Rating: 
Summary: Far From Good
Review: I read their first book which was fantasic, but this book far from the tree is terrible. It makes me think that perhaps these ladies had a ghost writer for the first book. What happen? How can you write a novel without suspense, and a book written in third person with very little dialogue. Come on. This is a nightmare. Buyers beware. If Grant and Deberry are to write a third novel, they should put more care into their work. Add more action to your future novels.
Rating: 
Summary: Family
Review: "Far From the Tree" is a story about a family that keeps so many secrets from one another that it almost destroys them. First you have Odella the mother that has hidden so much from her children that ,that it almost destroys her,then there is Celeste who just wants to keep up appearances not matter what, and then there is Ronnie who lives hand to mouth but pretends she is rich. This is a very good book, and a nice second effort from the authors.
Rating: 
Summary: Thoroughly enjoyable
Review: What a neat story! The way the authors hint at the past and keep you waiting to find out the whole story makes this a real page turner. The characters are complex and likeable and you want to just shake them when they go down the wrong path. A must read for any of you girls out there who are bickering with a family member - how easy it is to just fall into old patterns and not really see the person in front of you or the person in the mirror.
Rating:
Summary: Great Sophmore Effort
Review: I also enjoyed this book. Celeste and Ronnie Fraiser, two sisters different as night and day, their beloved father has died and neither one can understand their mother, Della. Good storyline, and great characters make this story worthwhile and enjoyable reading. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys stories about family misunderstandings, legacies, joy and pains and forgiveness. I hope someone can pick this book up and decide to make a movie. Read and Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Warm, enjoyable reading
Review: First off, if you don't like "chick books" as my husband calls them (i.e. lots of emotion, relationship problems, love and family issues, etc.) you may not care for this book. I wasn't sure I would like it, but did--despite myself. The authors have a gift for dialogue that is witty and entertaining, yet believable. The pacing at the beginning might seem slow to some readers, yet I thought it worked perfectly with the book. With the theme of long-kept secrets and the unintentional harm they can do, the revelations would have seemed more contrived had they come too quickly. If anything, the pacing towards the end was a little too abrupt. I felt that things were tied up a little too neatly after all the secrets came pouring out in one rush. The characters did seem a bit one-dimensional and stereotyped at times: Celeste--proper and rigid, overly concerned with status; Ronnie--trying to appear successful and carefree while masking her increasing sense of failure; Della--hiding her past and any indication of herself as a woman in her own right in order to remain "the mother." It seemed at times as if every central character was boiled down to one flaw that she needed to overcome, and that the flaw was essentially the same in each--the keeping of a secret that would have been less devastating had she been able to share it with her family. On the other hand, the sense of a common shortcoming strengthened the sense that they were, indeed, family. And despite the somewhat shallow characterizations, I found myself caring about what happened to each one--and hoping they'd all learn what they needed in order to make their lives work in the future. This was not complex reading, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable exploration of the relations of a mother and her daughters--the love they have for each other as well as the damage they do to that love in the name of maintaining their own images.
Rating:
Summary: As good as the first
Review: This was an excellent book. It started out slow but DEFINITELY became more interesting as the story began to unfold.
Rating: 
Summary: More of A Mystery
Review: I would say that this book sort of had you guessing, "What is Della trying to hide from her daughters?" It was very slow to start and I had to force myself to read it, but as I read on it got a little more interesting as they would go back and forth between the past and present.
Rating:
Summary: Lacks emotion
Review: I think this book started off good and ended even better. I loved these characters. I loved how the daughters Ronnie and Celeste discovered the real side of their mother Della. I'll say the book was written well and the image that popped into your head of Prosper,North Carolina really proved that these two writers are truly gifted. As soon as I finished the book I couldn't wait to pass it on to another avid book reader like myself. This book actually made me put down the remote control for a day.
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