Rating: 
Summary: Hard to rate and hard to classify
Review: ...There were parts I really liked: The relationship of Theresa with Flora and her cousn Daisy, the unlikely but believable sexual energy with the 70yo painter (Flora's father), the Moran kids, the mood.
But there were many things that I really didn't like: The heavy-handed foreshadowing of Daisy's illness and death, the sugar-sweet perfection of Theresa, her shadowy parents, the idyllic summer setting, Theresa's protestations of 'I just like children.'Overall, I found myself repeatedly muttering aloud, 'No way...this would ever really happen.' No gorgeous 15yo girl I've ever met or heard of would devote herself so completely to all the children of a tiny village on Long Island. I kept wondering: Where are the 15yo BOYS in this town, and why aren't they tromping down the dune grass to get to this shimmering morsel of female teenage perfection??
But the writing was beautiful, and McDermott can cast a spell with mood writing.
As I said, it's difficult to review this one. I'm conflicted.
Rating: 
Summary: Deep breath...
Review: ...Wow. One might be tempted at first to say that this doesn't live up to "Charming Billy." The story of "Child of My Heart" isn't much of a story at all, when compared to Ms. McDermott's previous novel. Where "Charming Billy" spanned decades and told the stories of the lives of several people and how they were all affected by Billy, "Child of My Heart" confines itself to a few days in the life of the beautiful Theresa and her summer charges. Simple, yes, but utterly heartbreaking. I found myself stopping to re-read sentences that merely told of a gesture or a breath. There are chapters in Ms. McDermott's sentences -- things untold that mean the world and explain even more. The color of a girl's shoes, the way sun shines off a man's hair, it's the details in this novel that make it a wonder. It's the details that make the world of "Child of My Heart" so believable that not one plot point seems forced or even expected -- you are lulled by the sound of the wind on these summer days, the movements of the shadows on a porch, and are satisfied enough simply to follow Theresa, Daisy, and company to the beach or to an attic.This book will stay with you long after you are finished. You won't expect it to, and you may even be skeptical when reading of lollipops and rabbits, but just go on and read it and do yourself a wonderful favor.
Rating: 
Summary: Child of my Heart
Review: 15 year old Theresa, nanny to the wealthy on Long Island, comes off as Mary Poppins or Peter Pan.
Everything she does, she does perfectly, and all the children and animals in her care love her more than their own families. She is evidently very beautiful and she knows it. I found the book dull. It was very flat. I never felt anything at all in reading this book. No joy, sadness, anger, humor....nothing! Theresa spoke of everything that occurred, including Daisy's situation, and the experience with the old man, in the same matter of fact tone that she used when speaking of going to the beach or walking the dogs.
Perhaps I'm a little too old and that this book would appeal primarily to young adults.
Rating:
Summary: Quicky Review
Review: A beautifully detailed novel filled with an abundance of well-developed characters. These qualities are rivaled by a lack of emotion in the story telling during the moments that count. But what do I know.
Rating: 
Summary: An elegantly told coming-of-age story
Review: A simple story told from a 15-year-old's point of view. The teenager in question is Theresa, a beautiful girl beloved by animals and children alike. Amazingly perspicacious for a teen, Theresa takes us through a summer on Long Island where she cares for her younger cousin, Daisy, the daughter of a semi-famous painter, Flora, and a host of other neighborhood kids and animals. Overall, Child of My Heart seemed more a series of observations and daily happenings than a plotted story. Yet it was oddly compelling, perhaps because McDermott is such a gifted writer. But I did have some problems with Theresa's character: even though she seemed so beyond her years in many respects, she was still very childlike ' she had no friends her age (only younger) and expressed no interest in boys (save for her creepy relationship with the geriatric painter). And that relationship was rather inexplicable ' she never expresses any sexual longing or attraction to this man, but still she gets naked with the old geezer (yuck!), despite being keenly aware of her beauty and that she could probably have any man she wanted. I guess I just felt like something was missing here, but I'm not sure what.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty good, fast read
Review: After a slow start, I began to enjoy this book and the summer adventures of Theresa and the childeren left in her care - the book has no chapters, which I found a little annoying (hard to stop reading & pick up where you left off) - and a few things were a little troubling (just how old was Flora who slept in a crib, drank from a bottle but seemed to talk like a 4-5 year old? - and just what was it that attracted Theresa to Flora's father? The attraction seemed to come from no where) - but it was an overall pretty pleasant read - a little predictable at times (Daisy) but for the most part charming (how cute was Petey and his crush on the girls!) It's the first book I've read by McDermott and I'd like to check out her other titles - something about it reminded me of Lovely Bones - perhaps it was the point of view it was told from - I would recommend it to anyone who wants a light read that is cute, charming and overall up-lifting. Perhaps a sequel down the road after Theresa goes to college would be an idea - to see how her perspective on life and love have changed and how the events of this summer affected her future and life's decisions.
Rating: 
Summary: Unbelievable
Review: Alice McDermott has such skill with prose. Why oh why did she not put a little more effort into character motivation? How could this 15 year old girl be such a saint, so self-assured? Why would she let a 70 creepy drunk touch her? The foreshadowing in the book was extremely heavy handed. And yet, some of the descriptive passages were so perfectly crafted, I was in awe of the sheer muscle of her writing. This will never be counted among her best novels.
Rating:
Summary: Now this is prose
Review: Alice McDermott is one of my favorite writers and I loved this book. Theresa is a 15 year old wonderchild, who is not only beautiful, but blessed in her ability to take care of other peoples' children. She cares for her cousin, Daisy, Flora, the daughter of a local artist, and a host of Moran children, and Swansons. What drives this book is that beautiful prose McDermott uses throughout--clean and lovely, never wasteful. You know there will be trouble ahead by the easy bruising on Daisy, and I found it a little unsettling that Theresa does not mention it to any adults, and that her own parents do not notice either. But in this world, parents do not seem to notice their children, why would they notice a bruised foot? Only a physician parent notices, but he is too busy giving Theresa the eye, and asking her for babysitting time.
Last Night is still my sentimental favorite Alice McDermott book, but this is a close second. A lovely book, with characters you won't forget. It's a slim volume that should not be read too quickly, savor it instead.
Rating:
Summary: A Pleasant Journey but a Disappointing Destination
Review: Child of My Heart - Alice McDermott
Almost like a wistful dream this reflection back on the summer of her fifteenth year is told by a narrator who focuses on her quiet weeks with her cousin. Theresa is a young lady whose parents have moved their family of three to the wealthy end of Long Island in hopes that because of her beauty and precociousness, she'll be able to "catch" a rich summer resident when she comes of age. Daisy is her eight year old cousin, from a family of ten, who has come to visit for a month. Full of fun and fantasy, Theresa is a popular babysitter and dog-walker. She has been retained by a local artist to care for his baby daughter and so begins the gist of the story as Theresa and Daisy venture out each day to walk dogs then head over to the artist's mansion to nanny the baby.
Although there are some light-hearted moments in this book, it is not a light-hearted book by any means. It is deep and quite thoughtful, dreamy, interesting but not terribly realistic. I enjoyed the character of Theresa and enjoyed her streams of fantasy. Her relationship with Daisy was a delight but not true to relationships between ordinary fifteen year old and eight year old girls, nor were their conversations and personalities at all like any fifteen or eight year old girls in my experience. Nevertheless, they were enjoyable characters to meet and know. Just because a person or story does not reflect reality does not necessarily mean that character or story isn't worth reading!
The disappointment I found was that somewhere near the end, I felt Theresa's character broke what out of who I felt her character was and what I felt had been established. That made the book less pleasurable for me. Overall I felt that, with this book, the journey was wonderful but the destination was disappointing. Still, I would recommend it because the people were fun to know and the stories and little adventures that Theresa and Daisy crafted were worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Did not hold my attention
Review: Didn't want this book to end. I felt like I was living with the characters, rather than reading about them. While it was a sometimes sad and poignant book, it gave me an uplifting feeling that's hard to explain. I read a lot, and this book is right up there as one of my favorite works of fiction. Subtle in its message, it is beautifully written and a joy to read.
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