This story will stay with you long after the final credits roll.
351067
This story will stay with you long after the final credits roll.  I borrowed this movie from my local library after reading multiple positive reviews.  I also think Judi Dench and Steve Coogan are wonderful actors.  I was surprised to discover how heavy the subject matter is.  The reviews I'd read made the film seem a bit quirky and heartwarming.  The bright and cheery movie cover also lends an air of happiness. Philomena is a gut-wrenching true story that feels like it must have happened years and years ago.  That this story took place in just the 1950s is unfathomable.  I have since purchased the DVD and the paperback movie tie-in, and have shared, and purchased, the pair as gifts for others.  When recommending this movie and book to someone for the first time, I always suggest watching the movie FIRST, for those who do not like "spoiler alerts" (for lack of a better term).  The book contains many photos that give rich detail to the story, and they also provide a summary of the story arc.  This is an amazing, yet difficult movie to watch, and I hope this review does it a bit of justice.
3357094
Surprisingly brilliant! I predicted the end halfway through, but I still think it's a very real and necessary story.
4893651
There are stories from this book that stick with you. The drowning man lifting Jeff above the water. The pallet episode on the fishing ship. Coupled with his return and the impact. The village in Fiji and sliding down the muddy hill with laughter. The heart-rending interactions with the boys who would become his sons. Read this book. It will impact you as well.
3199969
This book holds a story that will stay with you. I read it in under an hour, and I will never forget that hour. This story is personal and moving, it's one that you'll share with those around you, but keep pieces of it to yourself because no-one else will understand quite like you. It's perfect.
3165144
This is a really compelling story. Once you get past the first five pages, it holds your attention to the end. The characters are convincing, and  I found myself rooting for the protagonist, Emma, as she dealt with challenging and distressing events in her relationships. The ending feels true to life and is unforgettable.
156710
As the story takes off, it felt like I was thrown in at the deep end. Like Taryn who seems to have little control over her life I first felt lost in this new universe but as the story unfolds we keep learning the workings of this world with its many faceted groups and its alien technology. It is a fascinating yarn Veronica Sicoe spins and the one strand that kept me coming back whenever I found time was the need to learn more, not only about the story but also about the world. Taryn is adrift and has difficulties forming relationships with other humans, and at times it is not easy relating to her. But as her Link to Amharr develops I couldn't resist being drawn into this intrusive, unwanted yet intimate tie between the two, making the alien destroyer almost more human than Taryn.

I can't wait to see how the story continues, how adversaries and allies fare, both human and alien, nay, escpecially alien.
4527321
This is a well-written thematic story.  Although it has several subplots, the main storyline is written to demonstrate the power of human curiosity.  Russo takes his characters through a journey of exploration punctuated by frequent and gruesome clues that Something Is Not Right.  But the characters press on, and - here is the magic of Russo's storytelling - the reader is right there with them.  The lure of the unknown is so strong that you are willing to leap through every new doorway just to see what is on the other side, no matter how many dried corpses or mysterious accidents should have cautioned you away.  Even after the last page is turned and the folly of the exploration unmasked, the book leaves you with the nagging urge to go back, to open one more door or seek the answer to one more question - a powerful demonstration of what Pavlovian creatures we can be.
1766578
To me a great story is one that lives in your memory long after the after the last page is read.  A great story makes an emotional connection and draws you into the world of the characters.  "Odd Thomas" is just such a story.  I read it over two years ago but I still remember every detail, I can describe every character, and can relive the heart-pounding ending over and over again.

The story is about Odd Thomas, a young man who can see ghost and shadowy, dog-like creatures that are the harbinger of evil things to come.  When Odd starts seeing more and more of the shadow figures he knows something horrible is going to happen.  To save his friends and neighbors he must work quickly to unravel the plot and avert disaster.

This story is action packed and an emotional roller-coaster.  I felt fear, joy, horror, bliss, anger, humor, and everything in between.  This is definitely a book for my Keeper Shelf.
2025553
It took a little while to get stuck in the book with its unusual style of narration, but after a few sections the story really draws you in. This is one of those stories that will live with you forever. Highly recommended for teens and adults.
3746601
and you won't be able to put it down, but it becomes a story that we've heard many times before.
1385585
This story has staying power  any strong emotion (love, death) would of course fade with time but it isn't the kind of book that you finish, close the covers and go, say, fishing and thats that. It does stay with you, it clings to you and brings on more thoughts... somehow it wants you to think deeper and deeper about the 'whys' of the story.  I noticed the device that John Lane the author used brilliantly... the prologue that gives us a glimpse into the story and the ending with the trip back to Huntsville, that made me weep for Ben, for all the others I met along. This is not the story of the elusive and beautiful Novie Moreland, the widow, as I thought while aching for her along with Ben Crocker throughout the story. All I read and loved about every character, from villains to saints is grafted on the background of the heart breaking lives of the cotton mill workers in South Carolina's past.
There are so many books out there and so little time to read but this one is a fast read and will reward you handsomely!
3999409
While this book could at first appear formuliac it in fact goes above and beyond. At first it appears it is going to be the classical boy meets girl, conflict, conflict resolved, everybody lives happily ever afterward. This story,because of baggage, doesn't play out that way. There is not going to be a spoiler allert here as you need to take the journey with the characters to understand how profound the end is. This story has a timelessness to its resolution that we can understand and relate to from our societal differences. I recommend this book unreservedly
1634289
Siren Suicides is a wonderfully detailed, well-told story dealing with some hard subjects: suicide, parental abuse, and heartbreak. Although at times the story felt like it was geared a bit more toward people around the age of the protagonist (teens, whereas I am middle-aged), I still found a ton that I liked and could relate to. And the story is both vividly written and easy to read.

And the ending! Another reviewer had mixed feelings about the ending of this story, but for me the it was the best part. In some books, when you see "Epilogue" you get an addition to the story, something that comes after the story and maybe provides some additional details or closure. In Siren Suicides, the Epilogue is VITAL to the story. It is, in many ways, the redemption of everything that has come before it.

This is the third book of Ksenia's that I have read, and I've never been sorry for the time I've spent in her writing.
2073341
This is the kind of book that stays with you for days after you've read it. I am in awe of how I feel right now. This book is beyond,  period.
281278
A little slow in the beginning but unable to put down towards middle/end. A story that stays with you long after you've finished reading.
2590767
This is a brilliant tale of what it's like to be in your early teens.  In this story I found myself many times.  The responsibility that Jack faced handling his father and brother is astounding.  Death, hurt, pain and trauma is enough for anyone to bare.  But the style and grace in which those things were dealt with stays with you long after it's over.  "Jack The Bear" is nothing more than the human spirit's determination for family and survival.
4288720
I decided to read this book because it has received so many accolades.  During most of the time I was digesting the inner turmoil of the story's protagonist, I wondered what all of the hoopla was about - until I reached the last few pages.  The denouement of this short and gripping story makes the journey well worthwhile.  Tony Webster, the protagonist, is frequently told throughout the narrative: "You just don't get it."  It took this reader a while to "get it," but this touching tale of a long ago friendship and a broken romance takes an unlikely twist that sears the heart.  The author reminds us once again that things are not always as they appear to be.