reader only one viewpoint of the issues going on at the time. Therefore, I found it a little disconcerting that the first narrator's thoughts were no longer available to me when someone else was narrating. However, this device may have been employed to mirror the unavailability of Rose to her family members.

This was an enjoyable book which is beautifully written, and a wonderful character study. My biggest complaint is the ending; I felt cheated. Again, perhaps a device employed to mirror the feelings of some of the characters.

A summer beach read.

Great story.

Great read.

Really good book.

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