Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down!!
Review: I read this book in 3 days. Quite a feat with a job and 2 young kids, but I MADE time for it. I really felt for all the characters and the ending was great. One part of the ending I was sure of from early on but there were other elements that were a complete surprise. I think every family has a Fiona somewhere in it and this was a great insight into what they (the Fionas) are going through. The only disappointment to me, was that there were a lot of spelling errors (lost a star). Otherwise, a very highly recommended book.
Rating: 
Summary: Pppppppppppppllllllllllllttttttttttt!
Review: I was so drawn into Mary McGarry Morris' book Songs In Ordinary Time. I hovered in that world created by such an expert of nuance and detail. I loathed the story of Fiona Range. I can't believe this came from Mary's hand. I can't believe this was written after Songs In Ordinary Time. I would guess this to be more of a first try than a novel by such a successful author. This story was unbalanced, inconsistent, dull. I told the library that they should lose it instead of returning it to the shelf. I was so disappointed!
Rating: 
Summary: A surprisingly amateurish effort
Review: I found this book overly wordy and filled with cliches and unbelievable coincidences. Fiona, who could have been an interesting character, comes off more annoying than sympathetic. As I read it, I wondered if this might be one of the author's earlier efforts, which is being published now that she has achieved some success. None of the characters showed much depth and the situations were predictable and totally lacking in suspense. It could have been a decent book with more conscientious editing. Mary McGarry Morris can do better than this.
Rating: 
Summary: Also my favorite author
Review: Ms. McGarry Morris: My clock is ticking. I'm not getting any younger. You're not exactly a prolific writer so please drop everything else and get to it. I'll pay double for your books and I promise not to lend my copy to the double line of friends waiting at my door.I can't say that I have a favorite of your four books to date. Fiona Range might be the most tangible character thus far but that takes nothing away from the other books. They are all equally excellent. By the way, will we be seeing Fiona Range on the big screen? Remember, double; no lending to friends. Promise!
Rating:
Summary: Emotional overkill
Review: Good opening chapter that soon fell prey to redundant explanations of Fiona's emotions through tired cliches. The attempts at suspense were just annoying because Fiona neglected to ask the right questions, and then the suspense gave way to a predictable ending. I think the story was valid, and worthy of being told, in half as much space.
Rating:
Summary: Fiona is Brilliant!
Review: Mary McGarry Morris has a winner on her hands. This book is just wonderful. I think it could possibly be one of the best books I have read this summer (and, I've read a lot) but, this one has everything you need. The characters, story, plot, setting, etc...I found it thrilling, charming and wonderfully told. Others have said it's no better than a cheap "dime-store" romance novel, but I disagree. I thought it was well written and very nicely told. It's a smart book by a gifted author. Certainly one I would recommend to others.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn't even finish it.....
Review: "Fiona Range" was tedious to read, to say the least! I tired very quickly of all the "scrapping" going on with her and her family and the problems at the Cafe. This plot was boring and not enough to keep me interested. I may pick up another MMM book in years to come, and hopefully will find it much more entertaining!
Rating:
Summary: Eminently skimmable
Review: What a disappointing book. I read Morris's Oprah-chosen novel and liked it well enough to pick up her new one. This is a let-down! All of the characters are predictable and one-dimensional. There is not a sympathetic one in the bunch. Elizabeth, George, and Rudy all come across as spineless. Fiona herself, if she was really that headstrong, would have left these people behind a long time ago. I spent most of my time skimming through the story just to confirm that what happens is what I anticipated. There is nothing new or exciting here.
Rating:
Summary: Sophomoric, read like a bad romance novel
Review: I have never written a review - good or bad, but felt compelled to do so. I have never rolled my eyes or made exclamations of disgust (at the writing, not Fiona) quite so many times. I am not a snob, but I do have high standards, and I believe the author wrote "down" to us . . . nowadays, the reading population is fairly sophisticated. I found many editing mistakes and was surprised that Viking had published it. There were too many contractions - speaks to the entire book being poorly written. Ms. Morris - I challenge you to rise above mediocrity. And . . . .why does this all suddenly happen in Fiona's 30th year . . . what on earth has she been doing for the past 12 years since HS graduation? She is shallow, petty and childish, and not a character I care to read about. The foreshadowing was incredible, I figured out the "plot twists" about a third of the way through. I am honestly surprised so many readers enjoyed it, but I doubt if my views in the minority. However, since it was an Oprah book, my hopes may have been too high.
Rating:
Summary: Sophomoric, read like a bad romance novel
Review: I am not a snob, but I do have high standards, and I believe the author wrote "down" to us . . . nowadays, the population is fairly sophisticated. I found many editing mistakes and was surprised that Viking/Penguin had published it. There were too many contractions - speaks to the entire book being poorly written. Ms. Morris - I challenge you to rise above mediocrity. Why does this all of a sudden happen in Fiona's 30th year . . . what on earth has she been doing for the past 12 years since HS graduation? She is shallow, petty and childish, and not a character I care to read about. Less than halfway into the book, I figured out the ending . . . so much for plot twists. There's an incredible amount of foreshadowing. I am honestly surprised so many readers enjoyed it, but I doubt if my views are in the minority. However, since it was an Oprah book, my hopes may have been too high.
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