Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.2 AVERAGE
3.2 AVERAGE
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Really enjoyed it! I wished there could've been an epilogue to see what happened after the ending.
I'll admit, it's been years since I've read a Danielle Steel book (back when I was in high school they were a favourite of my mom's and I always picked them up to read after she was finished) but I don't remember her writing being so stilted! This book felt like a bunch of choppy sentences all strung together. It hopped and skipped through the lives of the 5 main characters, as well as their parents, but didn't really delve into any one of them too deeply.
I wonder if this is why I stopped reading her books??
I wonder if this is why I stopped reading her books??
I read this book a few years ago I really liked it, the characters were very interesting but the plot was just so tragic!
***SPOILER ALERT***
I am usually a big fan of Danille Steel but one book would best describe this book and that word owuld be: Trainwreck!
The story centers around the lives of Izzy, Gabby, Andy, Billy and Sean who meet on the first day of Kindergarten and form a strong friendship. Their family members are also heavily involved in the storyline which makes it very confusing to keep track of who is who in the book. Also one of the main characters (Andy) has a very weak introduction and very weak storyline which found me asking myself many times during this book "what's the name of the 5th friend again."
The book follows the characters from kindergarten, through junior high and high school and then college (or post high school as not all the characters attend college) and like after college. Issues of divorce, workaholic parents, alcohol and drug abuse, and remarriage are woven through the storylines of the parents which affects these five friends. You see the effects of drug abuse through the death of the older brother of one of the characters (Sean).
Then the book takes a very strange turn as the author begins killing off the main characters (yes, I am serious). First Gabby (who is now a in demand model) when she is killed by a drunk driver. Then her boyfriend Billy is killed about 100 pages later (and he is a sucessful NFL player) by an overdose of ecstacy. 50 pages later we find that Andy (the 5th friend with a very weak storyline) loses a patient while in residency and feels so badly about it that he kills himself.
With the lack of storyline balance for these 5 characters the two with the strongest storylines are Izzy (the kindergarten teacher who cannot have a serious relationship and sleeps with people "just because) and Sean who has wanted to become a cop since he was a child and later decides to join the FBI to avenge the death of his brother. He is sent on mission after mission where he is not allowed to contact anyone and then comes back after being shot in the chest taking down drug lords.
The ending of this book isn't really an ending. Sean quits the FBI, sleeps with Izzy and that's the end of the book. This book reminded me of a Day Time soap that was about to be cancelled and was scratching at the surface to keep it's head above water. I am really hoping this author takes a break before her next book to regroup and possibly change her focus. It would be nice to see her focus on groups of people whose lives do not revolve around private schools, trips around the world and being wealthy. I think back to some of her more realistic books (The Gift, Star and Johnny Angel) and would like to see Ms. Steel go back to that sort of storyline. If the author keeps up with storylines such as this I will not be so eager to read her future titles.
Merged review:
***SPOILER ALERT***
I am usually a big fan of Danille Steel but one book would best describe this book and that word owuld be: Trainwreck!
The story centers around the lives of Izzy, Gabby, Andy, Billy and Sean who meet on the first day of Kindergarten and form a strong friendship. Their family members are also heavily involved in the storyline which makes it very confusing to keep track of who is who in the book. Also one of the main characters (Andy) has a very weak introduction and very weak storyline which found me asking myself many times during this book "what's the name of the 5th friend again."
The book follows the characters from kindergarten, through junior high and high school and then college (or post high school as not all the characters attend college) and like after college. Issues of divorce, workaholic parents, alcohol and drug abuse, and remarriage are woven through the storylines of the parents which affects these five friends. You see the effects of drug abuse through the death of the older brother of one of the characters (Sean).
Then the book takes a very strange turn as the author begins killing off the main characters (yes, I am serious). First Gabby (who is now a in demand model) when she is killed by a drunk driver. Then her boyfriend Billy is killed about 100 pages later (and he is a sucessful NFL player) by an overdose of ecstacy. 50 pages later we find that Andy (the 5th friend with a very weak storyline) loses a patient while in residency and feels so badly about it that he kills himself.
With the lack of storyline balance for these 5 characters the two with the strongest storylines are Izzy (the kindergarten teacher who cannot have a serious relationship and sleeps with people "just because) and Sean who has wanted to become a cop since he was a child and later decides to join the FBI to avenge the death of his brother. He is sent on mission after mission where he is not allowed to contact anyone and then comes back after being shot in the chest taking down drug lords.
The ending of this book isn't really an ending. Sean quits the FBI, sleeps with Izzy and that's the end of the book. This book reminded me of a Day Time soap that was about to be cancelled and was scratching at the surface to keep it's head above water. I am really hoping this author takes a break before her next book to regroup and possibly change her focus. It would be nice to see her focus on groups of people whose lives do not revolve around private schools, trips around the world and being wealthy. I think back to some of her more realistic books (The Gift, Star and Johnny Angel) and would like to see Ms. Steel go back to that sort of storyline.
I am usually a big fan of Danille Steel but one book would best describe this book and that word owuld be: Trainwreck!
The story centers around the lives of Izzy, Gabby, Andy, Billy and Sean who meet on the first day of Kindergarten and form a strong friendship. Their family members are also heavily involved in the storyline which makes it very confusing to keep track of who is who in the book. Also one of the main characters (Andy) has a very weak introduction and very weak storyline which found me asking myself many times during this book "what's the name of the 5th friend again."
The book follows the characters from kindergarten, through junior high and high school and then college (or post high school as not all the characters attend college) and like after college. Issues of divorce, workaholic parents, alcohol and drug abuse, and remarriage are woven through the storylines of the parents which affects these five friends. You see the effects of drug abuse through the death of the older brother of one of the characters (Sean).
Then the book takes a very strange turn as the author begins killing off the main characters (yes, I am serious). First Gabby (who is now a in demand model) when she is killed by a drunk driver. Then her boyfriend Billy is killed about 100 pages later (and he is a sucessful NFL player) by an overdose of ecstacy. 50 pages later we find that Andy (the 5th friend with a very weak storyline) loses a patient while in residency and feels so badly about it that he kills himself.
With the lack of storyline balance for these 5 characters the two with the strongest storylines are Izzy (the kindergarten teacher who cannot have a serious relationship and sleeps with people "just because) and Sean who has wanted to become a cop since he was a child and later decides to join the FBI to avenge the death of his brother. He is sent on mission after mission where he is not allowed to contact anyone and then comes back after being shot in the chest taking down drug lords.
The ending of this book isn't really an ending. Sean quits the FBI, sleeps with Izzy and that's the end of the book. This book reminded me of a Day Time soap that was about to be cancelled and was scratching at the surface to keep it's head above water. I am really hoping this author takes a break before her next book to regroup and possibly change her focus. It would be nice to see her focus on groups of people whose lives do not revolve around private schools, trips around the world and being wealthy. I think back to some of her more realistic books (The Gift, Star and Johnny Angel) and would like to see Ms. Steel go back to that sort of storyline. If the author keeps up with storylines such as this I will not be so eager to read her future titles.
Merged review:
***SPOILER ALERT***
I am usually a big fan of Danille Steel but one book would best describe this book and that word owuld be: Trainwreck!
The story centers around the lives of Izzy, Gabby, Andy, Billy and Sean who meet on the first day of Kindergarten and form a strong friendship. Their family members are also heavily involved in the storyline which makes it very confusing to keep track of who is who in the book. Also one of the main characters (Andy) has a very weak introduction and very weak storyline which found me asking myself many times during this book "what's the name of the 5th friend again."
The book follows the characters from kindergarten, through junior high and high school and then college (or post high school as not all the characters attend college) and like after college. Issues of divorce, workaholic parents, alcohol and drug abuse, and remarriage are woven through the storylines of the parents which affects these five friends. You see the effects of drug abuse through the death of the older brother of one of the characters (Sean).
Then the book takes a very strange turn as the author begins killing off the main characters (yes, I am serious). First Gabby (who is now a in demand model) when she is killed by a drunk driver. Then her boyfriend Billy is killed about 100 pages later (and he is a sucessful NFL player) by an overdose of ecstacy. 50 pages later we find that Andy (the 5th friend with a very weak storyline) loses a patient while in residency and feels so badly about it that he kills himself.
With the lack of storyline balance for these 5 characters the two with the strongest storylines are Izzy (the kindergarten teacher who cannot have a serious relationship and sleeps with people "just because) and Sean who has wanted to become a cop since he was a child and later decides to join the FBI to avenge the death of his brother. He is sent on mission after mission where he is not allowed to contact anyone and then comes back after being shot in the chest taking down drug lords.
The ending of this book isn't really an ending. Sean quits the FBI, sleeps with Izzy and that's the end of the book. This book reminded me of a Day Time soap that was about to be cancelled and was scratching at the surface to keep it's head above water. I am really hoping this author takes a break before her next book to regroup and possibly change her focus. It would be nice to see her focus on groups of people whose lives do not revolve around private schools, trips around the world and being wealthy. I think back to some of her more realistic books (The Gift, Star and Johnny Angel) and would like to see Ms. Steel go back to that sort of storyline.