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holmstead's review
4.0
I love when a book can evoke so many emotions for me. This book did just that. I certainly was eager to read more of Meg's story than Lucas'. And I really had a hard time with Lucas' reason(s) for doing what he did at the start of all this. I guess with the loss of both stories connected at the end, there was equal understanding. But the love and struggles for Meg, Dylan, and Jesse is what pulled me in and I loved experiencing that, despite the outcome. And that's what a good author can achieve if done right. Which in this case Baart absolutely did. :)
ginabyeg's review
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. Nicole Baart's writing is rich and engaging--she writes descriptively about her characters' actions, appearance, and emotions. From the beginning, there are two seemingly unrelated stories, but since they're in the same novel, you know they must be linked somehow. It gets you guessing early on how that might be so. While you will likely have the general idea of it even before the halfway point, the precise details only come out in the end. This was my first book by Nicole Baart, and I look forward to reading more by this author.
onespaceymother's review
4.0
4 stars because I couldn't put this down. Finished it in the space of 18 hours, distractions in the form of sleep and my children slowed me down or I'd probably read it in 6! Characters were relatable, empathetically written and the bit in Omaha's Old Market was spot on. My only complaint is that clues and pieces led almost exactly to the outcome I expected. It took some twists and turns getting there but overall, who "Woman" is was relatively clear from the get-go.
Question including spoiler below:
Did she fall from the hay rack and break her neck or did Jim truly attack her and break her neck that way? We know a bullet never hit her. I got a little lost in those details.
Question including spoiler below:
Did she fall from the hay rack and break her neck or did Jim truly attack her and break her neck that way? We know a bullet never hit her. I got a little lost in those details.
guylou's review against another edition
4.0
Sleeping in Eden is a fantastic novel. The story line is strong and well presented by journeying you from one situation to another without ever leaving you lost on the curb. Nicole Baart' handle of the English language is indisputable. Her choice of words to describe scenery and characters is poetic and vivid. One of my favorite quote from the book is:
"The God she met in Sunday school, and believed in without cause for doubt, did not worry himself with little girls and their bicycles. He had bigger problems, like famine, world peace and orchestrating and Armageddon of alarming proportions."
What a way to express how this little girl thought of God. Well put!
This novel will not be available before April 2, 2013, but it is well worth the wait!! I wish there were half stars on this site... I would have given it 4.5 stars!!!
"The God she met in Sunday school, and believed in without cause for doubt, did not worry himself with little girls and their bicycles. He had bigger problems, like famine, world peace and orchestrating and Armageddon of alarming proportions."
What a way to express how this little girl thought of God. Well put!
This novel will not be available before April 2, 2013, but it is well worth the wait!! I wish there were half stars on this site... I would have given it 4.5 stars!!!
rizzykaye's review
5.0
My initial thought was to give this book 1 star because it broke my heart a little and made me cry. But let's be honest here, a book that can do that is actually awesome. Baart's wrote honest characters you simultaneously fall for and hate. If you like happy books with clearly defined good/bad people, don't pick this one up. But I love dark stories and raw emotions. I loved the mystery itself, but what was really impressive was how completely developed and complicated the characters become despite the constant swap between two completely different stories. It was poetic, dark and tragic but still lovely with hope. I definitely recommend it.
readingwithhippos's review
4.0
Clearly, Nicole Baart remembers what it was like to be a teenager in love. So many conflicts in this book could have been avoided if her characters had just talked to each other. But, of course, I don’t know many teenagers who are forthright and honest about their feelings.
What fourteen-year-old can come out and say things like, “I’m in love with you” or “I’m not in love with you, I’m in love with that other guy”? Most settle for broody staring and awkward silences, and then someone ends up dead, buried in the floor of a barn.
This book is actually two very different stories, told in alternating chapters by narrators Meg, a teenage girl, and Lucas, a young doctor. At first, there seems to be no connection between their lives, but gradually the details come into focus. This isn’t the kind of book with surprising twists—you’ll know long before the end who the skeleton in the barn floor belongs to—but the painstaking way Baart peels back the layers made me as a reader feel like I was watching a slow-motion car wreck. I knew it was going to be wrenching and terrible, but I was utterly compelled to absorb every last sad, regrettable detail.
I don’t want to misrepresent it, though—this book isn’t a total downer. There are strong elements of redemption in the midst of the tragedy, and the characters are complex and interesting. I found myself eager to reach the end, not to find out whodunit, but why. And that, at least to my mind, is a vastly more intriguing question.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
What fourteen-year-old can come out and say things like, “I’m in love with you” or “I’m not in love with you, I’m in love with that other guy”? Most settle for broody staring and awkward silences, and then someone ends up dead, buried in the floor of a barn.
This book is actually two very different stories, told in alternating chapters by narrators Meg, a teenage girl, and Lucas, a young doctor. At first, there seems to be no connection between their lives, but gradually the details come into focus. This isn’t the kind of book with surprising twists—you’ll know long before the end who the skeleton in the barn floor belongs to—but the painstaking way Baart peels back the layers made me as a reader feel like I was watching a slow-motion car wreck. I knew it was going to be wrenching and terrible, but I was utterly compelled to absorb every last sad, regrettable detail.
I don’t want to misrepresent it, though—this book isn’t a total downer. There are strong elements of redemption in the midst of the tragedy, and the characters are complex and interesting. I found myself eager to reach the end, not to find out whodunit, but why. And that, at least to my mind, is a vastly more intriguing question.
More book recommendations by me at www.readingwithhippos.com
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
Nicole Baart’s Sleeping in Eden is an intriguing mystery that is well-written, complex and multi-layered. Two seemingly unrelated stories simultaneously unfold when skeletal remains are uncovered at the scene of a suicide.
Please click HERE to read my review in its entirety.
Please click HERE to read my review in its entirety.
shai3d's review
4.0
I found SLEEPING IN EDEN to be quite the interesting book. Not written in a style or even in a genre that I usually red, I spent the first quarter of the book trying to figure out just how Meg and Lucas were connected. And then I spent the remainder of the book totally entranced.
Meg was a character that I found the easiest to relate too especially as the author, Ms Baart, could have been writing about me when I was younger though my triangle occurred after high school. Lucas was harder for me though I very much enjoyed watching him grow and learn that you can't fix everything.
I was especially amazed when I found out that SLEEPING IN EDEN was actually the first book that Ms. Baart had written even though it is just now being published. I will definitely be adding her books to my pile of books to read, especially when I need a reality check from all the fantasy that is my usual diet.
I rate this book a 3.7 and recommend it to any of my readers who enjoy a good a mystery which goes much deeper then the usual whodunnit.
lmbartelt's review against another edition
5.0
I wish I could give this book six stars. It was that good. I love Nicole Baart's style, and this book is right up there with the best books I've EVER read.
Not your typical happily-ever-after story but also not a story lacking in hope. The characters aren't just realistic; they're deep and complicated and unpredictable. I had no idea what any of them were going to do next, and though Baart hints at what's to come, I wasn't sure of how we'd get there. I love that.
I'd read this book again and again. Its theme will haunt me (in a good way).
Not your typical happily-ever-after story but also not a story lacking in hope. The characters aren't just realistic; they're deep and complicated and unpredictable. I had no idea what any of them were going to do next, and though Baart hints at what's to come, I wasn't sure of how we'd get there. I love that.
I'd read this book again and again. Its theme will haunt me (in a good way).