I LOVED IT! It immediately grabbed hold of me and would not let go. It is a must read! It opened my eyes to events of which I was unaware and has moved me to make a trip to France to visit the location.

This was a bittersweet novel with some smiling, laughing, and crying. Having grown up in the South, I could smell the air, feel the atmosphere, relate to the life-style. The novel seemed to be written in the atmosphere of Steel Magnolias, and some of the characters actually seemed as if they could have been borrowed from Steel Magnolias. It is a very sweet novel and I recommend it for pleasant summer reading.

When I first started reading the this book, it took me a while to get into because it is written in a different format than I am used to. The first part of the book is written in 'letter style' and was confusing for me as I am used to a plot with a beginning, middle, and end. BUT, staying with it, I found this to be a very brilliantly written book which was both informative, in spiring, and entertaining. I highly recommend it.

While this was a very informative book, I feel that it lacked continuity in many of the events and led to confusion. However, since it was based on a true story, I am sure it was written more as an informative book rather than in the novel form (even though there were time when I feel she tried to slip into that form.)To read on ones own might work if a person is into the war and holocaust era. As a club, I feel that there are more entertaining books to read.

I wanted to check some of the boxes but the words I would use are not there: fast, easy-reading, a little intriguing, a little confusing. It was a thought-provoking book, causing one to think about just what it might be like to lose one's memory and the importance of having a special person who loves you, who you can trust completely, to help you with the day-to-day events and memory recall. A very good debut novel.

For me, this was a very predictable book. I felt as if I was watching a tv drama show and you watch it because you have started watching but mid-way through, you feel you have figured it all out. There really was no real surprise as to who the bad guys were in the end. As for the main character; I ... hmmm....without including a spoiler, I just don't know that I would have been doing all of the running around, looking for people and such had the same tragic event happened in my life. If you want an easy read, go for it. If you want real drama, there are plenty more on the shelf to choose from.

Do NOT waste your time. While it is sad that his 'live-in' girlfriend left him before the wedding, even sadder that the main character felt it was ok to travel around the world acting irresponsibly, sleeping around. And then to write a book about such shameful activities and MAKE MONEY FROM IT, is despicable! Please do not give the writer honor by purchasing his book and please do not waste your time.

The Sugar Queen started off slow and I was wondering if it was going to be a boring book. It did pick up as i continued to read and with just enough drama sprinkled in, it was able to hold my attention. At first there was a little confusion on my part as to the roll of Della Lee and the closet but as the pages turned, events started to make a little sense. While there was some surprise in the ending, hindsight actually does make all very clear in the end. The Sugar Queen is a quick easy read for those who do want a book that will make their heads hurt while trying to follow a heavy plot.

Summer Rental was a fun, easy summer read that also had a lean toward predictable. By the time I had been introduced to each character, I knew what was going to happen in the rest of the book. I recommend it if you want an easy, mindless book to fill your time.

Just the cover calls you to read it.

Well written story of a woman over-coming how she was raised. While probably true to her life, I didn't like the profanity in the bool. The story as a whole was a yawner for me.

The book was a little dramatic because nothing tugs at the heart of a person like a story that involves a child, especially one that a person feels is being abused. It also held a note of being informative. While I am aware that life in an orphanage, esp during the time period of the book, could not be good, it brought to life that kind of life. It also opened my eyes to some of the traditions of the Chinese culture that I was unfamiliar with. However, even with the happy ending, the book leaned toward gloomy and depressive. I really just wanted to shake Liu Song, hug William, and kiss Charlotte. I did enjoy \'Song...Frost it but liked Hotel On The Corner of Bitter and Sweet much more. It seemed as if more energy was put into the writing of \'Hotel...\' and maybe so as it was his first novel.

An easy read, borderline frustrating. A little predictable.

While very well written, I had a difficult time with this book. I kept waiting for the fun 'boogie woogie bugle boy' attitude of the time to come through but it seemed that only one tragedy after another occurred. please know that it really was not what I thought it was going to be. I will try my best to not repeat what I consider to be an undesirable book for my book club again. I am sincerely embarrassed at some of it's content and the reviews were truly misleading to me. If you have not read 'Next to War' then I have to suggest that you just move on to a more pleasurable or desirable read. I also hope that my next selection is a better choice. As one club member who did manage to finish the book said (there were others who just stopped reading b/c they felt it so bad), she kept waiting for the 'light' and it just never came.