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michelleful's review against another edition
5.0
Got to this one at last due to a windstorm causing a blackout in my area. This is an apparently semi-(auto)biographical work by John D Fitzgerald, who wrote the Great Brain books aimed at children. I recently blew through them having read a subset as a child and then as an adult found them available on Kindle. This book has very much the same effect of transporting you to Utah in its frontier-town days.
We learn a good deal more about the family, especially the love story of John D's parents Tom and Tena, who are both such good people - Tena is practically a saint! It's very interesting to see the similarities and differences between the stories in here and the Great Brain books - Uncle Will is absent from the children's books but very much a central character here, and there's a sister Katie who was mysteriously disappeared from the Great Brain, maybe because she wasn't a boy? There's also a foster brother, but with a different name and a very different background. Tom is still a Great Brain, but much less is made of this fact. We see more of the struggle the family faced as a consequence of Tom and Tena's inter-faith marriage, and the choices the kids make as to religion are fascinating.
Just, overall, a compelling read. I cried at the end.
We learn a good deal more about the family, especially the love story of John D's parents Tom and Tena, who are both such good people - Tena is practically a saint! It's very interesting to see the similarities and differences between the stories in here and the Great Brain books - Uncle Will is absent from the children's books but very much a central character here, and there's a sister Katie who was mysteriously disappeared from the Great Brain, maybe because she wasn't a boy? There's also a foster brother, but with a different name and a very different background. Tom is still a Great Brain, but much less is made of this fact. We see more of the struggle the family faced as a consequence of Tom and Tena's inter-faith marriage, and the choices the kids make as to religion are fascinating.
Just, overall, a compelling read. I cried at the end.
brinathebabe's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5 stars. A great book based on a true story about coexisting religions and life in the Wild West. If these ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ folks could all get along (with exceptions of course), what the heck is our ‘civilized society’s’ problem? A heartwarming, funny, insightful, and bittersweet story.
thebookcure's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. I was getting into the "Great Brain" series and wanted to see what else the author had written. Our library system had an old beat up copy in storage, I was able to check out. The family history on both sides is fascinating. I was most interested in the description of the town and hope to find similar books.
nzoeller's review against another edition
4.0
I am a huge fan of The Great Brain kid series and have searched a long time for this book. Awesome adult book about the Utah settlers.
theartfullibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
This book is one of my all time favorites.
I first read it when I was 12 and have read the book numerous times since. I cry at the end every time.
This book is an extension of "The Great Brain" series.
It is about John's parents in Adenville, UT.
It shows the trials and tribulations of all families but draws you in.
This book is worth a read.
I first read it when I was 12 and have read the book numerous times since. I cry at the end every time.
This book is an extension of "The Great Brain" series.
It is about John's parents in Adenville, UT.
It shows the trials and tribulations of all families but draws you in.
This book is worth a read.
csd17's review against another edition
4.0
Who says that Mormons and Catholics don't mix? Nice little slice of America. The humor, the action, and the real struggles of a community to get along and make do in the society that they had. Yet, as much as enjoy the story, I can't help but feeling that is sugar-coated a bit... And kids, as much as it seemed to work for the FitzGeralds, don't think it was complete.
craftmomma55's review against another edition
4.0
Category: Book set in your home state (Utah).
LOVE this book. This is not the first time I've read it; I first discovered it in high school. Papa (a catholic) marries Mama (a Mormon). It is about their courtship, marriage and subsequent life in southern Utah, raising a family of 4 boys and 1 girl. One of the boys is the biggest wheeler dealer in town and is known as the Great Brain. (JD Fitzgerald also wrote the Great Brain series of children's books). This book is fiction, but based on Fitzgerald's childhood in Price, Utah.
LOVE this book. This is not the first time I've read it; I first discovered it in high school. Papa (a catholic) marries Mama (a Mormon). It is about their courtship, marriage and subsequent life in southern Utah, raising a family of 4 boys and 1 girl. One of the boys is the biggest wheeler dealer in town and is known as the Great Brain. (JD Fitzgerald also wrote the Great Brain series of children's books). This book is fiction, but based on Fitzgerald's childhood in Price, Utah.
melerihaf's review
4.0
I grew up reading the Great Brain books by John D. Fitzgerald, and so it was really fun to get the real story behind fiction. The real people are even more compelling than the fictional characters.
satyridae's review
3.0
I enjoyed the story so much I hardly noticed the clunky writing. No, that's not true. I enjoyed the story so much I was able to disregard the clunky writing, mostly. It's a fictionalized biography, and it's a lot of fun. Fitzgerald's relatives were very interesting people, if half of what he wrote was true. I especially liked Uncle Will, unrepentant black sheep of the family.