∎ [PDF] Free What Was Mine A Book Club Recommendation! Helen Klein Ross 9781476732350 Books

What Was Mine A Book Club Recommendation! Helen Klein Ross 9781476732350 Books

Download As PDF : What Was Mine A Book Club Recommendation! Helen Klein Ross 9781476732350 Books

What Was Mine A Book Club Recommendation! Helen Klein Ross 9781476732350 Books

I did not care for this book. Had I not committed to reading it for my Book Club, I would have chucked it after the first ten chapters.
The whole point of reading fiction is for enjoyment, to connect with the characters, to feel their emotions and get lost in the story. This didn’t happen for me.
The author’s style was devoid of emotion, just a recitation of events from a cast of characters, many of which were rendered in a mundane and uninteresting manner. The author tends to get lost in her own prose, which is when the reader (me) started skimming. Pretty? Yes. Interesting? Not so much. A large chunk of the first half of the book consisted of backstory, which should be used in small, digestible bites, and sparingly. It felt like I was reading three different stories, most of which in my opinion bogged down the storyline, not advancing the plot at all. {Did I say plot? What plot?}
I was never able to connect with the characters. I mean, who kidnaps a baby on impulse ... and raises said child for twenty-one years under a cloud of lies and without a lick of remorse, I might add - until she got caught. The only reason Lucy was sorry in the end was because she got found out.
And the ending ... wait, what ending? That had to be the most unsatisfying "The End" in history. Not my cup of tea.


Tags : What Was Mine: A Book Club Recommendation! [Helen Klein Ross] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Simply told but deeply affecting, in the bestselling tradition of Alice McDermott and Tom Perrotta, this urgent novel unravels the heartrending yet unsentimental tale of a woman who kidnaps a baby in a superstore—and gets away with it for twenty-one years.<BR><BR>Lucy Wakefield is a seemingly ordinary woman who does something extraordinary in a desperate moment: she takes a baby girl from a shopping cart and raises her as her own. It’s a secret she manages to keep for over two decades—from her daughter,Helen Klein Ross,What Was Mine: A Book Club Recommendation!,Gallery Books,1476732353,Deception,Deception;Fiction.,Domestic fiction,FICTION Contemporary Women,FICTION Family Life,Family secrets,Kidnapping,Kidnapping;Fiction.,Life change events,Mothers and daughters,Mothers and daughters;Fiction.,Psychological fiction,American Contemporary Fiction - Individual Authors +,Coming of Age,Contemporary Women,FICTION Coming of Age,FICTION Family Life General,FICTION Literary,FICTION Psychological,FICTION Women,Family Life,Fiction,Fiction - General,FictionComing of Age,FictionFamily Life - General,FictionLiterary,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),mother; children; kids; books about mothers; books about single mothers; books about children; books about motherhood; motherhood; books about working mothers; best kidnapping books; babynapping books; best motherhood books; kidnapping novels; barren; adoption; Shanghai books; China books; IKEA; Jodi Picoult; Jennifer Weiner; Carry the One; My Sister's Keeper

What Was Mine A Book Club Recommendation! Helen Klein Ross 9781476732350 Books Reviews

The story is well written with many poignant thoughts from many different points of view. I read the reviews in which some critized the ending and thus did not rate the book high. I believe the story ended at the point it should have ended. For the author to continue would be another book dealing with some different issues. This story is extremely thought provoking forcing the reader to consider a topic that many of us, hopefully, never would have to think about. I completed the reading and thought about the characters who were forgiving and those who were unforgiving. I believe the ending made the reader actually think about the various characters and their actions. I seldom write reviews; however, I felt it necessary to express my opinions regarding this story and to applaud the author for not only the quality of writing, the many points of view, and a different understanding of a difficult subject. Everyone may not like the writing, but a critical reader should enjoy it.
I write this while my face is still wet from tears. They just seem to keep coming. I felt so many emotions reading about this baby stolen from a shopping cart at just four months of age by a woman who had tried for years to have a baby and her time and money were running out. The story shifts from one person to another. Every woman or man involved in the story has their say. I found the story most interesting about halfway through when the baby is 21 and learns that the woman whom she believed was her adoptive mother may have actually kidnapped her. The story is more dramatic and compelling, I believe, in the second half. I thought that the first half would show more scenes from Mia's childhood (Mia is the name her kidnapper gives her--her birth name is Natalie). I thought that I would be moved by some touching mother-daughter stories. But Mia's new mom (the kidnapper, that is) needed to work and so much of her life is similar to the lives of so many moms these days--she's invested in her career and providing Mia with a series of caregivers who end up being central to the story later on.

After Mia's discovery of the truth and her introduction to her real mother and her stepfather and siblings, there are some flashbacks to her life with Lucy, the woman who snatched her. Mia realizes that she had a good childhood, not perfect but happy and normal. This book is a roller-coaster
ride. I felt such empathy for all the characters. I wanted to hug them all and give them a Hollywood ending. The ending was a little abrupt and disappointing until I realized that the author had given us enough information for us to speculate on her own as to the fate of the characters. I'm thinking baby steps. We can see the beginning of forgiveness and understanding before the last page. I would love a sequel. I read this book in three sessions. It was hard to put down. The short chapters made it relatively easy to read. The emotions were profound.
I don't typically take additional reviews to heart when choosing books, however, some of the reviews I've read hit the nail on the head. The book is extremely captivating from the beginning and it keeps you wanting more. Wanting to learn more about the kidnapping and wanting to learn more about the girls life ahead. However, the second half of the book does indeed drag on. Once you're getting to q conclusion and you're captivated again, the book ends quite abruptly. The ending leaves too much to the imagination than I prefer. If you like the idea of having your own ending to put to the book, this will be a good read for you. I would have much rather the author finished it to conclude the story. Captivating and wonderful first half, disappointing second half.
Our book club spent a good amount of time talking about the book. This always gives us a good indication of know how much we got out of a book. The book lead us to other experiences that we either had know of ourselves or where we knew of someone where a child had to adjust to finding their real parents later in life and how it affected them. From Holocaust survivors to adopted children. And it also brought up experiences we had had with people who almost lost or did actually lose a child.
I did not care for this book. Had I not committed to reading it for my Book Club, I would have chucked it after the first ten chapters.
The whole point of reading fiction is for enjoyment, to connect with the characters, to feel their emotions and get lost in the story. This didn’t happen for me.
The author’s style was devoid of emotion, just a recitation of events from a cast of characters, many of which were rendered in a mundane and uninteresting manner. The author tends to get lost in her own prose, which is when the reader (me) started skimming. Pretty? Yes. Interesting? Not so much. A large chunk of the first half of the book consisted of backstory, which should be used in small, digestible bites, and sparingly. It felt like I was reading three different stories, most of which in my opinion bogged down the storyline, not advancing the plot at all. {Did I say plot? What plot?}
I was never able to connect with the characters. I mean, who kidnaps a baby on impulse ... and raises said child for twenty-one years under a cloud of lies and without a lick of remorse, I might add - until she got caught. The only reason Lucy was sorry in the end was because she got found out.
And the ending ... wait, what ending? That had to be the most unsatisfying "The End" in history. Not my cup of tea.