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cev's review against another edition
2.0
I knew who did it from the moment the character was introduced.
tpanik's review against another edition
3.0
The setting and characters are strong, but the actual crime, once revealed, is vague and disappointing.
uncle_shai's review against another edition
3.0
I've now read "Orphan Train," "The Way Things Should Be," and "Desire Lines," by Christina Baker Kline. (I'm mid-way through "Sweet Water.") Desire Lines was the worst of the lot. Though I've enjoyed them all. The middle-twenties protagonist women in The Way..., Sweet Water... and Desire Lines are very similar. You'll either like these women or find them cloying. I like them. In my 58-year old male way (at the verge of an empty nest) I find the "What the hell am I going to do with my life" and "What do I really want" themes hold my interest and is carried out with some skill.
Orphan Train is by far the best, "The Way Things..." some distance behind with Sweet Water and Desire Lines far behind. Kline stretches in Orphan Train by having strong female characters as child, teen, young woman and an old women.
But this is supposed to be about Desire Lines. The fact that the coming-of-age tale of a young women devolves into a whodunnit while adding some short-term satisfaction for the reader, does not contribute to the literary value of this work.
Orphan Train is by far the best, "The Way Things..." some distance behind with Sweet Water and Desire Lines far behind. Kline stretches in Orphan Train by having strong female characters as child, teen, young woman and an old women.
But this is supposed to be about Desire Lines. The fact that the coming-of-age tale of a young women devolves into a whodunnit while adding some short-term satisfaction for the reader, does not contribute to the literary value of this work.
psalmcat's review against another edition
4.0
Set in Bangor, which was quite refreshing. The main character's life changed at her high school graduation party when her best friend disappeared, never to be seen or heard from again in the past 10 years. Hired by the local paper to do a follow-up on the anniversary, she actually ends up solving the disappearance and in the process finds out a great deal about herself. Good.
kristaj's review against another edition
4.0
I'm only giving it a 4 stars because I felt like I cod totally relate to Kathryn, in that she felt stuck in a certain place in her life because of something traumatic that happened. I felt the same way after my senior year of HS when I lost both my best friend and my dad. So in that I enjoyed the book, but I felt like the ending was very anticlimactic. I felt like it was very obvious who "done it", and the way that it was found out was very unbelievable.
Anyway, that's my opinion. ;)
Anyway, that's my opinion. ;)
kimdenise's review against another edition
2.0
Interminable angst-ridden psychodrama with a dash of implausible crimesolving is so not my thing. I have enjoyed other books by this author but cannot recommend this one.
aimee70807's review against another edition
2.0
100 pages in, this book was only getting more and more depressing.
kellyhager's review against another edition
3.0
I absolutely loved Christina Baker Kline's most recent release, Orphan Train, so I was incredibly excited to read this book. (This is an earlier novel that's been re-released with a book club guide in the back.)
This is an incredibly hard book to describe. On the one hand, there's a mystery at the center of it, but on the other, there's just as much to do with your life after college and how, for the most part, the life you expect to have is nowhere near the life you end up actually having. (An excellent example of this is the movie The Big Chill.)
I love the idea that this one event has clearly shaped the lives of the rest of Jennifer's group of friends---which makes sense, because you figure this is probably the worst thing that's ever happened to any of them (Jennifer disappearing) and which is the better outcome? Either your friend is dead---and probably in a horrible way, given that the body was never found---or she deliberately chose to run away and literally couldn't care less about the impact that said disappearance had on her family and friends.
It's not as good as Orphan Train, but this is an incredibly fun read.
Recommended.
This is an incredibly hard book to describe. On the one hand, there's a mystery at the center of it, but on the other, there's just as much to do with your life after college and how, for the most part, the life you expect to have is nowhere near the life you end up actually having. (An excellent example of this is the movie The Big Chill.)
I love the idea that this one event has clearly shaped the lives of the rest of Jennifer's group of friends---which makes sense, because you figure this is probably the worst thing that's ever happened to any of them (Jennifer disappearing) and which is the better outcome? Either your friend is dead---and probably in a horrible way, given that the body was never found---or she deliberately chose to run away and literally couldn't care less about the impact that said disappearance had on her family and friends.
It's not as good as Orphan Train, but this is an incredibly fun read.
Recommended.
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